Page 54 of The Devil's Advocate

‘How long since you’ve used that thing?’ I asked.

‘It’s been a long time. And yet, not long enough.’

‘Harry, maybe you should go back to New York. Sit this one out,’ I said.

‘Do you think I’m too old?’

‘No, I know you’re too old, but that’s not the problem. This is not a criticism, not in any way, but there are some cases that get under the skin and they stay there. You know this better than I do. I can see how much this one is getting to you and—’

‘You’ve got it wrong. I’m not upset by this case. I’m scared. And you should be too. All of you. The man who killed Skylar Edwards was sending a message.’

‘What message?’ asked Kate.

As he spoke, Harry’s eyes were far away, and sweat beaded on his face, running onto his lips. ‘In Revelations 12, the woman survives her encounter with the devil, who is cast out, and war erupts in heaven. In Revelations 15, God ends the war by unleashing seven angels, with seven plagues, upon the earth. Skylar Edwards’s death isn’t the end of something. It’s just the beginning.’

For a moment, neither Kate nor I spoke. Her fingers beat out a nervous rhythm on the hood of the SUV, then she reached inside the car and placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

‘This is just some nutjob, Harry. We’re going to find who killed Skylar and make sure they’re put away.’

‘Sure we are,’ he said. ‘In the meantime, I’m going to keep my gun close and pray I don’t have to use it. I’ll stay out here in the car. I’ll move up the dirt road a little, make sure I can see the main highway. You go inside,’ said Harry.

‘I was going to ask Bloch to watch the place,’ I said.

‘Bloch needs to start looking into Korn and chasing down any leads on Cody Warren,’ said Harry.

‘Fair enough,’ I said. ‘I’ll—’

‘You stay here,’ said Kate. ‘I’ll stay at the hotel with Bloch and I can handle jury selection. You need to talk to our client. There’s a lot of questions we still don’t have answers for.’

‘When you were in the cells with him, did you get a chance to ask him about the scratches on his back, and the fact that his blood was found under the victim’s fingernails?’

‘I did,’ said Kate, her head pointing to the ground.

‘What did he say? Did he have a plausible explanation?’

‘He didn’t have any kind of explanation. He just shook his head, said he didn’t know.’

‘This case gets better by the minute,’ said Harry.

Kate and Bloch left in the Prius. Harry moved the SUV along the single lane dirt road that led to Patricia’s house. I hung around the living room watching Patricia and Andy look at old photographs and cling to one another.

There were so many questions I needed to ask, but right then I couldn’t. Andy looked so tired, and so frail, and it was just good watching him be with his mother. He’d been locked in a cell for months, beaten, abused, and I thought it would be better for him to feel more like himself before we started talking about the nightmare he’d just woken from.

Andy ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk and went straight to his room. He was soon sleeping soundly in his own bed. I ate the other half of his sandwich, and Patricia fussed about making me some chicken, which I refused. There was a lightness in her step. Her ankle was still badly swollen, but she wasn’t letting the pain slow her down, nor was she letting the thought of the upcoming trial ruin her evening. Tonight, she had her son home, and nothing was going to stop her smiling.

Still, I had a job to do. And I needed to know one thing now, because without an answer we were just going through the motions of putting up a defense. I couldn’t ask Andy, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask Patricia.

‘Andy told Kate he didn’t know how he got those scratches on his back. He also said he didn’t know how his DNA could’ve been found underneath Skylar’s fingernails. I don’t want to bring you down. Getting him home is a miracle. But I want to make sure he stays home. Do you have any ideas? Anything that might help?’

‘I’ll talk to him, but you should know my Andy don’t lie. If he don’t know, then he don’t know. He always tells the truth.’

I thanked her, and she told me she was going to bed and there was no need for me to stay. They would be safe.

‘I’d like to stay tonight. Just for my own peace of mind. If it’s okay with you. I don’t want to impose. I can sleep in the car with Harry,’ I said.

‘The couch would be more comfortable. I’ll fetch you some blankets. Oh, Mr. Flynn …’

‘Eddie, please.’