The Good Daughter (The Good Daughter #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,116

arm. “Through here.”

Sam transcribed the exact words. Rusty would need to get the girl’s hospital records. “You think they gave you fluids, but no medication?”

“Yes, ma’am, that’s what I was told. On account of being shocked.”

“In shock?” Sam clarified.

The girl nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re not currently on or have not taken any illegal drugs?”

“Illegal drugs?” the girl asked. “No, ma’am. That wouldn’t be right.”

Again, Sam copied her words. “And how are you feeling now?”

“Okay, I guess. Not so poorly as before.”

Sam looked at Kelly Wilson over the top of her reading glasses. The girl’s hands were still clasped under the table, shoulders rolled in, making her look even smaller. Sam could see the red of the plastic chair peeking out on either side of the girl’s back. “Are you okay, or are you okay, you guess?”

Kelly said, “I’m pretty scared. There’s some mean people here.”

“Your best strategy is to ignore them.” Sam jotted down some general notes about Kelly’s appearance, that she looked unwashed, unkempt. Her fingernails were chewed down. Her cuticles showed dried blood. “How’s your stomach now?”

“It’s just a little upset this time of day.”

“‘This time of day.’” Sam made a notation and wrote down the time. “Were you sick yesterday?”

“Yes, ma’am, but I didn’t tell nobody. When I get like that, it usually calms down on its own, but that lady out there was nice and give me some crackers.”

Sam kept her gaze on her notepad. She did not want to look at Kelly because she felt an unwelcoming softening each time she did. The girl did not fit the image of a murderer, let alone a school shooter. Then again, perhaps Sam’s past experiences with Zachariah and Daniel Culpepper had framed the wrong image in her mind. The fact was that anybody could kill.

She told Kelly, “I’m working with my father, Rusty Quinn, until he’s feeling better. Did someone tell you that he’s in the hospital?”

“Yes, ma’am. Them guards back at the jail were talking about it. How Mr. Rusty got stabbed.”

Sam doubted the guards had anything good to say about Rusty. “So, did Mr. Rusty tell you that he works for you, not your parents? And that anything you say to him is private?”

“It’s the law,” she said. “Mr. Rusty can’t tell nobody what I say.”

“That’s correct,” Sam said. “And it’s the same with me. We both took an oath of confidentiality. You can talk to me, and I can talk to Mr. Rusty about the things you tell me, but we can’t tell anyone else your secrets.”

“Is that hard, knowing everybody’s secrets like that?”

Sam felt disarmed by the question. “It can be, but that’s part of my job requirement, and I knew that I would have to keep secrets when I decided to become a lawyer.”

“You gotta go to school for a lotta years to do that.”

“I did.” Sam looked at her phone. She normally charged by the hour; she was not accustomed to abbreviating her time. “Did Mr. Rusty explain to you what an arraignment is?”

“It ain’t a trial.”

“That’s right.” Sam realized that she was modulating her voice as if she was addressing a child. This girl was eighteen, not eight.

Lucy Alexander had been eight years old.

Sam cleared her throat.

She explained, “In most cases, the law requires an arraignment to take place within forty-eight hours of an arrest. Basically, this is when a case goes from being an investigation to a criminal case in court. There is a formal reading of a criminal charge or indictment in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant, you, of the pending charges that have been filed against you, and afford you the opportunity to enter an initial plea into the record. I know that sounds like a lot, but soup-to-nuts, the entire process should take less than ten minutes.”

Kelly blinked.

“Do you understand what I just told you?”

“You talk really fast.”

Sam had worked hundreds of hours to normalize her speech, and now she had to concentrate in order to slow it down. She tried, “During the arraignment, there won’t be any police officers or witnesses called. Okay?”

Kelly nodded.

“No evidence will be presented. Your guilt or innocence will not be assessed or determined.”

Kelly waited.

“The judge will ask for your plea to be entered into the record. I will tell him your plea, which is not guilty. You can amend that later if you so desire.” Sam paused. She had started to rev up again. “Then the judge, the prosecutor and I will discuss dates and motions and