Andrew Price - Without A Hitch

“You got Saitoo?” Beaumont asked.

“No, he’s not going to help you.”

“What chu mean he ain’t gonna help me?”

“He’s a liar. . a bad liar. Pierce would have a field day making him dance, and that’s going to discredit you, so we’re not bringing him.”

“What about my alibi?”

“We’re going to play that by ear. Right now it doesn’t look like a good idea.”

“Then what you gonna do to get me off?” Beaumont demanded.

“We went over this, Beaumont. We’re going to take apart their witnesses first. Then we’ll decide what we need to put on in the way of a defense. We may just rest the case.”

Beaumont furrowed his brow. “You mean I don’t get to testify?”

“Probably not.”

Beaumont was clearly dissatisfied.

Beckett continued despite Beaumont’s angry glare. “The media will be there. They’ll want to interview you. Don’t agree to that. Just stay silent and let me handle it. The last thing we need is for you to say something the prosecutor can use in court.” Beckett paused when Beaumont add a scowl to his glare. “What?”

“How come I ain’t testifying?”

“Because you’re an asshole and you come across like an asshole and because your story sounds fake,” Corbin interjected.

Beckett put his hand on Corbin’s sleeve to quiet him. “If I put you on the stand, you’ll convict yourself in a matter of minutes.”

“What if I tol’ you I wanna testify no matter wha’ chu say?”

Beckett pursed his lips. Beaumont had a right to take the stand in his own defense. Thus, Beckett would need to let Beaumont testify if he insisted. “Do you want to take the stand?” Beckett asked coldly.

“Shit no, I’m just testin’ ya,” Beaumont said with a smile. He turned to Corbin. “But you can fuck yo’self.”

“All right, well, all testing aside, do you have any questions?” Beckett asked, before Corbin could start an argument.

“Yeah. . am I gonna win this or not?” There was fear in Beaumont’s voice.

“I can’t say.” No reputable attorney would ever guarantee a client they will win, and Beckett was no different. There’s just too much uncertainty in trial work.

“Gimme some idea, man,” Beaumont pleaded. “You done this before! You should know somethin’!”

“I honestly can’t tell you. It all depends on the cops. If they do a knock-out job, then you’re in trouble. If we can take them apart, then you have a great shot at walking out the courtroom door.”

“What they offering right now?” Beaumont asked. His hand shook slightly.

“They still want at least twenty-five years.”

“Shit, that ain’t no sentence for this. Murderers don’t get no twenty-five years.”

“It’s better than the seventy-five you might get,” Corbin said.

“I ain’t taking no twenty-five.”

They sat in silence for several minutes. “Any other questions?” Beckett repeated.

“Naw, man. . let’s get this over wit’.”

As they waited to be buzzed out the front gate, Corbin and Beckett watched the heavy, wet snow coming down outside. It wasn’t sticking to the roads yet, but it soon would.

“That’s a different Beaumont than we’ve seen before, that’s for sure,” Corbin said.

“Staring a trial in the face changes people.”

“Speaking of changing, there’s nothing I need to know is there?” Corbin asked calmly. He and Beckett hadn’t spoken about Beckett’s plans for at least two weeks now.

“No, nothing,” Beckett replied equally calmly.

“You’re not planning to do anything unless. .?”

“. . unless it becomes clear they’re going to convict him,” Beckett finished the sentence.

“And you’re going to give me a warning?”

“I gave my word,” Beckett replied. They never once looked at each other during the entire conversation.

The phone call to Alvarez started simply enough. Corbin explained that the trial would begin with opening statements. These statements can only discuss the facts that are expected to be revealed at trial, no argument is allowed — though attorneys bend this rule as far as humanly possible. The prosecution then puts on its witnesses. Corbin or Beckett can cross examine those witnesses, but can’t put on their own witnesses until the prosecution finishes its case. After some legal maneuvering, specifically the defense trying to get the case dismissed, the defense puts on their own witnesses. After that, the prosecution can call rebuttal witnesses to refute any new issues raised by the defense. Then, each side makes their closing arguments. Unlike the opening statements, these can be a mix of argument and fact. Finally, the judge will instruct the jury about the law and what they are to decide. Only then does the matter go to the jury.

Alvarez listened quietly, but he wasn’t interested in the trial. He wanted to talk about Beckett, a topic Corbin was in no mood to discuss. Corbin already spent the entire day agonizing over how to handle Beckett and he didn’t want to repeat that now. All day he asked himself the same questions. Did he need to act now or could he risk waiting? The evidence was coming in favorably, and if Beaumont was acquitted, the whole issue would go away. Plus, even if Beaumont was convicted, any confession Beckett gave after the jury’s verdict would be meaningless. But could he trust Beckett to wait and see how the trial went? What options would he have if Beckett jumped up and tried to confess in the middle of the trial? How could he “handle” Beckett if that happened and still get away with it? And of course, the big question hung over everything: could he actually pull the trigger?

Alvarez drifted into the subject of Beckett slowly. “What are the chances of Beaumont cutting a deal?”

“He’s shitting bricks. If they offered him two years, he’d jump at it. But they won’t.”

“Will Beckett push him to take a longer deal?” Alvarez asked, already knowing the answer.

“No.”

“How sure are you about Beckett?” Alvarez asked in as indifferent a tone as he could muster.

“I don’t know. He’s gotten strange,” Corbin admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“It sounds like he’s hoping Webb turns on Russell, but that’s not going to happen. Webb’s got too much to lose, and why should he take the fall for a shit like Beaumont?”

Alvarez’s mouth went dry. “Can you still trust Beckett?”

“I don’t know,” Corbin replied honestly. He spoke to himself more than Alvarez at this point. “He says he won’t do anything until it becomes clear they’ll convict Beaumont.”

“Do you believe that?” Alvarez was losing his indifferent tone.

“I do for now, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

“What are you going to do?!” Alvarez’s voice cracked.

“I’m going to hang up this phone, and I’m going to think very hard about my options.”

“You should have gotten rid of him before this,” Alvarez suddenly growled.

Corbin didn’t respond for some time. “I’m starting to think our best plan is to do nothing. The evidence is coming in favorably. There’s a great chance we’re going to win this. If that happens, then we don’t need to act. Acting if we don’t need to is just asking for trouble. Plus, we’ve been investigating long enough that I can explain away any confession he gives as being part of a nervous breakdown. I can explain away any evidence he produces by claiming it came from Beaumont. Beaumont will deny it, but they won’t listen to him. Besides, I have the trump card, I have the perfect alibi. Even if Beckett confesses, I can prove that I couldn’t have been in Philly when he did it.”

“No, you can’t,” Alvarez responded angrily. “You don’t have an alibi!”