“I beg to differ.”

“She hired a private detective to follow your floozies around, Senator. Trusting wives don’t do that.”

For the first time, Glancy was silent for several moments. “When the issue arose between us, I admitted what I had done immediately. I did not lie to her about it.”

“Really. And did you tell her about the other girl as well?”

Christina’s ears pricked up. Not because of the accusation, but because savvy Mr. Padolino had used the word girl. Not the more politically correct woman.

“What girl?”

“The other one. The Senate employee with whom you’ve admitted having an affair.”

Glancy thought a long time before answering. “No.”

Padolino smiled, triumphant at last. He returned to his table, picked up a small manila folder, then returned to the podium.

“I’m worried,” Christina whispered to Ben.

“Why? What’s in the folder?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m worried.”

“Senator Glancy,” Padolino said, breaking the silence, “what was the name of the other woman with whom you had a sexual liaison?”

He exhaled heavily. “I said before, I see no purpose in dragging someone else through-”

“I’m afraid you have no choice, sir. You must answer my question.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re under oath.”

“To tell the truth. And I have. But that doesn’t extend to the unnecessary tarnishing of the reputation of an innocent person.”

Padolino pressed his hand against his heart. “Once again, Senator, I am moved by your breathtaking nobility. But in fact, you have another reason for wanting to keep her identity unknown, don’t you?”

“This is despicable,” Glancy said, increasingly angry. “You’re using my silence to imply things that aren’t there.”

“Who’s your other lover, Senator Glancy?”

“I’ve told you, I refuse to answer the question.”

“Are you pleading the Fifth?”

“No. This isn’t about self-incrimination. This is about protecting others.”

“Let’s all remember that he said that.”

Judge Herndon cut in. “Mr. Prosecutor, if you so request, the court can order the witness to answer or be held in contempt of court.”

“Thank you, your honor, but that won’t be necessary.” He reached inside his folder and withdrew one sheet of paper. “Senator Glancy, would your lover’s name by any chance be Tiffany Dell?”

Glancy didn’t answer, but even he couldn’t prevent his eyes from widening, his lips from parting.

Where have I heard that name before? Christina asked herself. Somewhere around here…

And then she remembered. And realized how bad this really was.

“Thank you for that visual confirmation, sir. Not that I had any doubt. You see, I’ve spoken to Miss Dell. And she told me all about it.”

“Objection!” Christina said, rising to her feet. She didn’t care what Glancy thought; it was time to intervene. “We’ve had no notice of this witness. She is not on the prosecution’s list.”

“We do not plan to call her,” Padolino replied. “She only came to us late last night, after she read an account in the Post of Mr. Capshaw’s testimony about the senator’s other lovers.”

“Whether she’s taking the stand or not, he’s using her testimony. We should’ve been told.”

“Certainly, if she had anything exculpatory to say, we would’ve notified the defense immediately. But that wasn’t the case. Far from it.”

“Your honor,” Christina insisted, “this is inexcusable. It’s trial by ambush!”

Judge Herndon leaned across the bench, gavel pointed, a somber expression on his face. “Mr. Padolino, do you give me your word as an officer of the court that you knew nothing of this informant before last night?”

“Absolutely, your honor.”

“And will you make her and any of her records or documents available to the defense should they wish it?”

“We will. She’s in the building now, sir.”

He fell back into his chair. “Very well. I’ll allow it. But you’re on a short leash, Mr. Prosecutor.”

“Understood, sir.”

Christina cut in. “Your honor, I must-”

“I said I’d allow it, counsel!” He slammed his gavel. “The cross-examination will continue.”

Padolino turned his gaze back to Glancy, the expression on his face so smug Christina wanted to scrape it off with a pizza knife. “Senator, knowing your strong feelings about truth telling, you’re not going to deny that you know Miss Dell, are you?”

“No,” he said quietly.

“And you won’t deny that you had an affair with her, either, will you?”

“If she’s already admitted it publicly, I suppose there’s no point.”

“Glad you’re being so reasonable. Let me ask you, Senator-how old is she?”

Glancy hesitated. “I… don’t know. She’s young, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Well, of course, she’s young. You only interview, hire, and sleep with women who are young.”

“Objection!” Christina shouted.

“Short leash, Mr. Padolino,” Judge Herndon said, a fierce tone in his voice. “Very short leash.”

“Right, right,” Padolino said, holding up his hands. “My apologies. What I want to know, Senator, is her age.”

“I don’t know her age.”

“Don’t you? You sponsored her. Because she’s not exactly a congressional staffer, as you led the jury to believe. She’s a congressional page. A high school student.” He paused. “She’s seventeen.”

Christina’s eyes closed. Just as she feared. It was the same Tiffany whom Glancy had sent to meet Ben and Christina when they first came to the Senate.

The stir in the courtroom was almost deafening. Judge Herndon slammed his gavel, but it still took several moments to restore any semblance of order.

“Senator, why did you sponsor Miss Dell?”

Glancy took a deep breath. “She’s a bright, ambitious young woman who was raised in a very poor undereducated family in rural Oklahoma. As with Ms. Cooper, I was trying to do her a favor.”

“Do her a favor? Or do yourself a favor? What did you promise this bright, ambitious girl if she would submit to your disgusting advances?”

“I never did anything of the sort. This is all untrue!”

“I don’t think so, Senator. She was a minor and you knew it. You knew it when you sponsored her and you knew it when you took her to bed.”

“I object!” Christina bellowed.

“Sustained!” Herndon said, equally loudly. “Consider yourself fined, Mr. Padolino. One more outburst like that and you’ll be spending the night in jail.”

Padolino plowed ahead just the same. “You didn’t suppress her name because you were trying to protect Miss Dell. You were trying to protect yourself. From a rape charge!”

“That’s not true!” Glancy insisted. “It was entirely consensual.”

“It was statutory rape, at the very least,” Padolino continued. “And I wonder if it wasn’t more than that.”

“Again I must object!” Christina said. “This is pure character assassination. It has nothing to do with the murder.”

“Oh, I’m getting to that,” Padolino said, in a way that sent chills down Christina’s spine. “I’m just laying the foundation here. There’s much more yet to come.”

“Then get to it,” Judge Herndon said. “I’ve had about as much of this as I’m going to take.”

“Senator Glancy,” Padolino said, “do you recall the intimate evening you spent with Miss Dell?”

Glancy’s whole demeanor, his very presence, had changed. He looked rumpled, confused, uncomfortable. His face was red. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. “Of course I do.”

“That’s good. Do you remember the part when you bit her on the neck?”

One of the female jurors gasped. They all looked horrified.

“I didn’t do anything I thought would be… unpleasurable to her.”

“Indeed. Do you remember when you cut her?”

And that was when Christina knew. Knew for certain. That was when it became hopeless.

“Again,” Glancy said, suddenly looking old, desperate, lecherous, and totally untrustworthy, “it’s none of your business what goes on between consenting adults.”