Witness for the Defense (8 page)

I blew air from my mouth at just the thought of it.

Sarah made a point of glaring at me before she went on to tell her father that as soon as she informed McBean that her client was invoking his right to be silent, he immediately took Jared into court to be arraigned. Sarah entered a not-guilty plea and the preliminary hearing was set for the following Wednesday. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until the judge denied her request to order the sheriff to return Jared’s necklace. When the judge refused, Jared fell to his knees and pounded the floor with his fists while yelling obscenities at the judge. Four deputies had to tie his hands behind his back while pushing Jared’s face into the courtroom’s cold wooden floor. The elderly judge mumbled something about contempt as he repeatedly pounded his gavel, Everyone else in the courtroom stood open-mouthed.

“Do you have any idea why he is so attached to that necklace?” Sarah asked her father.

He was staring blankly into the fire. “I don’t have the foggiest.”

Sarah leaned her head back against the cushions and closed her eyes. “Probably the only thing he owns that means anything to him,” she mumbled. “Sentimental value or something.”

“I’m not so sure he understands what’s happening to him,” I interjected.

“Don’t underestimate Jared,” Avery said. “He’s no dummy.”

“I’m not worried about his intelligence. It’s his emotional stability that concerns me.”

“Neither one of you should pay much attention to how someone reacts when they’re behind bars,” Avery barked. “How would you act if you were arrested for a bunch of trumped-up charges?”

I could tell Avery was upset and was trying to rationalize his ex-army buddy’s bizarre actions. “You’re probably right,” I said, though still thinking his behavior was odd.

“So what proof does that idiot McBean think he has?” the judge asked.

Sarah lifted her head from the cushion. “The police report indicates they have a pretty strong case.”

“But the prosecution does have a few problems,” I volunteered.

Avery’s look was strained. The newspaper’s reporting of the details had been sketchy at best. He was anxious to find out what the evidence was, and he didn’t like having to pry it out of us. “Like what, exactly?”

Sarah brushed several stray strands of hair from her face. I could tell she was having a difficult time even thinking about the terrible things that had happened to the ten-year-old. Especially when her father’s friend was the one being accused of perpetrating them.

“The boy had just left Sav-on drugstore when he was jumped by someone and thrown into a car,” I said.

“That someone,” the judge interrupted. “Did the boy give an accurate description?”

“It was too dark to get a good look,” I said. “He couldn’t even pick him out of a six-pack.”

Sarah slowly shook her head. “But the general description fits Jared.”

I gave her a look as if she should know better. “That vague description fits half the men in this county.”

“What description?”

“Nothing much, really,” I said. “Only that it was a man who had a full beard and he was wearing a baseball cap.”

“I see,” the judge said, contemplating the possibilities.

I continued. “The man threw the boy into his car. Then, as they drive out of town, he slugged the boy in the face, knocking him out cold. By the time the kid regained consciousness, they were somewhere in the mountains.”

“Does the boy know where, exactly?”

“Also too dark,” I said.

Avery rested his hand on the mantel and nervously thumped his fingers. “Then what happened?”

“When the car finally came to a stop, the man dragged the boy to a spot where he eventually ripped his clothes off.”

Sarah rose and slowly walked in front of the fire and stood with her back to the flames, warming herself. “Can you imagine what must have been going through that poor boy’s mind?” she said. “He must have been scared to death.”

“I’m sure he was,” I said. “But he sounds like he’s a pretty spunky kid.”

“What makes you say that?” the judge asked.

“Because as he’s lying in the dirt, naked, with the man straddling him, he lets the man have it,” I said. “He kicked the pervert square in the groin. When the man doubled up in pain, the boy escaped deep into the forest.”

“He’s lucky to be alive,” Sarah said. “I’m sure whoever attacked the boy wasn’t planning on letting him live to tell about it.”

The judge angled his head, musing over what we just told him. “What that boy went through is gut-wrenching, but so far I haven’t heard anything that implicates Jared.”

“That’s because the real problem,” Sarah said and gave me a look as if to say she knew I had an explanation for what she was about to say, “is the boy purchased a package of candy while he was at Sav-on.”

