Page 63 of Homecoming

“Did you ever get someone off who should’ve been convicted?”

Dan’s expression was as serious as Kara had ever seen it. “A few times, which truly sucks because you’re sure they’ll reoffend. Most of them do before too long. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s the only one we’ve got.”

“What’s your first move in a case like this?” Bertha asked.

“I’ll take a look at the reports while the investigator I hired talks to the women she was with that night and others who saw her and Keith together at the bar.”

“You hired an investigator,” Kara said.

“Yeah, that’s pretty standard in a capital case. There’s a lot of ground to cover.”

“Who’d you get?” Bertha asked.

“Carter Smith. Hugo recommended him.”

Bertha nodded. “The Smiths are good people. His grandfather was a lobsterman. Knew him well back in the day.”

“Who’s paying for that?” Kara asked.

“Your dad said he would. We need all hands on deck to come up with as much info as we can to hopefully get the charges tossed at the preliminary hearing.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s notimpossible, but it’s a long shot. We’d have to produce irrefutable evidence that it wasn’t them, so that’s the goal. To find something that gives the judge enough doubt to toss the charges.”

“And you trust this investigator to be on the right side of this case?” Kara asked.

“He had a lot of nice things to say about Keith.”

“Really?” Bertha asked, her left brow raised.

“Yeah. He talked about how Keith can fix everything, and people who can’t afford a plumber, for example, call on him because he’ll take care of the issue for a minimal charge. When he’s not drinking, Carter said, people like him a lot.”

“That’s true,” Kara said. “He’s always been able to fix anything. I remember my dad asking him to fix a leak in the kitchen sink when he was in high school, and he did it in like an hour. They rarely called anyone to fix things at the house after that. He’s got a ton of friends, too, a lot of them going back to childhood.”

“The drinking has gotten bad in the last few years,” Bertha said. “He was loaded every time I’ve seen him.”

“Being a drinker doesn’t make him a murderer,” Dan said.

“No, it sure doesn’t,” Bertha said.

“I mean… we’ve never been close at all,” Kara said. “I barely know him, if I’m being honest. He was in trouble a lot, fighting in school and stuff like that. But I can’t see that escalating to murder.”

“Not to mention,” Bertha said, “the ladieslovehim.”

“Oh, for sure. He’s had them flocking around him all his life.”

“This is all helpful information,” Dan said. “We need to get you to bed, love, after the day you’ve had.”

He didn’t even know the rest of what’d happened. “I’m ready.”

They got up and took their bowls to the dishwasher.

Kara bent to hug her grandmother, who was still seated at the table. “Thanks for the soup. It was delicious.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Sleep well.”

“Love you.”

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