It was an expert lawyer’s question, Jake thought. Leading, but only slightly so. It implied Jake was not, in fact, welcome back at the office, without having to actually say so. It wouldn’t look great for the DA to accuse him of something he didn’t do, and then run him out of his job after it turned out he was innocent. But that was, Jake could see, exactly what Hal intended to do.

“I’ve enjoyed my work here,” Jake said, noncommittally. Everything he had worked for—his career, his reputation—was slipping away. He wasn’t going to make it easy for Hal.

Hal nodded thoughtfully. “You’re a good lawyer, Jake,” he said. “But this is a small town. As DA, I take an interest in the careers of all of the lawyers here. I’d hate to see you get stuck trying DUIs for the next twenty years.”

They were negotiating, Jake could see, but for what? If Hal wanted him out of here, he could just as easily bury him in trial prep and traffic court, keeping him behind the desk and away from the courthouse until Jake couldn’t take it anymore and quit. He’d seen it done before. It was rare for anyone to be fired at the DA’s office; they had other ways of showing you the door. “I’m capable of a lot more than trying DUIs,” Jake said.

“That you are,” Hal said. “And nobody in this office can say any different. No one here holds this whole business against you. But all that news coverage was tough. The press can be brutal, can’t they?” Hal looked right at Jake as he said this.

He knows, Jake thought. Somehow, Hal knew, or at least suspected, it was Jake who had called the city papers about the Jensen case.

Hal was still speaking: “As I said, no one here holds it against you. But this job requires the utmost public trust. And respect. In a town like this, rumors live a long time. Unfortunate, but I guess that’s just the price we pay for living in such a beautiful place. It’s not like city life. You grew up in Philadelphia, didn’t you?” Hal asked, without waiting for an answer. “Plenty going on there. No one pays as much mind to gossip; they’re too busy. Speaking of which,” Hal went on, looking through a pile of papers on his desk and picking up a business card. “Yes, here it is.”