head to one side, her eyes not leaving his face. Again, she smiled. “How remiss of me. I forgot to ask. How are your lovely wife and your little boy? Sean’s his name, right?”
Savich wanted to leap over the table and strangle her, but instead, he said without pause, keeping his voice calm, “Which one of your private gang shoved the shiv in Veronica’s chest? Did you or Zanetti select the prisoner who did the job?”
Another brief flash of rage in her eyes, then she shook her head at him, like a disappointed schoolteacher. “A gang? I do not have a gang. Sure, some of the prisoners tend to stick together, and there are some natural leaders. I steer clear of them, and when I can’t, I am always courteous and attentive. I’ll only have to be here until I’m acquitted at my trial in a few months, after all. If I go to trial, that is.”
“How long did it take you to decide Angela Zanetti was the one to not only keep you safe but solve your biggest problem? And so you seduced her, just as you seduced Veronica.”
“I seduced her? You’re not being very clever today. Actually, Angela—Angie—is very nice, if you show her respect. All Angie and I do is talk, play some basketball, watch TV, since there’s little else to do in this place. Angie really likes Wheel of Fortune. We watch the show together sometimes.”
“So does Angela believe in your undying love, just as Veronica did? Aren’t you afraid of how she’ll react when she’s charged with murder and finds out you’ve only used her, just as you did Veronica?”
Savich saw her stiffen all over, then it fell away, and she eased and gave a little laugh. “That’s a fascinating tale you’re creating.”
“I’m curious, however did you manage to sleep with Angela? You don’t share a cell.”
She cocked her head at him, tap, tap, tapped her fingers on the table.
Savich said, “All eight women who surrounded Veronica will be tried for conspiracy unless they come forward. They were all part of it. Their wall of silence will collapse sooner or later. Do you think Angela will be willing to go down alone for Veronica’s murder? Or, like Veronica, will she turn on you?”
Marsia said in a low, flat voice, “How dramatic of you. It’s really straightforward. Prisoners hate snitches almost as much as they hate betrayal. It’s how many of them got here. Veronica’s deal to lie about me made her a target. That had nothing to do with me. Ask the guards. There was lots of talk.” She shrugged. “Prisoners are unforgiving, I’ve found. Don’t you agree?”
Savich sat back in his chair. “You’re dreaming if you think Veronica’s death will get you off at trial.”
“There you go again, wishful thinking. My lawyer tells me my case might not even get to trial now that Veronica’s dead. The prosecutor has only circumstantial evidence, hearsay, and your own speculation to tie me to anything. Otherwise I’m nowhere in the picture. I know it was you who convinced the prosecutor I was the mastermind behind Veronica, that I manipulated her, even slept with her to buy her loyalty. I admit you’re an excellent salesman. Talk about manipulation, you’re the expert.”
He talked right over her. “You acted fast when you found out Veronica was being moved today. But you’ve been planning her death, probably ever since you heard she and the prosecutor were talking. Actually, I’ll bet you’ve been thinking about how to kill Veronica ever since you were both arrested. Congratulations. The whole production was impressive.” He sat back and clapped, slowly, once, twice, three times. “The reason you’ll fail, Marsia? You believe you’re smarter than everyone else, but you’re not. You had to manipulate only Veronica the first time, and look what happened. You didn’t learn from that mistake. This time you involved eight people. Very stupid.”
She jerked up, yelled, “I am not stupid! We’ll see who’s stupid before this is over!” She stopped when the guard started toward her, looking worried, and eased back down in her seat. She drew a deep breath. “I saw on the news this morning there was a fire at your house in Georgetown last night. I hope Agent Sherlock and your little boy are all right. Such a pity you weren’t there.”
It all slid into place. “And that fire at my house happened on the same day you had Veronica stabbed. Hard to miss that, Marsia. It took you