Owen stared at the white board like she had every day for the past week, but the result was the same. The evidence was straightforward and simple, but she still had doubts, and if she had doubts a jury would too.
“Tell us what you see,” Mary said.
Owen turned to face her and Kira. They’d been meeting every day over the past week to conduct final witness interviews and shore up their strategy for trial, and she could tell they were both getting frustrated at her insistence they keep digging deeper rather than plunge ahead, full force, with the prevailing theory of a home invasion gone wrong.
“The commissioner’s house has a high-tech alarm system, but it wasn’t on that night. Fuentes, an admitted burglar, has never been charged with anything related to a gun offense, but on this particular night, he happens to be carrying a Glock G40, and he shoots Mrs. Adams three times. Not enough simply to injure a woman who surprised him in the commission of a burglary, but enough to make certain she would die.”
“Does it matter?” Kira said. “Fuentes is going away for life whether he entered with the intent to kill Mrs. Adams or whether he killed her to keep her from screaming. What are you trying to prove?”
“It’s not about what I’m trying to prove,” Owen said, trying really hard to keep the extra bit of frustration out of her voice. “It’s about what Fuentes’s attorney will be trying to prove. Ramsey is smart. He’s going to point to the lack of motive to try and raise reasonable doubt. He’ll say it’s not reasonable to believe that Fuentes, a guy with no record of violent crimes, would suddenly become a killer. He’ll point out no one saw him pull the trigger, and that it’s more likely someone with an actual motive committed the crime.”
“Good luck with that,” Kira said. “Every angle has been explored.”
“Has it?” Owen looked at Mary. “Are you confident there won’t be any surprises?”
Mary pushed back from the table and rested her swollen feet on the chair next to her. “Yes, but it never hurts to go through it all again. Commissioner Adams will be here in a little over an hour. Let’s make a list of questions and make sure we cover the entire list while he’s here. If there are any holes after we talk to him, then we’ll make another list and talk to whoever we need to.” She turned to Kira. “Sound good to you?”
“It sounds like overkill, but it’s not my call.” Kira walked toward the door. “I have to make a call. I’ll be right back.”
When she cleared the door and it shut behind her, Mary gave a low whistle. “Trouble in paradise.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Owen asked.
“It means neither one of you is very good at hiding the tension between you. What happened? Did you stand her up for a big date?”
Owen bristled at the implication. “We aren’t dating. Not at all. Not one date.”
“Fine, but you are sleeping together. You want to tell me I’m wrong about that?”
Owen didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to talk about it either, and Mary wasn’t the type to leave things hanging, unresolved. Owen trusted her to keep a secret more than she trusted her to let things be if she didn’t provide some answers. “We aren’t. We did, but not anymore. It was nothing. A few times, post happy hour. Didn’t mean a thing.”
“To you.”
“To her too.” Even as she spoke the words, Owen questioned their truth. “That’s what she said anyway.”
Mary rolled her eyes. “And here I thought you were good at picking juries because you’re observant, but it turns out you are as clueless as they come. Anyone with eyes can tell Kira’s had a thing for you since she started working here.”
Owen sank into the chair across from Mary and rubbed her temples. “I’ve been clear with her from the start.”
“It’s not working. People hear what they want to hear. Look, I know how hard it is to meet someone when you eat, breathe, and sleep here. Why do you think I married Jack?” she said, referring to her husband who worked in the organized crime unit. “You can sleep with anyone in the building, but you have to consider the fallout first.”
“You’re saying I have to be willing to marry them if I want to sleep with them?”
“Or suffer the breakup of your working relationship. Kira’s one of the best investigators we have. You can request someone else from the pool, but it’s your loss if you wind up not getting to work with her because you can’t find a good lay elsewhere.”
Mary was right. She couldn’t undo the harm that had been done so far, but she could try to mend whatever hurt feelings Kira had at being rebuffed. “I’ll go talk to her. Straighten things out.” She stood and walked to the door.
“If you see a hamburger floating around out there, bring it back to me. I’m starving.” She mimed putting food in her mouth. “And fries. Rescue them from someone skinny who won’t appreciate them like I will.”
“On it.” Owen pulled open the door, determined to find Kira and settle things between them, but she’d barely made it two steps into the hallway before she heard someone call her name. She turned toward the sound and spotted Mia at the opposite end of the hallway, likely coming by to get a status update. Resigned to the fact she’d have to have her talk with Kira later, she started walking in Mia’s direction. “Hi, I was headed downstairs to get Mary something to eat. Care to join me?”
Instead of answering, Mia stepped to the side and motioned to someone behind her. A second later, Summer Byrne appeared, and Owen stood in place while her brain cycled through all the possibilities of why Summer was here, at the courthouse, steps from her war room, but she didn’t have time to fully process her reaction before Mia and Summer were standing directly in front of her. She plastered a smile on her face and met Summer’s eyes. She didn’t look like she really wanted to be there. Or maybe Summer simply didn’t want to see her again? Owen hoped it wasn’t her and then immediately dismissed the thought as inappropriate. Maybe she did have a problem with boundaries after all.
“Owen, I believe you’ve met Summer Byrne,” Mia said, looking between them with a curious expression. “Summer has graciously agreed to work with us on the Adams case. Perhaps you can include her in your meeting with the commissioner this afternoon. Summer understands her role will be described as jury consultant.”
Owen tore her gaze from Summer and faced her boss. She wasn’t fooled. The whole “perhaps you can include her” was code for “I insist you include her.” Fine. She could be a team player even if she didn’t get to pick the members of the team. “Looking forward to working with you, Ms. Byrne.”
