"This isn't like a science-fiction story, where we have traveled back in time to redo the same day," Rhys said. "We aren't truly in two places at once. For us, Mr. Veducci, this day is truly a new day. Our doppelgangers are not in faerie reliving this day. That day in faerie is past. This day here in Los Angeles is a new day. It happens to have the same date, so outside of faerie it appears to be the same day, repeated."
"So you could have been in faerie on the day she was attacked?" Veducci asked.
Rhys smiled at him, almost tsking. "On the day she was allegedly attacked, yes."
"This will be a nightmare for a jury," Nelson said.
"Wait until we get done demanding a jury of their peers," Farmer said, smiling almost happily.
Nelson paled under her tasteful makeup. "A jury of their peers?" she repeated softly.
"Could a human juror truly understand being in two places on the same date?" Farmer asked.
The lawyers looked at each other. Only Veducci didn't share in the confusion. I think he'd already thought of all of this. Technically, his job description made him less powerful than Shelby or Cortez, but he could help them hurt us. Of everyone on the opposing side, Veducci was the one I wanted to win over the most.
"We're here today to try to avoid this going to a jury," Biggs said.
"If they attacked this woman then, at the very least," Shelby said, "they must be confined to faerie."
"You would have to prove their guilt before you could get a judge to meet out a punishment," Farmer said.
"Which leads us back to the fact that none of us really want this to go to court." Veducci's quiet voice fell into the room like a stone thrown into a flock of birds. The other lawyers' thoughts seemed to scatter like those birds, flying up in confusion.
"Don't be giving our case away before we've even begun," Cortez said, not sounding happy with his colleague.
"This isn't a case, Cortez, this is a disaster we're trying to avert," Veducci said.
"A disaster for whom, them?" Cortez said, pointing at us.