“Everything’s okay, isn’t it? I mean, she’s going to get her money, isn’t she?”

“Well…” Paul said, focusing once more on Alice, interested in her concern. “You know how it is when it comes to this much money.”

“Shit. He’s appealing isn’t he?”

“He stands to lose a lot if he doesn’t.”

“I knew it. That bastard. He’ll drag this thing out until we… Lindy’s ruined! What’s her lawyer want? More money? Because, sweetie, until we get a big check out of Markov Enterprises, there is no money.” She must have heard herself ranting, because she stopped.

“I really need to talk to her for a couple of minutes.”

“Ah,” she said. Light seemed to dawn. “You just have some paperwork for her to sign or something like that? And this is not specifically about an appeal?” She tried to read his face. “Help me out here. Has he appealed?”

“Not that I know of.”

She laughed with relief. “Jesus, you had me going there. I mean, she is my dearest friend. And she really needs that money.”

And sweetie, she’s not the only one, Paul thought. “Any idea where to find her?”

“She doesn’t like me giving out her whereabouts.”

He sighed and turned toward the door. “Too bad. Ms. Reilly’s going to be disappointed. This will cause a delay.”

“But you’re from her lawyer, right? So I can tell you,” Alice said. “She left right after the verdict. Headed for her shanty out there in the boondocks in the Carson Range outside of Reno.”

“By the way, Ms. Boyd. If you don’t mind my asking, where were you when Clifford Wright died?”

Alice pulled a handkerchief out and wiped moisture off her face. “While we waited for the verdict, I worked at the shop. We do a lot of impromptu weddings. It’s one of the ironies of my life that I spend most of my day putting together bouquets and corsages for weddings. My assistant will confirm that I was there that morning, until we got called in for a verdict in the afternoon. Why do you ask?”

“Ever been in the hallway outside the jury room? Where the clerks’ offices are?”

“Why, yes,” she said.

“Mind if I ask if there’s another reason you care so much if Lindy Markov gets her money?”

“She supported me for years,” said Alice simply. “That’s God’s truth. I’d do anything for her, and I’m not the only one. Mind telling me what this is all about?”

“Some of the circumstances to do with Clifford Wright’s death are in question.”

“You mean… someone hurt him intentionally?” The thought agitated her. “Goddamn it! I see what’s going on here. This is some plan to get the verdict changed, isn’t it? This is Mike’s doing. He’ll do anything to win! I knew it!”

He left her to her tantrum.

By the time Paul reached Lindy’s trailer, his van had been complaining for twenty miles.

Lindy must have heard it, too, because she stood in front with her arms folded, apparently awaiting his arrival, in a square of yellow light from her doorway that made the only illumination for miles.

“Brrr,” he said getting out, stepping directly into a puddle.

A low, foggy dusk had spread around the mountains like a silver belt. Lindy wore jeans and a thick ski sweater but he could see that she was shivering. “Come inside,” she said, motioning him in.

She poured him a cup of coffee she already had made, then sat down across from him at a fold-down table. “What are you doing here, Paul? Is everything okay? I talked to Nina this afternoon and she didn’t mention you were coming.”

She would be his hardest interview. He couldn’t think of any reason to have come other than the one that had brought him. “Some questions have come up.”

“What questions?”

“You may not realize it, but the police have not closed the book on Cliff Wright’s death.”

She drummed nicely manicured fingernails on the table. “I didn’t know that,” she said. “Why haven’t they? I thought he had some kind of allergic reaction. I thought they knew that for sure.”

“That’s true. But what they are trying to find out is exactly what caused the allergic reaction.”

“How will they do that? Someone told me he was allergic to a bunch of things.”

“Who told you?”

“I don’t know. Seems like we were going over the jury members once and someone mentioned it.”

So she knew about the allergies. That was key. “I think they are trying to narrow down the possibilities,” he said. “What they think happened is that someone may have put something in his lunch.”

She looked at him with a face that was perfectly incredulous. “Are they crazy? They think someone made him have an allergy attack?”

“Something like that, yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, that’s just it. Cliff Wright was a real leader of the jury. Did you hear the interviews with your jury after they came out? He was really pushing for Mike, and had most of them coaxed around.”

“So?”

“So, the police seem to think there might be a motive in that.”

She shook her head back and forth. “This is unbelievable. Are you saying they think I might have had something to do with harming this man because I knew he was on Mike’s side?”

“Wright had turned almost the entire jury against you. You would have lost everything. So you see, you had good reason to worry about what this man was doing to your jury.”

“But Paul… how could I know what was going on in the jury room?”

“You know what, Lindy? From everything I’ve heard, you’re a smart woman. You hired Nina because you saw she’d kill herself to represent you. You built a huge business out of nothing with Mike. You know you can buy some people. I think, if you wanted to know what was going on in the jury room, you would figure out a way to find out.”

She stood up. “Get out of here.”

“Who told you about Wright, Lindy? Was it Mrs. Lim? She used the telephone frequently. She could have been calling you with updates on the situation. Did she tell you what a threat he was? And then… you passed through that hallway a few times before. Maybe you were passing through that day, worrying about him and then, there it was, his meal, specially marked for a vegetarian. Maybe you never meant to kill him. Maybe you were just angry, and you acted without thinking. Because, Lindy, if you did, it’s only second degree-”

She yanked on his arm. “On your feet. I said go!”

He stood up. She reached past him and threw open the door.

“Or was it Diane?” he went on standing with his two hands wedged firmly on the doorjambs. “She needed big money the most, and she really believed in your cause. I honestly don’t think she would have a problem accepting money in return for helping you out a little. Why she practically admitted she knew you did it-”

She pushed him. He held firm.

“Look, I’ll make a deal with you,” she said angrily. “I’m going to tell you what you want to know, and then you’ll get off of my property. Do we have a deal?”

He nodded.

“I did not bribe a juror.”

“Then how did you know about Wright?”

She struck him on the shoulder. “What kind of a person are you?” she cried as he made no move to leave. “Don’t you know most people don’t have murder on the brain and wouldn’t consider such a thing for any amount of money? Or have you been so jaded by your work you can’t understand that most people don’t kill?”

“I’m a realist, Lindy. Just like you.”

And then, in the swing of her arm, a gun found its way into her hand. It must have come from the cookie jar on the counter. Pointing it at him she said, “If that’s the case, maybe this will help you understand that I mean it when I tell you to get the hell out of here.”

Staggered as always at the inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies of human behavior, Paul stepped outside, backing away from her until she closed the door in his face.