“Juan Lewis is a criminal. No doubt about it. He has been his whole life, and he was in the room when Judge Hardgrave died. It doesn’t matter now who pulled the trigger. Lewis deserves his time behind bars. And Lewis has already sold Miles out, which means both Lewis and Miles are behind bars right now. That’s a win in my books.”
The sound of the front office door opening catches their attention.
“Carlos is here.” Kate stands, and begins to exit his office.
“Send him in.” Bill smiles genuinely. “And Kate?”
“Yes, Bill?”
Their eyes connect.
His heart skips a beat.
Her breath catches in her throat.
“I—”
“My favorite people!” Carlos interrupts their moment.
Bill breaks the eye contact with his secretary and looks to his table. “Hello, Carlos.”
Walking into the office with the confidence of a man that has faced prison and walked away, Carlos López has a spring in his step that Bill hasn’t seen before.
Bill Harvey looks back to the door, but the slim figure of Kate Spencer has already disappeared.
“So what happens now?” Carlos smiles as he talks.
“You walk away a free man and live the rest of your life.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Wow. I didn’t think this was actually going to be an outcome. As we were going through that trial, I thought that I was definitely going to jump back over the border and go back to Mexico and live my life. I thought there was no doubt about it. I was done for sure. But somehow, you turned it around. The star hypnotherapist turned lawyer. You worked your magic, Mr. Harvey.”
“No magic involved.” Bill throws his hands up in the air. “Just a bit of luck.”
“It was more than luck.”
“I couldn’t have guessed that he was going to take the blame for the drugs. I didn’t see that coming, especially after he sold you out on the stand.”
Once Juan Lewis realized he was going to spend the rest of his life behind bars charged with the murder of Judge Hardgrave, he took the blame for the briefcase full of drugs.
It was his way of taking the fall for his cousin.
“He didn’t want to sell me out,” Carlos states. “They forced him too. The prosecution made him sell out Miles and blame the drug charges on me, or they would have thrown him in prison. He told me that they raided another house of his and found another briefcase. He struck a deal to escape those charges, but he didn’t expect to be taking on the blame for the murder.”
“You’re lucky that he did take the blame for the drugs.”
Carlos smiles. “My family.”
“He didn’t sound much like family when he tried to blame you while he was on the stand.”
“We all make mistakes. And most people make an effort to correct them. He made a mistake, and then he made the effort to correct it. I forgive him for that.” Carlos shrugs. “And in my line of work, most of the people that walk through our doors have made mistakes. They’re all drug takers that have seen the worst life has to give. You have to be able to forgive the people that make an effort to do better in life.”
“You’re a good man, Carlos.”
“I try.” Carlos shrugs. “Are you worried about Lewis and Miles coming after you?”
“The problem with guys like Lewis and Miles is that their ‘friends’ always disappear quickly when they’re thrown in prison. Nobody wants to be associated with a criminal – especially not one that’s convicted of murdering a judge. I wouldn’t be worried about Lewis’ high-powered friends. They’re as fickle as they come. They’ll have forgotten about him already. But his people on the street, they’re another thing.”
Carlos laughs. “Don’t be worried about those guys. Someone else has already stepped in to take Lewis’ spot. Someone else is already covering the operations. He’s already a forgotten man on the street too. Nobody on the street cares about him anymore.”
“That’s good to hear.” Bill takes a sip of his whiskey.
“So that’s it? Are we all done?”
“Not quite. You’ve been charged with contempt of court for lying about your whereabouts on the day of the raid, but due to your good work with the community, they’re only giving you a small fine. That notice will come in the mail, and I suggest that you pay the fine and forget about it. And considering you almost helped a man get away with murder, I think you’ve gotten off very lucky.”
“I’m sorry, Bill. If I knew what he was going to do that day, I never would have agreed to cover for him and be his false alibi. I had no idea that he was going to shoot the judge. I wouldn’t have let him go if I knew that was what he was going to do. He must have been angry that Michelle didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. And if Michelle got off the drugs, Lewis had no power over the judge. I guess all the power just got to his head. He thought he was untouchable.”
“The killer is no longer on the streets now, that’s what matters. Judge Hardgrave can now rest in peace. His daughter forgave him in the end, and in her will, she asked to be buried next to him.”
“And the money that she donated will go a long way. The rehab center survived on very little for so long, but even with the money, we’ll keep the same philosophy at the center. We’ll make sure that her donation will make a difference in people’s lives.”
“That’s wonderful, Carlos. It truly is. I hope that you make a difference in people’s lives. I hope that you get these people off the drugs.”
Carlos reaches into his jacket pocket. “I don’t have a lot of possessions, but as a symbol of my gratitude, I want to give you this photo of the people that you’ve helped. These are the people that have just graduated from our drug rehabilitation process. You’ve helped these people, Bill. This is my way of saying thanks from the people that you’ve saved. These are the people that get another chance because you kept me out of prison. This wasn’t about me. The win was for them.”
Despite feeling uncomfortable about receiving a photo of recovered drug addicts, Bill takes the photo from Carlos’ hands.
“Look at those people, Bill. Look at them. Those are the men and women that you’ve helped. Those are the lives that you’ve rescued.” Carlos stands from the chair. “Those are the people that are really thanking you.”
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
Bill draws a long, deep breath. “All these people in this photo – they’re all recovered drug addicts?”
“That’s right. These are the people that have graduated in the last group; the recovery group. All of these people have been clean for at least one year.”
Bill stares at the picture, long and hard, his head spinning.
“What is it, Bill?” Carlos leans forward as Bill stares at the picture.
“That man in the top left corner.”
“Yes? Do you know him?”
A smile drifts across Bill’s face. “Yes, Carlos, I do.”
“An old friend?”
“That man is more than a friend.” Bill Harvey’s eyes fill with tears. “Carlos, that man is my brother.”
End
Also in the Bill Harvey Legal Thriller Series:
Will of Justice
In the Tom Whiskey Private Investigator Series:
Whiskey Justice
The Max Harrison Series with Patrick Graham:
Criminal Justice
Defending the Innocent
The Paid Juror
Burning Justice
The Girl on the Road
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Redeeming Justice_A Legal Thriller Page 16