In Safe Keeping (15 page)

Sick in the guts, his mind in turmoil, Evan stared at the picture. Surely George couldn’t be involved in this? Not the man who’d singlehandedly kept him out of foster homes and probably juvenile detention as well. It didn’t make sense. If George wanted someone stopped, the obvious person was Scarlett. Stopping Laila would only prove a temporary measure, until Scarlett found another lawyer.

And yet, he couldn’t help remembering Duncan’s slip about the standover merchant they’d hired to recover money. He wasn’t supposed to know about it, but he did.

What other Peyton secrets didn’t he know?

As much as his mind rebelled against the possibility, Evan feared that something Laila saw as her big break could be bringing her grief. And if that were true, then he was responsible.

And powerless to do anything about it.

The Peytons were his clients. He was bound by client attorney privilege to keep both oral and written communications confidential. He couldn’t divulge what was said to
anyone
, including this Detective Inspector Cross.

Not even to protect Laila.

Evan reined in his frustration. The only thing he could do was take her somewhere safe while he carried out some investigations of his own.

Realising the other two were looking at him, Evan put the obvious question to Dickson Cross. ‘Why would a professional crim be after Laila?’

Dickson and Laila exchanged glances, but it was the detective who answered. ‘Laila might be able to shed some light on that.’

Surprised at the detective’s answer, Evan turned and studied her face. The colour had returned to her cheeks, but her lips were pulled into a straight line and she looked far from pleased.

Evan frowned. If she had information that would ease his mind about the Peytons, he needed to hear it. It was tearing up his insides, imagining his adopted family could be capable of such evil — purely because a development was at stake.

7.45 p.m. Friday

‘Would you excuse us, detective?’ Laila asked, her eyes on Evan’s mystified face.

Dickson raised two hands in the air. ‘Alright, alright, I know you can’t say anything because of your client attorney privilege.’

Laila nodded. ‘That’s right. I can discuss the case with another lawyer though, providing there’s no conflict of interest. If Evan doesn’t act for the military, I’m free to seek his advice.’

‘I’ll remove myself then.’ Looking a little put out, Dickson stood and shoved his notepad in his shirt pocket. ‘I’ll go ring the boys, see if they’ve uncovered anything at the park.’

Evan shot the detective a grateful look. ‘Thanks Cross.’

Muttering something like ‘bloody lawyers’, the detective left the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed.

Laila jumped, nerves still on edge as Evan’s expression changed to one of disbelief. ‘The
military
?’

‘Yes.’

He raised both hands. ‘There’s no conflict of interest on this one. Poole Greenwood doesn’t act for the military.’

‘Good.’ Laila breathed a sigh of relief. ‘So long as we don’t discuss the Peyton case, we’re okay, right?’

‘Right. As far as I’m concerned, the Peytons are the only no-go area.’ He gave her the kind of searing look that had her thinking about something else entirely.

‘I think I need to move a bit.’ Without waiting for an answer, Laila stood. The muscles in her shoulders and legs were beginning to hurt, and a dull ache was already throbbing behind her eyes.

‘Do whatever makes you comfortable.’

‘You know my husband was killed while on a training exercise, when a Blackhawk went down?’ she began, nervous at the prospect of discussing her husband with her lover — her
ex-lover
.

He nodded. ‘That’s not the kind of thing I’d forget.’

Laila steadied herself. She’d only spoken the words aloud once before, to her parents. ‘Will was the pilot. There was an enquiry into the crash. The official finding was “pilot error”. Will was responsible for the deaths of nine men and another eight who were catastrophically injured. Mike was among them.’

Evan didn’t move, but the compassion in his eyes brought a lump to Laila’s throat. She’d bottled everything up for so long, now she feared it would all come tumbling out in a torrent of emotion.

Four long years.

Strange, but it felt like Will had been gone longer now.

‘Do you think the verdict could be behind the attack?’ Evan asked.

‘Oh —
no
.’ Laila blinked away the hot tears that stung her eyes. ‘Understandably, the families are bitter, but I doubt any of them would try and extract revenge on
me
, especially now. I was one of them. I lived on the base for years.’

Evan leaned forward, brows drawn together in a frown. ‘Why especially now?’

