“Holmes was a repeat offender who hadn’t been caught,” she said, recalling more details of the case. “The Legard case ended up connecting him to several others.”
“Exactly.” Jack stood and walked back to the coffee pot. He refilled his cup. “Mr. Holmes has allegedly found Jesus and decided to confess the whole truth about what he claims actually happened.” Jack leaned against the counter. “He insists his other victims deserved what they got, but not Legard.”
“His decision to murder Legard and steal his car was outside his usual MO.” Finley recognized the dissimilarity. Legard’s murder had been a random act of violence, according to the statements Holmes had made at trial.
“That particular murder is supposedly weighing on his conscience.”
“Since he found Jesus,” Finley suggested.
Jack nodded. “In fact, he now claims he didn’t murder Legard. He only cleaned up the mess for his girlfriend—the man’s daughter.”
Now there was a hell of a one-eighty. Parricide was one of those things people didn’t like to think about, but it happened. “Too late for any sort of appeal,” Finley noted. “Does he have evidence to support this new claim? Was his confession coerced?”
“Apparently he has evidence of some sort. The timing of the confession coincided with his previous crimes coming to light during the trial, but he now maintains it was a lie.”
Not all clients of the firm were saints, but Holmes was a new low altogether. “Are you planning to represent him?”
Jack laughed. “Not in this lifetime. Sophia Legard—”
“The widow,” Finley offered.
Jack’s gaze sidled away. “Yes.”
Finley wondered about the abrupt eye shift. Jack was typically very straightforward when discussing their work. No beating around the bush. No dodging scrutiny.
“She asked me to represent her daughters.”
“Daughters? Holmes didn’t name which daughter supposedly lured him into this arrangement?” Legard had two daughters, his only children to Finley’s knowledge.
“According to Holmes it was Cecelia. The problem is the daughters are twins,” Jack explained. “Identical twins. Both deny the accusation. Sophia—Mrs. Legard—feels they will both need representation.”
“I see.” This could be interesting. Particularly since Jack appeared to have some sort of stake in the case beyond the usual “do whatever it takes to win.”
“We need to understand what sort of evidence—if any—Holmes has.”
Jack rubbed his temples. “His attorney has agreed to a meeting. We should know what we’re up against by the end of the day tomorrow. Meanwhile—”
“Meanwhile,” she interjected, “you’d like me to interview the twins for you.”
“I’ll be there, but I want you right beside me. No one is better at reading people than you, kiddo. If one or both of these girls—ladies—are lying, we need to know. I don’t like taking cases I can’t feel good about winning.”
But he would take this one, Finley wagered. This one was not just a case. That much was pretty clear.
“If one of them actually hired Holmes to murder the father,” she suggested, “we need a motive the jury will see as an act of self-defense.” There was murder, and then there was murder. If the father was abusing one or both daughters, then it wasn’t murder in the eyes of most anyone with a child of their own.
“Sophia stands by her daughters.” He frowned. “She also insists her husband was a devoted father.”
Her husband was dead—there was no changing that. Would she change her claims about her late husband if it meant saving one or both daughters? Definitely interesting. “Did you find her convincing?”
“For the most part. She’s rich, white, and well educated. She’ll need work to come off as sympathetic to a jury. But I’m convinced she’s telling what she believes to be the truth.”
“What about the daughters?”
“I didn’t talk to them.” He shrugged. “We have a meeting with the mother and both daughters at nine tomorrow morning in the Legard home. Olivia is flying in from San Diego. She moved away for college shortly after the trial, and she’s lived in California since. Single, no children. Cecelia, on the other hand, has remained at home, living with her mother. Didn’t attend college. She’s also single. No kids. I’ve got Nita digging up whatever she can find on the two. Friends, work and school history. Criminal records, if any.”