Cameron steps forward. “Ollie, how about you and Val go with Drew to her room so that I can talk to Jalen alone.”
Val and I exchange a look, and then she gets up to grab Ollie’s hand to drag him with us. I close the adjoining door and turn to them, trying to decide whether I should explain why he’s so mad or jump straight to an apology, but Ollie speaks first. “I think it’s probably best that we just get going.”
Val nods vigorously. “I agree.”
“Okay,” I say, sad that the night has to end on such a bad note, and do not look forward to having to sit through another one of Cameron and Jalen’s heated arguments, either. “Do you haveeverything that you need, or do I need to go back in the room to get your things?”
“Ollie has my keys in his pocket, and I can get my wallet from you later. Don’t worry about it,” she says. They both hustle out the door, each giving me a quick hug before heading down the hallway towards the elevator. I watch them, wistfully, as Jalen’s voice rises on the other side of the wall.
“—unbelievable, but that wouldn’t even be true, considering how you’ve been acting the last two days, and even the last few years, if I’m being completely honest.”
I wince as Cameron stays silent while his brother lays into him, but this time I can’t help myself. I close my hotel room door, lock it, and then barge through the adjoining door to stand up for Cameron.
“Hey. Listen, Jalen. You have every right to be mad, but it’s only fair that you direct your anger at me, too, because I’m the one who told Cameron that I needed a distraction, and I had the final say on inviting Val and Ollie over.”
“Drew, go back to your room, please,” Cameron pleads. “Let me handle this. I’ll be right there.”
“No, this is perfect,” Jalen says with a sarcastic edge in his voice. “Now I can address both of you at once.” Cameron and I turn in unison back towards him, and he shakes his head sadly. “Drew, you obviously never got the chance to know our father, but he had a saying that he instilled into us ever since we were little.”
“Oh, here we go—” Cameron interrupts, but Jalen pushes forward.
“Our father said that the only way to be successful as an attorney, and in life, was to not take responsibility for other people’s choices. If we lost a case because the evidence was stacked against our client, that was one thing, but if we lost a case because of a bad choice thatwemade, that was cause forreflection. I’ve had to neglect two very important cases that I was working on before this incident to make room for your defense, Drew. But with you two actively undermining all of the hard work that I have put in, I can no longer commit my time or energy to this. I need to step down in my role as your counsel.”
I reel in horror as his words sink in. How can he throw me to the wolves like this when things are at their most precarious point?
“Jalen, please don’t do this,” Cameron says with a mix of anger and desperation.
“I’ve already made my decision.” Jalen takes a few steps towards the door. “I was coming here to tell you that Detective Harvey got a judge’s approval to compel Drew’s fingerprints, but she doesn’t need a lawyer to go with her to that, so long as she doesn’t agree to any more questioning.”
“So that’s it, then?” I ask, as tears sting my eyes. “I’m on my own, now?”
Jalen deflates a bit. “I’m sorry, Drew. I hate to have to do this to you, but I can’t be a part of this anymore. I truly wish you the best of luck.” Before Cameron or I can argue further, he disappears out the door without another word.
My heartbeat thrums in my chest. Not only did I just lose my representation, but I also need to go back and give my fingerprints now, since everyone else was cleared. We still don’t know what the murder weapon was, but if it was anything in the kitchen, then there’s a good chance my print will match it. I stumble over to the nearest surface to balance myself against it, and look to Cameron for what to do next, but he has that same glazed-over expression from back at the house when he first came into my room to tell me that Delaney was dead.
My panic rises even higher because if he shuts down again, then I will really be completely on my own. I force a few breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth while I lookaround furiously for my phone, only to find that it was in my back pocket the entire time. I need to call Monika for help, but before I dial the number, I see that I have new messages from her with Judith’s mug shot and a picture of Leah, confirming that she is an incredible amateur detective. The pictures also prove that everyone is who they said they were, which makes that theory a dead end. The pictures are followed by a text:
Monika:Can you ask Cameron if he’s heard of Madeline Campbell? Apparently, she married Nash in a prison ceremony a few months ago.
I stare down at the text, thankful for the new theory to keep me from going into full-blown panic mode. I lift my head to ask Cameron, and hope that Madeline is the Hail Mary that I so desperately need right now. “Hey, does the name Madeline Campbell mean anything to you?”
Cameron shakes his head, still a million miles away. I text her back that neither of us knows her as tears blur my eyes, making it hard to see. Then, a sob combined with my rapid breathing makes a pitiful noise in my throat that snaps Cameron out of his daze and springs him into action.
“It’s okay, Drew. I’m here,” he says with a newfound purpose behind his eyes. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
I am so relieved that I let myself fall into his chest and bury my face into him as I fall apart at the seams. He holds me so tightly that it should make it harder for me to breathe, but it does the opposite, and I gather myself after a few minutes of swaying back and forth with him.
“That’s it,” he says, modeling a few deep breaths for me to copy. “I’m so sorry about Jalen, but there’s still some time left. I’m going to call Cartwright to see if he knows anything that can help.”
“What about Reggie? Should we call him too?” I sniffle.
“No, because I’m going with you this time. Even though Jalen has made it known that he has no faith in me as an attorney, I will more than suffice for tonight.”
“I hate the way he talks to you.” I pull him in tighter.
“I know it’s probably hard to believe right now, but he means well. We’re just very different people. His approach is very by the book, which is why he’s excellent at his job, and I—”
“You lead with your heart,” I say, adding my two cents, “which is just as valuable.”
