Page 112 of Fifty-Fifty

‘You think Modine got fired and went into hiding?’ asked Kate.

‘No.’

‘What then? You don’t think he ran, you don’t think he got fired and …’

The realization spread over Kate’s face.

‘You think he’s dead, don’t you?’

‘I’m pretty sure of it. I think Modine had an idea why Frank wanted to change his will. That, or maybe the killer didn’t know what Modine had been told by Frank, and had to take him out anyway – just to be sure.’

I laid out my theory for Kate. Told her about the deaths of Heather and Jane Avellino, the suspicions, the bite mark on Jane’s thigh post-mortem.

‘I’ve felt like I’m being watched. That someone has been taking note of my every move. I think that someone is the killer. Whichever one of our clients murdered Frank, it wasn’t their first time. I think they murdered their mother, stepmother, the pharmacist and cashier, Hal Cohen, Frank and Mike Modine.

And I think they might have killed Harper too, but I’m really not sure on that one. Maybe there are others we don’t even know about. This is all connected.

One of us is representing a very dangerous woman. I think it might be you,’ I said.

‘Wait a minute, my client? You’re the one representing the sister with severe psychiatric problems. And all of these killings … I think that might be taking things too far,’ said Kate. ‘We don’t have evidence to—’

‘Of course we don’t. They aren’t on trial for those murders because there is no evidence. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. And just because Sofia has had mental

health problems in the past doesn’t make her a killer. There’s a degree of skill, planning, and timing in these murders which I think Sofia simply isn’t capable of.’

‘Well, Alexandra is no killer. I watched a man die in front of me yesterday.

Do you think that if I, for one moment, thought it could be Alexandra, I would

still be in this case?’

‘I think you’re not sure about your client.’

‘Well, I am, pretty sure. You? You can’t be one hundred percent certain your client is innocent?’

She had me there. I believed Sofia. Whether that was because I wanted to believe her, I couldn’t say. My heart, and my head, told me Sofia wasn’t the killer.

‘There’s always a small doubt in the back my mind. That’s all.’

‘Same here, I can’t be certain, but I’m as sure as I can be that Alexandra is innocent. I’ve put my career on the line for her.’

‘We have to remember that one of us is representing an innocent person. I think we just let it play out for now. I think the killer is on trial because they think they have to be on trial.’

‘What?’

‘There’s something close to fifty million dollars on the line. What did Dreyer tell us? Forty-four million after taxes? That kind of money, I don’t think it can be anything other than motive. Forty-four million isn’t just money – it’s power. I think the killer knows she will be acquitted. That you or I will get them off somehow.’

‘That’s ridiculous, you couldn’t slice this decision any thinner. It’s fifty-fifty down the line.’

‘Right now it is. And we have to keep it that way.’

‘What?’

I paused. Thought. ‘I think there’s something we haven’t seen yet. A witness or a piece of evidence that is coming down the pipe which tips the scales.

There’s a get-out-of-jail-free card coming our way. When we see that, we’ll know who the killer is.’

Kate shivered and said, ‘You think one of them planned this from the beginning?’