Show of Evil

EPILOGUE

The mixed aromas of ether, antiseptics, and disinfectant permeated the silent hallways of the hospital. Doctors and nurses consulted in hushed conversation at doorways. Visitors wandered from rooms, some smiling and encouraged, other teary-eyed and wan as they struggled to comprehend bad news. Elation and melancholy walked hand-in-hand, and the atmosphere was charged with emotion. Nothing seemed commonplace in these corridors where strangers were drawn together by the common bonds of disease, misfortune, and mishap.

Vail avoided everyone, speaking briefly when he could not avoid it, usually merely nodding to those he recognized as regulars or staff. He rushed to the hospital at the end of each day, first checking on Jane and Abel, then eating tasteless food in the cafeteria or standing outside the emergency door to grab a smoke.

Martin Vail had always detested hospitals because they reminded him of the blackest and most agonizing days of his past. They evoked images, in sharp and painful focus, of his mother as they put her in an ambulance and carried her out of his life forever, the intensive care unit where his father lay dead from a coronary, the pale blue room in which he said farewell to Ma Cat, the grandmother who had raised him, as she lay dying of cancer. Ironically, those images now had been replaced by relief and thanksgiving and by the sheer joy of knowing that Jane Venable and Able Stenner had been saved by the surgeons, nurses, and attendants in the emergency room at Chicago General.

A few days after the demise of Stampler, Jack Yancey died as the result of his stroke, and Vail officially became the district attorney. Dr Samuel Woodward, under fire for his role in the release of Stampler, held a press conference and, bolstered by half a dozen colleagues, weasled out of the situation with long-winded psychobabble.

During the weeks that followed, Vail kept a nightly vigil between the hospital rooms of Jane Venable and Abel Stenner, sleeping in the chair in Venable's room and going home only to shower and change clothes on his way to work. Sometimes he sat beside Jane's bed, holding her hand for an hour at a time, convinced that he was to blame for her pain and suffering, as well as Stenner's. After all, he would reason to himself, he had been the instrument of Stampler's bloody revenge, having provided in his plea bargain during Stampler's trial the method that was used ten years later to free the monster. Stenner was making a remarkable recovery. By the end of the third week he would be taking short walks down the halls with the help of a walker. Jane, who faced several weeks of torturous facial reconstruction, seemed in constant good spirits despite the painful injuries and the loss of her eye. Weak but ebullient, her face swathed in bandages from her forehead to her jaw and bruises tainting her nose and throat, she was indomitable. Aaron Stampler dominated their talks. Ironically, it was Jane who bolstered Vail's spirits during the long nights in the hospital as he fought with his conscience.

'Boy,' she said one night, 'I'll bet Aaron Stampler's sitting down in hell, laughing his buns off about now.'

'What do you mean?'

'Because he's still getting to you, darling. He's reaching out of his grave and pulling your chain. He conned everyone, Marty. Everybody bought his lie, why should you be any different?'

'Because I helped manufacture the lie.'

'He conned you, Marty. Admit it and forget it. Stampler isn't worth five minutes of bad time. You're a great lawyer. You did exactly what the law prescribes, you gave Stampler the best possible defence. You beat me fair and square, and believe me, I've thought a lot about the way you sandbagged me in the years since the trial. It was perfect. It was textbook stuff. The fact that the son of a bitch was guilty is beside the point.'

'Beside the point?'

'Marty, how many lawyers do you know who ask their clients whether they're guilty or not?'

'What's that got to do with anything? It's immaterial.'

'No, it's practical. If the client did it, he'll lie to you, so why bother to ask? You presume innocence and gather evidence to support that assumption, which you did brilliantly.'

'You're talking like a college professor.'

'And you're acting like a student. I remember a quote from an article about you - years ago,' Venable said. 'I don't remember the exact words, but in essence you said the only way for the law to remain strong is if we constantly attack its weaknesses.'

'You have a good memory.'

'Don't you still feel that way?'

'It doesn't have a damn thing to do with the courtroom. It has to do with acting. The courtroom has become the theatre of the absurd. Which lawyer gives the best performance? How good is the judge? How gullible is the jury? The truth gets lost in the shuffle.'

