Page 68 of Fifty-Fifty

‘Should I get a psychiatrist to minimize the damage?’

‘You’d be wasting your time. I say we don’t make a big deal out of her mental health. It doesn’t prove anything, I suppose. The more we draw attention to it, the more it looks like there really is a problem.’

Harry had a good point.

Harper opened the office door and came inside. She ignored Harry and me and bent down to Clarence who leapt from Harry’s lap and began rubbing his sides

against Harper’s legs. He whimpered and wagged his tail in excitement as Harper cooed and talked to him, telling him he was a good boy.

‘Hey, defense attorneys are people too, you know?’ I said.

‘You’re kidding. Not even you believe that,’ said Harper.

‘Is Sofia ready for tomorrow?’ I asked.

She stood and said, ‘She’s gonna take the polygraph. She’s calm, I’ve taught her stress management techniques I learned in the Bureau.’

‘You think she’ll hold up?’ I asked.

‘Polygraphs are all about managing stress so as not to give false positives.

Some people who are naturally jittery can skew results – the data can’t really determine between someone who is a nervous wreck and a liar. We’ll see. She’s

as ready as she’ll ever be. Big day tomorrow. I just got a call from the precinct.

They’re going to allow us into the Avellino house tomorrow night to look over

the scene.’

‘Great,’ said Harry.

‘It’s a joint inspection. Lawyers and staff only. No discussing the case at the house – the DA is video-recording the whole thing.’

‘He’s being very careful,’ I said.

‘Wouldn’t you be? This is a monster case. Last thing he needs is one of the defendants interfering with the scene, or worse – planting something to implicate the other. The co-defendant’s counsel gets to see our inspection video, and vice versa. At least we can see what they’re focusing on. Might give us a heads up.’

‘Kate Brooks is probably thinking the same thing,’ I said.

‘Ah, I’ve already thought of that,’ said Harper. She had a backpack slung over one shoulder. She removed it and handed Harry a large camera with a lens attached.

‘If there’s something we need to look at without the DA noticing, then we split up. Harry can use the camera, we use our phones. The cameraman can’t follow three of us,’ she said.

‘I love you, Harper,’ I said, and instantly regretted it.

It was meant as something flippant. A way to tell her I thought she was the smartest of all of us in this room. It came out wrong. It came out like it meant something else.

‘I meant, I-I …’

‘Who is the hair-fiber expert?’ said Harper, ignoring my embarrassment.

‘Professor Shandler,’ said Harry.

Shaking her head, Harper said, ‘Shit. He’s legit. No adverse findings that I know of, but I’ll check again.’

Hair-fiber analysis has been the subject of some criticism in appellate courts and there were several hair-fiber analysts who had been responsible for wrongful convictions. As their reputations went down the toilet, all of the cases they worked on went under scrutiny. We had been hoping the DA’s expert would be

one of those tarnished few. Harper had done her homework – she knew every hair-fiber expert on the East Coast who had a bad reputation. Shandler wasn’t one of them.