Page 65 of Fifty-Fifty

Suddenly, the motorcycle roared and took off, accelerating rapidly, the engine like a turbine in her ear. The motorcyclist, all in black, tore through the intersection on the yellow light, making the other side just before the red and then weaving through the traffic.

Bloch brought the truck to a stop for the light and said, ‘Nice bike.’

The rest of that day, and into the night, Kate and Bloch worked through the discovery in Kate’s apartment. They ordered in food, Kate kept the coffee coming and at two a.m., Bloch put down the last sheaf of paper and rubbed at her temples.

‘You finished?’ asked Kate.

‘I think both girls are finished,’ said Bloch.

The prosecution case rested on forensic evidence.

DNA from both defendants on the victim’s body.

Fingerprint and DNA evidence from both defendants on the murder weapon.

Hair fiber from Sofia Avellino on the victim’s body.

Bite marks from Alexandra on the victim’s body.

Both defendants had motive. Both had opportunity.

Both had a lot of the defendant’s blood on their clothes.

‘It’s hard to split the responsibility. It’ll come down to who the jury believe,’

said Kate.

Pointing at the stack of forensic reports, Bloch said, ‘That kind of evidence will put both of them away.’

The two-seater couch had a bow in the middle, where the central beam had broken. The rest of it wasn’t too comfortable either, but Kate sat down in the middle of the couch because she knew from experience she’d slide to the middle

anyway, no matter where she chose to sit on it. She put her elbows on her knees and curled her hair around her finger – staring into space.

‘Let’s see what she says in the morning,’ said Kate. She saw Bloch to the door, then slept in her clothes until five a.m., when the cold got too much for her. Getting up, she brought her blankets to the radiator, and slept again, curled up on the floor.

By eleven that morning, Kate was showered and dressed in a new suit to meet Alexandra at her apartment. Her client let her in and offered her a seat at the small dining table.

‘I love your suit. Is it new?’ asked Alexandra.

‘It is. Thank you.’

They sat together at the table, sipping hot herbal tea and making small talk before Kate got down to business. She explained the forensic evidence to Alexandra. How damning it looked. The only upside, maybe, was that it was damning to both sisters.

‘There might be a way to minimize it,’ said Kate. ‘I want to stipulate we don’t challenge the DNA, blood and fingerprint evidence. You told the police you went to your father and grabbed hold of him. You also used the knife before, when you were cooking. None of that evidence means you killed your father, just that it could have been you. I think if the jury has to sit and hear all this evidence from the experts, the sheer weight of it will make them think you had

to have killed him along with your sister. This is about minimizing the case against you. Best way to deal with it is to say that it fits with your story.’

‘So what happens, practically, if we don’t challenge it?’

‘We’ll tell the jury this evidence exists, but we’ll imply it’s not important – that it doesn’t prove anything. The bite-mark evidence is different, we’ll fight that the whole way.’

Alexandra turned her head away, tears forming in her eyes.

‘Whatever you think is best. I’m just so worried about the trial. I-I-I can’t look at her. I don’t want to be in the same room as her. She killed my dad, she wants to ruin my life. I don’t want to see her. Is there a screen or something that could be put up, so I don’t have to see her every day of the trial?’

‘Not that I know of … I’ll look into it. I know it will be hard …’ Kate broke off when she saw Alexandra’s fingers trembling. It occurred to Kate that her client’s main concern wasn’t whether she would be convicted – it was the loss of her father, and the deep, perpetual wound caused by his murder.

‘Leave it with me. I’ll see if something can be done. If it can’t, then I will need you to be strong. You don’t have to look at her. Look at the jury. Let them see what I’m seeing now.’