The woman’s head nodded affirmatively.

“Rose, are you saying that your daughter, Stacey, did this to you?”

The woman hissed, “Yesssssss.”

It was a terrible sound, the air escaping her lungs, as if the woman was using her last breath to tell Chi who’d killed her.

And then, on Colomello’s count, the paramedics lifted Rose Glenn onto the gurney – and the interview was over.

Inside the courtroom, the screen went dark and the lights came on. The jurors had seen the video before, but since this tape was Yuki’s pièce de résistance, she could only hope that the blunt shock of seeing it again would reinforce its power.

Yuki cleared her throat, said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rose Glenn was asked many different questions that morning and was able to shake her head yes and no, and was even able to speak. When asked if her daughter had attacked her, she said yes.

“At no time during this trial did Rose Glenn deny what she said to Inspector Chi. She simply can’t remember.

“And why can’t she remember? Because her daughter bashed her head in with a crowbar, causing trauma to the extent that her doctors had never seen anyone with such severe injuries survive.

“But Rose Glenn did survive – widowed, disfigured, and partially paralyzed for life.

“The defendant did this to her, Ladies and Gentlemen.

“The People ask you to find Stacey Glenn guilty on both counts: for the murder of her father, Anthony Glenn, and for the attempted murder of her mother, Rose. We ask you to make sure that Stacey Glenn pays for these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”

As Yuki took her seat, she felt a lot of things, all of them good: the warm glow of accomplishment, Nicky’s hand patting her shoulder, and her mother’s presence surrounding her like a full-body hug.

“Good job, Yuki-eh,” her mother said. “You make sram dunk.”