Page 40 of One of Us Is Guilty

‘We’re going to talk to Vanessa. It’s time we had a heart to heart. Then I want to talk to her husband.’

‘You sure that’s a door you want to open?’ asked Harry.

‘That’s a door we have to kick down. Somebody cut off a young woman’s head in her own apartment, and I don’t think it was our client.’

‘You didn’t sound so sure when you said that, kid,’ said Harry.

‘She lied to us, but there has to be a reason. Maybe she’sprotecting her husband. We have to make it clear to her that the best defense in this case is giving the jury an alternative suspect and that’s Patrick Vanderpool. I don’t care what Julian says, we have to do the best for our client, whether she wants that or not. And that means we have to go after her husband with everything we’ve got.’

16

Vanessa

Some silences are so heavy they are practically deafening.

The small woman who sat beside Vanessa in the back of the town car had not said a single word since she’d got in. Ms. Voss was an independent counsel, hired by Buchanan and Duff as a consultant to assist with Vanessa’s case.

Vanessa didn’t believe any of it. There was only one person who was being protected in this arrangement, and that was Patrick. Voss could explain all the technicalities she liked in order to appear independent and unbiased, but there was only one name on the check that paid her fees – Julian Vanderpool.

The silence gave Vanessa time to think.

Time to take in the developments of that day. The arrest, the questioning.

Time to absorb it all, calmly.

Time to plan.

The town car pulled up outside Vanessa’s home, and Voss opened her door and got out. Vanessa followed, stepping onto the curb beside the lawyer. As Vanessa stood, she towered over Voss, but in truth she felt much smaller than her diminutive attorney. Here was someone not to be underestimated. Voss had a hard, angular face, over-developed calves and muscular body to match the taut features.

She looked like a masonry nail in a red wig.

And Vanessa knew who was swinging the hammer.

Voss spoke softly, but her diamond-cut words were hard.

‘When you meet Flynn tomorrow, you tell him nothing about what we have discussed. He’s an idiot. He has his beliefs about the justice system and a set of morals he sticks to. This is his weakness. We are going to exploit that to get the best out of him. Patrick will ask you what happened in the police station. You’ll tell him exactly what I told you. You were arrested, the police have evidence, but we don’t know the precise nature of that evidence yet. We’ll know more in a couple of days. The trial will be heard quickly. This will all be over in a few months. Tell him everything will be alright. You’re going to get acquitted, and then you two can put all of this behind you. Got it?’

Vanessa hesitated, her throat dry and mind reeling. She was shaking, but not from the cold. Voss wasn’t shaking. She stood very still, like a goddamn statue, gazing up at Vanessa.

Then Vanessa nodded, said, ‘I’ve got it.’

After a moment, Voss’s head cocked to the side. It was a strange movement. She never broke eye-contact with Vanessa, and no other part of her body moved. The gesture could have been made by an animatronic puppet. Alien and cold.

‘We discussed this. I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve lied to your husband. It won’t be the last. Just go and tell him you don’t know what case they have against you, but everything will be alright,’ said Voss, then without another word she got back into the town car and slammed the door shut. The car rolled away.

Vanessa watched it go, unable to see Voss through the tinted windows, but she knew the woman was watching her.

For a few moments, Vanessa stood on the sidewalk, her back to the brownstone home she cherished. Patrick was inside, waiting for her.

She could feel him.

Not like a wife feels her husband. Not like a lover feels their partner. That sense of warmth, of love and security.

She could feel him like a presence in the dark.

As she walked up the steps to the front door, keys in hand, she thought about turning and running. She could leave now. And never have to enter this house again. Never have to see his face again.

The front door opened.