Page 48 of The Better Sister

I pictured Adam screaming at Ethan after finding Kevin’s marijuana—or at least I hadthoughtit was Kevin’s. If I had to guess, only Ethan and I had ever seen him so enraged. And then only I had seen his animosity escalate once he and I were alone in our room later that same night.

“It was bad, okay?”

Nicky glared at me as Olivia asked, “How bad?”

“Not, like, physical or anything. But Adam said he didn’t even know who Ethan was anymore, just like Margaret said. Sometimes he’d even cry at night, saying he still saw Ethan as the little boy who wouldn’t talk until he was nearly four but would hand him a jar of peanut butter when he was at the kitchen table working late because he knew Adam liked to sneak a few spoonfuls as dessert. But when Ethan disappointed him, he lashed out and tried to force him to be the boy he wanted him to be, instead of who he actually was. Or is. And Ethan would dig his heels in even further. It got to where I felt like I was walking on eggshells if they were in the same room together.”

“Well, I think we know now why Nunzio didn’t object to having you in the courtroom. He wants you to see their case for yourself.”

“What does that mean?”

“You loved your husband, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.”

“Okay. So they want you to believe Ethan took him from you. They probably think of you as—quote—only the stepmom. If they can convince you that your stepson’s the one who killed him, then you’ll want Ethan punished for what he did. They think you’ll basically become a witness for them instead of the defense.”

The room fell silent.

“Can they really make me testify about that?” I asked. “About Ethan and Adam, I mean.”

They were both talking at once. Olivia was trying to explain the legalities of the situation to me. My communications with Adam were covered by spousal immunity, but only as they related to our marriage. I’d have to testify to anything I observed between Adam and Ethan. And, once again, she reminded me I had no privilege with respect to Ethan, since I was merely a stepparent.

Meanwhile, Nicky was accusing me of hiding information from her about Ethan.

“I just won’t testify,” I announced. “If they ask me anything that will hurt Ethan, I won’t answer.”

“You’ll be held in contempt,” Olivia said.

“Fine. Let them put me in jail.” Desperate times called for desperate measures. I wondered if the tweeters with the hashtags would take my side. Maybe the outlet-mall juror would, too.

“It will only make Ethan look guilty,” Olivia said.

“Is that what you think?” I asked. “That Ethan is guilty?”

She said nothing. She’d told me when she first met Ethan that she truly believed he was innocent. If she was having doubts, how could I expect twelve jurors to believe us?

“I’ll say I did it.”

At some point, Nicky had placed her head on her stacked forearms against the tabletop. She tilted her face as she spoke, but I still almost didn’t hear her.

“You’ll say you did what?” I asked.

“It.”She pulled herself upright.“I’ll say I killed Adam. So I could take back Ethan.”

“Jesus, Nicky. Not helpful, okay?” We had made progress the last six months, but this was quintessential Nicky. She always had to be so dramatic.

“I’m not kidding. If you’re willing to go to jail for contempt, I’ll take the stand and say I’m the one they want.”

Olivia was shaking her head again. “Please don’t even entertain that thought, okay? You’re just going to ensure a conviction with a stunt like that.”

“But why? All we need is reasonable doubt, right? Alternative suspect: right here.” She pointed to herself with two thumbs.

I wondered if she’d actually learned something about criminal law while she was married to Adam, or had watched too many repeats ofLaw & Order.

“Do you realize how quickly Nunzio would debunk that?” I yelled. “They’d pull your phone records, for one. How are you going to explain your cell phone pinging in Cleveland if you were here killing your ex-husband?”

I could tell Nicky had no answer for that.

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