The phone rang before nine that morning, and Arianne knew from the ring alone it was Lucas. He never called this early unless the day was about to reshape itself around whatever he had to say next. Twenty-six days into the vigil, and she'd learned to read that particular ring the way she used to read boardroom silences.
"Edmund Cole's attorney reached out to my office late yesterday," he said, no preamble, the way he delivered anything he expected her to need sitting down for. "He's asked to see you before the arraignment. Same arrangement as before, a supervised room, a guard outside the door. I asked his attorney why he wants you specifically, since nothing in any file I've seen connects the two of you. She wouldn't answer that, and I don't think it's because she doesn't know. I told them I'd pass along the request and nothing more. Whether you go is entirely yours to decide."
"When?"
