Seasons of Her Life (79 page)

The joke was feeble at best and didn't even draw a smile from Kala, when Jay said, “Guess Sophie can pay our bill now if this is on the up-and-up.”

Kala shook her head. “We took the case pro bono, and that's the way it stays. My God, how do we tell this to Sophie?”

“Well, I don't think we should say anything at all to her until ... until they shovel the last bit of dirt on that bastard's coffin. I'm not sure I'm buying all of this,” Jay said.

“What part aren't you buying, Jay?” Kala asked.

Jay threw his hands high in the air. “The whole damn thing. Guys like Adam Star don't have a conscience. They take crap like this to their graves. The man didn't give two shits that a young girl got sent to prison for life. For
life,
Kala! Now, because he's dying, he wants to make nice. Be forgiven! Like Sophie is going to forgive him for taking ten years of her life, leaving her with no hope for a future? She has to hate his guts. How could she not hate that bastard? I don't think the word
forgiveness
is in her vocabulary these days.”

Kala leaned back and steepled her fingers. “I think you're wrong. Sophie's bitch is going to be with Ryan Spenser, not with Adam Star. She knew just the way we knew that Adam was guilty. All three of us tried to convince Spenser of that, and he turned a deaf ear. Sophie will take the position that Adam tried to make it right in the end, mark my words. When Spenser finds out, if he doesn't already know, he's going to blow a gasket. And you can take that one to the bank. I think now that this has happened, it's why he was planning on attending my retirement luncheon. To see if I knew about it.”

“Boy, what a shame that you're leaving for that six-month retirement vacation tomorrow,” Jay said slyly as he winked at his wife. Linda did her best not to laugh out loud at Kala's expression. “Okay, let's view this cinematic masterpiece.” Jay pressed a button, and Adam Star's face filled the screen.

No more than three minutes in length, the video was painful to watch. Everything Adam Star had said in the office was now verbalized, with a face to make it real. At the end, his lawyer, a man named Clayton Hughes, and two witnesses verified the date, the time, and the fact that they were in attendance when the DVD was made.

Jay turned the machine off, popped the DVD, and slipped it into a plastic sleeve. “I think this should go in the safe. I also think we should burn maybe, let's say, three extra copies. Just for ... whatever.”

Kala nodded in agreement. “And to think today is
Tuesday!”
she said. “You're right, we'll sit on this until ... well, until Mr. Star goes to meet his maker. In the meantime, I'm canceling my reservations for tomorrow. Linda, do me a favor and call Ben and tell him I'll meet him outside the courthouse in an hour.”

“It will be my pleasure, Kala. Are you sure we can't let Sophie know?” Linda asked.

Before Kala could say anything, Jay piped up. “We're sure.”

Again Kala nodded.