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children being present in the courtroom. The State is accusing their mother of killing their father. When I say what I have to say, the kids are going to get upset, which is going to make the jury sympathize with the defendant.”
    LaVan said, “Mr. Hoffman? Have you got a position on this?”
    “The kids are well behaved and they know the truth, Your Honor. Their mother is innocent. They’re here to show their support.”
    LaVan cleaned his glasses with a tissue, repositioned them on the bridge of his nose, and said, “Ms. Castellano, do your job. Ignore the kids. I’ll instruct the jury to do the same. Let’s get on with it, shall we? Is the prosecution ready?”
    “Yes, Your Honor, we are.”
    “Then tell us what you’ve got.”

Chapter 14
    YUKI’S HEART WAS PUMPING pure hot adrenaline as she crossed the well of the courtroom and took the lectern. She reminded herself to relax her shoulders and smile as she swept the jury box with her eyes. Then she launched into her opening argument.
    “The defendant is charged with premeditated murder—that is, murder in the first degree,” Yuki said, her voice ringing out over the courtroom.
    “In the next few days, the State will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Candace Martin, shot and killed her husband, Dennis Martin. We will introduce physical evidence and testimony that will show that Dr. Martin’s hands are not just dirty, they’re as black as sin.”
    There was a gratifying intake of breath in the courtroom,and Yuki waited out the whispers moving like a wind across the gallery. Then she began to lay out the prosecution’s case as neatly as a hand of solitaire.
    “Dennis Martin was shot to death in the foyer of his home on the night of September fourteenth of last year. This is not in dispute.
    “The four people who were in the house at the time of the murder were Candace Martin, her two children, and the family cook. All were questioned by the police, and evidence was taken. The twenty-two-caliber handgun that was used to kill Dennis Martin was collected at the scene of the crime and so was the gunshot residue on Candace Martin’s hands.
    “There is only one way to get GSR on your hands,” Yuki told the jury. “You get it by firing a
gun.
”
    Yuki told the jury that Candace Martin had the means and the opportunity to kill her husband.
    “We’re not required to show motive, but we will tell you why Candace Martin planned and executed this murder.
    “Dennis Martin was a habitual womanizer, and at the time of his death, he was having another affair. But Mr. Martin didn’t try to cover up his activities.
    “During their thirteen years of marriage, Mr. Martin taunted his wife with his infidelity and finally, on September fourteenth, she’d had enough.
    “In our society, marital infidelity is punishable by divorce, but Candace Martin figured her husband deserved the death penalty. With her husband dead, she’d get the kids, the three-point-five-million-dollar home, and everything in theircombined bank accounts. She’d also get the meal that is best served cold—revenge.”
    Yuki sneaked a glance at the Martin children. The little boy’s mouth was hanging open. The little girl was scowling. The judge had said “Ignore them” and Yuki tried to do that as she preemptively set fire to the defense’s position.
    “Mr. Hoffman will tell you that his client didn’t do it,” Yuki told the jurors. “He will say that the defendant was in her home office when she heard shots in the foyer. He will say that she found her husband bleeding on the floor, that she checked his pulse, that she realized that her husband was dead. And then—what do you know? She heard an intruder leaving by the front door.
    “Mr. Hoffman will tell you that Candace Martin called out and that the intruder was startled and dropped his gun. And he will tell you that his client picked up the gun and followed the intruder outside and fired at him.
    “That’s the