“Don’t tell me,” Avery interrupted.

Sarah nodded as if she knew her father had figured it out. “The cops found a package of the same kind of candy on the front seat of Jared’s car.”

Avery sat on the sofa, thinking. “That sure doesn’t help.”

“But Hunter believes he has an explanation.”

Since she brought it up. “Not an explanation really,” I said and told him how I had looked inside the car when I arrived earlier in the day.

Avery’s face brightened. He’d been on the bench twice as long as I’d been an attorney. He knew what some cops were capable of.

“Hunter’s right, Sarah. A good attorney should never accept anything at face value.”

For an instant Sarah was off balance. “And I don’t,” she said defensively. “But cops planting evidence is almost impossible to prove.”

I nodded my head in agreement. She was definitely right about that. And knowing McBean, he’d likely done a very good job of covering his tracks.

“Look at the mess they made,” Sarah said as she tiptoed among piles of loose clothing, magazines, and books strewn across the floor. We were in the guest house that McBean’s posse had ransacked earlier. It was after ten and the only source of light was a red Lava lamp set on a nightstand.

We’d just finished dinner. Avery had hardly said another word, and Sarah hadn’t said much more. The day’s events had them both rattled. My original plan was that as soon as Sarah and I discussed how much money she would need to represent me, I would be on my way home. But that was before the two beers I guzzled to wash down the fish. Sarah could tell I was tired, and she persuaded me to stay in Jared’s room for the night. I didn’t put up much of a fight.

Sarah righted an old lamp on the dresser. “This should work.” The bulb flickered several times, and she reached to the side of the dresser to see if the plug was loose.

“There.” She pushed it securely into the wall. Nothing. She shook the lamp a couple of times and tweaked the bulb with her finger before she gave up.

“It must be the bulb,” I said and looked to see if there was anything else we could turn on.

Sarah gestured at a closed door behind me. “Try the bathroom.”

Picking my way through the mess on the floor, I felt around for the switch and flipped it on. The bathroom wasn’t much bigger than a phone booth. The white porcelain in the sink and bathtub were yellow with age or lack of cleaning; I wasn’t sure which.

“Open it farther,” she said.

The old hinges creaked as I pushed on the door until it banged against the toilet. It was open wide enough for the light to illuminate most of the room.

“I’m sorry, Hunter.” Sarah was standing with her hands on her hips, surveying the damage. McBean’s buddies had tossed the joint, all right. The drawers of the old rickety furniture were open, their spilled contents lying beneath them. Some magazines and books lay haphazardly on the dresser and table tops, but most were scattered about the floor. “Why don’t you just sleep in the extra bedroom inside the main house?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said and bent down to pick up a few of the books. I idly thumbed through them when one title caught my eye.

It was a small pamphlet with the title The Dark Side in bold red print. The pages were brown with age and appeared to deal with the power of black magic. “Looks like Jared was into reading some pretty heavy stuff.”

Sarah bent over to pick up several similar titles while I picked up a small paperback by my foot. “This sure looks out of place,” I said. It was an old Catholic catechism.

Our eyes met.

“What the hell is he doing with all this stuff?” I asked.

“No idea,” she sighed.

Whatever remained in our way, I pushed aside with my feet. The beer was taking its toll. I considered using the bathroom, but if I closed the door, it would have left her in the dark. And I wasn’t about to leave it open and take a leak in front of her.

“This is ridiculous.” Sarah kicked a pair of dirty Levi’s into a corner next to the bed. It was unkempt, the sheets stained with God only knew what.

All I wanted was to get the bed made so Sarah could leave. “Don’t worry about it. A couple fresh sheets should do the trick.”

I reached down and ripped off the old ones with one quick pull. We both stared at the naked mattress; it was dirtier than the sheets. Sarah scrunched her face. “Are you sure?”

Little did she know she was talking to someone who, except for three years of marriage, had been a bachelor since he graduated high school. Although the sight of what we were standing over did almost make me gag.

