Mr. Walsh sets the invoice that I painstakingly pieced together in front of me. “Miss Walker, you testified the heavy metal levels were of no consideration since Mr. Horne died of a myocardial infarction. If he was, in fact, being systematically poisoned, could that have played a factor in his death?”

I replay his exact question back in my mind, remembering Jeff’s advice to answer only what is specifically asked. Nothing more, nothing less. “Heavy metal poisoning does not directly cause a heart attack.”

Mr. Monroe’s lips quirk as though he won both the battle and the war, but I’m not done answering. If I have to answer these questions, I will do so precisely and to the best of my ability, so that both legally and morally, I can look at myself in the mirror without cringing.

“But the results of heavy metal poisoning could indirectly contribute due to the damage that it causes throughout the body.” It’s as close as I can get to saying “you’re damn right” without actually saying it.

“I see,” Mr. Walsh gloats. “So, with this new information, would you consider Mr. Horne’s heart attack an open and shut case with no need for further investigation?”

There’s only one way to answer that question . . . with the absolute truth that I’ve known since the beginning. “No.”

Judge Hopkins excuses me from the witness seat, and Jeff barely glances at me as I return to sit beside him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He lifts his shoulder noncommittally, not saying anything, but I can feel a lecture coming on full-force and I’m not looking forward to it.

The law’s supposed to be one team. And I just made Jeff look like Rosco P. Coltrane up here. He’s not going to like that. What damage have I done? For Yvette Horne and some money that I don’t even care about? No, if I wreck my job over this, it will be for Richard Horne. So his truth is known.

Mr. Walsh calls Mr. Neilhouse up next. “I’ll keep this brief. Mr. Horne’s life insurance contract . . . it states that Everlife has reasonable time to pay out a contract once a death claim has been made, correct?”

“Yes, the contract also defines reasonable time as three months from the date of claim. In this case, Mrs. Horne filed the claim six weeks ago, so we are well within our contracted timeframe,” Mr. Neilhouse answers dryly.

“I see. And does today’s information, particularly Miss Walker’s statement that further investigation is warranted, affect the three-month timeline?”