Cressida flipped through the papers in her file as she waited for her client to enter. It took a lot for her to be in the interrogation room that morning and the only thing that kept her going was the reoccurring images of Maxwell's beautiful body lying naked next to her after they'd made wild love.

Cressida was jolted from her thoughts when the door to the interrogation room opened and two guards walked Blake Carter in, slamming him down in a solid metal chair that had been bolted to the floor. Cressida looked across at her client and steeled herself to remain professional despite the disgust she felt at his presence.

I'm going to need another dose of Maxwell after this, she thought.

Blake ignored the guards and concentrated on Cressida. He nodded at her and smiled wanting to remark on the unprofessional look of disdain on her face. He'd requested her specifically and Charleston had had no choice but to abide to his demands. Pleased with himself, Blake took in Cressida's shapely legs and the tight curve of her rear. He assessed and appraised every curve as if she were a piece of meat and he was starved. His tongue snaked out to lick his famished lips. He straightened himself in the chair and set his cuffed hands on the table.

"Mr. Carter..." Cressida said.

"Please, call me Blake."

"Mr. Carter, I will be representing you in court..."

"As I requested." He grinned with heartfelt pleasure and anticipation of the shock he knew would follow.

"What?" Cressida said, shocked by what she just heard.

"I personally and specifically requested you, Cressida. Oh, dear. Daddy didn't tell you?" His laughter echoed in the small room.

"Tell me what?"

"I guess there is a lot Daddy dearest wouldn't want his baby girl to know." Blake laughed Annoyed, Cressida struggled to maintain her cool as she realized her father had lied to her. What else had he lied about? she wondered. "As your attorney, I need you to be completely honest with me." Cressida stared into Blake's eyes with all the intensity she could muster. "Is it true? Did you in fact commit these crimes?"

Blake leaned back in his chair with a smug smirk on his face. He stared back at Cressida. His body language said it all. Blake Carter was as guilty as sin. He then leaned forward, resting his shackled hands on the cold metal table. "I remember a scared little girl... and, a very protective mother," he growled.

A vision of that night made its way to Cressida's mind with startling speed. She could hear her mother's screams and see her as she fought off the attacker who had broken into their home.

She knew this vile man sitting before her was the attacker, no matter how many times her father tried to convince her otherwise. Cressida took a deep breath and a firm control of her nerves. She needed to get this interview over with. "Is that a yes or a no?" she asked, looking at her watch.

"Somewhere you need to be?" Blake asked with a slow sly smile.

"Answer the question!" Cressida yelled, losing her temper.

"Mmm, feisty. Okay, little lady. These charges are bull," he said in a calm voice that promised of a violent storm to come. "They're just trying to pin cold cases on me. Not one of them can prove that I did any of these!" Losing his temper, he shouted out his last words, accentuating them with a firm pounding of his fists on the metal table.

"So original." Unimpressed, Cressida chuckled and glanced at her manicure.

"I'm telling the truth," Blake yelled.

"Sir, the forensic team found DNA on each and every one of the victims." Cressida pulled out the forensic reports and held it up to him.

"It ain't mine. It ain't mine. When that test comes back, you will see. Those stupid bastards don't know what the hell they're doing. They're just trying to pin cases on me so they can just close the book. Meanwhile the real killer is out there."

Cressida took a closer look at his case file. The DNA results had not come back yet. She was convinced this would be an easy case, the only obstacle being Blake claiming insanity. Apparently he was many things, but not insane. Cressida flipped through the case files, quickly scanning through the paragraphs of police statements.

"You were convinced that I've done it, uh? Open closed case, you thought." Blake laughed. "Now you're confused, right?"

"I don't understand how you can find any of this funny, Mr. Carter. You are looking at some very serious charges. If you are found guilty, you will get a death sentence and we all know not all dogs go to heaven," Cressida retorted.

"Roof, roof." Blake laughed. "See everyone is so convinced they got the right man, when the results come back... I will be a free man." He continued with his grating laugh.

Cressida shuddered to think he would be let out in the world, but he was right about the tests. If they came back and his DNA didn't match what had been found at the crime scenes, they would have to let him go. Cressida knew he had committed those crimes and couldn't shake the sense of wrong that accompanied the thought of Blake Carter going free. Surely there was something she was missing. There had to be something else that would help send him away for life.

No matter how it bothered her, she forced herself to accept the role she had in this case. She was on the defendant's side of the fence with this case, not the prosecutor's. At that very moment, she would have given her career to be on the prosecutor's side, working diligently to put him away for life.

"I'm finished." Cressida slammed her folders closed and nodded at the two police officers.

They walked forward and each grabbed a hold of Blake's arms, yanking him up and out of his chair Busy putting her files away, Cressida glanced up to see him glaring at her.

