TANYA BROWN WAS ENJOYING HERSELF, giving Yuki a headache at the same time.

  Ms. Brown smiled at the bailiff, tossed her hair as she swore to tell the truth, and modeled her orange jumpsuit as if it were designed by Versace. She was the third of Yuki’s three jailhouse witnesses, all “in the system” for dealing drugs, prostitution, or both, and all of whom had met Junie Moon within the walls of the county jail. And while the testimony of jailhouse snitches was generally considered suspect or useless, Yuki was hoping that the virtually identical statements of these three women would together substantiate Junie Moon’s confession.

  Yuki asked Tanya Brown, “Did the prosecution offer you anything in exchange for your testimony?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “We didn’t offer to get you transferred, or get you time off or better treatment or more privileges?”

  “No, ma’am, you said you weren’t going to give me anything.” Tanya Brown wiggled her fanny in the witness seat, poured herself a glass of water, smiled at the judge, then settled down.

  “All right then, Ms. Brown,” said Yuki. “Do you know the defendant?”

  “I wouldn’t say I know her, know her, but we were cellmates one night at the women’s jail.”

  “And did Ms. Moon say why she was arrested?”

  “Yeah, everyone gets a turn at that.”

  “And what did Ms. Moon tell you?”

  “She said she was a working girl and that she had a date with ............