16. June #3
“Both of them will need good attorneys,” June continued, her voice as gentle as she could make it.
“Court-appointed counsel is available, but given the severity of the charges, I would strongly recommend they retain private representation. I can provide names if either of you would like. My firm has no conflict, but I can’t represent them myself given my personal involvement in the case. ”
“Do Victoria and Alfred need an attorney?” Tom asked immediately. “They’re still technically fugitives.”
“Yes, they do,” June confirmed. “The warrants against Victoria and Alfred will need to be formally withdrawn, and there will be fugitive charges that need to be negotiated down given the evidence of their innocence. I can represent them both. I’d like to, if they’ll have me.”
“Lucy,” Holt added quietly. “And Nigel. Both of them will need counsel too.”
“They will,” June agreed. “The obstruction and evidence tampering charges against them are serious, but they acted under documented duress. That’s a substantial defense.
With the right attorney and the right plea agreement, I think we can keep both of them out of prison entirely.
Community service. Restitution. Possibly suspended sentences. But they need a very careful attorney.”
“Can you do it?” Holt asked.
“For Lucy, yes. For Nigel, yes. I know both of them. I can do it.” June paused. “Alvin is a more complicated case. He’s a material witness, but given his dementia, his cooperation is limited. His testimony may be inadmissible, which means what he knew may never be fully entered into the record.”
“But he’s safe?” Barry asked. “Nigel won’t be in trouble for hiding him?”
“Nigel was protecting a vulnerable adult from direct, documented threats,” June replied. “That’s legally defensible. I’ll handle it.”
“Do Barry or I need attorneys, June?” Tom asked quietly.
“No.” June’s voice was firm. “Neither of you have done anything wrong. You’re both family members of suspects, which is not a crime. You’ll be asked to give statements. You may be called to testify. But you’re not under investigation and you don’t need to be represented.”
Tom let out a slow, shaky breath.
“Harvey?” Barry asked, his voice cracking.
“Harvey neither,” June confirmed gently. “He’s been a victim in all of this, Barry. Not a suspect.”
Harvey lifted his head from his hands. His eyes were wet.
“I want to see him,” Harvey said quietly. “I want to look him in the face and ask him why. I want to know why he let us grieve him for ten years. I want to know how he could have done that to my uncle, his father.”
“You’ll get the chance, Harvey,” Holt promised. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Barry reached across and took his nephew’s hand.
Neither of them said anything for a long moment.
A soft knock came at the office door. Margo’s voice called through. “Breakfast is ready when you are. There’s no rush, I’ll leave it in the warmer.”
“Thank you, Margo,” June called back.
They sat together for another few quiet minutes. Nobody spoke. Nobody needed to. Some things simply had to be allowed to settle.
Eventually Tom drew in a long breath and stood.
“Thank you, June,” Tom told her quietly. “For handling Victoria. For all of it.”
“Of course, Tom.” June reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Let’s go eat something,” Barry added. “Carmen will come in here and drag us out by the ears if we don’t.”
The atmosphere around the breakfast table was quieter than any breakfast June had ever attended, but it was not heavy in the way she had feared it would be.
People ate slowly. People spoke gently. Willa came to sit beside Barry and reached out and squeezed his hand without saying a word.
Harvey sat next to Rad and the two of them fell into quiet conversation about nothing in particular, which seemed to help Harvey more than anything else could have.
June stood at the counter and watched her family and her extended family gathered around the long dining table.
Holt stepped up beside her, saying quietly.
“June, about your house and everything you need to wrap up here.” He glanced at his son.
“Rad and I can stay another day or two.” His eyes met hers and instead of the familiar thump of her heart she’d usually get, June felt oddly numb.
“We can help you with the house. Get the insurance adjuster sorted. Help coordinate with the forensic team. Whatever you need.”
“I’ll stay too, Mom,” Willa said, having come up behind them. “Aunt Carmen and I can both stay as long as you need.”
“Of course we will,” Carmen added, appearing near them.
June looked at her daughter, then Holt, and then her sister.
She loved them all. She loved every single person in this kitchen.
Even the ones she had only started to love in the past forty-eight hours.
But June was still numb from what she had learned the night before about Trevor.
She was still trying to work out whether she believed Holt about Lillian.
She was still a little angry with Carmen for knowing about Trevor and the plane crash and not telling her years ago.
And she and Willa still had a long conversation waiting for them that neither of them was ready to have just yet.
This was something June needed to sort out on her own.
“Thank you,” June told them all, with a small, grateful smile. “I really do mean that. But I think this is something I need to handle myself.” She looked at Willa. “You all have things you need to sort out back in Sandpiper Shores. I’ll be fine here. I promise.”
“Mom—” Willa began.
“Willa, sweetheart.” June took her daughter’s hands.
“I’ll call you every day. I promise. And when I’ve got the house sorted, and when I’ve got my head sorted, I’ll come back to Sandpiper Shores and we’ll talk properly.
All of us will talk properly. But I need a little time to myself first. That’s all.
” She gave them a tight squeeze. “My life has just figuratively and literally blown up and I need a moment. I need some time.”
Willa searched her face for a long moment.
Then she nodded slowly and pulled her mother into a tight hug.
“Okay, Mom,” Willa whispered against her shoulder. “Okay. But if you need me just call and I’ll be here as soon as I can.”
June held her daughter as tightly as she was able.
She lifted her eyes and saw Holt watching them both with an expression June chose not to look at too closely just yet.
She would come back to that. She would come back to all of it.
But not today.