"I will be seeing you soon," he said.

"Look. Mr. Carter, there is a lot more involved in this case besides DNA. They can still implicate you in these crimes. You may get out for a short time, but everything done in the dark will come to light," Cressida growled. She grabbed her things and walked out of the room. She felt so much rage boiling up inside of her and she had so many questions and so many people she needed to talk to. She pulled out her cell phone and called her secretary to set up a meeting with the prosecuting attorney for the Blake Carter case.

When she reached her car, she got in and simply sat there for a while as she tried to assimilate what had just happened. Her father had lied to her about taking the case. The thought clung to her and fostered a growing frustration. "That bastard knew from the very beginning," Cressida grumbled as she started her car and drove off.

Maxwell looked at his watch. He and Cressida had agreed to meet for lunch and, she was already twenty minutes late. He sat in her office reading the morning newspaper and drinking a bottle of water.

Cressida's secretary had been busy all morning accepting calls and sending faxes. When Cressida had called in what seemed to be a very rushed and angry tone, it completely slipped her mind to tell her that Maxwell was waiting for her.

He had taken care of his business meetings early that morning and was free for the rest of the day, and while he didn't mind waiting, he repeatedly glanced at his watch, a habit, he thought. Forty-five minutes later he heard the office door burst open. Cressida stomped through the door and headed to her desk where she broke down and wept.

Maxwell sat up and folded the newspaper, flopping it down on the coffee table as he stood. Cressida was unaware of his presence and he hesitated a moment, sensing he was violating her space. But when her shoulders shook with pain and grief, he came to her side and wrapped his arms around her.

Cressida jumped and turned to him, her red eyes wide with surprise. "Maxwell." Relief softened her eyes and she leaned into him. "I'm so sorry. I know I'm late. I got wrapped up in this case." She swiped her hands across her cheeks, wiping away her tears.

"You're upset and that's understandable. It's a wonder you made it here at all. He tilted her chin up so she would look him in the face. "How did the interview go?"

"Oh, Maxwell, I can't do this. I can't," Cressida cried. "This man is evil. Everything about him is just nasty and vile. I feel filthy just having been around him."

Maxwell held her close. "I know this is hard for you."

"No, you don't even know the half." Cressida pushed him away and started pacing before her fireplace.

"What did you learn?" Maxwell said.

Cressida stopped and rested her hand on the mantle. "My father lied to me. Blake requested me. He wanted me to be his lawyer and my father agreed."

"What the hell are you telling me?" Maxwell said, walking towards her.

"That's not all." Cressida took a deep breath and folded her arms across her chest. "The results of the DNA tests haven't come back yet. Blake seems certain that it's not his. He claims they are trying to pin cold cases on him."

"Cressida, I can't believe..."

"How do you think I feel? If those tests come back saying it's not his DNA, he is going to walk."

Maxwell was speechless. Something just wasn't adding up. He could sense that Blake had a lot more tricks up his sleeves. It was times like this that he really missed his brother. Tamarius would be able to psychically see beyond the normal circumstances and relate back to him what was really going on. Well, he is only a phone call away, he thought as he pulled out his cell phone.

Charleston Dash suddenly entered the room and Maxwell slipped his phone back into his pocket. He glanced at Cressida and could see the rage building. Her eyes were hard and her cheeks flamed with anger.

Charleston looked over at Maxwell and smiled. "I'm sorry, I see you have a client." He turned to walk out of the door.

"Why did you do it, Dad?" Cressida yelled.

He stopped. His shoulders rose and fell on a heavy breath as he turned and re-entered the office. With a calm, deliberate motion he closed the door behind him.

Maxwell suddenly felt out of place. "Do you want me to come back later?"

"No, I'm going to need a friend." Cressida's eyes remained on her father.

"What are you talking about?" Charleston asked cautiously. "You are making a scene in front of your client."

"I will be right outside when you need me." Maxwell walked out of the room, but stayed close.

Cressida glared at her father with more hatred than she would have thought possible. Seeing the calm, serenity in his hypocritical eyes only enraged her more. "You knew I wouldn't take that case."

"Is this the whole Blake Carter thing again? It's not a big deal."

"Blake told me he'd requested me as his lawyer."

"Are you going to listen to a crazy man?"

"I know crazy when I see it, and he ain't crazy."

"Look, we are lawyers and sometimes we have to defend the trash that no one else will. It's our job. If you can't handle that, then you're not fit to be in this field!"

"I have won more cases than I have lost. I know I'm a damn good lawyer and what makes me good at what I do is my instincts. That man is guilty. You know it. I know it. Everyone involved in this case knows it!"

"So what!" Charleston yelled, his face growing crimson.

"I want to know why my father lied to me," Cressida yelled back.

