I filled my lungs with air, steeling myself for the worst part. “Men are inherently hunters. They give chase and find endless thrill in that. Excitement. Passion. But once they sink their teeth into their prey, even if only once, most of that thrill is gone. I couldn’t let them sink their teeth into me, and that’s why I was so irresistible. A tease, some might say, but that doesn’t make it any less true.” I looked straight into Colton’s eyes. “That night, I spent all my cash following that salesman to his house in a cab, to see where he lived. I spent the night hiding in his backyard. Then, the next day, when he went to work, I sold him to his wife.” A quiet chuckle came off my lips. “I was so flustered, I stammered and asked for five thousand instead of the five hundred I had planned. Before I could correct myself, she said yes, but she wanted proof. She drove me downtown herself, and took pictures of us holding hands, me apologizing to him, telling him I’d been scared and all that ... I let him kiss me once. Then I took the money and left Dallas before he could come after me.”
“And you’ve been doing this for nine years?” Colton asked, his voice loaded with disbelief. “Was Winston a, um, what do you call these men?”
“A mark? Yes. At first. Except I fell in love with him.”
He rubbed his forehead angrily. “So, why didn’t you want to marry him?”
Tears choked me. “I—I can’t, Colton. Even if I loved him, I couldn’t sleep with him. Not with him ... or with anyone.” I lowered my head, hiding the flush in my cheeks. “Not even with you, ten years ago,” I whispered.
For a moment, no one said anything. We just sat there in perfect silence, dealing with everything that had been said.
“God damn that son of a bitch,” Billy Ray whispered, cursing our father the way I did every time I wished I could live a normal life.
I stood and walked over to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out the only bottle of liquor there was, Grey Goose. I poured about three fingers in a glass, then added some ice cubes. I drank a big swig, feeling it burn its way down my throat, easing the tension. I topped the glass with more vodka, then went back to the couch.
“What will this do to my defense?” I asked Colton, clinking the ice cubes in my glass with a gentle circular motion.
“You might not realize this, but justice rarely has anything to do with verdicts. It’s usually the best story that wins,” he said quietly. “We have to rethink everything.” He ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times. “You made it sound easy ... Was it always like this?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. Most wives got angry, some physical, even. The shock, the pain, the jealousy ... it’s a lot to take. One time, a husband and wife joined forces and came at me. Another time, I was almost raped. But I learned that the richer the mark, the higher the ransom and the lower the risk. It just takes a lot more work to operate in the stratosphere. And a lot more money to pass for someone I’m not.”
A shadow crossed over Colton’s face. “Did you meet with Claire? For this ransom business, as you call it?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back, a flicker of interest sparkling in his blue irises. “Ah, that’s how you know it was her. You gave her everything, didn’t you? The place he was staying, when you’d go there, all of it? Pictures, too?”
I nodded, lowering my head, ashamed. “I didn’t see it coming.”
“And the eye drops?”
“Those were there, too. She had me put drops in her eyes while we were talking. Obviously, there couldn’t have been any meth in them at the time. I thought it was a simple stalling technique. But I don’t know how the bottle of eye drops landed in my car. She must’ve put it there after killing him. I’m telling you, those partials are hers.”
He stood and started pacing the room slowly, his hands plunged into his pockets. “And you didn’t think of telling me any of this? Without this ... Avery Sinclair, you would’ve kept on lying to me?”
He waited for me to answer, but I just looked at him apologetically. There was nothing I could say to make things better.
“What are we going to do?” I asked. “This cannot come out, Colton. They will execute me. We have to spin it somehow, or prove it was Claire.”
The dark glimmer of worry and dread returned to Colton’s eyes.
“I can’t even think straight right now. I’ll have to ask for a continuance.”
47
Forensics
“Request for continuance denied,” Judge Antunez said, glaring at Colton over his glasses.
“But, Your Honor, the prosecution delivered hours of video evidence late yesterday. We haven’t had adequate time to review it, and it’s crucial to our defense.”
The judge’s frown deepened. “I’m declining your request. This case is highly publicized, and the jury has been sequestered. I won’t hold them hostage while you drag your heels. You had time to request a continuance earlier. Now it’s too late.”
Colton stepped closer, hands together in a pleading gesture. “Your Honor, this late discovery severely disadvantages us. It’s a matter of ensuring a fair trial for my client. Without this, our defense strategy is compromised.”
“The court acknowledges your concern, but the prosecution has complied with the discovery timeline, albeit pushing it to the breaking point. Your team has the resources to review the evidence promptly. Continuance denied.”
“The volume of material—”
