Archie waited for her to regain her focus. She found herself mostly unable to think since the verdict. Even knowing the likely outcome, she really hadn’t taken time to consider what it meant for her. And now, with all these changes in front of her, she found she could barely concentrate. She was being carried along by a river, and it would take her wherever it wanted.

‘The appeal process will continue,’ Archie said. He looked calm, but there was no jovial smile and no jokes today. He wore his pressed, tailored suit, which reminded her that he was part of a club – the outside world – of which she was no longer a member. She didn’t hold it against him.

‘On what grounds?’ she asked.

‘There are always grounds. We’ll analyze the transcript. Technicalities may seem like small things, but they can loom large on appeal.’

She allowed herself a smile. ‘And really, Archie, how often does this bear fruit?’

He rubbed his salt-and-pepper goatee. He didn’t bury the truth for her under false hope. ‘Not often.’

‘No. I didn’t think so.’

‘This Ross Klayman incident may change things, however,’ Archie said.

Janine thought about the mall, where she’d often walked and shopped. She thought about Cindy wrestling a gunman and saving a teenager’s life. A hero. From time to time, Cindy had talked about being jealous of Janine and about how physical therapists helped people but they didn’t really save people. Which was all wrong, in Janine’s view. She wondered if Cindy felt differently about herself today.

‘What a terrible thing,’ Janine said. ‘What makes a man do something like that?’

‘I don’t think there are any answers to that question. Even so, the fact that Jay saw this man with a gun – and that Klayman did this—’

‘Ross Klayman didn’t kill Jay. Let’s not kid ourselves.’

Archie studied her with his sharp blue eyes. ‘You don’t know that for sure, Janine. Do you?’

She got the message. It’s not about reality. It’s about the law. ‘I just don’t want to exploit this tragedy.’

‘It’s not exploitation. It’s a reasonable question given the facts and given Klayman’s behavior.’

‘I hear you, Archie,’ she said. ‘Now can we get back to the real world?’

The lawyer nodded. ‘Judge Edblad will probably announce a sentence at the hearing next month. The guidelines call for a sentence between twenty-two and thirty years, and given your history and the lack of aggravating factors, I think we can expect a sentence on the lower end. I’ll argue for a downward departure from the guidelines but, candidly, I don’t expect it.’ Archie hesitated. ‘Here’s something for you to consider, Janine. A confession and statement of remorse might get sympathy from the court.’

She smiled sweetly. ‘Even if I didn’t shoot him, Archie?’