Of course, there are really only a few options. Either Lauren ended the affair and Dana killed her in anger, or Dana ended it and then killed her because Lauren threatened revenge, most likely related to Dana’s continued employment—but it also might have been to prevent Lauren from telling Dana’s husband. A third possibility is that Dana decided to end it by killing her lover rather than risking the possible reprisals that would follow breaking up with her boss. This last scenario has the added benefits of not only ensuring that she remain gainfully employed but also probably securing her a promotion.

The problem is that I have no idea which of those alternatives is true. The second-to-last text exchange they had—the last one being the text that drew Lauren into Central Park and to her death—suggested two people who couldn’t get enough of each other. In other words, not people on the verge of a nasty breakup.

Rather than advance a theory that I can’t prove, I’d opted to leave the question open. It seemed like the smart move, as motive isn’t an element of murder—intent to commit the crime plus an overt act is all that’s required for conviction, and I have ample evidence to support each.

The jurors’ faces tell me that I’m wrong. They want to know why. I can’t blame them. It’s hard to send someone—especially a young mother who has devoted her life to putting criminals behind bars—to jail for the rest of her life without knowing that.

“That was good,” Kayla Kirk whispers to me when I return to counsel table. Now that Gabriel is a testifying witness, he’ll be sequestered from the courtroom during witness testimony, so Kayla has been added to the trial team to second-seat me. “You made a lot of strong points. I think the jury was engaged.”

This is Kayla’s first jury trial, so her opinion doesn’t mean that much to me in any event. But knowing it’s not true makes her praise sound like a criticism. Worse still, I can hear Lauren’s voice in my head, telling me that I’m failing her.

The sequester order doesn’t apply to opening statements. As a result, Gabriel is seated in the gallery’s first row. When our eyes meet, he smiles, but even though I’m sure he’s trying to convey that I’ve done well, this is not the smile he shows me at Lava.

Judge Gold’s voice snaps me back to the trial. “Mr. Burrows, please present your opening statement.”

44. DANA GOODWIN

44.

DANA GOODWIN

I’m sick to my stomach after hearing Ella Broden explain to the jury how I murdered Lauren.