"You seemed pretty absorbed during the flight. Spent most of the time gazing out the window. What were you thinking about?" Christina asked.
"Oh… I don't know."
"Fine, I'll guess. You were gazing at the constellations and thinking, One of those beauties should be named for my Christina."
"Got it in one."
She walked over to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "But seriously."
"I tell you, that was it."
"You were wondering if the stars are really big gaseous nuclear reactors spitting helium into the universe."
"Uh, no."
"You were wondering if there's extraterrestrial life."
"Not at the moment."
"You were trying to remember if Ursa Major is the same as the Big Dipper."
"No."
"You were trying to count the stars."
"Still no." He sighed. "I was trying to… outwit them."
She pulled a face. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Anything beats thinking about the case. Over and over again."
"Still beating yourself up, huh? Pretending you could have done a better job?"
"Sometimes."
"It worked out in the end."
"No thanks to me."
She took his hand. "Look, Ben. I want to apologize."
"For what?"
"For being such a pain. From the start. I'll admit it-I just didn't like Dennis. I didn't trust him. I know how easily you're bruised, and I didn't want to see you hurt."
"Who says I'm easily bruised?"
"Are you kidding? You're like the most hypersensitive person since Spider-Man. Except his Spidey-sense is useful. Yours, not so much."
"A lawyer should be able to empathize with others."
"Is that what you're doing? Because I think it would be hard to go around feeling the way you do."
Ben made no reply.
"My point is just that I didn't mean to make this affair more difficult than it already was."
"You didn't," Ben replied. "It's always good having someone thinking over your shoulder. Catching what you miss." He squeezed her delicate freckled hand. "I need you."
She blushed a little. "Well, yes. You do. But it's nice to hear you say it." She fluttered her eyelashes. "So if that's not what's troubling you, what is?"
"Our temporary insanity defense failed."
"Well, insanity is such a subjective concept. You remember that quotation I showed you from Angela Monet? 'Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.'"
"Clever. But it doesn't change the fact that my defense flopped."
"I know. I was there."
"We did eventually get him off."
"There for that one, too."
Ben paused for a moment. "But… we never proved he didn't pull the trigger."
Christina stared back at him. "Shaw testified that they drugged him."
"Which explains why Dennis doesn't remember what happened. No matter how intense and memorable it might have been. They gave Loving the same drug, and as a result, he lost his memory of everything that happened after he was captured. Anything could've occurred after Dennis went to that hotel room. Dennis would've forgotten it."
"But Shaw said that he and his boss wanted to eliminate Christopher Sentz. That he was getting a bad case of the guilts. He was dangerous. Had to be eliminated."
"True. So several people had motives to kill Sentz." He looked at her pointedly. "That still doesn't tell us who pulled the trigger. Shaw never said he did it, not specifically. And if he didn't, then…"
She took Ben's hand, led him to the window of the reception area, and silently gazed out at the panoramic view of the Washington skyline.
Finally, after five minutes that felt like fifty, Christina spoke. "I think Dennis is innocent."
"You do?"
"Of course. He's such a nice man. So spiritual."
"He told me that after his wife died he was consumed with fury."
"But he wasn't a criminal. Shaw was a criminal."
"But not a murderer. As far as we know. And it was really his boss who wanted Sentz dead, not him."
Another silence fell upon them. This one lasted even longer.
"I still don't think it was Dennis."
"Really?"
"Yeah." She inhaled deeply. "In fact, I'm certain of it."
"You are?"
"Yeah. Certain."
Ben nodded. "Good. So am I."
"My instincts are good."
"They are."
"So there. That settles that."
"That settles it."
"We did the right thing, Ben. We did."
"Agreed."
"I mean it."
"Sure."
"Really."
"Absolutely."
And they stood in silence for the longest time, arms entwined, staring at the stars.