Sam bolted awake. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, go back to sleep,” I said, hurrying into the bedroom and closing the door. I dug my phone out and answered. “Hello?”
“You have a collect call from a New York State—”
I hit1, cutting short the recording. Zach must have bribed somebody at Rikers—with what I didn’t want to know—to let him use a phone at that late hour.
“Hi,” Zach said, sounding positively cheerful once he was on the line. What a relief it must have been for him not to have to pretend anymore.Asshole.
“I spoke with your accountant,” I launched in. “As you are aware, there are no funds available to cover the experts’ retainer. It’s potentially soured your relationship with them, which was stupid because they’re really good. You will also need to pay them for the work they’ve already done. They’ll sue you if they have to. And then no one will work for you. Youaregoing to need experts, too—a lot of them—in order to win this case.”
“Meaning what?” he asked, notably not sounding surprised.
“Meaning you’ll need to get the money from somewhere,” I said. “The fingerprint evidence is potentially exculpatory, and they only just got started. It’s the best chance you’ve got.”
“Exculpatory?” Zach sounded delighted.
I hated making him happy. But I refused to give him the satisfaction of getting emotional in response. This was something I was being forced to do, but I could treat it like any other job. If nothing else, I had always known how to get a job done.
“There are some prints on your golf bag that match some others in Amanda’s blood from your stairs,” I said. “The prints aren’t yours, but they do belong to someone who was there that night.”
“Oh, thank God.” He exhaled loudly. “I’ve got to be honest, I was starting to get a little worried you weren’t going to pull thisoff.”
“Fuck you, Zach.” So much for staying unemotional. I was so angry now it was making my eyeballs throb.
“Fuck me?” He laughed. “Hey, you’re the one who’s been lying to everyone. First on that form, and then about your marriage. And who knows what else.” Oh, I did not like the way he had said that. What else did he know? “I may have been a shitty husband, but at least I was honest about it. Getting back to the money, I’ll be honest about that, too: there is none. But we’ll need those fingerprint results, obviously. So use your creativity. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
“Zach, this is ridiculous,” I said, though I knew there was no point.
“Agreed, this entire situationisridiculous,” he said crisply. “I’d much rather have avoided the complication of our shared history. But where else was I going to find a great lawyer, with access to the world’s best experts, who was willing to work for free? And to think, you never would have even occurred to me as a possibility if I hadn’t seen you at the farmer’s market in Prospect Park.”
“You go to the farmer’s market?” I asked. I could not remotely imagine Zach buying organic produce and bringing it home in a reusable shopping bag.
“As you can imagine, not to shop,” he said. “It’s great for observing people, though. It’s important to know people’s strengths if you’re going to work with them. But you know what’s more important?”
“No, Zach,” I said. “What’s more important than knowing someone’s strengths?”
“Knowing their weaknesses.”
There was a click. I’d been hung up on by a man locked away in Rikers. A man who somehow still held the key.
Grand Jury Testimony
BENJI PANKIN,
called as a witness the 8th of July and was examined and testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MS. WALLACE:
Q: Good afternoon, Mr. Pankin. Thank you for coming to testify today.
A: You’re welcome.
Q: Were you at the party at 724 First Street on the night of July 2nd?
A: Yes.
