Her job meant nothing if he wasn’t in her life, especially given all the facts she’d learned about her father from Franklin and Roman. Some legacy she lived up to. Thank God the DNA test was negative; she couldn’t handle it if she found out Franklin was her dead father. It’d be like learning unicorns were real. But who was he then?
Wiping her eyes, she flipped down the visor and grimaced at the current look she was rocking. She tried to fix herself as much as possible, raccoon eyes making way from what appeared to be badly botched smoky eyes. It’ll have to do, she thought, because she’d arrived at the rundown pizza parlor in the middle of downtown.
It looked like a hometown pizza parlor had stood the test of time, just rough enough around the edges with customers coming in and out to clue someone in they served good pizza. Not enough to rob the place. If she wanted serious cash, it was clear this place wasn’t rolling in dough. Pun intended. The partners at the firm would disapprove if they knew she was there; hell, they’d wanted her to plead out the case in the first place. But she couldn’t get the look of Mr. Dominic’s face out of her mind when he told her more than he should. Detective Trajeo wasn’t taking her calls, big shocker, although the secretary who took her information promised he would call her back. She wasn’t holding her breath. The weak link was inside, Mr. Dominic, and he was the key to this bizarre case.
“What can I get for you?” the fresh-faced teenager at the counter asked, grabbing an order pad.
“Actually, I’m here to see Mr. Dominic.”
The teenager narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “He know you’re coming?”
She shook her head, smiling, hoping to put him at ease. “No, but I don’t think it will be a problem. I just have to ask him a couple questions, and he’s the only one who can help me.”
“I’m about sick of you people coming in here and bothering him,” the kid muttered, moving toward the back.
“Excuse me?” she stopped him. His reaction was a bit over the top considering she’d only asked to speak with the owner. “What do you mean by ‘you people’?”
The kid stared, incredulous. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m sick of you slick lawyer-types. Been hounding him for months. My grandfather doesn’t have shit to do with what’s going on with my cousin. I tried to tell you guys, but you don’t want to hear it. Said my grandfather was important to my cousin, could make him see the error in his ways. What the hell did they know? Then his store gets robbed? And he’s threatened with jail because he refuses to testify about something he didn’t want to? It’s bullshit, and none of it is a damn coincidence, lady.”
“No, I guess it’s not. I’m sorry if you felt I was insulting you by implying it was.”
He nodded, but his eyes were defiant. “Let me get my grandfather, I’ve probably said too much as it is. The whole situation has pissed me off.”
“I bet,” she said to his back. She took a seat, ignoring the curious stares from the other patrons. Show’s free, folks, she considered saying, but figured it’d make her seem like more of a bitch than they already thought she was. Bad circumstances all around, and she represented every problem they’d been having lately.
“Ma’am.” The teenaged defender stopped at her table. “He told me to take you back to his office.” She followed him to the back, where the weathered wooden door appeared as though it wouldn’t shut, walking in behind him.
“I knew you’d come.” Mr. Dominic sat behind the dingy metal desk with piles of paper everywhere. She sat in the tattered chair in front of him, ignoring the shutting door behind her.
“Then you know why I’m here.”
“I knew the minute those words slipped out of my mouth you weren’t going to let me get away. You were ready to tear into me like a hungry lion that got the first bite of his prey, and I knew you would be back here. I’m surprised you weren’t here sooner.” She wasn’t there to swap stories on the playground, but she needed his help since he had information she wasn’t privy to. She wasn’t going to get it from the detective, so Mr. Dominic was her only hope.
“I had some personal issues I needed to take care of.”
He raised a brow. “I saw you on the news.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat, trying to rid herself of the discomfort she felt before continuing. She felt she’d been chastised by her grandfather, though he didn’t say anything. “I’m not here to talk about my personal life, and I’m sorry if I insulted you on the stand. I was trying to ensure my innocent client didn’t go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.” She stared at him, because he could have contributed to the conviction by perpetuating a lie.
He slumped his shoulders, defeat hanging in his next words. “I had nothing to do with any of this mess. Other than lying on the stand, which I will regret until my dying day, I was trying to protect my family. I saw your boy, with the pregnant girlfriend, and realized I’d be destroying another family if you weren’t tenacious. I’m done lying, so ask your questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.”
“Thank you. I do have a couple of questions for you. But first, who or what are you trying to protect your family from? No offense, but this is not a place I would consider robbing if I needed some money.”
“I know I said I’d answer your questions, and I will, but I have to know. Why do you care?”
“Because my client was almost sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. I need to know why him. He’s a law-abiding citizen, so there was no reason to single him out.”
“My grandson is involved in a trademark dispute with another company. They came to me for months, telling me I needed to get him to drop the suit, but what can I do?” He threw his hands up in frustration. “My grandson was adamant, and I support my family. Then my business gets robbed. We’ve been here forty years and never had a problem. All of a sudden, I need to install extra security?”
Alexandra went back to his original statement, about his grandson being involved in a trademark lawsuit, because there was no way that was a coincidence. “I’m sorry, who’s your grandson?”
“Jonathan Hawkeye.”
She tried to swallow around the lump lodged in her throat. That sure as hell wasn’t a coincidence.
“But his suit was already settled,” she said before she could catch herself.
His brow wrinkled in suspicion. “How do you know Jonny’s case?”
“Just the news.” She played it off. “Do you, by any chance, know who came to see you?”
“No. Just a ‘concerned’ friend.” He stood up then, causing Alexandra to follow suit. “I don’t really know anything else about the situation, and I’m sure my grandson needs help out front.”
“Of course.” She shook his hand and thanked him. She had a ton more questions, but wouldn’t risk alienating him while they were still on speaking terms. She wasn’t there on an official capacity, so there was no reason for him to even talk to her, and she may need him for questions later.
He escorted her out to the dining area, where the grandson nodded in a goodbye gesture, and then she was out the door. She headed straight to the office, ignoring the nausea that accompanied thoughts of Roman. If she was busy, she didn’t think about him but the minute she had downtime, he was on her mind. Traffic was so light it took her less than twenty minutes to get to the office. She wanted to ask her questions, figure out the status of her job, and go home. It was Tuesday, but she was taking this week off as well, regardless of the decision. Security waved her through, so that had to be a good sign, right? At least they weren’t dragging her out of the building by her hair.