might have met with the man?â
Glitsky made a face. âThe point is, if Elaine volunteered with any of these people . . .â
Treya was shaking her head. âShe did volunteer, do some pro bono work, but not on the streets. She considered those people lost for the most part. If they were going to get back, it was going to have to be on their own. They werenât her issue.â
âSo what was?â
âStudents. People who were trying to do something with their lives. So she taught moot court at Hastings, for example. She didnât have much patience for professional victimsâshe always wanted to yell at people to not let themselves get in that habit.â Treyaâs eyes briefly flickered bright with a rogue memory. âOne of her great expressions was that there were only two kinds of peopleâvictims and warriors.â
âI like that,â Abe said. âBut maybe Cole Burgess hung out with some students.â
âLaw students? I donât think so.â Another shake of the head. âI donât remember ever hearing the name.â
âAll right.â
Treya bit at her lower lip again and Glitsky found himself watching her. The swollen, nearly pouting mouth.
âWhen was the last time you saw her?â
The question startled her. âWhy do you want to know that? You canât think I was . . .â She was staring, doe-eyed, in disbelief.
âI donât think anything.â Glitsky hadnât meant to spook her. He softened his voice. âIâm trying to start somewhere, get a timeline of her last hours. Itâs really routine.â
âIsnât that what the police always say when they suspect somebody? That itâs routine?â
Glitskyâs mouth turned up a fraction of an inch, another humanizing touch. âActually, they do, youâre right. But Iâm not doing that now.â
She sighed heavily. âSunday afternoon. Here.â At Glitskyâs expression, she felt the need to explain and pressed on. âIâm often in on weekends, and she was doing some special master work.â
Glitsky nodded in understanding. This wasnât unusual. A special master was an attorney appointed by the court to help serve a search warrant on material that might be privilegedâdoctorâs records, lawyerâs files, psychiatristâs tapesâand deliver whatever was not privileged in the requested records to the court. If the person who had the records was uncooperative, the master would do the actual searching and separate out what could lawfully be seized from the private records of other clients and patients, whose right to privacy was therefore protected from the police.
âAnd Elaine came back here when she was done with that?â
âYes.â
âWhat time was that?â
Treyaâs face showed her concentration. âIâm not sure, exactly. It was just turning dark, so maybe five-thirty. I was finishing up.â
âAnd what did she come back here for?â
âJust to leave me some files. Then she was going out for a meeting and then home.â
Glitsky was leaning forward now. This was an unexpected bonus. Treya had talked to Elaine on the last day of her life, within hours in fact of her death. âDid she say who she was meeting, or where?â
âNo. Iâve tried to remember for myself. But she never said. Iâm sure. She just said she had a meeting and sheâd see me tomorrow. She was always going to meetings.â
âAnd she didnât seem upset? Did she act as if anything was bothering her?â
Treya hesitated, met Glitskyâs eyes again. âItâs so hard to say now, knowing what happened. Everything has a different feel. You wonder if you saw something or not.â
âBut you think you did?â
She shook her head. âIâm not sure. If sheâd come in on Monday, smiling and happy, I never would
Eileen Griffin, Nikka Michaels