'Reality is what the jury perceives as truth. You also said that.'

'Well, I was young and brash in those… do you remember everything you read?'

'Just the stuff I agree with.' She tried to laugh but it was painful. 'Sure, it's theatre. Sure, it's the best man - or woman — wins. And yes, it's all about swaying the jury. So what? Those are the rules. And you're hellaciously good at pushing the rules to the limit no matter what side you're on.' She paused a moment and winked her good eye. 'It's one of the reasons I love you,' she said.

'I can't even begin to list all the reasons I love you, Janey,' he said. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the mouth.

'Don't go away,' she whispered. 'Kiss me some more. Unless you'd like to lock the door and slide in beside me.

'You're under sedation,' he whispered back.

'It wore off.'

Characteristically, when he brought up the subject with Stenner, the detective's response was short and direct.

'You made a mistake ten years ago. You think you're infallible, Marty?'

But the subject of Stampler could not be ignored.

St Claire and Naomi had stayed on the phone for the first week or so, sorting through police records in Colorado, San Francisco, and Kentucky and putting together a background profile on Rebecca, a sorrowful and sordid story in itself. Gradually the saga of Rebecca and Aaron Stampler began to make sense.

Harvey St Claire, with his baby cup in hand and a wad of tobacco in his cheek, settled back in a chair on his nightly visit to Abel and gave him all the details.

'We've managed to trace her back as far as high school. That was Denver, 1965,' he began. 'Her mother died when she was twelve, her father was regular Air Force. An NCO, rose up through the ranks, ultimately made captain. He was killed in a burglary in their apartment in early 1965. She vanished right after that. Accordin' to a retired homicide detective named Ashcraft, she was a suspect - there were reports of sexual and physical abuse by the old man - but they couldn't make anythin' stick. The murder was never solved.'

'How was he killed?' Stenner mumbled.

'Stabbed to death.

'Not usually… burglar's choice of weapons.'

St Claire nodded. 'It was a messy job. I got the feelin' talkin' to Ashcraft that they deep-sixed the investigation because everyone assumed Rebecca did him but they couldn't put a case together. Anyway, she popped up on the computer in San Francisco two years later - a dope bust in the Haight-Ashbury. Paid a menial fine, seventy-five bucks. Nothin' else until she accepted a teachin' job in Crikside in 1970. Stampler was in the first grade then - that's when she became his teacher and later mentor and finally lover.'

'When was Stampler born?' asked Stenner.

'Sixty-five, coincidentally the same year Rebecca's father was killed and she took a hike. We went back over Tommy Goodman's notes from his meetin' with her - he went down there and talked to her when Vail was prepa-rin' Stampler's defence. She mentioned some drug problems to him and there was somethin' about living in a commune in New Mexico for awhile and teaching kids there, but we couldn't put that together, most of those communes appeared and disappeared like sand gnats back in the late Eighties. And there's no further arrest records on her - that we could uncover - so she's litreally a cipher until she showed up in Crikside. What attracted her to the job was they didn't ask for references. I assume Crikside was beggin' and not too choosy. The state has no employment or health records on her, and social security didn't turn up anythin' on her until she went to work teachin' school. Apparently they needed a teacher so bad they overlooked certain fundamentals, like a teaching certificate and a background check. The locals say she was a good teacher.'

'Depends on what she was teaching,' Stenner said.

'Well, she sure taught Stampler a few tricks you don't normally learn in school, like Murder 101. Anyway, she taught there until 1991, then she just left. Boarded up this little house she owns one weekend and vanished into the night, just like in Denver. But interestingly enough, she paid her taxes every year by money order, so the house is still in her name.'

'I missed the last act,' said Stenner. 'You think that's where Stampler was heading when you caught up with him?'

'He was ten miles from her house when we nailed him. You tell me.'

As the weeks drifted by, the subject of Aaron Stampler took a backseat to the Edith Stoddard case. When Vail was not there, Venable stared at the blank TV screen or out of the window, thinking about the night she discovered the hidden closet in Delaney's apartment, about the paraphernalia. About the gun. And she wondered whether Edith Stoddard was a victim or a willing participant in the bizarre sexual games Delaney obviously liked to play. If Stoddard contended that she was victimized by the dead man, Venable could build a strong case in her favour.

