79

Rafael Rivera’s testimony had been an unmitigated disaster, but Bill Masterson insisted on eating lunch at the same place we had all week. “You don’t change your routine,” he whispered to me. “They’ll think we panicked.”

“They would be right,” I whispered back.

I followed Masterson out of the courtroom, and the usual reporters were waiting on the courthouse steps. They flung questions at Masterson, but he shrugged them aside, the way he had every other day.

“What are you going to do now?” one of them asked.

“Eat lunch.”

“No. I mean about the testimony of Rafael Rivera.”

Masterson stopped for a moment and looked at the cameras. “This office will conduct an investigation of Rivera and see if his testimony should lead to any charges. However, the case against Caleb Tate does not hinge on Rivera’s testimony. Where Tate got the drugs is not the issue. As Dr. O’Leary said, the drugs in Rikki Tate’s blood and stomach were so great that it was clear she died from an intentional poisoning, not an accidental overdose.”

“Then why did you put Rivera on the stand?”

“Don’t you guys ever eat lunch?” Masterson asked. He started walking away, and I fell in behind. “As you can tell, I don’t miss many lunches myself.”

When we got to our secluded table in the back of a local Alpharetta diner, his mood darkened. He talked about whether we should nol-pros the case. He couldn’t believe Caleb Tate had a tape.

“Maybe LA can pull our fat out of the fire,” Masterson said. “He’s pretty slick.”

I didn’t see how LA could undo Rivera’s damage, but I kept my thoughts to myself. At least we would have the weekend to regroup.

“He didn’t mention your dad,” Masterson said between bites. “Didn’t have to. He probably just wants to keep that hanging over our heads. Figures he’ll give us one last chance to nol-pros before he drags your dad into it.”

“Now that he’s proven Rivera’s threat by the tape, how is my dad’s success rate in front of Snowden even relevant?”

“Probably isn’t. But that doesn’t mean he won’t throw it out there anyway. Drop it like a nuclear bomb and let Judge Brown sustain our objection. Then let the press take the story from there.”

I picked at my food as we discussed how to salvage the remnants of our case. I had seen witnesses tank before but never quite so spectacularly. Masterson didn’t seem to be as distraught as me. “Eat something,” he said as he wolfed down a sandwich. “You won’t make it through this afternoon if you don’t.”

Just before paying, Masterson swung the conversation back around to my dad. “It’s one thing to jeopardize your dad’s reputation if we’ve got a chance to win the case,” he said. “It’s another thing to do so if our case is basically toast anyway.”

“I don’t think my dad’s reputation should be the deciding factor,” I protested.

“That’s very noble of you,” Masterson said. “But I liked your dad. And I’m the one who gets to decide whether we sacrifice his reputation for what’s left of our case. Fortunately, now that Rivera is off the stand, Tate won’t be able to raise the issue of Judge Snowden’s susceptibility to bribes until he starts putting on his own witnesses. Let’s get through the rest of the afternoon, and then we’ll talk.”

“Okay,” I said, grateful that the case was hanging on, if only by a thread.