Blood Defense

TWENTY-EIGHT

I went back to the office in a somewhat calmer mood than when I’d left. Not because I necessarily bought Dale’s story, but because I had bigger, more immediate minefields to navigate.

I told Alex and Michelle to come into my office. The phones were so constant it sounded like one long, continuous ring. Michelle came in looking frazzled. “It’s been like that all morning. News shows, cable shows, print reporters, and of course, the usual psychos-but a lot more of them, and they’re a lot meaner. At least the story about Dale being your dad got us some sympathy calls. This time it’s a whole raft of no-life nutjobs saying Dale’s a monster and you’re a scumbag for representing him.”

I’d been wishing something would happen to take the story about Dale being my father off the radar. Now I realized I should’ve been more specific. “Any threats?”

“Not so far.”

I supposed that’d have to pass for my good news of the day. “We need to get all the information we can on this hooker-”

Alex read from his iPad. “She’s thirty-six, five foot seven, one hundred thirty pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes, and has a tattoo of Taz, the Tasmanian devil, on her left shoulder. Only a couple of busts for hooking, a couple of old busts for shoplifting, and one joyriding that got dismissed for insufficient evidence. The two prostitution arrests were in LA; the rest were all down in Orange County.”

“Damn, that all you could get?” I smiled. “Nice job, Alex. Any information on where she is now?”

“Working on it. Her last known address was in Orange County, but that was as of two years ago, and the apartment building is a senior living facility now.”

“But she got busted in Hollywood a year ago. Didn’t the cops get a new address?”

“No. She gave the same old one, and for some reason, she got released that night with no charges filed, so they never got around to checking it out.”

“Yeah, and I know why.” I told them what Dale had said.

Alex shook his head. “That’s some kind of bad luck.”

If Dale was telling the truth. “You might want to check the area where she last got busted, see if she lived nearby. And Dale said he brought in a tweaker that night. Go see Dale and see if he can help you track down that tweaker. You also might want to talk to the desk sergeant on duty that night. See if he backs up Dale’s story.”

“Zack sure screwed us hard,” Michelle said.

I nodded. “I’m kind of surprised. He doesn’t have a rep as a dirty player, but…”

Michelle looked disgusted. “A big case can be a big motivator.”

We all went back to work. I had to get ready for tomorrow, and I still didn’t have a solid zinger for the preliminary hearing. I didn’t know whether I’d put Chas Gorman on the witness stand at trial, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to trot him out now. The less time Zack had to dig up dirt on him, the better.

I put myself to bed by midnight, hoping to rest up for tomorrow. But I had the nightmare again. I woke up at three a.m., my heart pounding, struggling for breath. It took me an hour to get back to sleep. When I crawled out of bed at six, I was tired and achy. I pounded three cups of coffee in rapid succession-though angry as I was, I didn’t need the caffeine bump.

And given my state of mind, Xander did the world a favor by driving me to court. I was thinking about what I’d say to the press when my cell phone rang. Maybe Alex had already come up with something. I was so desperate for good news I didn’t stop to think that it was too early for him to have gotten anything. And so, when the obnoxiously familiar, ever-entitled voice of my mother came through the phone, it was a double crusher.

“Didn’t I tell you so, Samantha? A murderer and a rapist!”

“Mother, if you saw the news, then you know I’m on my way to court. I can’t-”

She railed on, heedless. “You have to get off this case! Surely now you can see who he is? I told you, there was a reason I broke it off with him. Maybe now you’ll believe me!”

I knew I shouldn’t engage with her, that I should just hang up. I needed to stay focused. But as usual, I let her get to me. “You told me no such thing. And believe what? You broke up with him because he didn’t have money. Not because you knew or cared what kind of person he was-”

“I did know. I always knew there was something… off about him.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me about him before?”

There was a long silence. “Because I didn’t want to upset you.”

I laughed out loud, though a part of me felt like crying. My feelings about anything had always been the least of her concerns. “So you thought it was better for me to find out on the news than to tell me yourself?”

“I didn’t necessarily know he would turn out to be this bad.”

“Celeste, you didn’t know diddly-squat. You were just hoping to make me get off the case so no one would find out he was my father. Because you were worried about how it’d make you look-”

“It’s not fair that I have to suffer for what that… disgusting criminal has done! The least you could do is get off this case and distance yourself!”

We were nearing the freeway exit. “I’m not getting off the case, Celeste.” I’d been planning my good-bye speech in my head, thinking of how I’d finally tell her how much she’d hurt me, belittled me, and made it so obvious I wasn’t wanted. But in that moment, I knew it’d just be an exercise in frustration. She’d never admit to anything, never change. She’d argue, deny, and turn it back on me, call me ungrateful… and a whole lot more. This was probably the worst time to do it, but I didn’t want to wait. It’d just give me more time to dream up useless speeches. It was time to bite the bullet. “I don’t want you to call me anymore. We have nothing to say to each other.” I ended the call and saw that my hands were shaking. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. I couldn’t believe I’d actually done it.

I was scared and a little bit in shock. I felt disoriented, like an unseen tether had suddenly been cut and sent me into free fall. But I wasn’t sorry. I felt stronger, triumphant. I hadn’t realized how much I’d felt like a victim until that moment-when I decided not to be one anymore. By the time Xander pulled up in front of the courthouse, my hands had stopped shaking.

I’d scheduled this appearance at the last minute, so I wasn’t surprised to see that there was less of a throng outside this time. It didn’t matter. There were enough cameras to guarantee today’s proceedings would go far and wide. Brittany and Trevor spotted me as I got out of the car.

Trevor got to me first. “Samantha, what’s your response to this rape charge?” I saw Brittany’s cameraman move in behind him and train the lens on me.

