Page 73 of Fifty-Fifty

Later that same night, Kate and Bloch made sure they arrived at Franklin Street to view the crime scene at the allotted time, and Alexandra was not present.

They didn’t want any more contact between Alexandra and Sofia.

A cameraman for the DA’s office met them at the front door and an NYPD

boy in blue let them both inside.

Kate had been hoping that seeing the inside of the property for real would trigger some additional line of defense – that she would see something which would help prove Alexandra’s innocence, or rather, prove Sofia’s guilt.

They took photos, and their own video.

When they left the property an hour later, both were disappointed not to have discovered a killer point to win the case. They did both have a better understanding of the geography and sheer size of the place, though, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

By the time Kate got home, the DA’s cameraman had sent both videos. Kate clicked on the email and forwarded it to Alexandra.

Maybe she could see something Kate couldn’t?

TWENTY-TWO

EDDIE

Once I was sure Kate and her client had safely passed by the storage room, I let go of Sofia. She was already anxious about the thought of taking the polygraph

and this only made things worse. When I’d seen them coming towards us, I knew I had to get her away. The room we were in had boxes piled up in the corner, and assorted stationery filling the rest of the wall space which had been taken up by shelves. At first she resisted. I could see the anger rise in Sofia. Hurt too. She resisted at first, telling me, ‘No,’ and repeating it as she held onto the doorway. She wanted to get to her sister. Alexandra had taken everything from

Sofia. Then, the emotions overwhelmed her.

Sofia grabbed me, hugged me and buried her head in my chest. She moaned and held tight. I had put my arms on her shoulders, whispering to her that it would be alright. Now, having let go of her, I told her Alexandra had gone.

She took her arms from around me, stood back and adjusted her hair. She had been crying, and there was a wet patch on my shirt pocket.

‘Sorry,’ she said.

‘It’s fine. There have been a lot of tears on this shirt over the years. Mostly mine. Don’t worry, she’s out of here. You’re safe.’

‘Coast is clear,’ said Harry from the corridor. We joined him and made our way down the corridor to the exam room. Inside, I saw Dreyer and the examiner

in a lab coat typing on a computer with a bank of screens above it. Beside that was the chair for test subjects. I told Sofia to relax and go take a seat. Harry went with her to make sure she was settled and check out the exam process.

‘I hope that was worth it,’ I said to Dreyer. He ignored me. He was already making notes.

‘We’ll see, won’t we?’ he replied.

While the examiner in the white lab coat hooked her up to his machines, Harry spoke softly to Sofia and reminded her to tell the truth and, above all, to relax.

The examiner began the lie detector test with simple questions. After a few minutes, Sofia got into the swing of things. She was answering more confidently and sticking to her story.

‘Did you murder your father?’ said the examiner.

Sofia looked right at him, then at Dreyer, her face impassive. She had control.

Dreyer, on the other hand, looked like a man who realized he might have gotten

on the wrong bus. He bit down on the nail of his index finger, then adjusted his tie, and returned the already bitten-down nail to his teeth. Whatever charade he had arranged for today wasn’t working out as he had hoped.

I returned my attention to Sofia, realizing she hadn’t answered the question.

Her lip trembled, and she said, ‘No.’