“He then asked me about the missing money from the Paradox transfers. He said he owned Paradox, that I’d stolen from him. I told him about Lolly and her Turner syndrome. He said I could pay him back in installments.… I didn’t believe him. I suddenly thought he must be a scam artist who read some stories about the case and was trying to defraud me or something. Like one of those pig-butchering scams where they steal your life savings.”
“Is that why Paul ended up chasing him off your land with a shotgun?” Euclid asked.
“That’s an exaggeration. Paulencouragedhim off our land with a shotgun. There was no chasing involved.”
“Why threaten him like that?”
“I’m not comfortable saying it out loud. But Castillo said something terrible. I didn’t want him around my family.”
“What did he say?”
“It was about Willy Grooms. That he’d been sending the money through me to fund a project that goes against everything I believe. But I knew Willy Grooms; he was agoodChristian.… He never would have done anything like what that man claims. It was all lies.”
Euclid could tell Brooksfield was getting upset again.
“So what did he say Willy Grooms was doing?”
Brooksfield looked at Officer Wiley, who was standing behind Euclid. “I’m not going to tell you. I’m sure it will sound silly to you, and I don’t want it used against me at the trial.”
“If you just whisper it to me,” Euclid said, “Officer Wiley can’t testify to it. I can’t be a witness to my own case. But I want to know.”
“Hang on,” Caldas said. “Whisper it to me first. I want to make sure this is okay to tell them.”
Brooksfield pressed against the bars, whispering something in Caldas’s ear. Caldas, with a practiced mask of neutrality, nodded.
“You may proceed,” Caldas said. There was an odd look in her eyes.
“Okay.” Brooksfield stood on shaky legs, pulling her uniform around her frame.
Euclid held her ear close, cold bars pressing into her cheek. Brooksfield whispered to her then, repeating to her what she had whispered to Caldas.
Euclid took a step back, feeling dumbfounded, and quickly tried to cover up her reaction. “Okay… Thank you for telling me.” She composed herself. “I have a couple more questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Hurry it up,” Caldas said, irritation playing across her face.
“What is Devotio?”
Brooksfield gave her a blank stare. “I don’t know.”
“Who is Krikor Khachatryan?”
Brooksfield gave a noticeable jolt. “How do you know that name?”
“Answer the question, Mrs. Brooksfield. Isn’t he the true owner of Paradox, and he’s been laundering charitable donations through offshore shell companies?”
Caldas stepped forward, and Euclid could tell by her puzzledexpression she had never heard Khachatryan’s name before. Despite everything, Brooksfield was still keeping secrets.
“Hang on.” Caldas held out a hand in front of Euclid. “Are you looking for this Khachatryan fellow?”
“We are.”
“If we can give you information on this man, I want assurances that all charges will be dropped against my client.”
Suddenly, it seemed, they were on the same side: Caldas wanted to get her client off with this potential new defendant. Euclid wanted to get information about Khachatryan. And she had very serious doubts about Brooksfield’s guilt. Yes, she diverted money to pay medical bills, but Euclid was now pretty sure she knew nothing of the murders. She paused to collect her thoughts. Reluctantly, she replied, “I can’t promise anything like that. It’s not in my power to assure such an outcome. Adewale has final say on dropping charges. Icanpromise you that I will have our investigators follow any lead that you give me. I’ll do my best with Adewale to support a plea deal—but only in proportion to how helpful this information is.”
“What if Adewale says no to her release? What will you do then?”
Euclid shrugged. “If your client can provide us with crucial information, I’ll do my best with Adewale. Right now, your best bet at reducing these embezzlement charges is to cooperate fully.”
