By reason of insanity

91

Quinn Newberg and Marc Boland had not requested to meet together with Cat since Quinn entered the case. But on Sunday night, the deputy escorting her to the attorney interview booth told her that her "lawyers" had requested a meeting.

"Which one?" Cat asked.

"Both."

When she arrived, Bo was sitting in the chair on the other side of the bulletproof glass, and Quinn was standing behind him-two men squeezed into a booth designed for one.

Cat sat down, nerves prickling the back of her neck. "What's going on?" she asked, trying to read their faces.

"We've got some important news," Bo said.

They both looked so serious that Cat felt her stomach drop. Have they discovered another body?

"Billy Long thinks he has found Chi Ying, the Carvers' little boy, alive and well in Los Angeles."

Cat gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She felt herself trembling, tears welling in her eyes. She tried to say something but couldn't speak.

"Obviously, this is great news," Bo said, though his face indicated otherwise, "assuming we can verify it. Billy had an expert look at some digital photos to confirm the identity, but we don't have any fingerprints or DNA analysis yet."

"I don't know what to say," Cat managed. A wave of gratitude flooded her, washing away emotions that had tormented her since her arrest. It took her a few seconds to regain her composure. She wiped at her eyes, then took a deep breath. "What about his sister?"

"We don't know about her yet," Bo said. "Or about Rayshad Milburn. But we think there's a good chance they're alive too."

Cat couldn't believe this. It was the break she had been hoping for, praying for.

"The thing is," Bo continued, "we haven't been able to track down how the little Carver boy ended up out there. Billy tells us that Chi got placed through a black-market baby operation but that he ended up with a good family. We can't get a bead on who delivered him to the operation in the first place."

The seriousness of Cat's attorneys took the edge off her euphoria. What did this mean for the case?

Bo anticipated her question. "Quinn and I have been kicking this around for the past hour or so." Both lawyers stared intently at Cat as Bo talked, apparently searching for some type of reaction. "If this information gets out, it would dramatically impact our case in two ways, both negative. First, it would demonstrate a level of planning and deceit that would make it much harder, maybe impossible, to prove insanity. And second, it would look like you had purposefully misled the investigators when you described your visions, since you described the babies being strapped into an electric chair. Boyd Gates will argue that you created this scenario of dead babies just to make a case for insanity if you got caught when you went after Towns."

"But I didn't go after Towns," Cat protested. "And I didn't kidnap those babies. This is what I've been telling you."

"We understand that," Quinn said, though his tone was unconvincing. "But it's our job to do what's best for you. If we try to change our plea now, the judge and jury will crucify us. We need to keep making our case for insanity but at the same time have Billy continue this investigation. If we can link somebody besides you to the kidnappings, we can change our plea when we have hard evidence. If not, we continue to push insanity. Even if we lose the case, we can always move to reopen based on the results of Billy's investigation."

Cat's head swirled with confusion. Bury the fact that one of the twins is still alive? How can that be right? She realized, more from the looks on her lawyers' faces than from the words they were saying, that they didn't want to know who had sold the babies. They still believed she was guilty.

"I'm not on trial for the kidnappings. Would we be able to reopen this murder case based on information relating to the Carver twins?"

Both men hesitated, which told Cat everything. "It's not a certain thing," Bo said. "And it depends on the type of evidence. But we think it's likely."

"What happens if this little boy disappears in the meantime? I mean, maybe his parents find out about our case and put two and two together. What then?"

Bo leaned forward and lowered his voice. "This isn't without risk, Catherine. But we've got no legal obligation to reveal this information. Both Quinn and I believe it's not in your best interest to have it come out right now."

Catherine looked from Marc Boland to Quinn Newberg and back to Marc.

"You've got to trust us, Catherine," Marc said. "You're not objective in this. We are."

She put her face in her hands and tried to think. Images of the babies in the electric chairs came rushing back to her, making her shudder. She felt pressure building inside her head, saw the walls of the small interview room start billowing.

"What if I say no?" she asked.

Quinn spoke, his expression showing the strain. "We'd ask the court for leave to withdraw," he said softly. "We're committed to the insanity defense, Catherine. I know it's hard for you to accept, but on these facts, it's the only thing that makes sense."

She looked at Bo, who nodded his head.

"Then I don't know why you came by," Cat said, the frustration overwhelming her. "Just do what you've got to do."

She stared at them, her own lawyers, two men she admired and trusted-but even they couldn't accept the possibility that their client just might be innocent.

"Are we done?" she asked.

"We're done," Bo said softly.

"Good." Cat rose from her seat and turned to the door, knocking loudly. She left with the deputy, not bothering to thank her lawyers or tell them good-bye.