So when the jailer told Gavin that he had a visitor, he simply had to lean across the control panel and say, “Spencer, your attorney’s here.”

Gavin found Leo Reecey sitting comfortably in the small room reserved for attorney visits, one leg crossed over the other, a briefcase on the floor next to him. He didn’t stand to greet Gavin, but motioned for him to take a seat, as if Gavin hadn’t planned to do that anyway.

“You here to talk about the omnibus hearing?” Gavin asked.

“In a way, yes,” Reecey said. “I got a call this morning from the prosecutor. There’s been a development.”

Reecey seemed determined to drag this out, but the mere possibility of what that development might be sent a rush of relief through Gavin. He swallowed his excitement and played along. “What development?”

“Sadie Vauk died last night.”

Gavin feigned confusion, with a touch of surprise tacked on for good measure. Inside he jumped and screamed and turned imaginary cartwheels, but outside he cocked his head slightly and blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she’d dead. She was murdered outside of a fitness center where she’d been swimming.”

Gavin paused as he pretended to take in this information. Then he perked up and said, “You think the guy who threw her in the river finished the job? I mean, it kind of proves that I’m innocent, doesn’t it?”

“Doesn’t matter. They can’t prosecute you, not with the evidence they have now.”

Gavin furrowed his brow to deepen his pretense of disorientation. “I don’t understand,” he said, even though he did.

“An accused has the right to confront his accuser—force them to testify in open court and be subject to cross-examination. They have to testify, especially in a case like this, where they have nothing more than her word. They have no forensics, no corroboration, just her picking you out of a lineup. They have no case without her testimony.”

“So…the stuff she told the cops…and the lineup…?”

“They can’t use it unless they can prove that you had a hand in killing Sadie Vauk.”

“I was in here. How could I…?”

“That’s their only path forward, and Fitch would have said something if they had any evidence that you were involved last night. We’ll know for sure by the time we have the hearing today.”

“What’s gonna happen at the hearing…now that…?”

“I have my probable cause motion on the table already, but I drafted a habeas corpus petition to go along with it.”

“Habeas corpus?”

“It means produce the body—your body. It’s a mechanism to get someone out of custody if there’s no basis to keep them there. I want to make sure that if they have an argument to keep this case going, they lay it out today. If not—”

“I’m free?”

“Yeah,” Reecey said, with a hint of regret. “As free as the wind.”

Chapter 55

Clouds to the west painted the sky in shades of gray and black, promising a heavy rain. For now, though, people moved through the city unencumbered by the impending storm—or the death of a hairstylist named Sadie Vauk. Lila didn’t have that luxury.