Kenzi felt as if she’d been sleepwalking since she left the courtroom. At one point she remembered Emma taking her by the elbow and steering her in the right direction. She recalled Maya being hauled away by the marshals, a stricken expression on her face, as if she knew she would never see her child again.
Because Kenzi blew it. Because in her arrogance and overconfidence, she bungled a case that was way out of her league. And the prosecution buried her. Maya told Kenzi everything Candy said about her jailhouse confession was untrue, but the jury had heard it. And she had no way to refute it.
Emma came back to the apartment with her and chatted with Hailee. Kenzi didn’t absorb much of what was being said. She kept hearing her father’s voice. I told you to dump that case. I gave you a chance to plead it out. But you wouldn’t listen. And now your stupidity has ruined people’s lives. He would never let it rest. Soon it would be an indictment of her entire life. There’s more to practicing law than smiling and streaming. Small wonder I made Gabriel the managing partner. He’s got more sense in—
“Did you hear me, Kenzi?”
She tried to shake herself out of her stupor. “Uh…what?”
Emma frowned. “Hailee has done something truly impressive here.”
What were they…? “Of course. That’s right.”
Hailee peered at her mother with squinted eyes. “Do you even know what we’re talking about?”
She quickly considered whether she had enough information to bluff. They were in Hailee’s room. They were staring at a wall. The wall had…yarn thumbtacked to it. And photos and news clippings and…
She took a step closer. “Is all this about Maya’s case?”
Hailee shot Emma some side-eye. “She does not know what we’re talking about.”
Emma nodded. “I don’t think she’s heard a word since we left the courthouse. Actually, I don’t think she’s heard a word since Candy uttered the phrase ‘ritual sacrifice.’”
“I can see where that might induce some trauma.” Hailee turned her iPhone around so Emma could see the screen. “That tidbit has gone viral. It’s all over the internet. Including the KenziKlan. Expect it to be in every headline tomorrow. Probably alrady a meme.”
Emma nodded. “It did not sound good.”
“You think the jury bought it?”
She nodded. “Candy provided the essential plot details for a story that finally made sense. And was sexy. Why believe in a rando arsonist when you could believe a hotblooded tale involving religious cults and mind control and…ritual sacrifice. Kenzi, have you rejoined the real world yet?”
She tried to grasp the thread of the conversation. “This is about Maya’s case. Hailee has created a…diorama about the case.”
“It’s not a diorama.” Hailee sounded miffed. “It’s a murder board.”
“Okay, you lost me there.”
“Like on television. Don’t you ever watch cop shows? They post photos and articles on the wall with yarn showing the connections between them.”
“And what exactly is the point?”
“Frankly, I never understood that. Seems like a good loose-leaf notebook would accomplish the same thing. And these days you could put all this in a digital file and arrange it any way you want. But it does look cool.”
She had to smile. Her daughter was one of a kind. “Very cool.” She took a step closer. “I get the yarn connecting Candy to Maya and Patricia Clare. But why Hannibal Holt?”
“Candy said Maya got her quest from some religious group. And for that matter, someone is calling Candy’s shots. I don’t believe she had a sudden rush of conscience that caused her to turn on Maya. Someone is pulling her strings. Or yarn, in this case.”
Kenzi stepped closer. “You’ve got yarn connecting Michael to…the woods?”
“He’s living in a settlement with that guy. Adrien Messie. The Jesus wannabe. Maybe they’re the relisious group Candy was talking about.”
“Maya said Candy’s story was a complete lie. There is no quest.”
“Still. We have a lot of churches running through this story.” Hailee smiled a little. “And the wall looks cooler with more yarn.”
“True.” Kenzi spotted a corner of the board that held, not a photo, but a sketch. “Is this the medical examiner?”
“Yeah. Dr. Chang.”
Of course. Hailee used a courtroom sketch from a newspaer.“Why is she on the board? Surely you don’t think she did it.”
“I’m not ruling anything out.”
“In those Golden Age murder mysteries,” Emma noted, “the butler did it. Or the least likely suspect. The suspect you didn’t know was a suspect.”
“I’m not saying Chang committed the murder. But I didn’t buy her testimony. I thought she looked kinda…sketch.”
“Ha ha. But seriously…”
“She was way too helpful to the DA. She assumed murder based upon insufficient evidence.”
“May I remind you that you’re fourteen and, unlike Doogie Howser, haven’t been admitted to medical school yet?”
“I read medical books and articles all the time. I don’t think her testimony holds up.”
“Maybe you should focus more on—”
Emma intervened. “If Hailee wants to poke holes in the medical examiner’s testimony, let her. If we could undercut her testimony, it would help in a big way.”
