ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟠 #3
Maybe..just maybe...
Maybe I could actually relax.
One day without thinking about case files wouldn't kill me.
Right?
My tablet was still sitting untouched inside the beach bag. I hadn't looked at it in almost two hours.
That had to be some kind of personal record.
I was almost proud of myself.
My phone buzzed against the side table beside my chair. I ignored it.
Another buzz came through
Probably spam.
A third, then a fourth.
I sighed. Somewhere deep inside me, the lawyer part of my brain had already sat upright.
The screen lit up as I pulled out my phone.
Of course.
I glanced instinctively toward the water. Cam was laughing with another surfer, completely unaware.
Good.
I answered quietly. "Judge Johnson?"
"Dixie." His voice was urgent.
"I've been trying to reach you."
I leaned forward slightly.
"I'm sorry."
"I've been away from my phone."
"I noticed."
Something in his tone made the smile slowly disappear from my face.
"Is everything alright?" I spoke quietly.
"No. I've got more."
My stomach tightened. "More?"
"Regarding Justin Deyes."
The beach suddenly felt much louder. Everything rushed back into focus.
"I thought we'd gone through everything."
"So did I."
"But I was wrong."
I looked toward the water again. Cameron had caught another wave.
He looked quite happy. Completely unaware I was on a call about work.
"Dixie?"
"I'm here."
"I've uncovered additional material. Evidence, if you want to get technical."
That single word was enough to make my pulse quicken.
"I've been trying to call you since yesterday."
"I've been traveling." I
"Where are you?"
I hesitated. "...California."
"California?"
"For a wedding."
"You're serious?"
"I know, I didn't exactly plan for a wrongful conviction to become inconvenient."
Despite myself, I smiled. "You sound disappointed."
"I am."
He sighed. "I really wish you weren't two thousand miles away."
He then lowered his voice. "This is important."
"How important?" My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Dixie..."
His voice became even quieter. "I think we're looking at something much bigger than inconsistent witness statements."
The smile disappeared completely. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." He exhaled. "...go somewhere you can write."
Automatically, my eyes searched for Cameron again. He'd paddled even farther from shore now. He was tiny against the horizon, still surfing.
I closed my eyes for a second.
"I'm..."
I looked around.
"I'm at the beach."
"So?"
I suddenly got fed up. "Well, do you carry around legal pads at the beach? Because I certainly don't."
"You've always got something."
Normally, I did. But today I had nothing. Not even my tablet. I'd intentionally left it inside the beach bag.
"I really can't right now."
"Dixie."
"I'm serious, I don't have anything."
"But you remember."
"I won't."
"You always do."
"I really won't."
"I promised my husband I'd actually take a vacation." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Judge Johnson was quiet for a long moment.
He finally spoke. "I understand."
"You do?" I wasn't expecting that.
"I do. But I also understand that if I'm right, this could change everything."
I swallowed. The ocean suddenly didn't seem nearly as peaceful anymore.
"Yeah...yeah, I know."
"I'll text you everything."
"I'll read it."
"When?"
I looked toward Cameron one more time.
He'd finally come back toward shore, carrying the board beneath one arm while another little kid excitedly followed beside him asking what looked like a hundred questions.
He laughed at something the boy said, then ruffled the kid's hair.
My chest tightened. "I don't know."
"Dixie."
"I'll read it tonight."
"Promise?"
I hesitated, then nodded, even though he couldn't see me.
"I promise."
"Alright. I'll send every document I have. Make sure to read and go through them carefully."
"Oh, and Dixie?"
"Yes?"
"Don't ignore this one."
The line went dead. I stared at the phone for several seconds, then slowly lowered it.
A notification appeared almost immediately.
Then another came through.
I let out the smallest sigh.
Vacation. Right.
I slipped the phone face-down onto the little table beside my drink before looking back toward the water.
Cameron finally looked up. Even from this distance, he smiled the second he spotted me, then lifted one hand and waved.
I smiled back automatically. He turned back.
For some weird reason, I wanted to get up from my seat. Just do something with my body. I should do something with my body if I'm going to be hunched over a bunch of documents later.
I grabbed the surfing board Cameron had rented.
Then walked over to the shore, where Cameron was saying goodbye to the little boy. Once he saw me, he smiled ear to ear.
"Hey, what's up?"
I hesitate before leaning on my board. "Mind teaching me again?"
He couldn't possibly know that, in the span of one phone call, California had suddenly become a lot farther away from the courtroom than my mind already was.
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