I stare at her in disbelief. “Why are you defending me? After what I did to you?”

“Because when I said ‘til death do us part’ I meant it and I’m the only person that has any chance in hell of getting you off.” There’s ice in her voice and rightfully so.

I drop eye contact. I can’t look at her. How could I do this? How could I get us to this point? “I’m sorry.” I let out a soft sob.

She puts pen to paper and gives me a stern look. “I need you to tell me everything… every single detail. Do not leave anything out. Do you understand?”

I nod. I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I should just tell her that I’ll get a different lawyer, but she’s right—she’s the best, and she’s my only shot at getting out of this. From what Deputy Hudson told me, the evidence is stacked against me. He said I’ll for sure fry, and he’ll be happy to see me pay for this crime. They’ll find my semen in Kelly. They’ll find my fingerprints and DNA all over her. They’ll discover texts and phone calls and meet-ups that go back over a year.

“When did you two first meet?”

“About a year and a half ago.”

“And how did you meet?”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, remembering that warm summer day—the day Kelly entered my life.

13. Adam Morgan

13

Adam Morgan

It was the beginning of summer, and we had just purchased the lake house a few weeks before. Sarah was supposed to come down for the weekend to help me get the finishing touches on the house, but work kept her in the city like it had the previous two weekends. It was late morning when a caffeine headache kicked in. I had just finished unpacking my office and found there was no coffee in the house, so I decided to go for a walk. I hadn’t met anyone in town yet, and it seemed everyone pretty much kept to themselves in typical elitist, D.C. suburban transplant fashion. I picked up my laptop and my bag and walked the ten minutes into town.

The town is ablaze with the dichotomy of the area—a mix of rustic Virginia charm and all the trappings of your standard one-percenter needs. Large oak and juniper trees engulf the town’s perimeter, a sea of green paused only by the economic center. That day, the old cracked asphalt streets looked almost wet in the morning heat.