12th of Never

conferences, accidental meetings in town, then a lunch with Mr. Herman that turned romantic and was the start of a liaison that had continued for more than a year.
    “How would you characterize your feelings for Mr. Herman at this time last year?”
    “I loved him.”
    “And did he ever tell you how he felt about you?”
    “He claimed to love me.”
    Yuki brought a packet of letters and e-mails from the prosecution table to the witness stand and showed them to the witness.
    “Do these cards and printouts of e-mails belong to you?”
    “Yes. They’re mine.”
    “Your Honor, I’d like Ms. Lagrande to read some passages from this correspondence and then I’ll introduce all of it into evidence.”
    Kinsela said, “Your Honor, the defense concedes that the defendant expressed feelings of love for the witness.”
    “The tenor of the correspondence goes to motive, Your Honor,” said Yuki.
    The judge was attacked by a fit of sneezing. Everyone in the courtroom waited him out. A few people, including Yuki Castellano and John Kinsela, blessed him.
    The judge blew his nose. He thanked everyone, then he said, “I’m not going to deprive the jury of the opportunity to hear these communications, Mr. Kinsela. Ms. Castellano, please proceed.”

Chapter 35
    YUKI SAID, “MS. LAGRANDE, will you please read these e-mails aloud, including the dates?”
    Kinsela leaned in and whispered to his client, but Keith Herman didn’t acknowledge his lawyer or seem to be aware of him at all. He seemed transfixed by the sight of his former lover.
    Lynnette Lagrande bent her head and read from the pages in front of her.
“December twenty-fourth. Lynnie, I know I promised to be with you on Christmas and I am so sorry that I have to let you down. There is no place I’d rather be than in your arms and in your—”
    The witness looked up and said to Yuki, “He goes on to say how it makes him feel to have sexual relations with me, and if you don’t mind, I’d rather not read this out loud.”
    Yuki said, “You can skip that passage and just read the last paragraph.”
    “Okay.
“When you open your present in the morning, I hope you will know how much I love you. With all my love, the K-guy.”
    “Please read your response, Ms. Lagrande.”
    The witness sighed.
“December twenty-fourth. Keith—I don’t want presents. This is hurting me too much. It’s really unfair to all of us. Fondly, Lynnette.”
    “Please read the next e-mail.”
    The witness read e-mails for the next fifteen minutes. But the correspondence consisted, emotionally, of a two-step dance.
    The defendant wrote that he loved Lynnie without reservation and that he would do anything to be with her.
    Ms. Lagrande wrote back that she was suffering from his attentions, not because she didn’t return his feelings, but because she did.
    Yuki asked the witness to read the e-mail dated February 27, two days before Jennifer Herman’s dismembered body was recovered. The beautiful woman dabbed at her eyes, sipped from her water bottle, then read:
“Lynnie, I know you don’t believe anything I say anymore, but actions speak louder than e-mail. We will be together by this time next week. I promise you that. All my love, Keith.”
    Lynnette Lagrande put the papers in her lap and put her hands to her eyes. Her sobs were soft but her shoulders shook.
    Yuki said, “Do you need to take a minute?”
    After a moment, the witness said, “I’m okay.”
    Yuki waited until Lynnette Lagrande seemed composed, keeping her own face composed as well. This entire day was going perfectly. Couldn’t be better.
    She asked, “Did you see Mr. Herman on February twenty-eighth, the day before his wife’s body was discovered?”
    “No, I did not.”
    “Did he write to you?”
    “I don’t know. I changed my e-mail address and my phone number. I left my apartment and moved in with my sister.”
    “To be clear, did you see the defendant at any time after he wrote to you on February twenty-seventh, saying that the two of you would soon be together?”
    “No. He wants me to give him an alibi, but, I can’t lie for him anymore. I didn’t see him in February at all.”
    “Thank you very much, Ms. Lagrande.”

Chapter 36
    NICKY GAINES TYPED on his tablet, “Red Dog was standing in back. Caught yer
amazing
direct.”
    Yuki smiled at Gaines, deleted the message, and turned her attention to Kinsela, who, to date, hadn’t been worth the two grand an hour Keith Herman was paying