Page 21 of Fish in a Barrel

“Wow,” Ellery said when he’d caught his breath from the sheer awfulness. He had no doubt the words had burned themselves into Arizona’s brain.

“I am saying,” she muttered. “That guy’s aprince. But I don’t have specifics. I only know something’s going down, probably tonight. I wanted to warn you and Rivers. And at first I was going to let Siren do it, but then I thought I should take my own risks and….” She blew out a breath and met his eyes. Her own were a rather stunning turquoise, and in court, they were lined with kohl to make them stand out even more. But now, they were naked—as was her face—of any makeup. She was dressed much like Jade, only her sweater was a little newer and gray. She even had a hat, a simple black stocking cap, to hide the distinctive white brush cut. Very few people would know her for the high-powered ADA who showed up so often in the papers. She looked like a tired middle-aged woman, a little scared and a lot sad.

“And what?” Ellery prompted.

She shrugged. “And I was hoping Rivers hadn’t gone out yet—that I could keep him home. You probably think it’s bullshit, but I’ve gotten rather fond of the two of you. I… this summer when he was sick, that scared me. And it aged the fuck out of you, Cramer. I was hoping to spare you something. Like the woman said—” She nodded to Jade. “—it’s not like you two haven’t spilled enough of your own blood.”

Ellery sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, knowing exactly what Jackson would say. “They beat him, ’Zona. They didn’t just arrest the wrong guy and throw him into gen pop. They beat him. They beat a disabled man so he couldn’t tell anybody he shouldn’t be in jail. Jackson’s not going to come in because you warned him. He”—wouldn’t be the man I love—“wouldn’t be Jackson if he did.”

She rubbed her eyes with her palms, and he could see how much this case had cost her. “I don’t know what else to do. Ordinarily, if I thought my witnesses were dirty, I’d report it to the police.”

Jade snorted and then sobered. “You’d better be careful,” she said. “If they find out you’ve been talking to us, you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”

Arizona nodded. “I’ve taken… precautions.” She reached into the bag at her side and pulled out a card and a pen. “I’m not staying at my house, and I picked up a burner phone. Here’s my burner number. I don’t want to know about any trial surprises. Feel free to knock me on my ass there. But, you know, if you get wind of… uhm….”

“Danger,” Ellery said softly.

“Yeah.” She looked away. “Once upon a time, a terrified teenager had a daughter. She was… not normal. Too many problems, certainly for a teenaged single mother to deal with. So the teenager gave the child up so she could go to college, thinking that hospitals and care homes would be a better bet. And she visited, brought toys, pretty clothes, and thought, ‘This was a good idea. My baby needs more than me.’ And one day, the little girl didn’t wake up because her heart had a defect in it that nobody knew about, and….” Arizona caught her breath. “And it wasn’t anybody’s fault, but I keep thinking, it’s our job, yours and mine, to protect the vulnerable. And what’s going on in our courtroom isn’t… isn’t right.” She swallowed, and before Ellery could say anything, or even touch her hand or offer comfort, she grabbed her bag. “I’ve got to go. Tell Rivers to watch his back. It would be great to know you two are going to outlive me.”

And with that, she was gone, weaving her way in and around the young professionals like a street kid in Rome. She probably could have picked some pockets if she’d had a mind to; the dark blue trench coat she wore over her sweater and leggings rendered her almost invisible, down to her black tennis shoes.

“Goddamn that woman,” Jade said thickly, and Ellery turned toward her and realized she was crying. With a sigh, he grabbed some napkins from the dispenser and handed them to her. She took them with a sniffle and looked at him unhappily. “What are we going to tell Jackson?” she asked.

“We tell him to watch his back,” Ellery said. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. “And we tell Henry the same thing.”

“Shit, here comes a waiter,” she muttered.

“I want coffee,” Ellery told her, starting to text. His stomach rumbled, and he thought woefully of the soup on the stove back home. “Never mind. We’ll leave a tip and get the hell out of their booth. I need to eat, and I don’t want bar food.”

“I’ve got a casserole cooling on the oven,” she muttered wistfully.

“I know. I have a big pot of chicken noodle soup. Made it with cilantro, have some sourdough bread to sop it up….”

“You’re killing me. Finish your texts, and let’s get our asses home.” From outside, they could hear the howl of a particularly determined gust of wind.

Home, where all good boys should be.

Jackson, answer your damned phone.

He didn’t, but Henry did.

Hey, Ellery, what’s up?popped up on the text box.

Just got a warning from a credible source—cops are looking for the actual perp. They have something planned.

I think Jackson’s found him. I’ll keep an eye out.

Jackson’s found him?

Yeah—homeless camp by police station. Guy’s a cop. Undercover too long. Has been high since the park.

Ellery paused to let that sink in. Oh God. What would the witnesses in the courtroom do—whatwouldn’tthey do—to keep Jackson and Ellery from getting the actual perpetrator in to testify.

Jesus, Henry. Be careful.

Will do. Watching his back. Wait—they’re moving. Later.

Ellery let out a grunt of frustration and moved to stand. He pulled out his wallet and handed the approaching waiter a twenty, apologizing for using the table, and offered his hand to help Jade up.