Halfway through his testimony, Ransom shifted in his seat and wrote something on his notepad, angling it so she could see. Hostile, the note said. Black was supposed to be a witness for the prosecution, but he was deflecting Mankowski, not following the script. Beth had listened to enough of Ransom’s wisdom by now to know that this was a problem for Mankowski, to have one of his own witnesses disagreeing with him. Sure enough, the next thing Ransom wrote was: This is good.
Beth raised her gaze back to the witness stand again. Black was answering about whether she had taken it seriously when she was questioned, and Ransom stood to object. The judge answered, and for a second Black turned her way and their eyes met. He looked and sounded cool when he answered questions, but in that brief look Beth could see that he was miserable and torn. I have to say all of this, that look told her. I can’t say anything else, because you didn’t give me anything. He knew she hadn’t murdered anyone. He knew that whoever had shot those men in the face was still out there, maybe about to shoot someone else. But he had no proof, no evidence, no trail to follow, and it was killing him.
Mankowski went back to murdering Beth’s character, asking whether she’d used profanity. It was so stupid she would have laughed if her life weren’t on the line. Black answered, though he didn’t want to. It’s okay, she telegraphed to him, even though he wasn’t looking at her. I’m not mad. She realized for the first time, watching him, that she was looking at probably the only good person she’d ever met in her life. A person who got up every morning actually wanting to right wrongs, a person who wasn’t out to serve himself or get rich or check out with alcohol and drugs when things got too hard. Someone who was going to marry a kindergarten teacher and have nice kids and actually be a good father. The only person in her life who hadn’t lied when he’d told her he was trying to help her. He really had tried.
If she’d given him Lily, handed her over to him, it would have been the best gift he’d ever been given. It would have put all of his questions and doubts to rest, and he would have known he was bringing a true murderer to justice. But if they had no evidence against Beth, then they had no evidence against Lily, either. No gun, no fingerprints, no way to prove she was there or even in town. If Beth could slip away from this, slide her neck out of the noose, then so could Lily. The difference was that once Lily was free again, she’d start to think about killing. She’d start planning something bad.
And if Beth made Detective Black Lily’s enemy, he’d be dead before he could see what was coming. Even if she warned him.
No one would listen to her warnings about Lily. That, she already knew.
Black’s testimony ended. Ransom declined to cross-examine him, not wanting to trample on Mankowski’s disaster, wanting to leave the memory of that hostile witness in the jury’s minds. Black was dismissed and left the stand as well as the courtroom.
Everyone was watching.
Beth kept her gaze ahead of her, on nothing, her expression blank and slightly bored, as if Detective Black meant nothing to her. She didn’t have to watch him to know that he didn’t look at her, either. There was nothing for anyone to see. Even Ransom was making quick notes to himself, not looking at Black leaving the room. Without anyone seeing, her knight had tilted at windmills for her as much as he could, and now it was over. She was alone.
Beth looked at nothing as the courtroom buzzed quietly around her, and thought, What will I do if I get out of here?
Two weeks later, she was acquitted. The jury had deliberated for four days.
They gave her her things back, had her sign papers. Made her wait in one room, then another. She knew this was a monumental moment, that everything was changing yet again, but all she could think was that she was incredibly hungry and she wanted a drink. She wondered if Ransom would give her money for a hamburger, or whether she had her own money again. She wondered where Lily was. There was no way her sister was missing this. She probably wasn’t far.
Ransom eventually came to get her. This was a triumphant day for him. “There’s a sea of media outside,” he warned her. He looked her over. “You’re wearing that?”