I put my hand out to take hers and this time she lets me. I tell her I’m sorry again, but there are not enough apologies in the world to fix this, to fix what I’ve done. She squeezes my hand and then packs up her stuff.

I tell her I love her.

“Your mother is in town. She stopped by my office this morning,” she responds. There’s no “I love you back,” and I don’t blame her.

“Really? How is she?”

“She’s… your mother.”

As Sarah turns to leave, she stops and looks back at me. “If charged, the D.A. will push for the maximum penalty allotted for a double homicide in the state of Virginia.” Her voice shakes.

“And what’s that?”

“Execution.”

21. Sarah Morgan

21

Sarah Morgan

Anne walks into my office wearing a black pencil dress with her hair pulled up in a slicked-back ponytail. Every day she looks a little bit more like me. She’s carrying two grande Americanos from Starbucks, one in each hand, and a file folder is tucked under her left arm. She closes the door behind her and shuffles quickly to my desk, setting down both coffees. She takes a seat across from me and places the folder on her lap.

I was supposed to come in yesterday after meeting with Adam, but I couldn’t. I needed to be alone. I needed to process everything. I haven’t told Anne about what happened at the jail or about the results of the autopsy or the DNA or the fact that Adam was the father of Kelly’s unborn child or about the threatening note and photo Adam received. I’m sure she’s anxious to hear what I have to say.

“How’s mother-in-law-zilla?” Anne asks trying to lighten the mood right away.

I shake my head. “Don’t even get me started.” I take a sip of coffee. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop in or call yesterday. Things just got crazy and overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to handle it. Thank you for covering.”

“What happened?” Concern and empathy spread across her face. She leans forward giving me her full attention.

“They found three sets of DNA inside her.”

“Three?” she asks not in a way to question what I said but to confirm her shock. She holds up three fingers as she says it.

I nod and take a sip of my coffee. “Three. One is Adam’s, one is Scott’s, and one is unknown.”

“She was sleeping with three men?”

“It would appear so.”

“Jesus… girl gets around. Well, maybe that third set of DNA is the one responsible for her death…?” Anne suggests.

“That’s exactly what Adam said.”

“Who is this third man? Has anyone seen her with anyone else other than Scott or Adam?”