Brenda was in the prison cafeteria eating mashed potatoes and something that might have been chicken, when her attorney Marcus Webb arrived unexpectedly for an emergency consultation; the guard pulled her from the lunch line, and Brenda followed him to the consultation room, her mind already racing through possibilities, none of them good.

Marcus sat across from her, his face grim, and he didn't waste time with pleasantries. "Claire Thompson took a plea deal; she's cooperating with prosecutors ...