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Adam would have loved it here. He always believed there was more to the world than what we could see. This would have vindicated him and those beliefs.

Being sent from foster home to foster home was tough on both of us after our dad died, but it was especially tough on him. He didn't keep his ideas about monsters and superheroes to himself, and not all the foster parents appreciated his creative interpretation of the world. He was beaten a lot for his stories. And though I did my best to protect and defend him, it usually just led to both of us getting the belt across our backsides. One time he was hit so hard it split his skin clean open. I had screamed louder than him when I saw what our foster father had done in his drunken rage. Adam couldn't sit for weeks. We were sent to a new home, but it wasn't much better.

I shake my head, ridding it of past memories, and focus on the man before me. "You're trying to make a case for Dracula's innocence, right?"

Derek nods. "Obviously."

"But you're trying to soften him. To paint him as a regular Joe blow who couldn't possibly commit such a heinous crime."

"Well, yes," Derek says, scratching the dimple on his chin.

"I assume Dracula's reputation proceeds him, even here?"

Derek chuckles. "You could say that."

"Then it won't work. The jury, the judge, they're already going to have ideas about Dracula. They may have even decided he's guilty. I don't know how impartial the system is here, but in my world it's pretty corrupt."

Derek narrows his eyes but doesn't challenge me. "What would you suggest?"

"Play up his reputation. Lay it all on the table. The prosecution goes first, yes? They're going to paint him as a monster. So let them. Encourage it. Bring out the monster in him."

He begins pacing again. "How will that help win the case?"

"Because you'll be showing the jury and the judge you know the truth of your client. You'll be creating a bond of trust. Then, you show Dracula's intelligence. His cunning. His ability to plan and implement acts of cruelty." The ideas are coming to me quickly as I consider his best defense.

"Okay… " Derek says slowly.

I stand from the chair I've been curled up in and pace the room as Derek pauses to watch and listen. "And once you've done all that, you show how this crime, this crime scene, is sloppy. It's messy. It's lazy. It's not the crime of a genius monster like Dracula. It's a bad frame job that's too poorly done to be him at all. Prove that Dracula is too evil, too monstrous, too good at his killing to have done this crime. Then, you can use the Ifrit's testimony to cast doubt on whether a vampire committed the crime and argue that he wanted a child more than anything and would never have killed his."

Derek's eyes widen, and in two long strides he is by my side pulling me into an embrace and kissing my forehead. "That's genius, Eve Oliver. Pure genius!"

Our bodies are pressed together, and the light moment of celebratory breakthrough turns into something else, something that stirs desires in me as once again I am lost in this man's eyes.

I pull away, and his gaze follows me as I take my tea and sit again, trying to ignore the color rushing to my cheeks. "Do you think it'll work?"

Derek is already at his desk rewriting his argument. "I think it's the best chance we have, either way."

I nod, scanning over the notes I’ve taken at my side. “So much has come to light, and yet we don’t really know what happened to Mary. Who killed her? Why? Perhaps we’ve been running in circles. Perhaps Dracula is guilty all along.”

Derek pauses, looking up, his fingers stained black from the ink of his feather pen. "Does it matter? Don’t the guilty deserve someone advocating for them?" he asks, in response.

"I guess it depends on what they did," I say.

"What crimes are too heinous to justify a fair trial?" he asks, curious.

"Rape, certain kinds of murder, child abuse and molestation," I say, checking off the big deal breakers for me.

"And what of extenuating circumstances?" he asks.

"That's why I said, certain kinds of murder. There are times it can be justified. But how can you ever justify rape or hurting a child?"

He nods. "We are selective." He shrugs. "Usually. But we do believe everyone deserves to have someone in their corner. We can't always ascertain guilt or innocence. Part of our job is to uncover the truth. The rest is to make sure our client isn't unfairly sentenced, even if they are guilty. The guilty were all innocent at one point, and many of them became monsters because of what was once done to them."

A voice in the hall interrupts us. "Time to go!" Liam.

I stand, as does Derek. "One more question," I say, laying a hand on his arm before he opens the door. "Would you have taken on Dracula's case if he hadn't compelled you?"

"Yes," Derek says.