“We’re here,” he said as soon as he parked in front of her building.
Ashley got out of the car without saying a word. Jerry followed her inside. There was a clock in the living room. The time shocked her. It was only a little after one in the afternoon. Ashley felt as if she’d been up for days.
“Are you hungry?” Jerry asked. “Do you want me to fix something for you?”
“Okay?”
“Let me rummage around in the fridge.”
Ashley slumped down at the kitchen table.
“Feel like telling me what’s bothering you?” Jerry asked while he made them ham-and-cheese sandwiches.
“Do you think it’s possible that it was Randy Coleman who attacked me?”
The question took Philips by surprise. “I thought he saved you.”
“He probably did. But the attack seemed-I don’t know-clumsy. I saw Maxfield in action once. It was at the pool at the Academy. Coleman was bothering the dean and he got violent. Maxfield was there. He handled Coleman very easily. It was like in the movies, almost choreographed it was so smooth, bang, bang, and it was over. Maxfield didn’t break a sweat.”
Ashley lost color for a moment. She looked down and swallowed.
“What is it?” Jerry asked, concerned.
“I was remembering when…when I was attacked. In my house. I was overpowered easily, too. Maxfield was so efficient. The man who attacked me in the lot…” She shook her head.
“You reacted quickly. You knocked him off balance. He probably wasn’t expecting that.”
“I guess.”
Jerry carried the sandwiches and two glasses of soda to the table and sat down.
“Do you have any reason to doubt that Joshua Maxfield murdered your parents and attacked you in the Academy dorm?”
Ashley thought before answering.
“I never saw his face in my house or in the dorm, but I definitely saw him in the boathouse. And he wrote that novel where the killer eats before he murders the teenage daughter. How could he possibly know that happened at my house?”
“So, there you are. If he tried to kill you several times before, why would he suddenly save your life today?”
Ashley was about to take a bite out of her sandwich when an idea occurred to her.
“Would Coleman benefit if I died?” she asked.
Jerry thought about that. “With you out of the picture there would be one less person trying to be appointed Casey’s guardian and conservator.”
“Miles would still be opposing him.”
“Yes, but he and Miles want the same thing, even if Randy claims otherwise.”
“What’s that?”
“They both want to take Casey off life support.”
“But Randy’s attorney said…”
“I know what he said but I don’t believe it. Casey doesn’t have a will and she has a large estate. If she dies intestate Coleman will get a lot of it because they’re still married. He may say he wants to keep her alive but I bet he’d change his tune in a minute if he’s appointed her guardian. You’re the only one who’s dedicated to keeping Casey alive.”
Ashley stared across the table at Jerry. She felt frightened.
“You just said that Coleman would get ‘a lot of’ Casey’s estate. Does that mean he doesn’t get it all, even though she doesn’t have a will?”
Jerry colored. “He wouldn’t be the only heir.”
“Would I get any of Casey’s money if she died?”
Ashley watched Jerry carefully as she asked the question. He hesitated. She thought he looked uncomfortable.
“Am I an heir, Jerry?”
“You’re her only surviving issue and Coleman isn’t your father. Under the statutes, you’d be entitled to one half of her estate.”
Ashley stared at Jerry. “That’s twenty million dollars.”
“Somewhere in there.”
“And Coleman gets it all if I’m dead?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God.” Ashley stood up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know,” he answered nervously. “I guess the point was to keep Casey alive-that’s why Henry hired me-so I didn’t think about telling you what would happen if she died.”
“You shouldn’t have kept this from me. It changes everything. Everyone will think I’m after her money. That’s what the newspaper said, that I was battling for the forty million dollars.”
“You’re battling to keep your mother alive.”
“It’s too much responsibility. I can’t do this.”
Jerry walked around the table until they were standing inches apart. He put his hands on her shoulders.
“You have to, Ashley. Miles and Coleman will do everything in their power to take Casey off life support.”
Suddenly, Ashley was angry. “What makes you think I don’t want her dead, now that I know how much I’ll inherit? Is that why you didn’t tell me about the money?”
Jerry looked directly into Ashley’s eyes while he answered.
“I believe that you are a good, moral person. If I thought that you would let Casey Van Meter die so you could inherit her money I wouldn’t have agreed to find you.”
Ashley looked down. She was embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’ve always been so good to me.”
“You’ve been through hell. You deserve to be treated with respect.”
Ashley looked at Jerry and he held her gaze. He was so decent. He’d been a rock for her. Before Jerry could say anything, she kissed him. He tensed. Then he tried to say something.
“No,” she said and she kissed him again, holding him tight, like a survivor clinging to a life raft. Jerry took her in his arms and held her just as tight.
“This isn’t right,” he said, though everything he’d just done contradicted his words. “I’m your attorney. You’re vulnerable.”
“I’m twenty-two, Jerry. I’m a virgin.” The admission embarrassed Philips but Ashley’s voice was strong. “I’ve been so afraid all these years that I haven’t let myself get close to anyone. Now I want to start being human again.”
“I’m the wrong person, Ashley. You’ve come to depend on me. That’s not love.”
“Are you telling me that you don’t want me?”
He looked down and swallowed. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. I’m your attorney.”
“The way you feel matters to me. You tell me you don’t care about me and we’ll stop now.”
“I do care for you. You’re strong and smart, you’re a good person, and you’re beautiful. But that doesn’t matter. There are ethics rules that prohibit a lawyer from…from taking advantage of…”
“You’re not taking advantage of me, and if the ethics rules are worrying you, I have a simple solution. You’re fired.”
Jerry looked at her wide-eyed. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Jerry laughed and shook his head. “You’re something.”
“What’s it going to be?”
“I’ve been fired before, but never because my client wanted to sleep with me.”
“I don’t want you to sleep with me. I want you to make love to me.”
Jerry was gentle and tender, but it was still painful when he entered her the first time. The second time she was tense, because she expected more pain, and she was relieved when all she felt was pleasure. The third time was wonderful. After they climaxed, they held each other for a while. Then Jerry kissed her forehead and lay beside her, breathing deeply.
Ashley was slick with sweat and exhausted, but she felt completely at peace. Jerry laced his fingers with hers. She turned her head and watched his chest rise and fall in the pale light that filtered through the bedroom blinds. It was smooth-not fat but not muscular, either. Not at all like the male model bodies in the fashion magazines. She decided that having muscles wasn’t all that important when you were making love.
Cool air touched her skin, reminding her that she was nude, lying next to a naked man. She wasn’t uncomfortable or embarrassed. She felt free, unburdened. She smiled. So this was what sex felt like. She wondered if it would be different with someone she didn’t love.