I eyed the bathroom again. If I didn’t take a piss soon, the mattress wouldn’t be the only thing that was soiled.

“We still have to talk about how we are going to deal with Patterson,” she said as she tucked the bottom sheet under the mattress.

“Tonight?”

Sarah threw the top sheet in the air and it fell gently to the mattress. “We seemed to have gotten a little sidetracked this afternoon.”

“I know. We still have to discuss your fees.”

“My fees,” she said. “I’ve already figured that out.”

Staring at her blankly, I finished tucking in my side. I sat on the edge of the newly made bed, anxious to find out what she meant, when a pain, like a dull knife, pierced my side. I considered running outside and making a beeline for the nearest tree.

“Let me explain,” she continued. “Even if the D.A. decides not to file charges, the state bar won’t give up so easy. And they are slow. We could be looking at three to four months before they complete their investigation.”

“Well, if you’re worried I can’t pay…”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” she interrupted. “What I mean is…you are going to have a lot of free time on your hands.”

“Looks that way.”

“So, I’m going to make sure you have something to do,” she said brightly like we were about to have some fun.

“What did you have in mind?”

Sarah placed her hand gently on mine. With her touch I felt goose bumps forming all over me. I quickly looked away, hoping she hadn’t noticed. “My father wants to make sure Jared receives a good defense.” Her voice was unsteady, and I was sure she felt the charge, too. “So, I was thinking,” she said, still a little shaky, “why don’t you stay here and help me represent him?”

She’d caught me off guard. “I don’t know,” I mumbled.

“It’s perfect.” Her voice was smooth again, in persuasive lawyer mode. “I’ll represent you in exchange for your help with Jared. A little quid pro quo.”

The squeeze of her hand on mine was distracting me. Gently, as if I hadn’t even noticed, I extracted it. “I’m not sure,” I said. “After all, I do live two hours from here. Plus, I don’t know anything about how the courts up here operate.”

“Hunter, I’ve never handled a case even remotely as serious as Jared’s.” Her baby blues were pleading for me to say yes. “But with your help it would be a walk in the park.”

“What about your father?”

“The pressure of a trial…with his heart… No way.”

I reached to help her off the bed.

“Plus, he’s too close to Jared,” she added.

It did make a lot of sense. I’d handled dozens of similar cases. Even though I had been making a lot of noise about McBean planting evidence, it would likely be impossible to prove. I’d need to take some time investigating, ruling out the possibility that the cops framed Jared, then working out a satisfactory plea bargain. Actually, I would be getting the better end of the stick. Needing my limited savings to live on, I wasn’t sure I could afford Sarah anyway.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

Sarah nodded. “I’d really appreciate it.”

The tingly feeling was back. I turned to look out the window. The moon was just beginning to show over the ridge of redwoods to the north.

“Dad will clean this place tomorrow,” she said. “You’ll see. It won’t be so bad.”

The mention of her father doing something for me woke me up. I understood why the two of them had been so friendly, insisting I stay for dinner and boozing me up. She’d do anything for her father. And he needed me.

“I get it….” I began, but stopped myself. What was I thinking? I needed her help more than she did mine. I had no room to complain.

“Let’s give it a try,” I said.

“Great, we’ll start tomorrow.” Sarah gave me a quick peck on the cheek. A twinkle appeared in her eye. “Now I have to leave before my bladder explodes,” she said and rushed out the front door.

Chapter 8

The San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office had an eerie coldness about it. I felt like a stranger sitting in front of Michael Patterson’s desk, flanked by Sarah and Steve Ogden. This time I wasn’t fishing for some poor slob who’d had his sorry butt hauled in for something he deserved. This time I wasn’t one of two adversaries doing their traditional dance around the court’s maypole. This time it was my ass on the line, and I didn’t like the feeling.

We had been waiting for Sergeant Musgrave, the investigating officer assigned to my case.

Ogden sat very still, his hands folded in his lap. Except for how the allegations reflected on the integrity of the public defender’s office, I figured he didn’t give a damn what happened to me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put me on immediate suspension.

Patterson, on the other hand, fidgeted in his chair as he contemplated his next move.