She squinted at the screen, thinking back on what Gaby had told her. “Are there two panniers on the back of that bike, or one?” Lana held up her phone to Jack.
“I can’t tell from this picture. But the bike at the Shack only had one.”
The newscast flipped to the weather girl. Lana looked at the blurry green-and-black blob she’d captured on her phone for one more second, then shook her head.
“We’ve got more important things to talk about tonight. Let’s go.” Lana switched off the TV, grabbed a fresh Diet Coke from the fridge, and headed toward the back bedroom, Jack following behind her.
“I’ve been thinking about that motive problem you raised,” Lana said. “We keep getting stuck because all our suspects have some reason to do it. All of them wanted the ranch. They all had access somewhere along that creek you found. And it didn’t take incredible strength or specialized knowledge to kill Ricardo. Or Hal.”
Jack frowned. “Is this supposed to be a pep talk? I thought—”
Lana cut her off. “But I realized, there’s another way to look at this. BATNA.”
“Bat-nuh?”
Lana nodded. “BATNA. Best alternative to a negotiated agreement. It’s a term we use in business deals. When you’re negotiating with someone over a piece of land or lease terms, you ask yourself: If we can’t make a deal here, how bad is it for the other person? What other choices do they have? What’s their best alternative if they walk away?”
She could practically see her granddaughter’s wheels turning.
“Let me see if I got this right,” Jack said. “Let’s say I want to buy a boat. The owner wants to sell it now, but I can’t buy it yet. I need a few more months.”
“That’s a very specific example—”
“So maybe I offer him a higher price if he’ll wait. Therefore his best alternative to selling it to me in a few months is to sell it now but get less money for it.”
“That’s right.” Lana eyed her granddaughter. “Jack?”
“Yes?”
“Are you interested in buying a boat?”
Jack’s eyebrows raised and a small smile appeared on her face. “A sailboat. But, um, I’m not sure my mom will let me.”
“Have you asked her?”
Jack shook her head.
“Then your first negotiation is with her. What’s her best alternative to letting you buy the boat?”
“Prima . . . I don’t think of talking with my mom as a negotiation.”
“But you aren’t sure she’ll say yes,” Lana countered. “So maybe you should.”
“Um, in that case, I guess her best alternative to saying yes is just saying no.”
“And you accepting it?”
“Maybe being grumpy about it. But there’s not a lot more I can do.”
Lana looked at her. “Jack, that’s not true. You could escalate. You could threaten to do something way more reckless if she doesn’t let you buy it.”
“That seems kind of immature.”
“Okay . . . maybe you could show her that the alternative is you being unhappy. Stifled. Not able to be your full self.” Lana could see this was starting to click. “Listen, Jack. Life is a negotiation. With yourself. With others. You can’t sit around waiting for someone else to guess what you want. You have to ask for it, even if it’s scary.” Lana took a sip of her soda. “But yes, you’ve got the concept.”
“And this BATNA stuff has to do with murder how?”
“Well,” said Lana, “all these suspects could have killed Ricardo. But who had to kill Ricardo? For whom was murder the best alternative to whatever was going on?”
Jack stared at the photographs lined up on the wall. “Martin has an alibi for Ricardo’s murder, but he could have killed his dad so he could sell the ranch for money.”
“Is that his best alternative to getting money another way?”
Jack scrunched up her face. “Seems extreme. I mean, he’s a rich white guy who went to MIT. He could probably get investors in Silicon Valley without having to kill his own family.”
Lana nodded, encouraging Jack to keep going.
“But his sister, Lady Di.” Jack’s voice was more confident now. “If she was hooking up with Ricardo and things got messed up there . . .”
“Exactly,” Lana said.
“Couldn’t she just dump him?” Jack asked. “Why would she have to murder him?”