Philip Margolin - Gone ,but not forgotten

The night before the hearing, Betsy was so preoccupied with Kathy that she forgot about Martin Darius. Now he was — all she could think about.

Samantha Reardon was forcing Betsy to choose between Kathy's life and the life of a man who did not deserve to live. The choice was simple, but it was not easy. As sick and twisted as he was, Darius was still a human being. When Betsy let Samantha Reardon into the jury room, she had no illusions about what would happen. If Martin Darius died, she would be an accomplice to murder.

Newspaper reporters surrounded Betsy as soon as she stepped off the elevator. She turned her head to avoid the glaring lights of the television cameras and the microphones as she hurried down the corridor toward judge Norwood's courtroom. The reporters asked the same questions about Rick's murder and Kathy's disappearance over and over. Betsy answered none of them.

Betsy spotted Samantha Reardon as soon as she entered the packed courtroom. She walked past her quickly and hurried down the aisle to her seat. Darius was — already at the counsel table. Two guards sat directly behind him and several others were spread through the courtroom.

Alan Page was just putting his file on the table when Betsy walked through the spectators. He caught Betsy as she entered the bar of the court.

"Are you certain you want to go through with this?"

Betsy nodded.

"Okay. Then there's something we have to discuss with judge Norwood. I told him we would want to meet in his chambers before court started."

Betsy looked puzzled. "Should Darius be there?"

"No. This is between you, me and Norwood. I'm not letting Randy come in with us."

"I don't understand."

Page leaned close to Betsy and whispered, "I know Senator Colby pardoned Darius. The senator sent his a.a. to see me."

"Wayne Turner?"

Page nodded. "You know how the senator's confirmation hearing will be affected if news of — the pardon is made public. Will you meet with the judge in chambers or are you going to insist we do this in open court?"

Betsy considered the situation quickly. Darius was watching her.

"I'm going to have to tell Darius. I can't agree to anything unless he consents."

"Can you wait until we meet with the judge?"

"All right."

Page went back to his table and Betsy sat next to Darius.

"What was that about?"

"Page wants us to meet with the judge in chambers."

"About what?"

"He's being mysterious."

"I don't want anything going on behind my back."

"Let me handle this, Mar-tin."

Darius looked like he was going to balk for a moment. Then he said,

"Okay. I trust you. You haven't let me down, so far."

Betsy started to stand up. Darius put a hand on her forearm.

"I heard about your husband and daughter. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Martin," Betsy answered coldly.

"I mean it. I know what you think of me, but I do have feelings and I respect you."

Betsy did not know what to say. Before the hour was up, she would cause the death of the man who was trying to console her.

"Look, if the kidnapper wants money, I can help," Darius said. "Whatever he wants, I'll cover it."

Betsy felt her heart contract. She managed to thank Darius, then pulled away. judge Norwood stood when Betsy walked into his chambers. He looked concerned.

"Sit down, Mrs. Tannenbaum. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine, judge."

"Do they have any news about Mrs. Tannenbaum's daughter, Al?"

"Nothing new, judge."

Norwood shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry. Al, you tell your people to interrupt if they have to talk to you."

"I will."

The judge turned to Betsy.

"And, if you want to stop the hearing, if you aren't feeling well, anything at all, just tell me. I'll set over the hearing on my own motion, so your client won't be prejudiced."

"Thank you, judge. Everyone is being so kind. But I want to go through with the hearing. Mr. Darius has been in jail for several days and he needs to know if he is going to be released."

"Very well. Now tell me why you wanted this meeting, Al."

"Betsy and I are aware of information about the Hunter's Point incident that is known to very few people.

One of those people is Senator Raymond Collby."

"The President's nominee to the Court?" Norwood asked incredulously.

Page nodded. "He was the governor of New York when the murders occurred in Hunter's Point. His information could affect your decision on bail, but it would badly damage Senator Colby's chances of being nominated."

"I'm confused. Are you saying Senator Colby is mixed up in the Hunter's Point murders?"

"Yes, sir," Page answered.

"And you agree, Mrs. Tannenbaum?"

"Yes."

"What is this information?"

"Before Mr. Page tells you," Betsy said, "I want to object to you hearing any of this testimony. If this information is used against Mr.

Darius in any way, it will violate the due process guarantees of the United States Constitution and an agreement between Mr. Darius, the State of New York and the federal government. I think we need to hash this out in much greater detail before you call your witness."

"An agreement Darius made with those parties can't bind Oregon," Page said.

"I think it would."

"You two are getting way ahead of me. What type of agreement are we dealing with here?"

"A pardon, judge," Page said. "Colby pardoned Darius when he was governor of New York."

"For what?"

"I'd prefer the contents of the pardon were not revealed until you decide the threshold question of admissibility," Betsy said.

"This is getting extremely complicated," judge Norwood said.

"Mrs. Tannenbaum, why don't we have the guards take Mr. Darius back to jail. It's obvious to me that this is going to take some time."

Betsy's stomach churned. She felt like she might collapse.

"I'd like to confer with Mr. Darius in private. Can I use your jury room?"

"Certainly."

Betsy walked out of the judge's chambers. She felt light-headed as she told the guards that judge Norwood was letting her confer with Darius in the jury room. One of the guards went into the judge's chambers to check with Norwood. He came out a minute later and the guards escorted Darius into the room. Betsy looked toward the rear of the courtroom, just as Reardon walked into the hall.

A guard stationed himself outside the door to the courtroom. Another guard was in front of the door that opened into the hall. Betsy shut the door to the jury room behind them and turned the lock. A table long enough to accommodate twelve chairs filled the center of the large room.

There was a narrow rest room in one corner and a sink, countertop and cabinet filled with plastic coffee cups and dishes against one wall. The other wall held a bulletin board covered with announcements and cartoons about judges and jurors.

Darius sat down at one end of the table. He was still dressed in the clothes he was wearing when he was arrested. The pants were rumpled and his shirt was wrinkled. He was not wearing a tie and he had jail-issue sandals on his feet.

Betsy stood at the edge of the table trying not to look at the door to the corridor.

"What's going on?" Darius asked.

"Page knows about the pardon. Colby told him."

"That son-of-a-bitch."

"Page wants to have the judge take Colby's testimony in secret, so the senator's chances of being confirmed won't be affected."

"Fuck him. If he tries to screw me, I'll take him down. They can't use that pardon anyway, can they?"

"I don't know. It's a very complicated legal issue."

There was a knock on the hall door. Darius noticed the way Betsy jerked her head around.

Are you expecting someone?" he asked suspiciously.

Betsy opened the door without answering. Reardon was standing behind a guard. She was holding a black Gladstone bag.