She moistened her lips and took a deep breath. ‘Months before the accident, Will told me there was a fault with the panoramic night-vision goggles. They were interfering with his depth perception. It totally freaked him out.’

‘Did he report it?’

Laila nodded. ‘The commanders dismissed it. It left him angry and frustrated, but in the end he had no choice but to accept their decision.’

Laila faltered, raised a hand to her forehead as a wave of dizziness came over her.

‘Laila.’ Evan stood and came towards her — tall, dark, reassuring. ‘You have to speak to someone. If you can’t speak to me, then…’

‘No, I
can
.’ Oh god! She wanted to tell him more than anyone.

He took hold of her shoulders, hands warm and comforting. ‘Just take your time. I’ll give you my honest opinion.’

She started again. ‘Will’s report was brought up in the crash enquiry. But they twisted it, made it sound like he wasn’t performing well at his job. They suggested he became disoriented. I guess it was convenient to return a finding of pilot error.’

‘Are you sure he didn’t have a physical problem, or that something else might have caused the accident?’ Evan asked.

‘At first I accepted their finding, along with everyone else. Then a while ago, another pilot contacted me — anonymously. Two more had experienced problems with the night vision. There have been many close calls, one only recently.’

Evan’s eyebrows shot up, and a different kind of respect shone in his eyes, as if she’d surprised him.

‘You’ve been talking to an informant?”

Laila nodded. ‘In the art gallery.’

‘The art gallery?’ An amused expression crossed his face. ‘Why not a seedy alleyway, or an abandoned warehouse?’

Laila gazed into his handsome face, and smiled a little. His teasing, his ability to add a light touch to the most dire of situations, reassured and calmed her, making her feel like he could handle anything.

Dickson’s voice drifted in from the veranda. Any minute now he’d be back to take her to the station.

Laila moistened her lips and went on. ‘The problem with the night vision hasn’t been isolated. There could be multiple factors involved, or it could be a gap in their training. Regardless of the cause, one thing’s for sure. More soldiers will die if something isn’t done.’

She quickly explained about the pilots’ fear of reprisals if they came forward.

Evan listened intently as she explained the class action she was handling, and how her filing cabinets had been tampered with.

‘So, you’ve had a break-in.’ Evan ticked the points off with his fingers. ‘Plus a fire in your building and now an attack on your person.’

Laila nodded. ‘And someone could have been in this house, but we’re not sure. Dickson’s checking the phones at the office first. I’ve had a problem with both landlines. Individually, they wouldn’t have raised a red flag, but in the space of a week…’

‘You think they’re connected to this case.’

Laila let go of a breath, relieved to have shared her concerns with someone other than Mike. ‘They could be.’

‘Are we talking a military cover-up here?’

She nodded again. ‘If the real cause of the crash has been covered up, heads will roll.’

‘
Jesus
.’ Evan wandered around the room as if checking out the soft furnishings, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Where are you at with the case?’

Laila thought of Trudy. She’d been hoping for a phone call saying Eddie had been through the document. ‘Hopefully I’ll file it Monday. I’m waiting on one more thing.’

‘You haven’t filed it yet?’ He swung around. ‘What’s the hold-up?’

Laila bristled. ‘I have a slight issue with money, Evan. That’s why I was so thrilled to get the Peyton case. I need the costs it will bring in to fund an investigation. I can’t go into this underprepared. If we lose, my clients will be slugged with the military’s legal costs. I can’t risk that. I have to be as certain of the facts as I can be.’

‘Okay, don’t get defensive. I have a few concerns though.’

She watched as long fingers worked at the knot in his tie. ‘Are you speaking as a lawyer, or as my…friend?’

‘Both.’ He lifted his chin and undid the top button of his shirt. ‘And you and I know there’s a lot more going on here than
friends
.’

Before she had time to react, he went on. ‘My experience with the military is limited, and hardly positive. Still, I find it difficult to believe they’re capable of sabotaging your office and potentially silencing you. Do you believe that?’

Laila hesitated. ‘Honestly, I don’t know.’

‘Then my advice would be to lodge the class action immediately. Once the documents are served on the military, they can’t touch you. Anything happens to you, and they’re the number one suspect.’