I forced a calm expression and looked directly into the lens. “There is no truth to the charge whatsoever. The accuser is a prostitute who hoped to extort money from Dale.” The other reporters came running and were gathering around me, mikes held out in front of them. “I’m frankly disgusted by the cheap, underhanded tactics employed by the prosecution in leaking this bogus charge. It just shows how desperate they are. And they should be. Dale Pearson is innocent, and we will not let this smear campaign stop us from proving it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to court.”

They shouted questions at me as I sidestepped through the crowd, but I’d given them enough of a sound bite for now. I wanted to save the rest for court. As I pushed in through the door, I saw Edie near the elevators. She waved to me and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

Brittany ran up to me. “Samantha, this is terrible. You must be devastated. If you want more airtime, just let me know, okay?”

“Thanks, we’ll see what happens.”

This time I didn’t take the stairs. I wanted to save my energy for the fight. So I squeezed into the ever-packed, slow-moving elevator, and by the time it reached my floor, I was in full boil. I stomped into court, ready to rip flesh from bone. I didn’t even look at Zack. I didn’t trust myself not to throw something at him. I was glad to see that the courtroom had a fair number of reporters. They were going to get their money’s worth today.

Which was too bad for Judge William Tollinberg. People liked to say he was “gentlemanly.” But it was just a nice way of saying he was a pussy. When lawyers push the envelope-a near-daily occurrence-it’s up to the judge to rein them in. But Judge Tollinberg had no stomach for it. When the fur started to fly, he ducked. So I knew I’d get to swing freely, and I was planning to take full advantage of it.

The minute he called the case, I burst out of the gate like Secretariat.

“Your Honor, I told my client to waive his appearance because he doesn’t need to witness this shameful day for our system of justice. I’ve seen a lot of dirty tricks in my time, but what the prosecution has just pulled is probably the sleaziest. This charge was so bogus the victim herself wouldn’t back it up. The deliberate leaking of a totally unfounded rape charge is much more than outrageous. It’s a deliberate sabotage of Dale Pearson’s right to due process and a fair trial. I’m moving for a dismissal of all charges. Barring that, I want the prosecutor sanctioned for this despicable smear campaign!”

When Zack stood up, his face was red. He bounced the end of his pen on his legal pad, his lips pulled tight. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. “Your Honor…” He cleared his throat. “Your Honor, while I can well understand why counsel’s upset, that does not give her the right to go throwing around baseless accusations. I did not leak that rape report, and I don’t know who did. I think it’s ironic that counsel calls it a smear campaign, because that’s exactly what she’s just launched by accusing me without any facts to back it up-”

I jumped to my feet. “No facts? Who else has access to confidential personnel files? Who else has the motive to taint the jury pool?”

Lawyers are never supposed to directly address one another in court-we talk to the judge and, on occasion, the jury. But Zack lost it. He turned to face me and fired back. “Obviously someone besides me!”

“Then you should welcome an investigation!”

“I do welcome an investigation. And while we’re at it, we should find out why Jenny Knox didn’t show up for her IA interview.”

Finally, about ten clicks too late, the judge held up a hand. “Now counsel, you’re both officers of the court, and I know you’re aware of your ethical duties-”

But I wasn’t done yet. “Your Honor, Zack Chastain obviously doesn’t think he has any ethical duties. It’s not enough to sanction him. He should be removed from this case!”

Zack’s eyes narrowed with fury, and his face flushed an even brighter red. “If anyone should be removed, it’s Samantha Brinkman. She’s obviously too close to this case. She can’t be professional. After all, it’s her father-”

“That’s a disgusting, cheap shot-”

The bang of the gavel cut me off. It was probably the first time in the judge’s career he’d ever used it. I thought I saw his hand shaking. The bailiff’s mouth hung open.

Judge Tollinberg’s voice was strained, but I could see real anger in his pale-blue eyes. “No one’s getting taken off this case. But I do not approve of these personal attacks. I will expect written apologies to the court from both of you, and I want them in my hands by five o’clock this evening.” He looked from me to Zack. “However, this is a serious breach, Mr. Chastain. I’m ordering the sheriff’s department to look into the leak. In the meantime, Ms. Brinkman, my clerk tells me you have discovery matters to take up?”

I appreciated him ordering the investigation, but it was the least he could do. And besides, the damage was done. The rape charge was all over the news. There was no way to un-ring that bell-other than to prove it was a lie.

“Thank you, Your Honor. Yes, I do. I want the victims’ cell-phone records, the downloads from their laptops, and their navigational systems’ records-”

Zack cut in, his voice cold. “We’re working on it, Your Honor. It may take a little while.”

I glared at Zack. “I remind the prosecution that we’re not waiving time. We want the preliminary hearing and trial set within the statutory limit.”

The judge nodded. “Mr. Chastain, how long will it take you to get those records to Ms. Brinkman?”

“I probably can’t get all those records before the preliminary hearing.” Zack stared down at his legal pad for a moment. “But Ms. Brinkman won’t have to worry about discovery for the moment. I’m going to scrap the preliminary hearing altogether and take this case to the grand jury instead.” He glared at me. “Since Ms. Brinkman’s in such a hurry, that should move things along a little faster.”

I returned his glare. “It figures Mr. Chastain would prefer to put on his evidence in secret, where he doesn’t have to worry about a judge throwing out this feeble excuse for a case-”

Zack shot me a dagger. “Feeble excuse? This is a slam dunk, no-brainer-”

The judge banged his gavel again. He had the expression of someone who’s slipping out of the saddle on a horse that’s galloping at full speed. “Ms. Brinkman, is there anything else?”

“Other than putting a stop to the smear campaign? No.”

“Then we’ll be in recess.”