They’d placed her in a small room to consult with her client. It afforded privacy. While waiting, she continued examining everything investigators had reluctantly shared. The crime-scene and autopsy photos in Vida Warren’s homicide, and those of other women across the country, gave her pause as the enormity of the case settled on her.

Still, the brief information police had given her didn’t tell the whole story. Nothing was rock-solid against her client. Not yet, she thought, making notes when the door opened and Jeff Taylor was escorted to the table.

He was handcuffed. The uniformed officer secured his cuffs to the metal loop in the table.

“Just knock on the door when you’re done,” the officer said, then left.

Martinez thanked him, then stood, reached over the table. The chain jingled when she shook Jeff’s hand.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, assessing her, putting her in her late thirties. “Nick told me you graduated from Yale, that you handle serious criminal cases and you never lose.”

“Almost never,” she focused on her papers and laptop. “Jeff, our immediate goal is to get you released.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m guilty?” He indicated all the material on the table. “If I did it?”

“No. That’s for a prosecutor to prove. You are not guilty until a court says you are.”

Jeff looked at her, and she met his gaze, removing her glasses, her sharp, intelligent eyes reading him carefully.

“Jeff, I am ethically and legally bound to provide all clients with an aggressive defense. That includes those who are likely to be found guilty by the court and those who are innocent.”

Jeff nodded with satisfaction.

“All right,” she turned to her notes on her yellow legal pad. “I’ve reviewed everything I’ve been provided, and quite frankly, at this stage, it looks like a lot of circumstance strung together.”

“What do you mean, at this stage?”

“For starters, you have not been formally charged with anything.”

“Then, why are they holding me?”

“Because they can. In this state, they can hold you for a long time before charging you. It’s up to the State Attorney to charge you. It’s possible they don’t think they have all the evidence yet. Or they’re waiting on more evidence.”

Jeff nodded.

“Remember,” Martinez said, “investigators are legally allowed to employ all kinds of strategies. They can lie to you during questioning, they can bring you in, jam you up, try to fish for a confession, anything that strengthens their case against you.”

Jeff swallowed.

“Now, the way I see it,” Martinez said, “they’ve got a boatload of circumstance against you. It’s not pretty—it looks bad for you—but it’s not that strong. I’m confident I will be able to secure your release soon. You just hang in there.”

“Okay.”