Over Before She Loved Me novel · Chapter 17 of 24

Chapter 17: Played in Open Court

"Get out," Dustin said.

Barrett stayed where he was.

"Five minutes. Then I'll leave, and you can call the guards again."

"You forged a flight. You read her chart. You swore a statement against her last week."

"Yes."

"And you brought flowers."

"They aren't for her." Barrett laid the lilies on an empty chair as if they were evidence. "They're for the nurse. I have a ruling to answer for, and she was kind to me once."

Dustin stood up.

He was taller than Barrett by two inches and meant every one of them.

"Say what you came to say."

Barrett took a phone from his coat and held it out.

"Dolores called me Tuesday night. After the board threw me out."

"I don't care."

"She wanted my statement for Friday. She told me exactly what to put in it. That Joelle was unstable, that she hid the baby to keep your money, that you'd be easy to lead by the nose." He swallowed. "I recorded the call."

Dustin did not take the phone.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a lawyer. I record everything." Barrett's mouth twisted. "And because I heard her say the word purchase again, about a woman I loved, and I understood what I'd been working for."

"You did that to her yourself."

"I know I did."

"You sat in her kitchen and showed her a fake ticket."

"I know." Barrett's voice cracked. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, Dustin. I'm telling you where the recording is. Friday at ten."

He put the phone in Dustin's hand and walked away down the corridor without looking back.

The courtroom on Friday morning was small, with a low bench and six rows of wooden seats.

Joelle came in on Dustin's arm, slowly, in a loose gray dress, with Maureen at her other side carrying a pillow.

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