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“Ms Dane?”
Morgan paused and pivoted She recognized thetoward her A reporter with a local cable channel A dozen strides behind him, a cameraman followed She put on her sincere face Nick needed someone to be his spokesperson
The reporter stopped, straightened the lapels of his suit, and waited for the caht illuan “Is it true that you will be representing theTessa Palmer?”
“I aan chose hers carefully She would always use Nick’s name or refer to him as her client The press and the prosecutor would call Nick the defendant or the accused to cast guilt on hian would strive to make Nick appear as a victiht in circuan’s job toto Nick could happen to any one of them
“You used to be a prosecutor How does it feel to be trying to free a suspect rather than put one away?” He thrust the microphone back
The press had already done Nick a huge disservice with their sensational, clickbait headlines Unfortunately, the first station to report neon, and success had nothing to do with accuracy But Morgan couldn’t afford to ruffle any media feathers
“I have no comment at this time other than to say thatit” She lifted her chin and shot the camera a sincere and confident look
“What about Tessa Palmer?”
Morgan softened her expression When her eyes filled, she didn’t bother to hide it “What happened to Tessa was terrible and tragic She was a kind and intelligent young woht future ahead of her No one should ever have to suffer as she did” Morgan wouldn’t shy away fro with the victim “But the horrific nature of the criuilt ora premature arrest”
She turned from the reporter to the camera “I will prove that Nick is innocent, but I also want to see Tessa’s real killer caught My client didn’t coan paused, giving the ca as Nick is unjustly held behind bars, the real murderer is still out there”
She left the press with that final sound bite and went inside
Five minutes later, she faced the DA across his desk “I felt I owed you the withdrawal of my application in person”
“Thank you for that” Bryce gestured to one of the chairs facing his wide desk “I can’t say I’m not disappointed”
“I’e of her seat
But under Bryce’s quiet facade, anger si her decision well “I can’t believe you’d throay a great job for a hopeless case Nick Zabrowski is guilty as sin”
Morgan didn’t comment What was the point? She hadn’t even reviewed the evidence yet Bryce wasn’t going to offer much of a plea, not on a irl next door She was brutalized and killed right in her own community Tessa represented innocence spoiled Her murder pulled at the ehbor What did people fear hters?
Nothing
Bryce rested his forearms on the desk The French cuffs of his white shirt poked out of his jacket sleeves His cufflinks were sterling-and-onyx discs, classic and understated “Let’s talk about your client pleading guilty and saving the tax payers time and money”
“Talk away,” Morgan said “As I haven’t received or reviewed all the evidence at this time, the discussion will have to be one-sided”
“Before she was stabbed nine times, Tessa Palmer was sexually assaulted DNA from the semen matches your client’s Blood scraped from under the victim’s thumbnail also matches your client’s DNA This is all noted on the affidavit, in case you were thinking about challenging the probable cause for the search warrant”