Should she gather her courage and declare her love for him? Oh, how she yearned to tell him what was in her heart.
Jennifer glanced quickly around the courtroom.
But no, not now. The majority of his concentration and mental energies must be centered on the trial.
It wasn’t fair to him to ask him to envision a future with her…and their baby…when he had to stay in the present and the enormous challenge he was facing.
“You look upset,” Evan said, bringing Jennifer from her racing thoughts. “I guess you haven’t considered the possibility that you would suffer from my defeat in this room. There’s more at stake here than whether or not a guilty man goes free. Your career could be dealt a devastating blow if I don’t get a conviction against Lyle Gardner.”
“No, no, Evan. It’s not like that. I’ve talked at length with my boss about this. We’re prepared for whatever the outcome of the trial is. If Lyle Gardner is found guilty we take the approach that your detectives combined with your expertise in the courtroom made it possible for justice to be served.
“If Lyle gets off? We’ll show that even the best efforts don’t always bring the proper results, whether the defendant is rich or poor, but that you have to move on to the next case, continue to believe in the system, refuse to allow a defeat to diminish your dedication.”
Evan nodded.
“But, Evan?” she said, a sob catching in her throat. “The fact that you were worried about me, about my career, what it might do to me if you lost this case, means more to me than I can ever begin to tell you. Thank you. Oh, that’s too small, too insignificant to express…” Tears closed her throat and she stopped speaking as she shook her head.
Evan closed the distance between them and planted his hands on either side of her bottom where she sat on the table, trapping her in place.
“You’ve got it covered? You’ll be all right no matter what the outcome of this trial is?”
Jennifer nodded.
“Oh, thank God for that. You have no idea how I’ve worried about you and… Well, that’s one less thing to keep me awake at night.” He smiled. “But I have plenty left to guarantee the tossing and turning routine. I am so glad, though, that we had this conversation.”
“I believe Belinda would call it communication,” Jennifer said, managing to produce a wobbly smile.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. Belinda is very big on communication. When this trial is over, Jenny, you and I are going to have a very serious session of communication about…things.”
“I…” Jennifer started, then stopped for a moment. “Yes, we need to do that. Communicate, discuss in depth some very important…things.”
Evan nodded, then straightened and swept his gaze over the courtroom.
“Do you realize,” he said quietly, “how many lives are changed forever in rooms just like this one every day across this country? What an awesome responsibility it is for those of us who play a part in that. It’s big. It’s heavy. It can consume a person if they’re not aware that it’s happening.”
Jennifer was hardly breathing as she listened intently to what Evan was saying.
“It consumed me,” he said, turning to face her again. “But I’m going to change that, get a healthier balance in my life. Delegate, delegate, delegate. I think that somewhere along the line I started to have a godlike complex of believing that I had to do it if it was going to be done right. That’s crazy. My staff is the cream of the crop. I intend to make room in my life for more, much more than just my career, sweet Jenny.”
Will that more include me, Evan? Jennifer thought. Loving me? Wanting me to become your wife, not just the mother of your son? Oh, Jennifer, don’t do this to yourself. Keep the daydreams separate from what might still be pipe dreams.
“That’s…good. I’m thinking along those lines myself. Once I have the baby I don’t intend to travel so much. And I’m certainly entitled to some time off between assignments, too, and… Well, I want a healthier balance, to quote you, in my life, too. I…What’s that noise?”
“I don’t hear… Oh, cripe, it’s my cell phone. I put it in my briefcase.”
Evan hurried to the table, flipped the catches on the briefcase and retrieved the ringing phone, pushing the appropriate button.
“Stone,” he said.
Jennifer watched with building concern as Evan stiffened as he listened to what was being said, then the color drained from his face.
“Evan?” she whispered, sliding off the table. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He held up one hand to silence her and she pressed her lips together as she continued to stare at him, her heart racing.
“The statement is signed?” Evan said. “And he’ll testify?… You did? You took it to Maggie and she’s positive that it’s… Do you realize what this means? What you’ve done…? Yes… Yes…”
“Yes, yes…what?” Jennifer whispered, clutching her hands beneath her chin.
“I don’t know what to say,” Evan continued, shaking his head. “You two deserve a raise? Steak dinners? Letters of commendation from the mayor? The governor? Hell, the president of the United States. Name it, it’s yours… A vacation, huh? Sold… Yeah, fine. I’ll connect with you back at my office.” He laughed. “Do you like my office? Hell, I’ll give you my office if you want it… No?… Okay. Later.”
Evan pressed the button on the small phone, then set it in the briefcase with exacting care. The color began to return slowly to his face as he snapped the latches on the briefcase in seemingly slow motion.
“Evan Stone,” Jennifer said, her voice trembling, “if you don’t tell me what just happened I swear I’m going to… Oh!”
Jennifer gasped in shock as Evan turned, grabbed her waist and twirled her around and around until she yelled for mercy. He set her on her feet, steadied her as she staggered slightly, then framed her face in his hands.
“That call,” he said, his voice choked with emotion, “was from Detective Extraordinaire Colin Waters, who had Detective Extraordinaire Darien Wilson standing at his elbow as he spoke to me.”
“And?”
“Ah, Jenny, they did it. Those two found the signet ring.”
“Oh, my God,” Jennifer whispered.
“Lyle pawned it. I guess he figured it was tucked safely away in a seedy side of town across the state line in Michigan where no one would ever think to go looking. The ring is worth a bunch of bucks, and he was too greedy to just toss the thing in a Dumpster.
“Maggie has examined the ring, will testify that it’s the one that made the marks on Franklin’s face, and the pawnshop owner has positively identified Lyle from a picture as the man who brought in the ring, having signed a statement to that fact. We’ve got him, Jennifer. Lyle Gardner is going down.”
“You’re going to win,” Jennifer said, awe ringing in her voice. “Oh, Evan, I’m so thrilled, so… I don’t know what to say.”
“I do,” he said, suddenly very serious. “This trial is over except for the shouting. Lyle has no defense left. It’s over.”
“Well, yes, I guess it is, isn’t it? You’ll tell the judge and Lyle’s attorney that… Oh, my.”
“So, yes, sweet Jenny,” Evan said, dropping his hands from her face, and running a trembling hand down his tie in a nervous gesture, “I do know what to say now. It’s time. It’s time to…communicate.”
“It is?” she said, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Yes, it is.” Evan drew a steadying breath. “Jennifer Anderson, I, Evan Stone, am deeply and forever and a day in love with you.”
“I…I beg your pardon?”
“I love you, Jenny. I swear I do. You’re my life, my other half, my soul mate, my…I love you. I love you, I love our baby. Please, oh, please, say that you love me, too. Say that you’ll marry me and stay by my side as my partner until death parts us. Say that we’ll raise our son together, be a family, and that you’ll help me pick out a name for our dog and cat, create a home out of a house we’ll buy and…I’ll cut way back on my work hours and… Oh, God, Jennifer, do you love me as much as I love you?”