She is speaking softly so as not to wake Annie. Part of my mind is still with Sarah and my father, chasing a strand of meaning down a dark spiral, but I force myself to concentrate as the woman introduces herself as Kate. She is quite striking, with fine black hair pulled up from her neck, fair skin, and sea green eyes, an unusual combination. Her navy suit looks tailored, and the pulled-back hair gives the impression that Kate is several years older than she probably is, a common affectation among young female attorneys. I smile awkwardly and confirm that I am indeed myself, then ask if she is a lawyer.

She smiles. “Am I that obvious?”

“To other members of the breed.”

Another smile, this one different, as though at some private joke. “I’m a First Amendment specialist,” she offers.

Her accent is an alloy of Ivy League Boston and something softer. A Brahmin who graduated Radcliffe but spent her summers far away. “That sounds interesting,” I tell her.

“Sometimes. Not as interesting as what you do.”

“I’m sure you’re wrong about that.”

“I doubt it. I just saw you on CNN in the airport. They were talking about the Hanratty execution. About you killing his brother.”

So, the circus has started. “That’s not exactly my daily routine. Not anymore, at least.”

“It sounded like there were some unanswered questions about the shooting.” Kate blushes again. “I’m sure you’re sick of people asking about it, right?”

Yes, I am. “Maybe the execution will finally put it to rest.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Sure you did.” On any other day I would brush her off. But she is reading one of my novels, and even thinking about Texas v. Hanratty is better than what I was thinking about when she disturbed me. “It’s okay. We all want to know the inside of things.”

“They said on Burden of Proof that the Hanratty case is often cited as an example of jurisdictional disputes between federal and state authorities.”