She unfolded the newspaper and scanned the front page. House Invader Shot by MP. She gave a low whistle. “Good catch, Eddie.” The Owen case was a good catch for Eddie—and for the firm she had joined. But her heart sank. She had just forced herself to walk away from the man who represented Harry Owen. And it hurt. She couldn’t deny it. Now, instead of giving herself distance from the situation, she would be involved in a case where Randall Barrett was opposing counsel.

She glanced at Eddie. “Did you know that Randall is representing Harry Owen and his father?”

“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. I knew they were acquaintances.”

“So I’m assuming that you were retained by the suspect who was shot by Harry Owen?”

“Yes. Her family retained me until she is capable of giving consent. She’s still under sedation.”

“She?” Kate gave a low whistle. “Harry Owen shot a woman point-blank?”

“And with a prohibited, unregistered weapon.”

“Jesus.” So that’s why Randall wanted her on Harry Owen’s file. It would make Harry less of an ogre for shooting an unarmed woman if his defense counsel was a woman who had survived an attack. Stop thinking about him. She forced herself to scan the article. “But the media don’t know the weapon was prohibited.”

“Yet.” Eddie picked up a yellow sticky note, on which a phone number was scrawled in his almost indecipherable handwriting. “Your friend Natalie Pitts called me.”

Kate’s journalist friend had landed a plum job as a television news anchor after unearthing a key piece of evidence during the investigation of Randall’s criminal charge last year. “Nat’s a terrier when it comes to digging for stories. But she respects boundaries.” Kate sipped her coffee. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing. I’ve got nothing to tell at this stage.” He patted his shirt pocket. His hand trembled. He tucked it quickly under the desk.

“I’ll review the file.” She glanced through Eddie’s office door toward the main reception area. “Over on the sofa.”

She thought of her office—former office—in Purdy’s Wharf, cool and professional, tidy. Sleek. Encased within a womb of power and security. For that was what McGrath Woods offered its clients and its staff. Power. Security. A safety net.

But the price had been too high.

The sofa it was.

Eddie gulped down the remaining dregs of his coffee. “Let’s do the review together at my desk. It would be better if I briefed you.”