She sent notes to Stoddard, advising her not to discuss the case with anyone until Venable was back on her feet and able to discuss the case with her. Stoddard never answered the notes and refused to recant the confession she made to Shock Johnson.

Shana Parver, with the assistance of Dermott Flaherty, continued to construct the murder one case against Edith Stoddard, whose arraignment had been postponed for a month because Jane Venable was in the hospital. Parver was the strategist, Flaherty the pragmatist.

'Venable will use the insanity defence,' Flaherty guessed.

'It's still premeditated murder,' Shana snapped back. 'But extenuated. Venable will argue that she was a sexual victim of Delaney. That he kept her in sexual bondage. That her job was at stake. And then he cut her loose and she was mentally unstable because of her daughter and husband.'

'We still have her confession,' Parver countered. 'Which Venable will get thrown out. She was distraught, scared, anguished…'

'Oh blah, blah, blah,' Parver said. Flaherty laughed.

'C'mon,' he said. 'I'll buy you dinner.'

'No, I'll buy you dinner. I'm the primary on this case. And don't let me order a martini.'

'Oh, I don't know,' he laughed. 'You get very lovable when you're loaded.'

She cast a dubious glance at him. 'I don't have to be loaded to be lovable, Flay,' she said.

Trees trembled before a warm spring breeze as Vail drove along Lakeshore Drive. He stopped and bought several bunches of spring flowers from a street vendor before entering the hospital. Jane was sitting up in bed and Stenner, who could now get around with the help of a cane, was sitting across the room.

'I got my walking papers today,' Stenner said. 'They're going to parole me an hour early so I can come to court in the morning.'

'Nothing to see,' Vail said. 'We're going to ask for a continuation of the arraignment until Jane's well enough to go to court.'

'That was thoughtful of you,' Venable said. 'Do I see signs of a crack in your armour?'

'It was Shana's idea,' Vail said with a smile. 'And I don't see so much as a blemish in her armour.'

'She's a tough little cookie, Marty,' Jane said. 'You taught her well.'

'I didn't teach her anything,' Vail laughed. 'She was born tough. Wait'll she gets John Wayne Darcy in court.'

'How about Edith Stoddard?' Jane asked.

'That's between the two of you. I'm not involved in that one, thank God.'

'You're involved in everything that goes on in the DA's office, Marty. Who are you trying to kid?'

'I didn't come here to talk business,' Vail said. He handed her the bouquet of spring flowers. 'I came to tamper with your affections.'

'You can tamper with my affections anytime,' she said and took the dead flowers from a vase on the table beside the bed and dropped them in the wastebasket. Vail took the vase to the sink in the corner and filled it with water.

'I think I'll go back to my room and spend a little time,' Stenner said. 'Been there four weeks. Be like leaving home. Goodnight.'

'I'll drop by and tuck you in,' Vail said.

'My nurse takes care of that,' Stenner responded brusquely, walking as jauntily as he could from the room.

'I'm jealous of Abel,' Venable said. 'He's going home and I have two more operations to go.'

Vail sat down beside her and ran a finger gently down the bandage on her face. 'A few more weeks and it will all be behind us,' he said gently. He stood up and walked to the window.

'Still have Stampler on your mind, don't you?' she said softly.

'You know,' he said, 'there was a moment there… there was a moment when… when it was a catharsis. For a minute or two I had the power of life and death over him. I had him in my sights. God knows, I wanted to kill him. I wanted to shoot him over and over again. A bullet for every one he butchered. The trigger had an eighth-of-an-inch to go and I knew what he wanted, Janey, I knew he wanted me to put him down, to pull me down to his level. Then I saw the sign and eased off and let the devil have him.'

'Well, it's over, my dear,' she said and patted the bed beside her.

Maybe, he thought. And maybe it will never be over.

The next morning, Shana Parver and Dermott Flaherty sat at the prosecutor's table, prepared to ask for another continuance of the arraignment of Edith Stoddard. Vail, Naomi, and St Claire, accompanied by Abel Stenner, sat beside them in the first row. Edith Stoddard's daughter, Angelica, sat on the opposite side of the courtroom, nervously awaiting the hearing to start. She kept staring back at the entrance to the courtroom.