He had a point. The military would go into defence mode. With luck, they’d ground the fleet and launch another investigation, hoping the court would look upon their actions favourably. They’d want to be seen to be doing everything within their power to address the problem.

‘I agree, but the money…’

Evan closed his eyes for a beat. ‘Just forget about the money for a minute, will you?’

‘Okay.’

‘I agree that the best way to question them is in a court of law. However, I don’t think it’s wise taking on a case when you’re one of the plaintiffs. I know it’s allowed, but it’s generally not recommended.’

‘I’m not a plaintiff. I only want the verdict overturned, and Will’s name cleared. And proper compensation for the wives and widows, of course.’

‘You’re one of the widows.’

Laila went on as if she hadn’t heard him. ‘Their payout from the military was an absolute pittance, Evan. They deserve more for their pain and suffering. The men who survived — they’ll never be the same. And the wives need help…’

‘Don’t evade the question Laila. You’ve had pain, you’ve suffered.’ Evan zeroed in on her as if questioning a witness. ‘Will lost his life. They
hung
this on him. You lost your husband. You’re as entitled to compensation as anyone else.’

‘I know that.’ How had he managed to get so close to the heart of the matter so quickly? ‘I’m not interested in the money.’

His eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’

Laila shook her head. ‘I don’t need it.’

‘You just said you did. You’re fighting for reasonable compensation for others, and yet you refuse it yourself. Why?’

She didn’t have a legal answer to that. ‘Why does it matter? I told you this because I wanted your advice. As a sole practitioner, I don’t have a partner I can run these things by.’

He lowered his voice a tone. ‘You don’t like the question.’

Laila clenched her hands at her sides and said nothing.

‘
Why
Laila? I’m trying to understand why you are not a plaintiff in the action?’

‘Because I don’t deserve it.’ The words were out before she could stop them.

He blinked, but he didn’t say anything, just waited for her to go on.

‘I was spared, Evan. My friend, Trudy…her husband, Eddie, is a shell of his former self. It’s the only way you can describe him. He’s totally dependent on her. Some nights, I dream Will survived. I see him, like Eddie, living every day wishing he was dead. When I wake up, the relief that he didn’t have to endure that — it makes me feel like a horrible person…’

He came closer, and she breathed him in, his scent fresh and clean, like an ocean breeze.

Laila stepped back. She’d been crawling around in blood and bone, or whatever fertilizer had been used in the park.

‘You’re not a horrible person.’ He reached out and rubbed the pad of his thumb across her cheek like he was wiping away a smudge of dirt. ‘None of us want to see a loved one suffer, and you knew him better than anyone. You know he would have hated living that way.’

This was the understanding and support she’d never had from her parents. Coming from Evan, it gave her the courage to go on.

‘I’m thankful he doesn’t know the blame they’ve laid at his feet. I intend to fix this, Evan. I will not allow his memory to be tarnished — not if something else was the cause of that accident.’

For the briefest moment Laila saw hurt in Evan’s grey eyes, and then just as quickly, it was gone. ‘You’re right. He doesn’t deserve it, and neither do his family.’

His gaze shifted to the photograph on the mantelpiece. ‘I think Will would be very proud of his wife right now.’

A lump rose in Laila’s throat. She loved this tall, dark, handsome man standing in front of her, just as she still loved her husband.

It was that simple, and that complicated.

‘You’ve done a massive amount of work on this. Maybe it’s got to a stage where you need some help. Let me talk to a few people. We have extensive connections at Poole Greenwood.’

Laila hesitated. The earliest she could lodge the class action was Monday. What harm would it do for Evan to make a few enquiries over the weekend? It would be silly to refuse his help because of a misplaced sense of pride.

She nodded. ‘Okay.’

Right then Dickson tapped on the door. ‘If you guys are finished, I’d like to take Laila down to the station.’

Laila glanced at Evan. ‘I think we’re just about done.’

‘Anything show up at the park?’ Evan asked.

‘No sign of anyone. The boys will be there for a while yet.’ He pointed an index finger at Evan. ‘Are you staying over? If not, I was going to suggest she stay at a friend’s place tonight.’