He wanted to say no. Hannah could see it written al over his face. But he hesitated and then, maybe because the subpoena line had worked, or maybe just because he had questions of his own, he changed his mind.
“You’d better come in,” Prosper said. He led the way into a beautiful library. It was modern and bright, and large enough to comfortably house an oversize custom-made desk as wel as two smal couches, which faced each other to facilitate conversation.
Prosper took a seat at one and gestured for Hannah and Sean to sit in the other. “How did you find me?” he asked.
Hannah was determined not to throw Sophia’s daughter under the bus. “Someone saw you,” she said. “Or rather, saw your photograph online. Someone from Yorktown. This person knew you in the old days, and stil knows your sister today. She recognized you.”
Prosper scowled. “I’m not in touch with Sophia. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Okay . . . ,” Hannah said, a little thrown by his vehemence.
Sean leaned forward. “Mr. Prosper. As you know Michael has been in prison for eleven years for the murder of Sarah Fitzhugh. We believe that he is innocent of that crime. In fact, his conviction has already been vacated by the federal courts. Notwithstanding this, the state prosecutor is planning on trying the case again. Michael is stil in prison, and he wil have to go to court again to fight for his freedom in just a few days. I don’t know . . . are you already aware of al this, Mr. Prosper? It’s been widely reported in the newspapers.”
“My name is Johnathon Swift,” Prosper said. “I haven’t been Neil Prosper for years.” His voice was tight and his face flushed. Was that anger? Or something else?
“Mr. Swift, then.” Hannah broke in, her tone conciliatory. “I don’t . . . maybe you’re not aware that Michael Dandridge gave your name when he was asked for an alibi for the night of the murder? He said that he spent the night with you, drinking and listening to music.
Is that right?” She waited for him to deny it.
Prosper visibly squirmed. Seconds passed when he didn’t speak.
Final y, he said, “I’m not obliged to speak to you, right? I mean, not legal y.”
Hannah opened her mouth to speak, but Sean got there before her. “Not right at this moment,” he said, evenly, “but if you don’t speak to us voluntarily you wil be subpoenaed to the trial where you wil be obliged to respond to questioning. If you object, Michael’s defense lawyers—our col eagues—wil be entitled to treat you as a hostile witness, and you wil be cross-examined. If you lie to the court, that would be perjury, and you may be sent to prison.”
The word hung in the air. Prosper was staring at Sean with a combination of dislike and fear. “What makes you think I’d lie?” he said.
Sean hesitated. “I think you’ve worked very hard to avoid tel ing the truth for eleven years. Presumably, there’s a reason for that.”
Tension sparked between them and there was silence for a long moment. Shifting in her chair, Hannah said, “Mr. Swift, if you didn’t spend the evening with Mr. Dandridge, or if you spent only part of the evening with him, you are free to say so, you know. We do want to hear the truth, whatever that might be.” Was that too obvious? She risked pissing Sean off, even making him suspicious, but it would be worth it if it put the alibi witness idea to bed once and for al .
But Prosper turned his gaze to her and said, “I’m not going to answer your questions.”
Sean and Hannah exchanged glances.
“Are you saying . . . are you saying that you are concerned about self-incrimination?” Hannah felt herself flush. God. This was too good. She half-expected Prosper to stand up, to say he was going to cal his attorney, to ask them to leave. But he didn’t do any of those things. He just sat there and looked at them, and the tension grew.
“You’re not going to answer our questions,” Sean said, eventual y, careful y.
“No.”
“You can’t help us.”
Prosper nodded. He and Sean had locked eyes. It was like they were having a different, unspoken conversation now. One that Hannah wasn’t hearing.
“You can’t be seen to be helping us,” Sean said.
Prosper nodded again.
“Because of Sophia. Because of Sophia and her family.”
“Yes.” There was relief on Prosper’s face as he nodded for a third time, the relief of someone who is final y understood. But there was fear in his eyes too. Unmistakably. Hannah started to feel uneasy.