Genuine Lies

pregnant.”
    The statement caused a ripple of murmurs through the spectators until the gavel was struck.
    “And did she have a child, Ms. Travers?”
    “Your honor.” Lincoln rose to his feet. “The defense is ready to stipulate that Miss Benedict had a child, which she gave up for adoption. And that the child is Julia Summers. The state need not waste the court’s time proving what has already been established.”
    “Mr. Williamson?”
    “Very well, your honor. Ms. Travers, is Julia Summers Eve Benedict’s natural daughter?”
    “She is.” Travers flicked one brief, hate-filled glance in Julia’s direction. “Eve agonized over that adoption, did what she thought was best for the child. She even kept tabs on her over the years. It upset her something fierce when the girl got herself pregnant. Said she couldn’t bear to think about her going through all that she’d been through herself.”
    Lincoln leaned toward Julia. “I’m going to let her go on. It establishes a bond.”
    “And she was proud,” Travers continued. “Proud when the girl started writing books. She used to talk to me, cause there was nobody else who knew.”
    “You were the only one aware that Julia Summers was Eve Benedict’s biological daughter?”
    “No one knew but me.”
    “Can you tell us how Miss Summers came to live on Miss Benedict’s estate.”
    “It was that book. That cursed book. I didn’t know then how she got the idea in her head, but nothing I said talked her out of it. Said she was scooping up two birds. She had a story to tell, and she wanted time to get to know her daughter. And her grandson.”
    “And did she tell Miss Summers the truth of their relationship?”
    “Not then, not for weeks after she’d come. She was afraid how the girl would react.”
    “Objection.” Lincoln rose smoothly to his feet. “Your honor, Miss Travers couldn’t know what was in Miss Benedict’s mind.”
    “I knew her,” Travers tossed back. “I knew her better than anybody.”
    “I’ll rephrase, your honor. Miss Travers, were you a witness to Miss Summers’s reaction when Miss Benedict told her of their relationship.”
    “They were on the terrace, having dinner. Eve had been nervous as a cat. I was in the parlor. I heard her shouting.”
    “Her?”
    “Her,” Travers spat out, pointing at Julia. “She was screaming at Eve. When I ran out, she’d shoved the table over. All the china and crystal were smashed. There was murder in her eyes.”
    “Objection.”
    “Sustained.”
    “Miss Travers, can you tell us what Miss Summers said during this incident?”
    “She said don’t come near me. And I’ll never forgiveyou. She said …” Travers aimed that black, furious look at Julia. “She said I could kill you for this.”
    “And the next day Eve Benedict was murdered.”
    “Objection.”
    “Sustained.” The judge looked faintly censorious. “Mr. Williamson.”
    “Withdrawn, your honor. No further questions.”
    Lincoln was clever on cross. Did the witness believe that everyone who said “I could kill you” in anger meant it literally? What kind of a relationship did Eve and Julia establish over the weeks they’d worked together? During the argument, which was born out of natural shock, did Julia try to strike or harm Eve in any physical way?
    He was clever, but Travers’s conviction that Julia had killed Eve seeped through.
    Nina took the stand, looking chic and efficient in a rose-colored Chanel. She gave her observations on the argument. Lincoln thought that her doubt, her uncertainty, was more damaging than Travers’s testimony.
    “That same night, Miss Benedict summoned her attorney to the house.”
    “Yes, she insisted he come right away. She wanted to change her will.”
    “You knew this.”
    “Yes. That is, after Mr. Greenburg arrived, Eve asked me to take the changes down in shorthand, and transcribe them. I’d witnessed her other will, and it was no secret that she’d left the bulk of her estate to Paul Winthrop, with a generous provision for her nephew, Drake Morrison.”
    “And in this one?”
    “She bequeathed a trust to Brandon, Julia’s son. After the other bequests, she left the rest to Paul and Julia.”
    “And when did Mr. Greenburg return to have Miss Benedict sign the new will?”
    “The next day, the next morning.”
    “Do you know if anyone else was aware of Miss Benedict’s change of heart?”
    “I really can’t say for sure.”
    “You can’t say, Miss