Kenzi shrugged. “Fine, fine. Keep working on it.”
Hailee beamed. “So I have an assignment? An official, honest-to-God assignment?”
“I guess.”
“What’s my consulting fee?”
“I’ll continue to feed you.” The doorbell rang. “Excuse me.” She skittered around the corner and opened the front door. “Sharon?”
Her assistant strode in. “Thought you were returning to the office.”
“Did we not go back to the office?”
“No. I have about a thousand phone messages for you and almost as many suggestions. So I dropped by.” She followed Kenzi back to Hailee’s bedroom. “Is this some kind of sad postmortem?”
“The trial isn’t over yet,” Kenzi insisted.
“Everyone on the internet thinks it is.”
“They’re wrong.”
“Did you know Candy had another wife? Before Maya was her wife. In the cult, I mean.”
“No. Is that relevant?”
Hailee wheeled herself forward. “Of course it is, Mom. Get with the program. Sharon, how did you find out about this?”
“Buzzfeed.”
“Do you know anything about the other wife?”
“Not yet. But give the trolls another half hour or so and I will. Someone needs to keep an eye on Candy. And dig into her background.”
“Why bother?” Kenzi asked. “She’s done testifying.”
“Can’t you call her back during the defense case?”
“I suppose I could. If I asked questions that weren’t redundant.”
“What if you have newly discovered evidence?”
“That would work.”
“Then that’s what I’ll bring you.” All four migrated to the kitchen and took seats around the table. Sharon continued. “You won’t be in the office much for the next few days anyway. I can do more than fielding phone calls.”
“What do you expect to learn?”
“I have no idea. But if you don’t do something to bury that ritual sacrifice testimony, Maya isn’t going to see the light of day till she’s old and wrinkly. And her daughter won’t remember who she is.”
Emma cut in. “I think Maya has to testify.”
“That would be a disaster.”
“Michael was lying!”
“But he did a good job of it. Maya will be a poor witness. Defensive. She’ll start thinking about Brittany and she’ll fall apart. Even if she holds it together—cross-examination will be endless questions about the cult and the spanking and the wives and the orgies. Harrington will tear her apart.”
“But someone has to—”
“We can revisit this later. But I’m hoping we'll think of another approach.” Kenzi felt she should be giving some sort of guidance. Like a team leader or something. But at the moment, her spirit was crushed and she didn’t think she could muster the energy.
Emma filled the void. “I’ll prep outlines for the defense testimony. Sharon will investigate Candy. Hailee will scrutinize the medical evidence. And Kenzi will focus on the courtroom and continue being brilliant.”
“Ish,” Kenzi mumbled. And that was generous.
Hailee grinned. “This is fun. All us girls working together.”
“Which is why we’ll prevail,” Sharon said. “Nothin’ in the world more powerful than four ladies with bees in their bonnets.”
“But it’s late,” Emma added. “So let’s relax a little.”
“Cocktail hour!” Sharon shouted.
“Yes!” Hailee echoed.
Her mother pointed a finger. “You are much too young.”
“I’ve tasted wine before.”
“And you will again. In seven years.”
Sharon laughed. “Your mama’s right, dear.” And then she winked. Which either meant Mama was wrong or Sharon would slip her some booze when Mama wasn’t looking. Or both.
Emma raised her hands. “I’m not much of a drinker. Or a…joiner. This is more social interaction than I’ve had in the last ten years. Combined.”
“Has it been unpleasant?” Sharon asked.
“Not…entirely.”
“I say it’s time you got out of that basement they got you holed up in. Time to break out of your shell, girl.”
“But I like my shell.”
“You’re cheating the world out of your effervescent personality.”
Hailee spread her arms across the table. “I know what we can do! 7 Wonders!”
Sharon looked puzzled. “Is that a drink or—”
“It’s a board game. Well, card game. Well, both. It’s super fun. Very strategic.”
The sound of crickets.
“I’m more of a Scrabble girl,” Emma said.
“Because you’re old-fashioned,” Kenzi replied.
“Because you can play it online. You don’t have to interact with anyone. And I’m very good at anagramming letters. Which reminds me of something I’ve been wanting to tell you, Kenzi. I’ve stayed up late every night going through that hard drive I copied. And last night, I struck paydirt. I found the threatening letter LORE received—on Hannibal Holt’s hard drive.”
“That’s incriminating. But he won’t admit he wrote it.”
“Have you looked at the signature? Does that sound like a real name to you?”
“Probably not. But what does that tell you?”
Emma looked at her and smiled. “It tells me who you’re going to call as your first witness.”