Evidence of Guilt by Jonnie Jacobs

she left. "She's worried about what will happen to him, worried about what it will do to the girls. She's even afraid that it might affect my medical practice. Although I must say that so far people have been very understanding."
    "I should hope so," Sam humphed. "Anyone who's raised a kid knows you don't have a damn bit of a say in how they turn out."
    Just then a lanky, barefoot and bare-legged girl appeared in the doorway.
    "Speak of the devil," Jake called out good-naturedly. "Pammy, come meet Ms. O'Brien."
    "Kali," I amended, hoping he wasn't one of those parents who insisted their children address every adult by surname.
    Pammy wasn't particularly interested either way. She murmured a "Hi," stole a quick sip of her father's wine, gave him an impish grin when he started to protest, then grabbed a handful of chips and headed back inside. "Mom says dinner's about ready," she called over her shoulder.
    Jake laughed. "Case in point. The girl has a mind of her own. You can be sure that whatever I say to her goes in one ear and out the other." He stood. "I'll go see if I can give Grace a hand."
    I started to follow, but Sam cornered me and we hung back for a moment.
    "How'd it go yesterday with Wes?" he asked.
    I shrugged. "The man has an attitude."
    "Wouldn't you, if you were looking at murder one?"
    "I guess it would depend on whether or not I was guilty. In either case, the last person I'd want to piss off is my attorney."
    "Got to you, did he?" Sam's bushy white brows pulled tight above his eyes. "If you're going to survive in this business, Kali, you've got to develop a thick skin. Concentrate on building your case and don't let Wes, or anyone else, get to you."
    "How are we going to build any kind of decent case when all the evidence lines up on the other side?" I told him about the lab report Curt had shown me the evening before.
    "I got a call about that myself, yesterday afternoon."
    "So, what do you think?"
    He sighed. As I had predicted, his response was philosophical. "I think we're going to have to find a way to deal with it."
    Inside, Grace was busy with the salad, Jake with the wine. Andrea was no longer clutching the phone to her ear, but she held it in her hand as she put die finishing touches on the table. I seized the opportunity to slide down the hall to the bathroom. Only I suppose in this instance, powder room would be a more apt description. Marble floor and vanity, polished brass fixtures, large mirrored walls and a display of fancy soaps and lotions. It was the sort of place where you end up wiping your hands on your slacks because you don't want to dirty the towels.
    By the time I rejoined the others we were ready to sit down for dinner. Andrea had detached herself from the telephone but looked as though she'd rather be clutching it than her dinner fork. When Grace introduced us, she forced a smile, then looked away.
    Except for the expression of utter boredom, Andrea was a pretty girl, with shoulder-length hair, blond like her mother's, and a clear, pale complexion. She wore the black leggings she'd worn earlier, but she'd changed the oversized tee for a silk shirt. She lifted a brow at her sister's loose-fitting cutoff overalls.
    "You're coming to dinner like that? You look like you should be milking cows."
    Pammy mooed in her face.
    "Girls, please. We have company."
    "Which is exactly," Andrea huffed, "why she should make an effort to look presentable."
    Pammy gave us a silent but dramatic version of "who? me?" Not as pretty as her sister, Pammy had a mouth full of braces and hair that was neither blond nor brown. Though it had been permed at some point in the past, it was now more unruly than curly, and would probably have obscured half her face without the barrettes that held it in place. But there was an appealing perkiness about her that Andrea was lacking.
    Jake cleared his throat. "I understand you grew up in Silver Creek," he said, nodding in my direction.
    "Yes; in fact, Wes and I were in