“No, that came out the wrong way. God, I’m an idiot. I didn’t mean to be so blunt about it.”

There was a short pause that reset the conversation.

“Let me try again,” Walt said. “Think of your best friend. If she were convicted of murder, would you believe she was guilty?”

“Absolutely. She can be a vindictive bitch.”

Walt laughed. “You’re not making this easy for me.”

“I understand your point. No sibling is willing to believe their sister killed someone.”

At first, Avery hadn’t believed her father was one of the biggest white-collar criminals in American history. But in the face of overwhelming evidence, she had no choice. Yet, there was still some part of her that held on to the ideal perception of her father, back from before he detonated his family and collapsed all of their lives.

“Most family members respond with denial,” Walt said. “Even when presented with undeniable evidence. There are killers on death row whose mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers believe are innocent. They believe this despite the guy’s own confession. Despite the guy’s remorse. Family members have an impossible time imagining their loved ones as killers. So I have no doubt that Victoria Ford’s sister believes she’s innocent. But a review of the case will prove otherwise. In the end, evidence doesn’t care about your feelings.”

Avery was tempted to mention the recording she had heard of Victoria Ford pleading for Emma to clear her name after she realized her fate in the North Tower. Avery believed the earnest tone to Victoria’s appeal would be a worthy adversary if pitted against even the most overwhelming evidence. If not in an actual courtroom, then at least in the court of public opinion. And that arena was all Avery cared about as she considered the Victoria Ford project and how it pertained to American Events.

There would be a time to share the recording on Emma Kind’s answering machine. There would be time to develop the narrative of the story she hoped to tell. But Avery needed information first. She was on the hunt for material, foraging for the long winter—the metaphor she and her team used to describe the process of building a story. Gather all the information you can find and then pare it down to the essentials. She was uncertain exactly what that story would look like, if it would work, and whether Walt Jenkins would play a significant role in building the story or be the wrecking ball that toppled it. Until she knew, Avery would keep Emma Kind’s answering machine to herself.

“Let’s start there,” Avery said. “With the evidence. I’d love to review the case with you so you can show me where that evidence led you.”

“It led me straight to Victoria Ford. But fair enough. Give me a day to make some calls and get my notes organized?”