At exactly 9 A.M., Judge Thelma McElroy, a handsome black woman whose glittering, intelligent eyes hid behind round, wire-rimmed glasses, entered the room. A fair judge, she was known for her stern, no-nonsense approach to the law.

Edith Stoddard was led into the courtroom and took a seat at the defence table. She was drawn and thin. It was obvious her weeks in jail had worn her down. She folded her hands on the table and stared down at them.

A moment later there was a rumble from the rear of the courtroom, and Vail turned to see what the commotion was about.

Jane Venable entered the courtroom in a wheelchair. She was resplendent in an emerald green silk business suit, her red hair pulled back in a tight bun, a black patch over her eye, the side of her face covered with a fresh bandage.

She wheeled down the centre aisle, cast her good eye at Vail, smiled, and winked as she headed for the defendant's table. Vail could not conceal his surprise. Shana Parver was even more surprised. She looked back at Vail, who just raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

'What the hell…' he mumbled under his breath.

'I think we're in trouble,' Stenner said.

'We were in trouble when she took the case,' Vail answered.

Judge McElroy lowered her head and peered over her glasses at Venable.

'Well, Ms Venable, this is a surprise. Welcome back.'

'Thank you, Your Honour,' Venable answered.

'Are we ready to proceed?' the judge asked.

'Quite,' Venable answered.

'We were prepared to seek a postponement because of Ms Venable's injuries, Your Honour…'

'That won't be necessary,' Venable answered. 'The defendant is prepared to answer the charges.'

'The State is ready, Your Honour,' Shana Parver stammered as Flaherty dug into his briefcase and began pulling out files.

The judge looked down at her agenda sheet.

'This is an arraignment, correct?'

'Yes,' Parver answered.

'Any motions before we proceed?'

'Your Honour,' Venable began, 'if it please the court, the defence asks that we be permitted to introduce one witness for the defence.'

'Before we even start?' the Judge said.

'We will seek bond for the defendant, Edith Stoddard, Your Honour. She has been incarcerated for almost two months without relief. We would seek permission for a character witness to appear in her behalf.'

'Your Honour…' Parver began, but the judge raised her hand and cut her off.

'Just one minute, Counsellor,' she said, and to Venable, 'who is this witness, Ms Venable?'

'Her daughter, Angelica, Your Honour.'

'Your Honour, this is highly irregular,' Parver snapped back. 'This is an arraignment. We are prepared to present grand jury findings supporting the state's contention that Mrs Stoddard committed the offence of first-degree murder. There can be no bond.'

'Your Honour, there are extenuating circumstances in this case,' Venable countered. 'My client has no previous criminal record. She was a valued executive secretary for years and has supported a daughter in college and a husband who is a paraplegic. Certainly the court and the prosecution can not object to hearing her daughter's plea. Fifteen minutes, Your Honour, that's all we ask?'

Judge McElroy leaned back in her chair and took off her glasses.

'I assume the defence is prepared to enter a plea,' she said, staring down at Venable.

'Yes, Your Honour.'

'And you want to introduce this witness before the prosecution makes its presentments?'

'I think it would be appropriate to do it now,' Venable answered.

'Huh,' McElroy said. She picked up a pencil and tapped the point on a pad for several seconds. 'Well, I agree with the prosecution. It certainly is an unusual departure from normal procedure. On the other hand, I do not wish this court to appear without compassion. Ms Parver, I'm going to overrule your objection. Keep in mind there is no jury here. The question of bail rests with my discretion.'

Although she was angry, Parver realized it would be foolish to stir the judge's wrath this early in the game.

'Yes, Your Honour,' Parver said.

'Thank you. All right, the defence may call its witness,' she said.

'Defence calls Angelica Stoddard.'

Angelica Stoddard was pale and nervous. Her hands were shaking as she took the oath and sat down in the witness box. Her eyes were fixed on Venable as she wheeled her chair to the front of the courtroom. Edith Stoddard stared suspiciously at Venable.

'Just relax,' Venable said softly. 'I know you're nervous but this will only take a few minutes. Give your name, please.'

