Redress of Grievances Read Online Free PDF Page A

to oppose a
friend in court?"
    "Yeah,
but hopefully you can still remain friends when it's over."
    "You
got a loser here, Harriett, but my office won't hold anything back from you.
You'll get full disclosure."
    "I
know, and thanks for the advice, Todd. Give my best to Erica."
    "If
I ever get to see her again."
    As
soon as she hung up, Eleanor buzzed again to tell Harriett that her mother was
on hold.
    "Mom,"
she said as she picked up the receiver again, "I just wanted to make sure
you and Lacey got home all right."
    "We
got in a little while ago."
    "Are
you sure you don't mind having her for the long weekend? I know it's a little
late to ask that, but..."
    "Don't
worry, sweetheart," Irene Markham laughed. "Lacey has a full weekend
planned. She's as much of an organizer as you were. Do you want to talk to
her?"
    "Yeah.
For just a minute. Thanks, Mom."
    "Hey,
Aunt Harriett!" Lacey's cheerful six-year-old voice chirped.
    "Hi,
baby. Grandma told me you have big plans for the weekend. Don't you run her
ragged, you hear?"
    "I
won't," Lacey said. Lowering her voice, the girl giggled into the phone,
"Grandma is really the one with the big plans though."
    "I
know," Harriett smiled. "I'll pick you up Sunday afternoon. Have fun.
I love you."
    "Love
you, too."
    Twenty
minutes later, Harriett walked out of her office carrying her briefcase.
Stopping at Eleanor's desk, she placed the last of her billable hour summaries
on her secretary's desk.
    "I'm
going to the Dallas County Jail to interview a possible client, Eleanor. After
that I'll be incommunicado for a couple of days. So if you have anything for
me, you'd better give it to me now. Otherwise, it will have to wait until
Monday morning."
    "I
think I've already given you everything that was urgent, Ms. Markham, and
fended off the rest until next week," Eleanor smiled. Then lowering her
voice conspiratorially, she whispered, "Have a great weekend. You deserve
it."
    Leaning
down slightly, she winked at Eleanor and whispered back, "You're right, I
do."
    As
she moved toward the elevator, Doug Winston came down the hall from his office,
stopping as he reached her.
    "I
assume Alex spoke to you about the Wilkes case," Doug said, running a big
hand over the beginnings of beard stubble.
    "I'm
on my way to the jail now. I'll make a decision after I speak to the Wilkes boy
and let you know Monday morning."
    Taking
her by the arm and pulling her slightly closer to him, Winston said, "I
don't want you to feel pressured to take this case, Harriett. I've met the
Wilkes kid, and he's not someone I'd personally like to spend a lot of time
around."
    "Let
me talk to him, Doug. I think I can handle it."
    "I'd
never doubt that," he said. "Sorry if this has crunched your
weekend."
    "It's
okay, I'm not going that far from Dallas and will still have plenty of time to
rest up."
    "Planning
to sleep in and play lazy for a few days, huh?" he asked.
    "Something
like that." Harriett smiled wryly.
    The
drive from the office tower that housed Winston and Dunne to the Dallas Police
Headquarters Building ordinarily took about twenty minutes, but the late
Thursday afternoon traffic made the trip longer than usual. It was after five
by the time she parked her metallic gray BMW in the parking lot reserved for
attorneys and entered the back door in central booking that served as the
attorney's entrance. Stopping in front of a female desk officer, Harriett
opened her briefcase for inspection and signed in.
    "Harriett
Markham to see Jared Wilkes," she said.
    "Interview
Room Nine," the woman said pointing down the hallway. "They'll bring
him down in a few minutes."
    "Do
you have his jacket here?" Harriett asked.
    The officer
looked through a short stack of file folders and produced one marked
"Wilkes, Jared, Case No. 4536885."
    HARRIETT
SLIPPED HER glasses on and took out a legal pad and a pen as she waited for her
prospective client to join her. The folder on Jared Wilkes gave her the basic
information about the accused.