"Why did you buy the gun?" "I was scared, she had already done so much to us. I was afraid she would come back and kill us, to be honest." "And Nick didn't know about the gun?" Elisha shook her head vehemently. "He had no idea, absolutely no idea." "Why did you hire the private investigator?" David asked. "I was scared. She was out there, free and had already hurt us so much. The police couldn't find her..." Elisha broke down in tears. "I was afraid for my husband's life and my children's lives." she said finally. David looked concerned for her. "Are you okay? Can you continue for a little bit longer?" She wiped her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry, David. I seem to say that a lot lately." He chuckled. "It's perfectly alright, Elisha. Now, how did she happen to end up on the farm?" "When I went to the motel, I meant to shoot her as soon as she opened the door and leave. We fought and she got the gun. She shot me in the arm. She forced me up and demanded that I take her to Nick. Mandy had this perverse idea that if she could see Nick everything would be like it used to be, I think. As she was shoving me out the door she said she couldn't wait to see my children again. She said it just like that, silky, smarmy. I just snapped. I knocked her down and grabbed the gun. To this day I don't know why I took her to the barn, I sure as hell didn't know what to do with her once we got there. I just saw red when she mentioned the children." Elisha stopped and took a deep breath. "You know I have kids too, Elisha. I totally understand your actions. You just wanted to protect your family." She smiled. "Nick called me a tigress." "Exactly!" he laughed. "When did Nick find out about all this?" "When he heard the shot, I swear. He had no idea that Mandy was in the barn. When he came to me after he heard the shot, I muttered something about the barn and I think he thought there was somone else in there. I can't tell you why he tossed the ropes back in the pile." she sighed. "He did not know about any of this." She stared at the lawyer, willing him to understand her.

Mr. Henderson started putting the papers back in his briefcase. "That's enough for today, I think. You did very well. We should have the court date before the week is out and can plan from there." "What about Nick?" asked Elisha, pulling her jacket on. "I think we might be able to get his charges dropped or greatly reduced based on what you have told me and his previous excellent record. I'll look over the evidence, but I have a feeling it will back up your story. From what I've seen, none of the fingerprints recovered were his, no one saw him and you weren't very careful in covering up your tracks. One would think Nick would have been just as careless, if he had been with you." She smiled. "I didn't even think about trying to cover anything up, I just wanted to get out of there! I guess I should have." "No, actually, it's good because it helps prove there was no premeditation, at least not beyond the private detective. Let me look things over though, okay?" She shook his hand and thanked him. "Nick's right, Elisha." She looked confused. "You are a tigress just wanting to protect her family. You'll be an excellent witness on the stand. I think this will all turn out fine." She smiled and it reached her eyes this time, they twinkled in the light. "Thank you David, that thought will help me get to sleep tonight."