Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Elizabeth Camden
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Historical Note
- Questions for Discussion
- In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
She clasped a hand over her throat. She ought to have known that dank cell would be the death of him, and now he was battling for his life. “How bad is it?”
“Bad enough that the Cubans are afraid he might die. An army doctor has seen him, and he’s getting the best care possible, but they don’t know if he’s going to make it.”
“I’ll go to him.” Luke wouldn’t die alone. If she left now, she could be there within two days, but Gray kept talking.
“Things are going from bad to worse,” he said. “His guilty plea has been recognized, and now that he’s back in American custody, a date has been set for his trial. If he survives the illness, he’ll go on trial with no more delays, and we both know he intends to plead guilty. He’s charged with a hanging offense.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“What about Philip Ransom? Does he have any pull at all that might help?” For once, Gray looked panicked and uncertain, and it rattled her. Gray was supposed to be the strong one who always knew what to do, but Philip the Meek wasn’t the right person to depend on in an emergency.
She shook her head. “Philip can’t even maneuver himself out of a clerical job in the basement. He can’t possibly pull strings overseas.”
“Then we need to get Luke transferred to the mainland,” Gray said. “I don’t trust a trial in Cuba. They could slam him through an impromptu trial without any press or publicity. The outcome won’t be good.”
He outlined the only plan that made any sense. He would sail to Cuba immediately and provide whatever aid he could for Luke, while Caroline leaned on her connections here to get Luke transferred to the mainland.
It felt right to take action. No more waiting. It was time to pay another call on Captain Holland.
Caroline brought her attorney for her confrontation with Captain Holland. She hadn’t been much of a match against the captain during their last meeting, but Mr. Alphonse was the best criminal attorney in Washington. He had a firm grasp of criminal and constitutional law and a nodding acquaintance with military law.
“Let me take the lead,” Mr. Alphonse whispered just before they entered Captain Holland’s office, and she gratefully agreed.
This time there was no cordial banter. Mr. Alphonse got directly to the business at hand the moment he and Caroline were seated across from Captain Holland’s wide mahogany desk. Her attorney and Captain Holland unleashed a torrent of legal terms like amicus curiae, convening authority, bifurcation, comity. . . . Her head whirled at the verbal jousting she had difficulty following.