Straight from the Heart. Linda Warren

driven Lucas away. Her father wasn’t going to forgive her so easily for that.

      She sighed; she’d call Lucas later today and try to make amends. It didn’t matter to her if he worked for Logan and Associates. She wasn’t sure why it had bothered her so much last night. Well, actually, she did know. So many things had happened yesterday, and Lucas had been the final straw, so to speak. Today her head was clear, so she could deal with Raye, Lucas and anything else.

      There was a tap at the door and April poked her head around. “Evan wants to see you immediately.”

      “I’ll be right there,” Blair responded, figuring that now she’d find out what was going on.

      When she made her way to Evan’s office, she discovered that the room was full—every A.D.A. seemed to be present and Blair knew that something important was taking place.

      “Ah, Blair,” Evan said when he saw her. “Come in.”

      She smiled at the other A.D.A.s, but everyone avoided looking at her. Evan nodded and they filed out of the room.

      “Have a seat,” Evan invited.

      Blair sat down and glanced at the door. “Why’s everyone so…tense?”

      “How are you?” he asked, ignoring her question.

      She knew he must be talking about the message on her windshield. “I’m okay. They’re still checking out my car.”

      “I’ll see that Roger stays on it. I won’t have my A.D.A.s threatened.”

      “Thanks, Evan.”

      There was a moment’s silence, then Evan asked, “Have you spoken to your father this morning?”

      Blair gave him a puzzled look. “No. Why?”

      Evan folded his hands across his desk. “I’ve got something to tell you and I’m not sure how to start.”

      Blair laughed slightly. “That’s not true. You always know what you’re going to say before you say it.”

      “This is a rather delicate situation.”

      That made Blair nervous. This “delicate” situation obviously involved her father. She had no idea what it could possibly be, so she waited, knowing Evan would find the words eventually.

      “There’s been a second arrest in the Bonnie Davis murder.”

      Blair watched Evan closely, unable to see exactly how her father was affected by this. Since he’d been Easton’s attorney, he shouldn’t have any dispute with a second arrest.

      “That’s great,” she offered. “But I’m not sure how this concerns my father.”

      Evan shook his head. “You don’t have an inkling, do you, Blair?”

      “No,” she replied tartly, tired of Evan’s cat and mouse game. “So tell me.”

      “The private investigator the Davises hired did a very thorough job—better than the police ever managed. He found witnesses who’d seen the suspect with Easton and Davis. He found another witness who saw the suspect get into the car with Easton and Davis. And he got DNA evidence from the suspect that matches the skin under Bonnie’s fingernails.”

      “Wow. Sounds like you’re not going to have a problem convicting this guy.”

      “No, I don’t think so.”

      Suddenly Blair felt a glimmer of excitement. There was a reason Evan was telling her all this. A reason he’d spoken to the other A.D.A.s before her. And that reason was probably why they seemed uncomfortable around her. Everyone wanted this high-profile case. She decided to get straight to the point. “Evan, have you decided to let me handle the case?”

      She sat forward, on the edge of her seat, as she waited for his answer.

      “No, Blair, you won’t be handling this case.”

      She took a deep breath. “Well, then I don’t understand what’s going on.”

      “We made two arrests this morning.”

      “Two?” she echoed.

      Evan’s green eyes caught hers. “Sam Logan and Blake Logan.”

      Blair put a hand to her head in confusion. “I—I thought you said Sam Logan and Blake Logan.”

      “I did,” came the chilling words.

      She felt the color drain from her face. “What—what did you arrest them for?”

      “I don’t think you’re following me.”

      “I guess not,” she muttered, “because I’m completely lost.”

      “We arrested Blake for the rape and murder of Bonnie Davis and we arrested Sam for obstructing justice, withholding evidence and probably a lot of other things we haven’t thought of yet.”

      A tortured sound escaped Blair and the world spun away, leaving her suspended, alone and afraid. For a moment she was consumed by the horror of it all, but her mind quickly rejected what Evan was saying.

      “No,” she moaned. “That’s not true.”

      There had to be a mistake.

      “I’m afraid it is.”

      “No, it isn’t,” she said again, refusing to even contemplate such a thing.

      “The evidence doesn’t lie. Haven’t you always believed that?”

      “Yes,” she answered quietly.

      But there had to be a mistake.

      “The skin under Bonnie’s nails matches Blake’s DNA, and we have proof that Sam knew of his son’s involvement all along. He paid Easton to keep quiet—that’s why Easton never identified the other boy. Sam figured he’d get Easton off and both boys would be free and clear, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

      For a moment nothing registered in her mind except the cream walls and the pictures of Evan’s children hanging there. Two girls and a boy—laughing, happy. Then everything started to spin. Evan’s concerned face, the pictures, the walls, they all spun around and around in her head until the truth exploded through the confusion with searing pain.

      Blair still refused to accept it. “There has to be a mistake.”

      “No mistakes.” Evan paused. “I’m just sorry Sam didn’t tell you before this broke.”

      “Dad knew?” she whispered, the pain barely allowing her to speak.

      Evan nodded. “Yeah, someone let something slip and Sam got wind of what was about to happen.”

      Blair remembered the conversation she’d had with Evan yesterday. “You thought it was me,” she murmured.

      “I didn’t know if you’d heard Carl or one of the others talking.”

      “Everyone knows?”

      “Just about, and in a way, I have to admire Sam for not telling you. It would’ve been highly unethical, considering your job. But Sam was getting all his affairs in order. He even tried to hire Lucas Culver, but Culver turned him down.”

      Lucas? Lucas? Lucas?

      So many things suddenly became clear in her throbbing head. Her father’s job offer. Lucas being invited to dinner. OhmyGod, what had she done? She’d been thinking about herself while her family was falling apart. OhmyGod, what had she done?

      She swallowed and gathered the remnants of her sanity. “My brother did not rape or murder Bonnie Davis. I know him. He isn’t capable of a crime like that. And my father would never withhold evidence. He’s a tough lawyer, but he has ethics.”

      “Well…” Evan inclined his head. “We’ll see what a jury thinks.”