Jessie had been studying a suspicious file of her own.

Not enough to go on seems to be a pattern, she said. Do you know about his wife?

I thought that was an accident, Karen said.

What was? asked Jamil, whod been focused on his own task. I think that was before my time.

Karen filled him in.

Seven years ago, he and his wife were skiing. The ski lift safety bar was defective and she fell out of the chair, hundreds of feet to the ground. She died on impact. Gilliard almost fell too. They found him clinging to the chair. At least that was the official story.

Right, Jessie confirmed. Conveniently, that was exactly the time that Millicent Estrada became his primary criminal lawyer. According to everything Ive found, she pushed hard for the case to be closed quickly. It was ruled an accident. He was never formally investigated. Gilliard even filed suit against the ski lodge, though Milly didnt represent him on that case. But he eventually dropped it, saying going to court would be too painful.

Thats convenient, Jamil noted. If it had gone to trial, there would have been all kinds of discovery that might have revealed new evidence.

So he got to look like the angry widower, fighting for justice for his wife, Karen said, before becoming the widower too grief-stricken to pursue it. I remember the whole country mourned for him. But why does that matter now?

Jessie smiled. This was what shed been waiting for.

Maybe because the two of them hadnt seen each other in years, she said. According to my source, Milly had only bumped into Gilliard in the last few months, once she started getting back on the social circuit after her divorce.

Why is that significant? Jamil asked.

This was usually the moment where Jessie got chastised by Ryan for letting her intuition trump the evidence at hand. But he wasnt here and she got the sense that her audience was ready to take the ride with her, so she launched in.

I have a theory. What if Paul Gilliard killed his wife? What if he pushed her off that lift, maybe in a moment of anger, maybe for some other reason? What if Milly Estrada knew that and helped him cover it up, shut down the investigation? She wasnt as established back then. Getting him as a client was major coup. What if she let her ambition trump her ethics? The whole mess is taken care of and she doesnt have to think about it for years afterward. Shes still his criminal lawyer but he keeps his nose clean so she is able to move on with her life.

But that changed, Karen suggested.