“Correct. The game was on November 3, 2014, and the rape happened on October 2.” She paused and swatted a stray string of hair out of her eyes. “If it’s true, General, and I believe that it is, why would Mandy Burks be engaging in oral sex in a public place so soon after such a traumatic experience?”

Helen glared at her young assistant and stepped toward her. “Rape affects women in different ways, Gloria. You’d be wise to not make any callous assumptions.”

Gloria held her ground. “Just pointing out the potential prejudice. A reasonable person on the jury who’s aware of this rumor might ask the same thing. He or she could also ask why Mandy waited until November 7 to report the rape, which was thirty-six days after the crime but only four days after the tryst with Fitzgerald at the ball game.”

Helen cringed, knowing that Gloria was right. She decided to switch gears. “Why did Mandy and Lightfoot break up?”

“Mandy broke things off a week after the rape. Said she liked him but that they didn’t have anything in common.”

Helen gazed down at the hardwood floor and bit her lip. “Let’s go back to the night of the rape. As far as we know, Zannick has no alibi for where he was when Mandy was in the house.”

“None. It’s a straight-up he-said-she-said.”

For a moment, there was silence in the small space as the two women eyed each other. “Good work,” Helen finally said.

“Thank you. General, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

Gloria darted her eyes at Trish, who looked down at her desk when Helen’s gaze landed on her.

“Have you thought about pleading Zannick out to distribution of alcohol to minors and dropping the rape charges?”

Helen ground her teeth together. “No, I have not. We don’t plea out rape cases in this office. We try them.”

“I understand that,” Gloria continued, holding Helen’s eye. “But the defendant is a popular figure in town, and we don’t have a witness to the rape. And given Mandy’s reputation . . . we could lose, General.”

“What’s your point? Losing is always a risk.” Helen took another step forward. “Why don’t you spit out what you are really trying to say?”

Gloria sucked in a quick breath. “Do you want to risk losing a high-profile case so close to the election?”

Helen scowled at her chief deputy. “The election will never sway me from doing what’s right. Mandy Burks deserves to be heard. You got that?”

Gloria’s face turned crimson. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Do you have our requested jury instructions ready to go?”

“I need to tweak a couple of the patterns, and then I’ll walk them down to the judge’s chambers and give them to Clarice.”