A lineup could be done in one of two ways: a photographic lineup or an in-person lineup. The Art of Jury Trial as War, chapter 20: “Always, always, always—if you have the choice as a defense attorney—go with a photographic lineup.” Human memory is enormously fallible, and false identifications happened all the time. A photographic lineup was the best way to confuse the witness since people rarely look the same as in a photo. A lot of times, lazy cops didn’t even take new photos. They just used old booking photos or even crappy DMV photos from years ago.

So as a prosecutor, I wanted a live lineup, and I worked fast enough that Pritcher couldn’t file a motion to object. It would be fruitless to do so, since he’d for sure lose, but stalling tactics to wear down the prosecution worked more times than not. But he’d never been up against someone like me before.

I got to the station in the morning, and Jia was waiting for me outside. Her arms were folded as she paced, completely lost in thought. She struck me as someone who lived mostly inside her own head, for which the outside world was almost a distraction.

“Is the party ready to start?” I said as she followed me inside.

“Everyone’s here. Russell’s threatening to file a motion objecting to a live lineup.”

“Of course he is.”

“Can he even do that? Seems frivolous.”

“There’s a Supreme Court case that says he can object on the grounds that it’s overly suggestive, which violates the accused’s due process. So let me do the talking. One misstep and Russell will get the entire lineup tossed.”

We went inside the station, and near the back I saw Russell sitting with two other people in expensive suits. A tall woman with brunette hair and flashy earrings, and a younger man with a gold Rolex that gleamed in the sunlight coming through the windows. I caught a few of the officers glancing at them when they thought no one was looking.

“Tatum,” Pritcher said. “Looking sharp as ever. Did you raid your father’s closet?”

“Funnier every time. Let’s do this.”

“I haven’t made up my mind whether to file an objection yet.”

“You’re going to file one after the lineup saying I was overly suggestive, so let’s not bullshit each other. Shall we begin? I’m sure you’ve got flies to pick the wings off of or puppies to kick.”

We headed back to the lineup. The viewing room was darkened, and Lyle and Nikyee were there, as was Detective Vail, who was standing with his arms folded in the center of the room. Lyle was hugging his mom’s leg.

“Where’s Howard?” I asked Vail.

“Car theft uptown. We still have other cases, ya know.”

I turned to Lyle and said, “Hi, Lyle.”

“Hi.”

“You ready to do this, pal?”