Sam tried to imagine what a trial like that would do to Adeline. What would years, maybe decades, in prison do to her? That only made him more sure about what he had to do.
“There’s not going to be a trial,” Sam said. “Or any appeals.”
Levy paused, studying Sam, then broke into a smile. “A man after my own heart. I like the way you think, Sam. If we can get the charges dismissed, we skip it all. But it’s a long shot. We’ll have to dig into how they collected the evidence. They’re very careful about that these days. They use robots mostly, so we can’t pick apart any biases the officers may have had.”
“Mr. Levy,” Sam said, “you’re paid to get the results the client desires, correct? Not necessarily to win.”
Levy nodded slowly. “That’s right. I work for you and your daughter, Sam. To get you the outcome you want. We take a holistic approach at the Levy Group. That includes PR and post-trial services. We can get you transferred to any prison you want—if it ends up that way.”
“What I want,” Sam said, “is to confess.”
Elliott’s head snapped around to stare at Sam.
Levy’s face was a mask of concentration.
“I’m going to tell the police that there was an altercation. During that incident, I killed Nora. Adeline tried to stop it—that’s why her prints are on the weapon. She’s innocent. I’ll take Absolom, and she goes free. That’s what I want. And I want to minimize the PR around it. I want it to be handled as quietly as possible.”
For a few seconds, no one said anything. And then Elliott exploded. “Sam, you’ve lost your mind!” He spun and spoke to Levy. “Our client is insane. We need to plead insanity. He had a nervous breakdown an hour ago.”
Sam focused on Levy. “Do I seem insane to you?”
“I’ll bite, Sam. Why do you want to confess?”
“I have my reasons.”
Levy studied him. “In my entire career, I’ve never asked a client this. But I’d like to know: did you do it, Sam?”
“I’m going to confess. With or without your help. Can you live with that as an answer?”
“I can live with that. In my work, ambiguity is the rule, not the exception.”
“How do we go about this?”
Elliott stood and gripped Sam’s shoulders. “Sam, what are you doing?”
Sam pushed Elliott away. “Stop, Elliott. I have to.”
“You can’t.”
Sam stared at his old friend. “I have to, okay? I have to.”
TEN
Adeline couldn’t stop thinking about Nora and her father and last night. She had replayed the scene in her mind a hundred times, but that only made her feel worse. She regretted what she had done. It was all her fault. If she hadn’t lost it—if she hadn’t lashed out, maybe Nora would still be alive; maybe she and her father would still be free—
The door to her suite opened, and two of her father’s friends—Elliott and Tom—strode in. Behind them was a man she didn’t know. The stranger introduced himself as Victor Levy, an attorney Adeline’s father had hired to represent them.
He set a recorder on the coffee table and asked what Adeline had said to the police.
When she had told him, he said something Adeline had been hoping to hear since this morning: “We’re going to get you out of here, Miss Anderson. Soon, I hope.”
*
Sam checked the time.
2:54 p.m.
That meant it was almost eleven in the evening in London, but Sarah’s sister, Amanda, was a night owl. She was Sarah’s only sibling and had never married, unless one counted her marriage to her job as a stage actress.
Sam picked up the phone and talked with the police operator. They didn’t seem to have any issues placing the call. After all, Sam was allowed a phone call, and technically, he hadn’t used it.
Amanda answered on the third ring, sounding confused. “Hello?”
“Hi. It’s Sam.”
“Sam,” she breathed out. “I thought I might hear from you today. I haven’t stopped thinking about her. I could barely get through rehearsal.”
“Yeah. It’s a tough day. But that’s not why I’m calling. Listen, I know this is unexpected, but I’m wondering if Adeline and Ryan could come and stay with you.”
“Um, well, it’s not a good time, Sam. We’re set to go out on tour on Monday. They could come around the end of June.”
“No, I’m not saying for a visit. I mean permanently.”