Nothing But the Truth. Kara Lennox

we have to stop them.”

      “We?” She looked at him as if he was crazy. “There’s no ‘we’ here. I believe our business has concluded for now.”

      “Raleigh, maybe you don’t realize the seriousness of what’s going on here. You could be in danger.”

      “Please.”

      Griffin sat up straighter. If she was telling the truth, this could be an even better story than he first thought. Someone was going to a great deal of trouble to ruin Raleigh Shinn and, by inference, the whole of Project Justice. Why?

      He took out his notebook. “Who are your enemies? Whose bad side have you gotten on lately? Who might want to hurt you?”

      “Oh, no. You’re not turning this into another story.”

      “We could help each other,” he pointed out. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. I can figure out who’s doing this and stop them before he or she does permanent harm to your career.”

      “I don’t partner with journalists.”

      “You don’t understand. I’m being considered for a national TV job. A hot story like this would help me land it. And I could give Project Justice some positive press.”

      “Talk to our public relations coordinator, then.”

      But he could see the indecision playing on her face. She knew he could slice and dice her in the press, or make her look like Joan of Arc.

      “If you’re really innocent of any wrongdoing, your cooperation could—”

      “No,” she said suddenly. “I want you to leave. We’re done.”

      That’s where Raleigh was wrong. She didn’t know it yet, but things between them were just getting started.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      BETH STUCK her head into Raleigh’s office. “You up for lunch?”

      Raleigh was tempted. But she looked at the huge stack of paper on her desk that was the transcript from the original Simonetti trial, and shook her head. She’d been reading the transcript for hours, and had many hours to go. The original trial had lasted a ridiculous six weeks.

      “I can’t. Too much work.”

      Beth stepped inside. “Daniel wouldn’t approve. You know how important it is to rest and refuel.”

      Raleigh pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Beth was right. But work seemed to be the only way she could keep Griffin Benedict off her mind. It was like the guy had planted a seed in her brain, where it had firmly taken root.

      You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

      She had emailed him all the names of the people she’d talked to at her bank, and she had given the bank permission to discuss the matter of the mystery deposit with Griffin. And she’d finally gotten into her cell phone provider’s website and emailed a copy of the phone bill in question. She assumed she wouldn’t hear from him again, a thought that should have pleased her.

      “Maybe lunch is a good idea.” Beth would no doubt have some distracting story to tell during lunch. She was one of those people to whom strange things always happened.

      “Did someone say lunch?” Mitch Delacroix slipped through the open office door behind Beth.

      Great. Now Raleigh’s office was Grand Central Station.

      “I’m trying to drag Raleigh’s nose away from the grindstone,” Beth said. “Want to come with us?”

      Mitch looked undecided then abruptly shook his head. “Can’t. Meeting. I just stopped by to give you this, Raleigh.” He held out a bulging manila folder.

      Raleigh couldn’t remember asking Mitch for research with any of her cases. She must have looked at him blankly.

      “Griffin Benedict?”

      “Ohhh.” She slapped a hand to her forehead. “Mitch, I’m so sorry to have put you to a lot of trouble for nothing. I don’t believe Griffin Benedict will bother me again.”

      Mitch shrugged. “It’s okay. Digging up dirt on people is fun for me, you know that, and I didn’t have anything else urgent—or half as interesting. Glad you worked it out, though.”

      He handed Raleigh the folder. “Enjoy it. Then shred the contents, okay? A few bits and pieces in there aren’t, ah, fully in the public domain.”

      Meaning he’d done some hacking. On her behalf. Raleigh felt guilty as hell.

      She set the folder on her desk, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “Does Lancer Steak-house sound okay to you? They have good lunch specials.”

      “Wait!” Beth’s single word stuck her to the floor.

      “What?”

      “Aren’t you going to look inside the folder?”

      “No way,” Raleigh said. “I no longer need information on the man. It wouldn’t be ethical for me to snoop—”

      “Ethical, shmethical. This will make excellent lunch entertainment.” Beth grabbed the folder. “Let’s go.”

      “I don’t think we should read the information on Griffin,” Raleigh said again a couple of minutes later as she signed out. Celeste seemed to be heavily involved in a Danielle Steele novel.

      “But aren’t you curious?”

      “Curiosity killed the cat.”

      Celeste gave a disapproving harrumph, reminding Raleigh that even when she seemed not to be paying attention, she was. Celeste was a little sharper than most people gave her credit for.

      “Look, Beth,” Raleigh said once they’d exited the building into a gloomy, overcast day. “I think I’ve convinced Griffin of my innocence. He’s not going to print any lies about me. End of threat, as far as I’m concerned.”

      “But you don’t know what he’s really planning to write. Even if he told you he believed you—reporters can say anything. You should be ready. Just in case. Knowledge is power.”

      “And you’re grasping at straws because you’re nosy. I had a hard enough time ejecting him from my apartment yesterday—”

      Beth gasped. “He was in your apartment?”

      Raleigh’s face warmed as she imagined what Beth was thinking. “I brought him there to show him evidence that would exonerate me. He seemed convinced. He even warned me that I might be in danger.”

      Again, Beth gasped. “Maybe you are!”

      Raleigh waved away her concern. “People who commit crimes with paper and computers seldom turned to guns, knives or bombs. He was just trying to manipulate my feelings, so I would agree to…” Agree to what? She wasn’t sure.

      “Anyway,” she concluded, “I’m done with him.”

      “Well,” said Beth, “if you won’t look at the folder, that’s your business. But I’m going to check it out.”

      Raleigh knew she wouldn’t dissuade her friend, so she didn’t argue further. In truth, she was curious about the contents of that folder.

      Getting Griffin to leave her apartment hadn’t been easy, but evicting him from her mind was proving impossible. She kept seeing him as he’d looked, large and masculine and utterly out of place in her feminine living room. Her stomach swooped every time that image jumped into her consciousness.

      His presence had felt exciting and dangerous, representing everything she tried to avoid in her life. Part of her had wanted to grab a broom and sweep him out into the hallway; another part had almost invited him to have dinner with her. She loved to cook, yet how long had it been since she’d done more than toss a frozen dinner into