A Good Marriage(60)
Amanda spent more than forty minutes trying to find the perfect gift for Kerry at the Park Slope Spirit Shoppe. At least Kerry was a collector of whiskey and wine, which made him easier to shop for than Zach. Even after all these years, Amanda couldn’t say with any genuine certainty what her husband would actually enjoy as a gift. The only thing he seemed to truly derive pleasure from was his work.
Amanda caught sight of one particularly pricey bottle of whiskey from Cork on a high shelf. Wasn’t that the area of Ireland that Kerry’s family was from? He’d mentioned it once; Amanda was almost certain he had. She looked closer. It was a very expensive bottle, though, and sometimes expensive gifts made people uncomfortable. Amanda had once given a bracelet as a birthday gift to a woman in her Palo Alto tennis group. She’d selected it because it was the woman’s—Pam was her name—favorite color: blue. Amanda hadn’t thought of the cost until Pam, quite forcefully, said that she couldn’t possibly accept “that kind of gift.” After that, Pam avoided Amanda.
But the whiskey was meant as a real thank-you for all of Kerry’s help, which ran the gamut from the small but inconvenient—getting Case’s cards down late on a Sunday—to the downright selfless—chasing off that huge, sick-looking raccoon Case had been so scared might die right there in their backyard between the already-dead lilac bushes. The gift would be a thank-you to Kerry, and an apology for Zach’s absence, though it would surely be only Sarah who was offended by that. Kerry had never said anything pointed about Amanda’s marriage or asked accusingly where Zach was. For his part, Sebe had probably never even noticed Zach’s absence. That’s how men were about such personal details: vaguely disinterested. Especially if those details hinted at any sort of problem. Honestly, sometimes it did make life much easier.
Amanda was still contemplating whether to buy the whiskey when she got a text from Sarah: Can’t wait to see Zach, finally! Amanda’s eyes snapped up from the text to the absurdly expensive whiskey.
“I’ll take it, please,” she said to the store clerk, who’d been ogling her since she’d walked in. “Could you wrap it up?”
KRELL INDUSTRIES
CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION
Attorney-Client Work Product
Privileged & Confidential
June 29
To: Brooklyn Country Day Board of Directors From: Krell Industries Subject: Data Breach & Cyber Incident Investigation—Critical Event Report FPP from Subject Family 0006 contacted the office today. The Junior Assigned Investigator (JAI) who spoke with FPP reported her as “extremely agitated.” She wanted someone to give her additional information about the pornographic material emailed to her with the usual request for cash transfer. FPP requested that all such offensive material be removed from her computer and placed on a zip drive. JAI offered to refer her to companies that do such assessments, but indicated that Krell was not available to assist with her personal situation beyond evaluating the consequences of the hacking.
FPP of Subject Family 0006 was adamant that Brooklyn Country Day and Krell should be responsible for a forensic analysis to determine whether the pornographic material had, in fact, been installed on the family computer by Subject Perpetrator (SP) rather than found there. There is no reason to believe that SP has ever downloaded files onto a Subject Family computer. SP exploits preexisting downloads or other data. The pornographic material belongs to someone in Subject Family 0006. FPP was informed of these facts.
FPP then threatened legal action against Brooklyn Country Day, which, sustainable or not, could cause reputational damage. In order to avoid legal action, it is our recommendation that Krell conduct the requested forensic analysis of Subject Family 0006 computer.
Lizzie
JULY 9, THURSDAY
The room assigned for Zach’s writ hearing at the Brooklyn Criminal Courthouse lacked the historic grandeur of the Manhattan state or federal courthouses. But it was at least on a much higher floor than arraignments had been, and was significantly larger, which made it seem more dignified.
Wendy Wallace hadn’t arrived, as far as I could tell. The empty prosecution table sat there expectantly, and there were only a handful of people in the gallery. But then, I didn’t know what Wendy Wallace looked like. I’d started to do more research on her, but stopped once I’d found the article that described her as bloodthirsty. Not all preparation was good preparation.
Paul wasn’t there yet either. Despite the short notice—the emergency writ hearing had been scheduled through the managing attorney’s office late the evening before—Paul had assured me with this annoying munificence that he would be in attendance. Like I needed his help. I did not. To the extent my hesitancy about taking Zach’s case had been about my skills, I’d only been worried about the intricacies of a fast-moving, full-blown murder trial. This writ hearing was a straightforward legal argument, an area in which I had always excelled. The carefully reasoned written positions, the intellectual clarity, the comforting presence of a well-informed judge—I could win a legal argument, any legal argument.
Maybe even this one, though on its face it was a loser. I wasn’t giving up, though. Our brief was as good as it possibly could be, our positions reasonably strong. Plus, justice was on our side: Zach didn’t belong in Rikers for accidentally elbowing an officer. And while I still would have preferred not to be representing him in the first place, after reading Amanda’s most recent journal with all those details about someone following her, I was at least more convinced than ever of his innocence.