Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Laurel
His scent. His intoxicating scent. He wore cologne that hits your nose before you even see him—musky, with hints of sandalwood and citrus. A sophisticated aroma that enticed the senses and made you want to get closer. I still couldn’t believe he answered my call last night in his boxer briefs. The way the fabric clung to his athletic frame, emphasizing every inch of his sculpted physique, lingered with me the entire night. The girls were very observant when they said he was hot. But I already knew that the night he sat next to me at the bar. Between his looks and his scent, I knew I would be in trouble if I took him up on his offer.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Julian.
“Where are you going? Court is about to start.”
“I have to make a quick phone call.” I stepped out of the courtroom.
When we were talking to Georgina earlier in the room, I asked her for the doctor’s name that she saw ten years ago for her shattered ankle. She told me, and I made a mental note.
Once I finished my call, I walked back into the courtroom as the judge entered.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled. What the fuck was he doing here in Los Angeles?
“Where were you?” Julian leaned over and asked.
“In the hallway.”
“All rise. The Honorable Judge McCray is now presiding.”
“Good morning,” he said, staring down at his docket. “The State of California vs. Georgina Bennett in the charge of murder in the first degree.” He looked up, and his jaw dropped. “Ms. Evans, what are you doing in my courtroom?”
“I should be asking you the same thing, your honor.” I smiled.
“Mr. Hamilton, is Ms. Evan working at your firm?”
“Yes, she is, your honor.”
Judge McCray ran his hand down his face. “Ms. Evans, I hope you’ll be on your best behavior, and we won’t have an issue like we did in San Francisco.”
“I will, your honor. I promise.” I glanced at Julian, who was narrowing his eyes at me.
“Mrs. Bennett, you are being charged with first-degree murder of your husband, Derek Acosta. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty,” she spoke in a low and nervous voice.
“Excuse me? Can you speak up?”
“Not guilty.” Her voice was still low.
“Mrs. Bennett, the court is having trouble hearing your plea. Speak up!”
“She said not guilty, your honor!” I voiced loudly. “Maybe your hearing aid needs to be turned up. ”
“First warning, Ms. Evans.” He pointed at me.
“Your Honor, the state is asking that bail be denied due to her status and her ability to flee the country,” Liza said.
“My client will not flee the country,” Julian commanded. “The charges, while serious, are based entirely on circumstantial evidence, and Mrs. Bennett shouldn’t have to sit in a prison cell. She has lived in Los Angeles her entire life, has deep community ties, and has a fourteen-year-old son who attends private school. Plus, she has never been arrested or so much as received a parking ticket.”
“Are you kidding?” Liza laughed. “Circumstantial evidence? We have the murder weapon, her blood-stained dress, and footage of her entering the hotel with her husband the night he was murdered. How the hell is that circumstantial, counselor?” She stared at him.
My phone pinged, and the email I had been waiting for finally hit my inbox.
“You’re right, Miss Gold,” Judge McCray said. “Mrs. Bennett, it is this court’s decision?—”
“Excuse me, Your Honor,” I interrupted him and held up my hand.
“Really, Ms. Evans?” He cocked his head.
“The woman who walked into the hotel with Mr. Acosta was not Georgina Bennett. I can prove it.”
Julian’s head whipped to the side, and I could see the anger burning in his eyes.
“May I?” I pointed to the TV screen where the CC footage was displayed.
“Are you wasting my time, Ms. Evans?”
“Not at all, Your Honor. I promise.”
“Fine. Approach.”
“As you can see in the video, this woman is wearing stiletto heels. My client can’t and hasn’t worn high heels in over ten years since she shattered her ankle.”
“Your Honor, this is a complete joke,” Liza said.
“I just received an email from her doctor stating that due to the severe damage and improper healing of Mrs. Bennett’s ankle, she would never be able to wear heels again. Which printer is yours? I’ll send the report, and we’ll enter it as evidence.”
I sent the email to the court’s printer, and the bailiff retrieved it and handed it to Judge McCray.
“This proves nothing, Your Honor,” Liza said. “She could have worn the heels only to the hotel and taken them off when they got to the room.”
I walked back to the table as Julian’s eyes burned into mine. He was pissed, but yet I could tell he was relieved.
Judge McCray studied the report and looked up. “Mrs. Bennett, I’m granting bail in the sum of one million dollars, along with you surrendering your passport to ensure you don’t leave the country.”
“But, Your Honor,” Liza said.
“Miss Gold, my decision is made. This case is set to go to trial one month from today.” He picked up his gavel. “Next case.”
“Oh my God, Laurel. Thank you so much,” Georgina hugged me. “Thank you, Julian.”
“We’ll be waiting for you outside and give you a ride home,” he told her.
Just as we were headed out of the courthouse, Liza walked over.
“Nice stunt in there.” She stared at me. “But it won’t get you anywhere. Your client is guilty, and I’ll prove it without a shadow of a doubt. Your client will spend the rest of her life in prison.”
“Gosh, you’re just a big old bully,” I said .
“Excuse me?” She cocked her head.
“You heard me. I just moved here to Los Angeles. May I ask who does your hair?”
“Her name is Victoria. Why?” Her eyes narrowed.
“I just want to make sure I don’t go to her, " I said, smiling as I walked away.
When we climbed into the Escalade, Julian looked at me. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Keep shit from me regarding a case. That was very unprofessional.”
“I had just gotten it, Julian.”
“Doesn’t matter. You declined to tell me what you were up to when you walked back into that courtroom. And by the way. What is up with you and Judge McCray?”
“He was a judge back in San Francisco when I was a public defender. He once threw me in jail for contempt because I accused him of being biased.”
“About what?”
“He was having an affair with the ADA for one of the cases I was handling, and I may or may not have subtly mentioned that he was being biased due to the nature of their relationship.”
“Ouch.” He laughed. “So he held you in contempt?”
“Yep. For an entire night. The following morning, he came to my cell before they released me and told me that if I ever disrespected him in his courtroom again, he’d have my license. Imagine my shock when I saw him walk into the courtroom.”
“What did you say to him after he threatened your law license?”
“I told him to go ahead and try, and I’d leak about his affair and get him thrown off the bench and make sure I represented his wife in the divorce. ”
“Jesus, Laurel.”
“I don’t take kindly to threats—judge or not. But I could tell he was frightened if anyone found out, so I told him to be more careful.”
“By the way. That wasn’t very nice what you said to Liza.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“Well, she needed to be taken down a few notches.” I smiled.
Upon arriving at Georgina's house, I asked permission to check out her closet. She agreed, so Julian and I headed upstairs to her room.
“What are you doing?” Julian asked.
I opened her closet door and walked in, gazing at the wall where she had neatly arranged her collection of footwear—flat shoes, flat boots, and tennis shoes perfectly aligned on the shelves.
“See, there isn’t one pair of heels in this closet.” I pulled out my phone and snapped some pictures. “The woman in that footage is not Georgina. And when the officers found the black Nike bag, the shoes weren’t there. So, whoever is pretending to be Georgina still has those shoes. We find those shoes, and we find the killer.”
“Care to explain how we find a woman based solely on the back of her head?”
“We’ll find her. I’m not worried.” I grinned and left the bedroom.