Summer smiled. “Please, call me Summer. And if it’s the same to the two of you, I’d prefer to use my grandmother’s surname, Harvey, for professional reasons.”
Owen nodded, making a note to explore Summer’s reasoning further. There was backstory here, and she was determined to find out what baggage Summer was carrying and how it might affect this case. “Harvey. Got it.” She looked at Mia. “Will you be joining us for the meeting with Commissioner Adams?”
“I’ll stop by but just to say hello. It’s your show, Owen. I trust you to do whatever needs to be done.” She started walking away. “See you at two.”
Except for deciding I need a mind reader as backup. Owen kept a smile plastered on her face until Mia was out of sight.
“I know you don’t want me here,” Summer said.
Owen avoided her eyes as if she could keep her thoughts private if Summer couldn’t see her face, but then that was only buying into the whole mind-reading thing. “Very astute. Did they teach you that in psychic school?”
“Yes.”
“What?” Owen stared right at Summer, captivated by the intense blue of her eyes.
Summer broke into a broad smile. “Uh, I’m kidding. There is no psychic school. At least not one I’m aware of. Lord knows I might be better at it if there was one.”
An intern approached from the other end of the hallway, and Owen was suddenly conscious that if they stayed there, they were in danger of being overheard. They could duck into the war room, but Mary was in there and Owen wanted a few minutes alone with Summer to lay down some ground rules before she involved her in the case. “Are you hungry?”
“That’s a non sequitur for sure, but yes, I’m always hungry.”
“I was on my way to the cafeteria to get Mary, my trial partner, a hamburger. Come with?”
“Sure, but you must not like Mary very much if you’re feeding her from that place in the basement. I had a sandwich from there last week and it was wretched.”
“Probably because no one orders sandwiches there. The one you had was probably a week old. You just don’t know how to order.”
“And you do? Nan thinks you never eat.”
“Nan’s right for the most part, but when I do eat, I do it right. Come on, I’ll show you.” Owen led the way down the stairs to the small cafeteria on the first floor, which was really the basement. When they entered, she walked directly to a counter to the left manned by a tall, skinny man wearing a white paper hat. “Hi, Gerald, how are you doing today?”
“Doing well, Miss O. How about yourself?”
“Can’t complain.”
“Would you like your usual?”
“Not today. I’ve brought a guest and I need to show her the best the cafeteria has to offer because she’s going to be working with us for a while. Plus, Mary’s starving and you know how that can go.”
He tsked. “I’ve seen it firsthand. How about three specials? Here or to go?”
Owen turned to Summer. “Any allergies, dietary restrictions we should know about?”
“Not a one.”
“Excellent. Gerald, make that three specials to go, please.” She placed a hand on Summer’s elbow and steered her to the side of the counter, once again experiencing a hum of energy at the touch. “Sorry, it gets pretty crowded in here.”
“You don’t have to apologize for keeping me from getting trampled,” Summer said. Her eyes narrowed. “Frankly, I’m a little confused by this whole experience. You’re feeding me some special, albeit mysterious food and being gallant about the whole experience. I thought you didn’t want me here.”
“Just because I don’t believe in what you do, doesn’t automatically make me a jerk. Besides, I kind of owe you a meal. I’m still thinking about that pot roast.”
“That’s sweet, but it was deceptively simple to make.”
“Says you. The only thing I use in my kitchen is a coffee maker, and even that can be a challenge at times.”
“I’m thinking you have other talents.”
Was Summer flirting with her? Owen thought she had a good instinct for reading people—it was one of her superpowers—but she was having a hard time pinning down any particular vibe from Summer. She didn’t have time to try because Gerald called out her name. She collected the food, paid the cashier, and led the way back upstairs, determined she had imagined any flirting.
Mary greeted them at the door with open arms. “Gimme, gimme,” she said. When Owen set the three Styrofoam boxes on the table, Mary looked up at her with fluttering eyelashes. “What are you going to eat?”
“Your fries, of course.” Owen motioned to Summer, who was still standing in the doorway. “Mary, this is Summer Byrne, sorry, Harvey, the uh, consultant who’ll be working with us. You remember, I told you about her,” she said, hoping Mary wouldn’t blurt out that she’d mentioned she was relieved Summer had turned her down. “And I hate to break this to you, but one of those is hers.”
Mary made a show of clutching the boxes before she grinned and handed one to Summer. “Guard your French fries.” She pointed at Owen. “That one will eat them all before you can blink. Trust me, I speak from experience.”
“Good to know,” Summer said. “I’ll guard them with my life.”
Owen rolled her eyes and plucked a handful of fries from one of the boxes she’d set in front of Mary.
“Is that really all you’re going to eat?” Summer asked.
“That’s all she ever eats,” Mary answered for her.
“Well—”
“Not true,” Owen interrupted before Summer could rat her out about the large helping of pot roast she’d eaten at Summer’s house. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want Mary to know she’d joined Summer’s family for dinner. She filed away her reaction to study later and changed the subject. “I’m merely trying to help out since Mary is eating for two.”
“Congratulations,” Summer said. “When’s your due date?”
“Any moment, I hope.” She patted her stomach. “Seriously, four weeks from now, but I won’t object if we get an early arrival.”
“Boy?”
“Are you telling or asking?” At Summer’s confused look, Mary pressed on. “I mean, I’d expect a psychic to know the answer.”
“Educated guess, based on how low the baby is sitting.” Summer reached for her burger and took a bite and groaned. “This is amazing. If I worked here, I would eat this every day.”
“Word,” Mary said, holding up her free hand for a high five, which Summer met with a clap.
Owen watched the two of them and, for a moment, considered it might be fun having Summer on the team. She hoped she wouldn’t be wrong.