'Angelica Stoddard.'

'How old are you, Angelica?'

'Twenty-one.'

'And where do you reside?'

'In Chalmers Dormitory. I attend Chicago University.'

'And how long have you been attending college?'

'Three years.'

'What kind of grades do you make, Angelica?'

'I have a 3.2 going into my senior year.'

'An A-student?'

'Well, yes. I've made a couple of B's, but mostly A's.'

'You have a scholarship, do you not?'

'Yes. It pays tuition and books.'

'And who pays your room and board?'

'My mother.'

'Mrs Edith Stoddard?'

'Yes.'

'What is your father's name?'

'Charles. Charles Stoddard.'

'Is your father employed?'

'No. My father is paralysed from the neck down.'

'And he lives with your mother?'

'Yes.'

'So, your mother is the sole support of both you and your father, is that correct?'

'Yes.'

'And until recently, she worked at Delaney Enterprises?'

'Yes. Mister Delaney fired her.'

'Who takes care of your father during the day?'

'We had a nurse who was also our housekeeper. She came at eight in the morning and left at five.'

'So your mother takes care of him from eight on?'

'Yes. Except when she has to… had to, work at night. Once or twice a week I went to the house when she had to work after five.'

'So you both take care of him.'

'Yes, but mainly my mom watches… watched over him.'

'And have things changed since your mother's arrest?'

'Yes. Our nurse quit. The insurance wasn't enough to cover her wages anyway.'

'And do you take care of your father now?'

'Yes. I dropped out of school and moved back to the house.'

'So when your mother lost her job, it changed your lifestyle radically, is that true?'

'Yes.'

'And this happened when your mother was arrested?'

Angelica nodded and stared down at her lap. 'Doctor Saperstein - he's my father's doctor - says we should put him in a nursing home.' She began to cry and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

'Can you afford that? I mean, if your insurance doesn't cover the nurse, how could you afford a nursing home?'

'I will… would get a job. Sell the house…'

She stopped for a moment, stared down again, and seemed to gather her composure. Then she looked up and her expression had changed from sorrow to anger.

'It's so unfair…' she said, then hesitated for a moment and looking straight at Edith Stoddard, her voice stronger and her eyes flashing, she said. 'It's unfair because my mother didn't kill Delaney, I did! She confessed to protect me!'

The judge was jolted back in her chair. Venable seemed shocked. Edith Stoddard leapt to her feet.

'That's a lie,' she yelled. 'She's trying to protect me! I killed Delaney, I confessed to killing Delaney. The police have my confession on record. Stop this now!'

'No, you stop it, Mama,' Angelica yelled back. 'I was the one he kept in bondage. Since I was eighteen. He held your job over my head. He threatened me…'

The courtroom was in bedlam. Parver was on her feet. 'Objection, Your Honour, objection'

Venable stammered: 'Your Honour, I had no idea…' Naomi turned to Vail. 'Holy shit!' she whispered. But Vail did not answer. He stared at Venable with absolute awe.

'It's true,' Angelica Stoddard screamed. 'I went there that night to plead with him to give her job back and he forced me to…'

'Objection, Your Honour,' Parver yelled.

McElroy slammed her gavel several times. 'Quiet in this courtroom,' she demanded, her eyes flashing with rage. 'Quiet, NOW! Counsellors - in my chambers, now. This court is in recess.'

'Excuse me, Your Honour, may we have ten minutes before you meet with the attorneys?' Parver asked.

Judge McElroy still flushed with ire, glanced at Venable. 'All right, allll-right,' she snapped. 'Fifteen minutes, ladies. Then I'll see you both in chambers.'

She fled the bench.

Vail looked across the room at Venable, who held her hands out at her side as if to say, I'm just as confused as you are. Vail smiled at her and shook his head.

Vail led Parver, Naomi, St Claire, Stenner, and Flaherty into a small holding office beside the courtroom.

'Okay, Shana,' Vail said after pulling the door shut, 'now what're you going to do? Punt or play?'

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'I'll be damned if I know. I can't even figure out what the options are.'

'Do you think Venable planned this, or is she just as surprised as we are?' Naomi asked.

