Stepping to one side, Kate looked ahead.
At the other end of the corridor was the reason Bloch stopped. Eddie Flynn, Harry Ford and Harper were coming toward them with their client, Sofia.
Kate swung around and saw Dreyer coming out of the examination room. He moved ahead of them and stopped. They would have to walk past him, and the other defense team, to get out of the building.
Kate didn’t want Alexandra to have to face this moment so soon.
One of Alexandra’s fears was having to sit in the same room as her sister. Facing your father’s killer was one thing – but the fact it was your sister added only more pain.
‘Alexandra, keep your eyes on the floor and walk with me. Don’t look at her. Don’t speak to her,’ said Bloch.
They started walking.
‘You set this up,’ hissed Kate to Dreyer as they moved past him.
He said nothing. Alexandra’s bail conditions were the same as Sofia’s. Neither of them were to have contact, direct or indirect, with any of the witnesses in the case or each other.
‘If you say one word to her, Dreyer will have you arrested and ask the court to revoke your bail. Don’t speak to her, don’t look at her, keep your head down,’ said Kate.
Eddie Flynn looked like he was having the same conversation with his client. He found a door and stepped into it, Harper dragging Sofia in after her.
They were only ten feet away, Sofia was holding onto the doorway, Eddie shielding her from a view of the hallway. Sofia was telling them, ‘No, no, no …’ As they passed by, Kate caught Sofia peeking around Eddie’s body. The look on her face was one Kate would never forget.
Sofia’s eyes looked like fire. The skin around them was red, they were blazing with tears, hatred and sadness. Sofia didn’t say anything more as they passed by. Harry Ford pressed himself to the wall, and Kate nodded in greeting. He nodded back, then looked at Kate’s client.
Alexandra shielded her eyes, as if her sister were an eclipse and the mere act of looking upon her would render Alexandra blind.
Neither sister spoke. Kate put her hand on Alexandra’s back, gently urging her to increase her pace. Kate felt a surge of tension – as if there was a toxic cloud emanating from that doorway.
They passed without incident, rounded the corner and made their way to the exit.
Bloch held open the door for them and then led the way to Alexandra’s Land Rover, parked in the lot. Fumbling in her purse, Alexandra dropped the keys. Kate picked them up, opened the car and got Alexandra into the driver’s seat. With the door still open, Kate waited while Alexandra cried.
‘I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,’ said Alexandra.
‘We’ll be right by your side, every step of the way. You’re stronger than you know,’ said Kate.
Alexandra let out a peal of nervous laughter, said, ‘I’m a mess. I can’t sit in the same room as Sofia – knowing what she did. I just can’t.’
‘You can. And you will,’ said Bloch.
No one spoke for a time. Alexandra nodded, blew her nose on a napkin and thanked Bloch and Kate. Kate said she would email the videos from the crime scene inspections later – see if Alexandra could spot anything useful. Kate closed the car door and watched Alexandra drive away.
‘Dreyer wanted to see how she would react, to the knife and the presence of her sister. Smart,’ said Bloch.
‘He’s not sure which one killed Frank Avellino. He’s gauging them. I get the impression he’s deliberately messing with their heads. He wants the sisters to tear each other apart, so he can mop up the blood and convict both of them. Let’s hope Sofia’s polygraph is a lot worse than Alexandra’s,’ said Kate.
Later that same night, Kate and Bloch made sure they arrived at Franklin Street to view the crime scene at the allotted time, and Alexandra was not present. They didn’t want any more contact between Alexandra and Sofia.
A cameraman for the DA’s office met them at the front door and an NYPD boy in blue let them both inside.
Kate had been hoping that seeing the inside of the property for real would trigger some additional line of defense – that she would see something which would help prove Alexandra’s innocence, or rather, prove Sofia’s guilt.
They took photos, and their own video.
When they left the property an hour later, both were disappointed not to have discovered a killer point to win the case. They did both have a better understanding of the geography and sheer size of the place, though, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
By the time Kate got home, the DA’s cameraman had sent both videos. Kate clicked on the email and forwarded it to Alexandra.
Maybe she could see something Kate couldn’t?
TWENTY-TWO
EDDIE
Once I was sure Kate and her client had safely passed by the storage room, I let go of Sofia. She was already anxious about the thought of taking the polygraph and this only made things worse. When I’d seen them coming towards us, I knew I had to get her away. The room we were in had boxes piled up in the corner, and assorted stationery filling the rest of the wall space which had been taken up by shelves. At first she resisted. I could see the anger rise in Sofia. Hurt too. She resisted at first, telling me, ‘No,’ and repeating it as she held onto the doorway. She wanted to get to her sister. Alexandra had taken everything from Sofia. Then, the emotions overwhelmed her.
Sofia grabbed me, hugged me and buried her head in my chest. She moaned and held tight. I had put my arms on her shoulders, whispering to her that it would be alright. Now, having let go of her, I told her Alexandra had gone.
She took her arms from around me, stood back and adjusted her hair. She had been crying, and there was a wet patch on my shirt pocket.
‘Sorry,’ she said.
‘It’s fine. There have been a lot of tears on this shirt over the years. Mostly mine. Don’t worry, she’s out of here. You’re safe.’
‘Coast is clear,’ said Harry from the corridor. We joined him and made our way down the corridor to the exam room. Inside, I saw Dreyer and the examiner in a lab coat typing on a computer with a bank of screens above it. Beside that was the chair for test subjects. I told Sofia to relax and go take a seat. Harry went with her to make sure she was settled and check out the exam process.
‘I hope that was worth it,’ I said to Dreyer. He ignored me. He was already making notes.
‘We’ll see, won’t we?’ he replied.
While the examiner in the white lab coat hooked her up to his machines, Harry spoke softly to Sofia and reminded her to tell the truth and, above all, to relax.
The examiner began the lie detector test with simple questions. After a few minutes, Sofia got into the swing of things. She was answering more confidently and sticking to her story.
‘Did you murder your father?’ said the examiner.
Sofia looked right at him, then at Dreyer, her face impassive. She had control. Dreyer, on the other hand, looked like a man who realized he might have gotten on the wrong bus. He bit down on the nail of his index finger, then adjusted his tie, and returned the already bitten-down nail to his teeth. Whatever charade he had arranged for today wasn’t working out as he had hoped.
I returned my attention to Sofia, realizing she hadn’t answered the question. Her lip trembled, and she said, ‘No.’