It was the second time in ten minutes that a man had promptly walked away from her. This time, Sidney turned from the bar to watch him exit through the front door and into the summer night. When the stranger was gone, she twisted her stool back to the bar and looked at the envelope he had left. She picked it up, slid her finger under the flap, and pulled out the single page. She looked around the bar before she read it, as if some great secret might be revealed within. It was written in a man’s abrupt penmanship.
Dear Ms. Ryan,
I believe you’ve made a great error with Grace Sebold. Please look up the name Henry Anderson, a boy who died in 1999. I believe you will find the circumstances of his death very interesting.
Sincerely,
Ret. Det. Gustavo Morelli
Sidney read the letter again. She looked around the bar to see if anyone was watching. Conversations happened all around, and no one paid attention to her. She brought her phone to life and typedHenry Andersoninto the browser. There were many Henrys in the world with the last name Anderson, so she refined her search with1999andboy killed.
An article came to the top of the browser:BOY’S DEATH IN TRAGIC MOUNTAIN FALL RULED ACCIDENTAL.
Sidney skimmed the article, her eyes stopping halfway through when she spotted the name. Henry Anderson was a high-school senior when he fell to his death while hiking a mountain trail, apparently getting too close to the edge of a bluff and tragically falling. The cause of death, determined by the medical examiner’s autopsy, was due to a head trauma from the fall—a large fracture in the back of Henry’s skull. He was on vacation at the time of the accident with his girlfriend’s family.
The girlfriend’s name . . .
Grace Sebold.
JURY DELIBERATION DAY 3
“If we move past the murder weapon, which I believe from day one’s debate we all agree is a damning piece of evidence that cannot be refuted, no matter how many times we go over the arguments of the defense—and if we agree to stick only with the facts that we know about the blood that was discovered in the room, then today we should talk about motive,” Harold said.
“The judge explained that motive is important because it will help prove or disprove premeditation. So I’d like to open the floor to debate. If we agree that she did it, andhowshe did it, can we now hash outwhyshe did it?”
“Why?” the retired teacher said. “Because she had done it before.”
Harold held up his hands in a calm show of protest. “That’s speculation. The prosecution created a clever slogan in their closing arguments. But the defense objected tothis reference of past wrongdoings, and the judge sustained the objection. We were instructed to disregard that comment, and the entire line of questioning that had to do with past misconduct. The judge was very clear that we should consider only the facts presented to us duringthishearing. One victim, one trial, nothing else from the past should come into play.”
“How can it not influence us? She killed other people!”
PART IV
THE OTHER SIDE
CHAPTER 45
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
WEDNESDAY MORNING SIDNEY PULLED INTO THE LOT OF ALCOVEManor, a rehabilitation center. Her grandmother died in a place like this, and Sidney had been leery of them ever since. Today she had no choice but to make a visit. Her cell phone rang just as she parked her car.
“Hello?”
“Sid, where the hell are you?” Leslie asked.
“I meant to call you. Something’s come up. I won’t be in until later.”
“When? The draft of episode eight is due today and we’re not even close on the edits. Graham has already been down this morning asking about it. He said you promised he’d have it by noon. Production is having a fit.”
“How close are we?”
“On the edits? Not close. I need your input.”
“You’ll have to stall. I can’t get there until later today.”
“Where the hell are you?”
“I’m in the city, but I’ve got to take care of something. I’ll call you later.”
