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He said the words with certainty He said the words like an innocent man Jenna believed him

Sam had a few more questions She barely heard theive hio at last, she wasn’t exactly sure why, but she agreed with her uncle

Malachi S pure about hiainst him

But she believed in hiri the sas

Sam sat at the desk in the den at his parents’ house, idly rolling a pencil in his fingers, staring at the screen of his co at the empty notepad by his side

He’d been surprised that Malachi Smith had now made an indelible impression on him

He shouldn’t have been so surprised, not really From the time he had come upon the kid in the road, he’d been touched by the boy Shaken Not shaken Yes…disturbed, at the least

His client was innocent He firood--he’d defended ht have been guilty as all hell

He realized that he actually felt righteous about pursuing a nonguilty plea for Malachi This case made no sense He liked to believe that he could read people, and he knew all the little things to look for in a liar Liars seldo their movements close to their own bodies They had a tendency to touch their mouths, or their faces The ehtly off or askew--acted out, rather than real

The world was filled with very good liars, of course, but he’d spent a great deal of time in court, and he’d watched countless defendants, witnesses, prosecutors, judges, jurists and defense attorneys He was good The courtrooe, and often, the rest of a person’s life depended on hoell the ad-libbed and scripted performances were played out

He’d been at his desk an hour now, so there should have been a list of notes on his pad He should have been to a dozen sites on the co in his mind’s eye the time he had spent with Malachi S he’d experienced with Malachi

Saer sure what he believed in hiher power, or perhaps he wanted to believe in a higher power No one wanted to think that their loved ones, now deceased, were nothing but decaying matter Man had always looked to the heavens for so God around the world since the hu up in Sale The old Puritanical values had died hard despite the enlightenment of ions, but that council wasn’t recognized by the hard-core fundamentalists Less that 03 percent of the Aested that there were about 4,000 Wiccans in an area of about 40,000 Ten percent

He gers"

Had someone killed the Smith family because of their funda on his notepad at last

Abrahaail, his brother, Thoton, killed the previous week, three doors down Six months earlier, Peter Andres, killed in his barn at Andover, just a hop, skip and jump away

One in the barn with a scythe, one in a house with an ax, then four ame of Clue

What did the victims have in common besides location? That here he needed to start

Sa day He pushed away from his desk He needed fresh air He walked out of the house, locking it, perhaps purposely keeping his eyes downcast as he did so He didn’t want to think about how he’d lost hih-incouilty as all hell and sure to lose in court because of absolutely dah-end restaurants and bars Indulge in a few high-end affairs and avoid commitment Relish a victory like his last with a trip down to the sun and sand, and then start all over again

Shallow, he told himself

Yeah

Once on the sidewalk, he looked back at the house And he sia He’d thrown himself into his work and the lifestyle when his folks had died Life wasn’t fair; death really wasn’t fair He’d loved the, and they’d s because he’d wanted them to be proud

"You’d want me on this case, wouldn’t you, Dad?" he said softly Once upon a tihteousness He’d believed in putting away the bad guys and going to bat for the innocent and falsely accused