The Night Shift(49)

“It’s no problem,” Ella replies.

“We met Jesse today, and she wouldn’t talk to us,” Henry says. “She said she’ll only speak with you.”

Ella doesn’t seem surprised. She explains how she’d been called to the hospital yesterday morning after the attack. That she and Jesse had made a connection.

“We’re in a bit of a bind, Ms. Monroe,” Henry says.

“How’s that?”

“If we let Jesse speak with you, whatever she says won’t be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If the prosecution calls you as a witness, anything she says to you is fair game.”

Ella considers this. “I’m a therapist, and we have privileges for communications with clients too.”

Henry nods. “That’s true. New Jersey has a victim-counselor and other privileges. But is she under your care? If there’s any question about that, then we need to assume there’s no protection. If she tells you anything incriminating…”

Ella seems to ponder that. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What if I was a member of your team? An expert or consultant or whatever. Wouldn’t that protect what she says to me?”

“Hypothetically,” Henry says, “yes.”

“How about things she said to me previously?”

“Not under the attorney-client privilege. But if you were part of the team, no one would likely ask you. They’d know we’d raise hell and that you’d probably not disclose anything helpful to them anyway.”

“So…”

Henry pauses, then says, “Can you give us a minute to discuss?”

Ella nods.

Henry steps out of the conference room, Julia and Chris at his heels. In the hallway, he asks, “What do you think?”

Julia says, “I’m not sure what choice we have, if Jesse won’t talk to us.”

“I don’t know,” Chris says. “She seems to want to tell us something, like she knows something about Jesse.” He hesitates. He doesn’t have the experience, the years under his belt, but his Spidey senses are telling him this is a bad idea, so he goes out on a limb and voices his concerns. “I’m not sure we want to hear whatever it is she has to say. It could bite us down the road. Once she tells us, we can’t unhear it. And if Jesse really was researching the Blockbuster case, the press could have a field day with us working with the original survivor.” Chris recognizes the irony of this last part.

Henry seems to be doing a risk assessment in his head. “I think we’re better off having her on the team, hearing what she knows. And maybe it helps to have a former victim on Jesse’s side. I mean, if Ella believes and supports her, that could work in our favor with the public.”

He says this like it’s open for further discussion, but Chris can tell he’s made up his mind, so he doesn’t fight it.

Back in the conference room the deal is struck. Ella Monroe will be a consultant for the defense. They print a form agreement and she signs it.

Ella then fishes out a cell phone from her purse, places it on the table. It’s a standard iPhone with a cracked face and large Hello Kitty case.

Henry’s face turns sour. Chris doesn’t understand.

“It’s hers,” says Ella.

Henry’s head drops, an exaggerated show of vexation.

“And there’s more,” Ella continues. “Jesse lied to the police about why she was at the ice cream store.”

Henry sighs and leans back in his chair. “The hits keep coming.”





CHAPTER 45





After Ella Monroe dropped her live grenade—Jesse Duvall’s cell phone—Henry tasks Chris and Julia with some research. What are their legal obligations to turn over the phone to the prosecution? If they don’t hand it over, they’re potentially obstructing justice. But if they do turn it over, they’re potentially sealing their client’s fate. The phone could contain damning information. Also, simply delivering a device that everyone assumes the killer had taken could itself be incriminatory. Especially now that another victim’s phone, the Dairy Creamery manager’s, had been found hidden in the hospital room where Jesse had been treated.

Henry said he’d encountered the question before—a client handing over a murder weapon to an assistant public defender—but the law had been unclear at the time. He needs them to research whether there are any new legal precedents.

Julia taps away on her laptop, searching Westlaw for the answer. Chris separately searches the PD’s office intranet—a database of past research the office had performed on recurring legal issues.

“Hey,” he says, “you mind if I duck out for an hour or so tonight? I promised my parents I’d come for dinner. I can come back to the office after.”

Julia looks up from her screen. “Sure, and you don’t need to come back. I can take care of the research.”

“No, I don’t want to leave you hanging. I wouldn’t go, but it’s a weekly thing, they make a special meal and look forward to it.”

Julia smiles. “That’s so sweet. How about you text me after dinner and I’ll let you know if I need help? Really, it’s no problem.”