'I don't think she planned it,' Vail said. 'But I think there's a chance she knew it was going to happen.'

'Shock defence,' Flaherty said.

'Theatre of the law,' Vail answered.

'You should know,' Stenner said. 'You pulled the same kind of stunt on Jane ten years ago.'

'Maybe so, Abel,' Shana agreed, 'but who do we deal with? What's your gut feeling? Which one of them did it?'

Stenner made a practical decision. 'The mother did it. The other way is too convoluted.'

'I say the mother,' Flaherty said. 'But I think the daughter was involved with Delaney, just as she said she was , on the stand, and the mother killed him to set her free. All this can come out in discovery. I say we postpone the arraignment and go back to the drawing board.'

'The daughter did it and the mother's covering for her,' St Claire said. 'I don't care how convoluted it is.'

'I think Angelica did it,' Parver agreed.

'I think Edith did it for a lot of reasons,' Naomi said. 'They're both giving the same story, both say the other one knew nothing about it, they have the same motive, the same opportunity, and neither one of them has an alibi,' Stenner said.

'That's ridiculous,' said St Claire. 'We got Stoddard's fingerprints all over the weapon.'

Vail stared at the ceiling. 'Why wouldn't Stoddard's fingerprints be all over the weapon, it's her gun?' he asked of nobody in particular.

'How about the bullets?' Flaherty asked.

'Same story,' Vail said. 'It's her gun. Naturally, she loaded it.'

'And the daughter?' asked Flaherty. 'How about her prints?'

'She'll say she wore gloves,' Shana said. 'If she wants to stick with her story.'

'Indict 'em both, see if we can break one of 'em down before we get to court,' suggested St Claire.

Vail laughed. 'Oh sure, I can see that. What do you think the grand jury will say if we go back in there and tell 'em we want to indict two people because we're not sure which one committed the crime?'

'I think it's a setup,' said Stenner. 'Either they were in it together or they're confusing the issue now.'

'Can we crack one story?' said Flaherty. 'Find a chink in Edith Stoddard's story and see if the daughter stays, with the wrong yarn?'

Shana Parver shifted uneasily in her chair. She stared down at the floor but said nothing.

'Okay, Parver,' Vail said. 'What's bugging you? Out with it.'

'I think,' she started, hesitated for a moment, then went on, 'I think he deserved what he got no matter who shot him.' That quieted the room down. They all looked at each other, then back at Shana.

'Let me ask you all something,' said Vail. 'Do any of you think Edith Stoddard would willingly have become involved in Delaney's sex games?'

'Why?' Shana asked.

'Because that may be the key to this whole mess,' Vail said. 'Delaney shined to the daughter and dazzled her. Look, she's a kid, all of a sudden she's getting attention from her mother's boss who is a big shot in town. He lures her in, the next thing you know he's playing kinky sex games with her. She doesn't tell anybody, certainly not her mother. Delaney was naked when he was hit. Supposing he was with the daughter and Edith Stoddard came in and caught them. She goes off the wall, pulls the gun, and drops Delaney. Then she hustles Angelica out of there, dumps the gun and splits. The next day during Johnson's interrogation, she realizes she can't buffalo the pros so she cops to the crime, says she lost it because Delaney got rid of her, and hopes it will end there. That way she protects her husband and her daughter.'

'Pretty good scenario,' Stenner said.

'Except we know the truth,' said Flaherty.

'Do we?' St Claire offered. 'All we know is that Delaney was one sick son of a bitch and whoever whacked him knew about his closet full of goodies. Either way, he comes off in court as a greaseball and the ladies get the sympathy.'

'Gonna be hard to get a unanimous decision on this,' Naomi said. 'If half the jurors are women, they'll hang that jury up for ever.'

'I think Naomi's right,' Vail said. 'The question here is, what do we want. Do we want to put Edith or Angelica Stoddard away for the rest of their lives?'

'Compassion?' Stenner said, eyeing Vail.

'Expedience,' Flaherty offered. 'I say make the best deal we can, otherwise she may walk.'

'Shana?' Vail said. 'It's your call.'

'First-degree manslaughter. Ten to twenty.'

