Lindsay needed to steal the momentum from Nunzio, and she saw her opening. “So the prosecutor wants to file assault charges but detain my client as if she were accused of murder. Presumably the prosecution’s theory is that Alex Lopez was killed at the house in question during this supposed assault, so why isn’t he charging my client with homicide? The answer, Your Honor, is that he knows he doesn’t have probable cause—either for assault or for murder—but thinks he can cover up this failure by proceeding with the lesser charge.” From her briefcase, she pulled the affidavit she had Scott sign late last night, summarizing his discussion with Kevin Mitchell, the bartender at the Pier Bar. “This is the evidence I was in a rush to prepare for the court. May I approach?”

Lindsay felt a brief but satisfying moment of schadenfreude as she dropped a copy of the affidavit on the prosecution table for Nunzio on her way to the bench to hand the judge the original, but as she returned to her seat, she spotted Scott in the back row of the courtroom. From his facial expression, she had an idea how long he’d been there.

Seconds felt like hours as the judge processed the information in the affidavit. Lindsay couldn’t bring herself to look at Scott again, and she didn’t want Scott to see her look at Hope. She forced herself to stare straight ahead.

“And you have a recording of the entire conversation described here?” Judge Harper finally asked.

“Yes, Your Honor. I can play it now if the court desires.” In truth, she was hoping not to share the full recording. In the affidavit, she had spelled out only the evidence that Alex Lopez had been at the bar drinking, requesting an ice pack for a visible cut on his temple. She had omitted the details about Alex borrowing the bartender’s phone, hoping that for once she was actually a step ahead of the police.

The judge let out an exasperated sigh. “Mr. Nunzio, are you aware of this witness?”

Nunzio was already conferring with Carter Decker, who had flipped to the second page of the affidavit and was shaking his head.

“Mr. Nunzio?”

“No, Your Honor. This is the first I’ve heard of him.”

“Is it fair to say that it would drastically alter your theory of the case if there is in fact a witness who saw your victim alive but visibly injured at the date and time described here?”

“It is still our position that the defendant was responsible for that injury, Your Honor, and that is the basis for our assault charge today.”

“That’s not a satisfying answer, Mr. Nunzio. Does it change the theory of your case or not?”

“It would be premature to answer that before I’ve had a chance to talk to the witness myself.”