Chapter 24: Left Up

The visiting room at the Kent County Jail had six stools bolted to the floor.

A long pane of scratched glass ran down the middle.

Valeria sat on the other side in a tan uniform, with her curls pulled back flat.

There was no color on her mouth.

I picked up the phone on my side and she picked up hers.

"You came," she said.

"You asked."

"I didn't think you would."

"Neither did I."

She looked small without the cardigan.

Her hands lay on the counter, and one of them shook, and she pressed it flat to stop it.

"Tate's in the next building," she said. "His lawyer has told him to say I did all of it."

"I know. I heard him offer me the same thing."

"I know you did." She almost smiled. "I'm told the whole county has heard it."

"Four million people have."

"Fifty-one million, as of this morning."

I did not say anything.

She looked at the glass between us, and then at her own hands.

"I have a favor," she said. "It's the only one I'm going to ask."

"Go on."

"Take it down. The clip from the boardroom, with the message on the wall."

"Why?"

"My lawyer says it will follow me into every courtroom and every job for the rest of my life."

"It isn't mine to take down," I said.

"It's your account."

"It's your message, Valeria. You sent it from your own phone, in front of the whole board, with the cable plugged in."

"Greer."

"I didn't type a word."

"You knew the cable was there."

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