Vail led Parver, Naomi, St Claire, Stenner, and Flaherty into a small holding office beside the courtroom.
'Okay, Shana,' Vail said after pulling the door shut, 'now what're you going to do? Punt or play?'
She looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'I'll be damned if I know. I can't even figure out what the options are.'
'Do you think Venable planned this, or is she just as surprised as we are?' Naomi asked.
'I don't think she planned it,' Vail said. 'But I think there's a chance she knew it was going to happen.'
'Shock defence,' Flaherty said.
'Theatre of the law,' Vail answered.
'You should know,' Stenner said. 'You pulled the same kind of stunt on Jane ten years ago.'
'Maybe so, Abel,' Shana agreed, 'but who do we deal with? What's your gut feeling? Which one of them did it?'
Stenner made a practical decision. 'The mother did it. The other way is too convoluted.'
'I say the mother,' Flaherty said. 'But I think the daughter was involved with Delaney, just as she said she was , on the stand, and the mother killed him to set her free. All this can come out in discovery. I say we postpone the arraignment and go back to the drawing board.'
'The daughter did it and the mother's covering for her,' St Claire said. 'I don't care how convoluted it is.'
'I think Angelica did it,' Parver agreed.
'I think Edith did it for a lot of reasons,' Naomi said. 'They're both giving the same story, both say the other one knew nothing about it, they have the same motive, the same opportunity, and neither one of them has an alibi,' Stenner said.
'That's ridiculous,' said St Claire. 'We got Stoddard's fingerprints all over the weapon.'
Vail stared at the ceiling. 'Why wouldn't Stoddard's fingerprints be all over the weapon, it's her gun?' he asked of nobody in particular.
'How about the bullets?' Flaherty asked.
'Same story,' Vail said. 'It's her gun. Naturally, she loaded it.'
'And the daughter?' asked Flaherty. 'How about her prints?'
'She'll say she wore gloves,' Shana said. 'If she wants to stick with her story.'
'Indict 'em both, see if we can break one of 'em down before we get to court,' suggested St Claire.
Vail laughed. 'Oh sure, I can see that. What do you
'I think it's a setup,' said Stenner. 'Either they were in it together or they're confusing the issue now.'
'Can we crack one story?' said Flaherty. 'Find a chink in Edith Stoddard's story and see if the daughter stays, with the wrong yarn?'
Shana Parver shifted uneasily in her chair. She stared down at the floor but said nothing.
'Okay, Parver,' Vail said. 'What's bugging you? Out with it.'
'I think,' she started, hesitated for a moment, then went on, 'I think he deserved what he got no matter who shot him.' That quieted the room down. They all looked at each other, then back at Shana.
'Let me ask you all something,' said Vail. 'Do any of you think Edith Stoddard would willingly have become involved in Delaney's sex games?'
'Why?' Shana asked.
'Because that may be the key to this whole mess,' Vail said. 'Delaney shined to the daughter and dazzled her. Look, she's a kid, all of a sudden she's getting attention from her mother's boss who is a big shot in town. He lures her in, the next thing you know he's playing kinky sex games with her. She doesn't tell anybody, certainly not her mother. Delaney was naked when he was hit. Supposing he was with the daughter and Edith Stoddard came in and caught them. She goes off the wall, pulls the gun, and drops Delaney. Then she hustles Angelica out of there, dumps the gun and splits. The next day during Johnson's interrogation, she realizes she can't buffalo the pros so she cops to the crime, says she lost it because Delaney got rid of her, and hopes it will end there. That way she protects her husband and her daughter.'
'Pretty good scenario,' Stenner said.
'Except we know the truth,' said Flaherty.
'Do we?' St Claire offered. 'All we know is that Delaney was one sick son of a bitch and whoever whacked him knew about his closet full of goodies. Either way, he comes off in court as a greaseball and
