Esposito nodded toward the hallway. Morgan collected her tote and followed him. He’d reined in his temper, but cold anger still glittered in his eyes. “Once the grand jury and judge see the overwhelming amount of evidence, her bail will be revoked.”
Bail could be revisited after the grand jury issued an indictment. Because that wasn’t an if. It was a when. Grand juries met behind closed doors. Only the prosecutor presented evidence. Unless Haley wanted to testify—which Morgan wouldn’t allow—defense counsel wouldn’t even be present. After the grand jury handed Bryce his indictment, he would no doubt petition the court to revoke bail and remand Haley into custody until the trial.
Morgan’s head felt like a monkey was clanging cymbals behind her eyes, but she lifted her chin and looked Esposito squarely in the eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
His nostrils flared as he exhaled. “How is your head?”
The question surprised Morgan and made her wary. “It looks much worse than it is.”
“I hope so, because it looks terrible.”
Ass.
She waited for his going-out-of-business-limited-time-only plea offer.
“Ms. Powell is just as guilty as your last client,” he began. “But in the interests of the taxpayers, I’ll make you an offer. If she pleads guilty to the murder charge, we’ll settle on twenty-five years and won’t pursue a life sentence. She’s young. She could still have a life after she’s released.”
“I’ll relay your offer to my client.” Morgan didn’t even want to counter. Haley’s life would be over if she took the plea. This was an all-or-nothing case. Morgan had to win it. But could she?
“My offer expires when the grand jury issues the indictment.” Esposito smoothed his tie.
Of course it does.
“Understood.”
“If you refuse my offer, your client will go to prison for the rest of her life.” Esposito’s mouth twisted in a smug smile. “One other thing—your client’s blood tests show no evidence that she ingested any of the common club drugs. Thanks for insisting that she be tested. You just filled a nice hole in my case.”
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe Eliza produced a million dollars in cash that fast.” Anxious to get to work, Lance paced Morgan’s office. It could take all day for the county corrections department to process the paperwork to release Haley. There was no reason for him and Morgan to waste the day waiting. Sharp and Eliza could handle that on their own.
He’d missed working closely with Morgan on a case. Their offices were side by side, but over the winter, they’d been busy with their own caseloads.
What would he do if she took that job offer in New Jersey? She claimed to have no interest, but he’d seen the temptation in her eyes. Did she really want to work criminal defense? If she accepted the job, she’d have to relocate, something he’d never considered. His mother’s mental illness kept her housebound. She had no other family. What would happen to her if Lance moved away?
Behind her desk, Morgan opened her laptop. “We’re in business. Discovery evidence is coming in from the prosecutor’s office. I’m downloading documents.”
Lance picked up a dry-erase marker. “Let’s get some basics down before we start theorizing. Let’s start with the victim.”
Morgan scrolled on her computer. “Noah Carter was twenty-six years old, and he rented the house he was killed in.”
“The landlord would have a key to the house.” Lance tapped the closed marker on his palm.
“The owner of the property lives in Colorado. A sheriff’s deputy phoned him on Saturday and verified that he was in Colorado.”
Lance listed the landlord at the bottom of his list. “Employer?”
“Excite Site, a small web design firm. Noah worked remotely from home, as do all the company’s employees. According to the phone interview with the boss in Austin, Texas, Noah was working on a bid to design a new website for Randolph Savings and Loan.”
“Where Haley works as a social media coordinator.”
“Yes,” Morgan confirmed. “Multiple witnesses stated that’s where they met.”
“We’ll put Noah’s boss and his company on the background-check list I gave my mother last night.” Lance added them to the bottom of the board. “What do we have on Noah’s parents?”
“A few basics. They live in a nice neighborhood. Mr. Carter is a project manager for a construction company. Noah’s mother is a dental hygienist. No obvious financial problems. In addition to Adam, the Carters have a daughter, Penelope, age twenty-two. She is on her way home from college in Oregon. On the surface they appear to be a typical middle-class family.”
Lance listed Mr. and Mrs. Carter on the board. “Who did Haley go out with on the night of Noah’s murder?”
Morgan scrolled. “Her name is Piper Allen. She’s an IT tech for the bank. According to her statement, last Friday was her birthday. She and Haley went out to celebrate. Piper left the club at eleven. She doesn’t know what time Haley left.” Morgan looked up from the screen.
“She goes to the top of our interview list.” Lance wrote her name down. “What about Noah? Did he go to the club alone that night?”
“No. He was out with three friends. Justin O’Brien is a freelance graphic artist. Isaac McGee is a software engineer, and Chase Baker works in the accounting department of a local credit union. All three confirm that they left the club around one a.m. Haley and Noah left at the same time, together. The police have a copy of the surveillance video that confirms this. They also interviewed club employees and patrons. So far, all the statements match in basics. We do not have a copy of the surveillance tape yet.”
“We’ll need to talk to all three of Noah’s pals and visit the club.” Lance wrote the young men’s names on the list. He stepped back and scanned the board. They were off to a good start. “Now, what about Haley? I’m having a hard time picturing her overpowering a healthy young man. She’s small. Noah had a generous size advantage.”
“Maybe she took him by surprise,” Morgan suggested.
“That plays right into the prosecutor’s murder charge,” Lance pointed out. “Self-defense doesn’t allow for sneaking.”
“Damn it.” Clearly frustrated, Morgan blew a hair off her face. “Could he have attacked her in the kitchen, and she grabbed whatever was handy to defend herself?”
“A knife isn’t a good weapon for an untrained woman. It’s too easily taken away and used against her.”
“But maybe he didn’t expect her to fight back. Or maybe he didn’t see her grab the knife.” Morgan rubbed her forehead.
“Good possibilities.” Lance added the questions to the board.
Behind him, Morgan was quiet. He glanced over his shoulder. Her face was grim.
“What’s wrong?” He turned around.
“I’m reading the sheriff’s initial interview with Haley.”
“And?”
“It’s disturbing.”
“Is Haley disturbing or Colgate?”
“It’s all disturbing, actually.” Morgan nodded toward the printer, which started to hum and spit out papers. “I printed you a copy of the interview and the police reports.”
“Colgate has been in law enforcement a long time. I’ve never heard of any scandals associated with him.” Lance collected the papers, then he perched on the corner of her desk and began to skim through the pages. “When did the call come in?”
“At eleven fifteen a.m. on Saturday, one of Noah’s neighbors heard a woman screaming outside and called 911. The deputy arrived ten minutes later and found Haley kneeling over the body. He confirmed that Noah was dead and called for backup. Haley was rocking back and forth on the grass, asking, ‘What have I done?’ over and over. He asked her for her name and address, but she did not respond to his questions. She was compliant but, in his words, ‘out of it.’ He asked her if she was injured, and she shook her head, indicating that she was not.” Morgan huffed. “Considering her mental state, she could have been seriously injured and not known it.”
Lance found the correct page on the police report. “The deputy also stated that he looked her over for injuries and found none.”