Page 14 of The 1 Lawyer

She laughed at that. Just a chuckle, but it was progress. I wanted to seize the moment. I leaned in close to her and said quietly, so no one else could hear, “You know, Carrie Ann, maybe something’s missing. We can talk about that. Give it another try.” She looked at me warily, but I couldn’t stop. “You’d be an incredible mom. It’s not too late.”

She jerked her hand away and jumped out of the chair. Her face contorted with pain as if I had struck her. “Don’t. Just stop it. Never bring that up again, never.”

I didn’t have a chance to undo the damage. Jenny Glaser walked up, a beer in each hand. She set one bottle in front of me and said, “Hey, Carrie Ann! Good to see you.”

Carrie Ann wiped her nose with the soggy napkin she still held. Her voice was frosty when she said, “Jenny. Hi.”

Jenny held the other beer out to her. “You want this? It’s untouched. I’ll tell Scarlett to bring me another one.”

When Carrie Ann didn’t take the bottle, Jenny pulled it back and turned to me. “I thought I’d find you here. How’s the trial going? I saw some of it, but I want to hear all the deets.” Jenny took a sip from the bottle. Glancing at Mason’s empty seat, she said, “Okay if I join y’all?”

Carrie Ann backed away from the table. “Yeah, this is perfect, absolutely perfect. You always appear right on cue.” Carrie Ann tore off, making a beeline for the exit. I watched her go. She didn’t look back.

I could have chased after her. Maybe I should have. But I didn’t.

Jenny still stood by the table. She grimaced, looking chagrined. “I should go.”

Deliberately, I picked up the beer she’d delivered and took a swallow. Nodding at Mason’s deserted spot, I said, “No, stay. Tell me—was I as bad as Mason said?”

She sat, set her beer on the scarred table, and said, her voice reassuring, “You were fine.”

I searched her face, looking for the truth. “You wouldn’t lie to me, now.”

“No!” she insisted. “Not that bad. Really.”

CHAPTER 12

IT WAS Tuesday morning, a brand-new day. I had the medical examiner, Dr. Ellis, on the stand for cross-examination. And it was time to do some catching up.

“Dr. Ellis, you stated during direct examination that you performed a rape screen on the body of Aurora Gates, is that correct?”

“It is.”

“And you took those steps because you observed injuries to the genitalia that were consistent with forcible sexual assault, correct?”

“Correct.”

“How many swabs did you obtain during the forensic exam?”

“Four. That’s standard.”

“Those four swabs—where, from what areas of the victim’s body, were those swabs obtained?”

“Two swabs were from the vaginal pooled fluid. The other two swabs were obtained from the cervical area. The cervical os.”

“Cervical os? What does that mean?”

“The cervical os is the opening in the center of the cervix.”

I turned to face the jury; the follow-up question was for them. “So, to be clear, you swabbed the vagina twice. And you also placed two swabs in the opening of the cervix.”

“Yes. That’s the standard protocol.”

Four of the jurors showed visible signs of confusion—they were squinting, their foreheads furrowed. That was okay. They were paying attention. The seed I’d planted would be harvested later on.

“Dr. Ellis, when you gave the jury your qualifications yesterday afternoon, you stated that you’re vice president of the Coast Counties Medical Society, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.”

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