Patrick grimaced. “I told you. I was meeting with one of my CIs.”
“And I told you I’m going to need a name. It’s important for establishing an alibi.”
“Which CI?” Setsuna asked.
“You know which one,” Patrick said flatly.
Danai glanced at him, then at Setsuna, before sighing. “Stonewalling me, as your attorney, is not going to help your case any.”
“His CI is a matter of national security,” Setsuna said.
“Is this the same information your agency submitted to the court under seal on Patrick’s behalf, along with the military? I still haven’t received a copy.”
Setsuna tilted her head slightly in Danai’s direction. “Your lack of security credentials has been an issue. We ran an extensive background check on you over the weekend. As soon as you sign the corresponding forms and agreements, you’ll get your copy of the information in question.”
“You did a federal background check on me in one weekend without my consent?”
“The US Department of the Preternatural helped, but yes. As to consent, your fingerprints are already a government record from when you passed the bar, and you’ve gone through others for travel purposes.”
“I still didn’t consent to it,” Danai said coldly.
Setsuna opened the briefcase she’d arrived with. Patrick watched as she pulled out a stack of files, several in sealed envelopes stamped with faded ink statingCertified Copy. She organized them into different stacks before handing over a fairly thick one to Danai.
“Sign these so we can continue discussing Patrick’s defense.”
Danai eyed the height of the stack, one corner of her mouth twitching. “It’ll be an hour.”
“Your soul is safe.”
“I’m still reading every word.”
It didn’t take an hour, more like thirty minutes, and no one talked while Danai reviewed the documents in front of her and signed off on each one. Then she handed them back to Setsuna, a displeased look in her eyes.
“Start talking, and you better have something worthwhile to help my client,” Danai said.
Setsuna folded her hands together on top of the table and addressed Danai. “Patrick cannot tell you who he was meeting with at the time of Youssef’s death. That is a nonstarter, and information that will not be revealed, even under seal.”
“If he has a valid alibi—”
“He won’t tell you. Neither will the government.”
Danai clenched her jaw before looking at Patrick. “This is not in your best interest.”
“Believe me, I know,” Patrick said, shrugging stiffly.
“Which means we must go a different route, and the only likely avenue of success is the magical signature the US Attorney’s Office incorrectly believes is Patrick’s,” Setsuna said.
Danai leaned back in her seat, tapping the tip of her pen against her yellow legal notepad. “Why wouldn’t it be his?”
Patrick’s heartbeat ratcheted up to an uncomfortable speed as he stared at Setsuna. “No.”
Setsuna looked at him with eyes that held no pity, but also no warmth. “This is the only way to get your case dismissed.”
“Murder charges are rarely dismissed.”
“They can be if it is proven a defendant was framed.”
Sage got up from her seat by Wade to take the one on the other side of Patrick. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. “If we can force the US Attorney’s Office to produce the trishula as well as the body, and have a third party perform a forensic analysis on the magical signature results compared to yours, there could be enough of a difference to set you free.”
