“I like it, too,” Aunt Rachel said.
When all eyes turned to me, I nodded. My mind wasn’t currently capable of creating a better statement. The police thought Bre killed Dad. She said she’s pregnant. It was wrong of me to make assumptions, but if she meant with Dad’s child, I questioned what that meant for the Coopers and Dad’s estate.
Grant’s voice pulled me to present. Exhaling, he said, “Fine. We’ll get the press release out ASAP.”
“Do you think we should go back?” Fin asked, jutting his chin toward the celebration side of the curtain. “To the others? The longer we’re gone, the more they’ll wonder.”
Rachel handed Daphne a tissue. “I know it’s difficult. We can’t let on to the others on the other side of that curtain what’s happening.”
Daphne dabbed the tissue beneath her eyes.
I wanted to know what others knew about Dad and Bre, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Instead, I turned to Fin. “You’re right. We need to act like everything is fine.”
“And if others ask where Bre went…? We say there was a personal emergency,” Cammy suggested.
Nodding, we all agreed.
As the others made their way back to the tables, I reached out to Leigh and Cammy. “Leigh?”
She turned.
“I have some questions.” Looking up to Fin, I feigned a smile. “I’ll be right out.”
“Are you sure?”
Inhaling, I nodded and waited for Fin to follow the others. Once the three of us were alone, I asked, “What about Bre? Do we help her?”
Cammy shook her head. “The Coopers’ organization has an obvious conflict of interest.”
“You’re a public defender,” I said to Leigh.
“Also with a conflict of interest,” she replied. “That doesn’t mean that someone else from the public defender’s office couldn’t represent her.”
My stomach was in knots. “Evidence? He said evidence...”
“No,” Cammy replied, “I said evidence. The officer didn’t say homicide—a broad term. He said murder, which suggests evidence.”
Leigh chimed in. “Before an arrest could have been made, they had to establish probable cause. That means reasonable grounds supported by facts. They couldn’t arrest her if they hadn’t obtained an arrest warrant.”
“Vee,” Cammy said, “the Coopers are under no legal obligation to offer Bre legal assistance.”
Pregnant.
The word played on repeat in my brain. “What about ethical?”
Leigh’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t think she’s guilty?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. I remembered what Detective Oldson said about plane ticket, one-way, to California. “The detective said they could have waited until tomorrow, but they moved today because they learned Bre had a one-way plane ticket out of town for tonight.”
Leigh and Cammy pursed their lips.
“Circumstantial,” Leigh said.
“Damning,” Cammy replied.
I supposed it was the difference in their work. Leigh was a defender by nature. Cammy Wilcox wasn’t a criminal lawyer, nevertheless, she saw the way that information would look to a prospective jury.
“You want to help her, though?” Leigh asked.
