Read Online A Dead Husband (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery) by Anna Burke - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anna Burke
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drawer of important papers like insurance policies and business records he kept in his desk. There were some personal items Laura needed from the house too, mostly clothes, make up, toiletries and the like.
“Let me get organized and follow up on a few things. I’ll call you later today or first thing tomorrow so we can plan further.” She gave Sara and Laura each a big hug. Laura seemed less forlorn as Jessica left. Jessica felt bowed down by the weight of the burden she had just assumed, for which she was neither qualified nor prepared. That included the daunting prospect of visiting a dear friend’s house that had now become the scene of a murder. How did anyone ever prepare for that?
CHAPTER 4
As she left Sara’s house and headed to the Trader Joe’s nearby in Cathedral City, Jessica thought about the situation they were in . Her basic grounding in criminal law and procedure was enough to pass the bar in California, and on the first attempt, which was no small feat. When she sat for the bar exam, California had one of the highest failure rates in the country. Several prominent Californians, including the current governor, had taken the exam more than once before passing. If she was really going to help Laura, though, she needed advice from someone who knew a lot more than she did about procedures surrounding murder investigations.
N obody with that kind of experience came immediately to mind. The same thing was true when she included the attorneys she had met through outings with Jim and the members of his firm, as well as those she met at community events. Lots and lots of attorneys in their circle, but none of them involved much in criminal defense work.
Jessica strained to recall fellow students in law school at Stanford who had planned to be prosecutors or defense attorneys . There was a guy who was something of a super star and made law review. What was his name? He was a nice looking guy in a waspy kind of way. A bit standoffish, but that could have been because he was a year ahead of her in school. His last name was Worthington, as she suddenly remembered. Someone had joked that he was from old money and “worth a ton”: Paul Worthington. That was it.
A few years back he had been involved in a high profile case in LA when some celebrity was accused of murdering her husband. Jessica hadn’t paid too much attention, but it was hard to avoid all the media coverage. She had caught glimpses of the handsome, well-spoken man talking about his client’s innocence, and taking a bow later when the proceedings were concluded in his client’s favor.
P arking in the lot at Trader Joe’s, Jessica pulled out her smartphone and began to search the alumni data base at Stanford. The information she was looking for popped up right away. According to the latest info he was a junior partner with a firm in Los Angeles. She had no trouble finding the firm’s website and dialed the number listed on it. A robotic voice offered her access to individual members of the firm by spelling their last name. This got her to a voice mail where she could leave a message.
“Mr. Worthington, this is Jessica Huntington-Harper . You may remember me as Jessica Huntington. Actually you may not remember me at all, but we overlapped as students at Stanford law school, graduated a year apart. I’m calling because I have a friend in trouble. She may need a defense attorney and I could use a consult about how best to help her. If you could give me a call at your earliest convenience I’d be very grateful.” Jessica left her cell phone number and email address, thanked him in advance for his help, and hung up.
She put the phone away . Not the smoothest voice mail message. She had stumbled over her own last name. Huntington-Harper had always been cumbersome and it was true that when she and Paul Worthington were at Stanford Law she was just Jessica Huntington.
“Let me get organized and follow up on a few things. I’ll call you later today or first thing tomorrow so we can plan further.” She gave Sara and Laura each a big hug. Laura seemed less forlorn as Jessica left. Jessica felt bowed down by the weight of the burden she had just assumed, for which she was neither qualified nor prepared. That included the daunting prospect of visiting a dear friend’s house that had now become the scene of a murder. How did anyone ever prepare for that?
CHAPTER 4
As she left Sara’s house and headed to the Trader Joe’s nearby in Cathedral City, Jessica thought about the situation they were in . Her basic grounding in criminal law and procedure was enough to pass the bar in California, and on the first attempt, which was no small feat. When she sat for the bar exam, California had one of the highest failure rates in the country. Several prominent Californians, including the current governor, had taken the exam more than once before passing. If she was really going to help Laura, though, she needed advice from someone who knew a lot more than she did about procedures surrounding murder investigations.
N obody with that kind of experience came immediately to mind. The same thing was true when she included the attorneys she had met through outings with Jim and the members of his firm, as well as those she met at community events. Lots and lots of attorneys in their circle, but none of them involved much in criminal defense work.
Jessica strained to recall fellow students in law school at Stanford who had planned to be prosecutors or defense attorneys . There was a guy who was something of a super star and made law review. What was his name? He was a nice looking guy in a waspy kind of way. A bit standoffish, but that could have been because he was a year ahead of her in school. His last name was Worthington, as she suddenly remembered. Someone had joked that he was from old money and “worth a ton”: Paul Worthington. That was it.
A few years back he had been involved in a high profile case in LA when some celebrity was accused of murdering her husband. Jessica hadn’t paid too much attention, but it was hard to avoid all the media coverage. She had caught glimpses of the handsome, well-spoken man talking about his client’s innocence, and taking a bow later when the proceedings were concluded in his client’s favor.
P arking in the lot at Trader Joe’s, Jessica pulled out her smartphone and began to search the alumni data base at Stanford. The information she was looking for popped up right away. According to the latest info he was a junior partner with a firm in Los Angeles. She had no trouble finding the firm’s website and dialed the number listed on it. A robotic voice offered her access to individual members of the firm by spelling their last name. This got her to a voice mail where she could leave a message.
“Mr. Worthington, this is Jessica Huntington-Harper . You may remember me as Jessica Huntington. Actually you may not remember me at all, but we overlapped as students at Stanford law school, graduated a year apart. I’m calling because I have a friend in trouble. She may need a defense attorney and I could use a consult about how best to help her. If you could give me a call at your earliest convenience I’d be very grateful.” Jessica left her cell phone number and email address, thanked him in advance for his help, and hung up.
She put the phone away . Not the smoothest voice mail message. She had stumbled over her own last name. Huntington-Harper had always been cumbersome and it was true that when she and Paul Worthington were at Stanford Law she was just Jessica Huntington.
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