Chapter 12: Bring Your Key

The judge was a woman in her sixties with reading glasses on a chain and no patience at all.

She read the two motions in silence while the courtroom waited.

Dean sat at one table in a charcoal suit, with his lawyer on his left.

Brandy sat behind him in the gallery in a pale blue dress with her hands folded in her lap.

His mother sat next to her, upright, in pearls.

Zelda's cousin sat beside me.

She was small and fierce and wore sneakers under her suit.

"Mr. Albrecht," the judge said. "Your attorney alleges that Ms. Gruber abandoned the marital home six days after major surgery."

"Yes, Your Honor."

"I note that the police report says she returned with an officer to collect infant furniture, and that you had changed the locks."

Dean's lawyer half stood.

"Your Honor, my client was protecting the home."

"From his wife and newborn."

"From a volatile situation."

"Sit down, counselor."

He sat.

"Mr. Albrecht," the judge said. "Where were you at four o'clock on Christmas Eve?"

"At urgent care, Your Honor. With a friend who had been hurt."

"What time did you arrive there?"

Dean glanced at his lawyer.

"Around two."

"You're sure."

"Yes."

Zelda's cousin stood up.

"Your Honor, may I approach?"

"You may."

She walked to the bench and handed up two pages.

"This is the clinic's visit summary, subpoenaed from the clinic. It shows Ms. Lorimer checked in at one forty-one."

"And this is a text my client received at two-twenty, in which Mr. Albrecht said he was only then taking Ms. Lorimer to urgent care."

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