'Venable won't buy it,' said Vail. 'She'll take her chances with the jury.'

'You're overlooking Edith Stoddard,' said Shana. 'She doesn't want to go to trial. She sure as hell doesn't want what happened in the courtroom this morning to be repeated. Her whole thing now is to protect her daughter and her husband.'

'You think she'll go for manslaughter one ?' Naomi asked.

'I think Janey wants her client to walk out of this courtroom a free woman,' said Vail.

'So?' Shana said.

'So, I think it's time to make a deal,' Vail said.

'And I think no matter what happens, justice is going to get another swift kick in the ass,' Stenner said.

And it was the first time anyone in the room ever saw him smile.

'What the hell are you pulling, Ms Venable?' Judge McElroy asked, scowling across her desk at Venable.

'I swear, I had no idea she was going to say that,' Venable answered. 'She asked if she could be a character witness, to help her mother get bail.'

'I certainly hope so. I don't take kindly to lawyers who try to turn my courtroom into a carnival.' Judge McElroy glared at her for a few seconds more.

'You have my word,' Venable replied firmly.

'All right,' McElroy said. 'What are we going to do about this mess?'

'I think that's up to Ms Venable,' Shana answered immediately.

'Me?' Venable said.

'Yes,' Parver said. 'You can't defend them both. That means Angelica will have to get her own lawyer. Are you prepared in your defence to lay this off on Angelica Stoddard?'

'What do you mean?' Venable answered, her voice getting edgy.

'That's the only way you can walk Edith out of here,' said Parver. 'Either we assume Edith Stoddard is guilty and try to work something out, or you're going to have to convince your client that you should go after her own daughter. Only one of them's guilty.'

'Then we'll go to the jury,' Venable snapped.

'And wash all that dirty laundry in front of the press?' Shana answered. 'I don't think so. We still have a confession, Counsellor. Your client hasn't recanted that yet.'

'No jury in the world will convict Edith Stoddard,' Venable said.

'That isn't the point, is it?' Shana said.

'What is the point?'

'We have a clear case of premeditated murder. We have a powerful civic leader who has a lot of friends in high places. The only way to break that down is to drag Edith through the mud, too. Think about it.'

McElroy leaned back in her chair, making a pyramid of her fingertips and leaning her chin on them. She smothered a smile. This Parver child was slick and tough, she thought. Inwardly, she admired both women. She stood finally.

'If you two will excuse me,' she said, 'I'm going to step outside for a few minutes. I would like to think that when I get back we can resolve this problem.'

She left the room.

'Okay, what are you offering?' Venable said.

'Manslaughter one. Ten to twenty. She could be out in six or seven years.'

'Not a chance. I'd be betraying my client. We'll take second degree. Five to ten.'

'I can't do that.'

'What does Martin want?'

'This is my case, not his.'

'He didn't make a recommendation?'

'Nope.'

Venable smiled. 'What a guy,' she said.

'We agree on that,' Shana said, and finally smiled too.

'So - what's the answer, Shana? We can wrap it up here and now.'

'Your way?'

'Hell, girl, you got me into this in the first place,' Venable said with a smile. 'I was perfectly happy sitting up in platinum city making a fortune. I think the question is, do you really want to go to trial on this?'

Shana Parver did not answer immediately. She stared at the ceiling, as Vail often did, thinking. Finally she said, 'How about a compromise? Plead her guilty to first-degree manslaughter if the judge will agree to five to twenty. She could be out in three years.'

'Minimum security prison?'

'I have no problem with that.'

Venable smiled and stuck out her hand.

'Deal,' she said. 'You're a helluva lawyer, Shana.'

'Look who's talking.'

A few days after the arraignment, the governor of Kentucky ordered the state patrol to recover Stampler's body from mine shaft number five. Spring rains had washed away the snow, leaving behind a muddy oasis in the forest with the gaping hole, like a bull's-eye, in the centre of the timbers that covered the old lift shaft. A small crowd of Crikside residents stood in the periphery, watching with anticipation the way crowds will, although there was nothing much to see but a small crane with lights and a video camera that was lowered into the bowels of the Kentucky mountainside, and a half dozen state troopers staring at the video monitor. The mine shaft was empty.