“What the hell do you mean ‘decide to take my case?’ I didn’t fly you here from Boston to shoot the shit.”

“I said I would meet with you. I didn’t agree to anything beyond that.”

“I’m offering you a lot of money. You’ll take my case,” Colin said. He sat back in the chair and folded his arms.

“Listen carefully, Colin. Don’t be cocky with me. I know what your financial situation really is. I didn’t get on the plane without finding that out.” The words were icy and sharp, and meant to pierce straight through Colin and put him in his place. “Now, I will speak and I will tell you what I will or will not do. But first I will start this conversation off with what will happen to you. You will not only be charged with the murder of your wife but perhaps a couple of other people too. The DNA evidence against you is damning. Honestly, Detective Gavin doesn’t need more proof. What he already has against you is not trivial by any means, no matter what your lawyer says.”

“It’s all circumstantial,” the lawyer stressed.

“It’s also all damn concerning. Don’t you think?” He turned to Colin, addressing him pointedly. “New York declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 2004. And though you will not die by order of this state you will never walk out of one of its prisons alive if convicted of these crimes. As a presumed serial killer, with DNA evidence implicating you, I would think that someone in your predicament would be a little less… how shall I say this… ass-like.”

Thomas’s words, “serial killer”, hit Colin hard. His face became ashen. He grabbed his head and pressed his fingers to his skull, growing increasingly despondent. The more Thomas talked the more real the situation seemed to become. Colin was finally taking this seriously.

“Colin, I’m a busy man. I know the logistics of this case. I know full well the extent of the evidence against you. What I don’t know is, how is it possible that you’re innocent when everything points to the fact that you are not. I’ll know within the first two minutes of your answer to my question if I will take your case. So, don’t waste my time, and yours, on inconsequential or stupid matters,” Thomas said.