I shrugged as I made my way to one of the leather chairs that sat facing his desk. “She’s definitely not thrilled. But how is the case going? How many more late nights and weekends does she need to prepare for?”
Uncle Dan sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair as he rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. “God only knows. We keep hitting hiccup after hiccup with this one.”
“It’s the Michelle Nelson case, right?” I asked, trying to hide the desperate tone in my voice. He was tired, and if I played my cards right, I was sure he could let a few things slip.
“Yeah,” he nodded, his brown eyes meeting mine from beneath his black-rimmed reading glasses. “Sad case that should be open and shut, but it’s proving to be more complicated.”
“How so?”
“Well, I can’t seem to get a moment alone with the defendant to do my own preliminary questioning,” he continued, leaning heavily on the desk. “His lawyer is also making it difficult for us to move forward with jury selection.”
I nodded. “Maybe the school could help with giving more info. Especially with what happened to Ashe earlier this week.”
Dan looked up sharply, his tone grave. “Who’s Ashe?”
“A girl at school who seemed to lose it during lunch on Tuesday. She was screaming about something and had to be taken off campus. There were rumors she was at a mental hospital or something, but my friend Sara-Kate just texted me that this girl apparently killed herself today.”
There was a brief silence as Uncle Dan took in this news.
“You think the two deaths may be related?” He posed the question thoughtfully, not outright calling me an idiot for asking, but genuinely seeming to want my opinion.
“Perhaps,” I explained. “It just feels strange that two people have died this semester in such a small private school.”
“And so you think the school may be hiding something? Since they are not helping with the case?”
I shrugged again. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
He nodded, grabbing a pen and paper and scribbling some notes down. “That’s interesting. I’ll have to bring this up with my investigator and PD contact. Maybe she knows if there is a link. Thanks for the heads-up, Mari.”
“No problem.” I stood, suddenly feeling heavier, more tired. “I think I’m gonna go to bed. It was a long day. Two deaths in one day are a lot to take in for my first week in New York.”
“What?” Uncle Dan looked up sharply.
“Oh,” I waved my hand, almost trying to put the words back into my mouth.Crap. “It was just a guy freaking out in Central Park, and when a cop tried to help him, he ran away and, according to the news just now, he ran into the street and got hit by a bus.”
Dan sat back in his chair, his eyes looking me over, as if trying to find any injuries.
“And how are you feeling? With everything? A lot has changed for you recently. Have you had anymore fainting incidents?”
I should have known that Tiffany would of course tell Dan about my little blackout in Saks last weekend, but with how much he has been working, it never occurred to me he would even remember to bring it up. I should be honest and explain what happened in the park today, but something in my chest pulled sharply. My Nana’s amulet heated abruptly as if in warning.
I shook my head, pulling the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands. “Nope. No more fainting spells. Just trying to get caught back up with school and get into a new routine.”
“Right.” Uncle Dan smiled tightly. “Well, don’t let me keep you. I’ll be up a while longer.”
“Night, Uncle Dan.” I turned to leave, halfway out the door when Dan spoke again.
“One more thing, Mari.” Hetook a moment to take off his glasses, looking into my eyes. “You’d tell me if anything was wrong, right?”
“Wrong?”
“Like, anything wrong with you? Like if you weren’t feeling well . . . having severe migraines?”
My eyes widened in panic.How did he know?
He waved his hand nonchalantly, seemingly trying to calm me. “It’s just something that runs in our family. Migraines, especially after a huge change or trauma. I’d just thought I’d check in.”
I schooled my features, trying to exhibit an air of calm, of confidence.