"I refuse to be interrogated by my own daughter!" Charleston stormed out of her office and slammed the door behind him.

Cressida grabbed a book off the mantle and sent it flying through the air where it slammed into the door behind her father. She stomped up and down the length of her office before breaking down again. Her knees crumbled and no longer held her weight as she slowly slid to the floor, crying. A few moments later Maxwell came back in. He helped her to her feet, grabbed her briefcase and purse, and walked her out of the office and brought her to his car.

Offering no argument, Cressida sat and stared while he drove her to his home. On leaden legs, she dragged herself out of his car, Maxwell's guiding hand barely enough to support her. A thick cloud of lethargy weighted on her as she followed him inside.

Greeted by Mei's grandmother, Lin Li, Cressida forced a smile. When dinner was served, Cressida leaned back in the dining room chair facing Maxwell and Lin Li. She was distracted and found it impossible to keep up with the conversation. Tidbits of information made it through her muddled thoughts. Lin had heard from Mei who was settling in nicely at college.

Maxwell laughed to himself. He could feel the tension in his son's voice.

Winston came in to collect the empty dinner plates and paused over Cressida's plate. Realizing she'd barely touched her dinner, she smiled and nodded. The altercation with her father had all but extinguished her appetite. Over and over again, she sought other secrets her father may long have kept from her.

"Come with me." Maxwell touched the back of her chair. Cressida slowly stood up as he pulled the chair from under her. "Excuse us, Lin." He led her away from the table.

Though unaware of the young woman's problems, Lin felt the depth of sorrow Cressida carried, and empathized. One so young shouldn't yet be burdened with such pain.

Anna, one of the servants, walked into the dining room smiling at Lin. "Hello, darling. Your daughter and granddaughter are here to see you," she said. "Are you ready to see them? I can take you to the family room."

"Yes." Lin Li nodded and set her napkin on the table. With her hands gingerly set within the confines of her wheelchair, she gestured to Anna she was ready to leave the table.

Anna unlocked her wheelchair and rolled her away.

Maxwell guided Cressida outside. He'd grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and now led her out to the nearby lake. "Here looks like a nice spot." He spread the blanket out and gestured for her to sit down.

"What is this all about?" Cressida struggled awkwardly as she tried to rid herself of her shoes.

"Now, come here before you kill yourself, woman." Maxwell laughed. He reached for her hand, taking it with gentle authority as he helped her sit on the blanket.

"Maxwell, you don't have to be so nice to me." Cressida looked at him with tired eyes and smiled.

"No, but I want to." He leaned in to kiss her. He glided his hands along her thigh and down over her calf, slipping off one shoe, then the other. "When I've had a really bad day, I come out here and look at the stars. I can lay back and relax, let my mind clear so that I can figure out what's really going on."

"It's beautiful out here." Cressida's eyes narrowed as she looked over the smooth surface of the lake then settle back on her elbows.

Maxwell stretched out beside her.

"I just don't know how I'm going to make it through this case. It's impossible. My God, if he goes free, how will I ever live with myself? There's no winning this. Either way, I'm screwed. I can allow a guilty monster to walk the streets again and die of shame, or I can lose the case and say goodbye to my career. "

Maxwell wanted to argue her last point, but kept quiet. She was too good a lawyer to lose her career over one lost case. Instead, he silently slipped his hand over hers and listened as she vented her frustrations. She was talking instead of just staring blankly into space. If nothing else, he'd helped her out of her stupor.

"What kind of father does that to his daughter?" she was asking. "What kind of man can look at his little girl and so blatantly lie right there to her face? What else do you think he's hiding from me?" She stopped for a moment and caught her breath.

"What do you feel?"

Cressida allowed her muscles to relax and she lay completely back on the blanket. "Maxwell, do you think my father made a deal with Blake Carter?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly. I just don't understand why he lied to me. There has to be more to it that just getting me to take this case. The only thing I can come up with is that he made a deal with this guy." She stared at the stars, her gaze heavy and pensive. "My mom might know something."

"Your brain is going a mile a minute." Maxwell chuckled and gave her hand a squeeze. "But you could be on to something. Someone made a deal with somebody."

"Maxwell, I want to thank you for being so supportive. I really needed a friend today." She propped herself back up on her elbows.

Maxwell turned to face her, his arm stiff as it held him just inches above her up turned face. "I don't want to be your friend." His voice was thicker and huskier than he'd intended.

"What?" Her soft coo of surprise played with the curve of her lips.

"You're killing me with the 'F' word. One day I hope to be more than your friend."

"You really feel... well... you know... this way for me?" she asked.

"I've always liked you. I just didn't think that I was your type." Maxwell thought back to the first night he said these same words to her, remembering she had been drunk and unlikely to remember the entire night.