Delayed Justice

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Delayed JusticeBy Cara Putman Thomas NelsonCopyright © 2018 Cara PutmanAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-7852-1791-6CHAPTER 1TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2The October air held the bite of fall as Jaime pushed out a breath and entered the domain of the enemy. The Commonwealth's Attorney offices in Arlington were located in a tall stone building near the courthouse Metro station just minutes down the road and across the Potomac from Washington, DC.She'd spent time on the opposing side of each attorney in the Commonwealth's office. Would the person assigned to her for this conversation see her as the enemy as well? Or would the attorney be willing to dig deeper into the heart of Jaime's conflict?She didn't know, and that had her moving with hesitant steps.This appointment was her birthday present to herself. Rolling back two decades wouldn't be easy, but it was time. She crossed the lobby and rode the elevator to the Commonwealth's Attorney's offices. Unlike the public defender's office where Jaime worked, the walls here weren't painted an industrial beige, but a calming robin's egg blue. There was real carpet on the floor rather than cheap stick-down carpet squares, and the chairs for those waiting for an audience with the attorneys weren't seventies relics with duct tape holding cracked vinyl together.How very different the resources were on the two sides of the criminal process. It was hard not to feel bitter. The only thing the public defender's office had going for it was the dedication of the men and women who practiced there, serving those who needed an advocate.Now Jaime was on the other side, about to beg a prosecutor to believe in her enough to take a huge risk and launch an investigation that reached twenty years into the past.No small task.After giving her name to the receptionist, Jaime settled on the faux leather chair and glanced around, taking in the photographic images of courthouses located around northern Virginia and Washington. Jaime had litigated inside many of them. It was hard to think of herself as accessing one of those courts in the role of victim instead of the avenging defender. Her voice was her power, and now she had to trust someone else to take on that responsibility for her.A short, thin man with a five-o'clock shadow on his jaw came into the waiting area and, after a quiet word with the receptionist, strode toward her. Mitch McDermott? They'd been opposing counsel in at least half a dozen low-level felony trials. If she'd known she'd have to talk to him first, she wouldn't have come."Hello, Jaime." He stuck out his hand and shook hers firmly. "Good to see you. Let's go to a conference room."Jaime eased to her feet, a wave of confusion flooding her as she prepared to follow the man she'd battled one month earlier. "Did the receptionist tell you why I'm here?""To join the right side?" When she didn't laugh at his weak joke, he nodded toward the door. "Let's head where we can talk.""Okay." This was even more uncomfortable than she'd imagined.She followed him through the door and down a hallway to a closet-sized room with a table and handful of chairs. This nonpublic part of the office looked more run-down and familiar.He held the door for her, then followed her inside, where he gestured to a chair. "Let's sit, and you can explain what you're doing here.""I really would feel more comfortable talking with one of your female attorneys. Maybe Adrienne Ross?" Ross was a bulldog on cases like this, and the kind of prosecutor Jaime wanted in her corner.Mitch gave her a rueful smile. "You know how the system works. I'm afraid you get me." He studied her closely, just to the point of awkward, and said, "Why don't you go ahead?"This was not the way Jaime had imagined the scene, but what choice did she have? She sank into the chair and felt the rough fabric prick her legs through her navy slacks. She set her bag in her lap and pulled out a ba