Paul Levine: Lassiter

She ignored him and looked at me. “Mr. Lassiter, thank you for your efforts, but unless you have a suggestion, I think we may be at the end of the road here.”

“There’s one thing you might want to consider,” I said. “Charlie Ziegler testified that Alex was the shooter and now admits on tape he was lying. You’ve got him dead to rights on perjury.”

“I see where you’re going with this,” Halpern said. “Charge Ziegler with a felony and offer him a deal. But will he turn on his mistress?”

“He’s the weak link,” Castiel said. “I’ll bet he goes for it.”

“I’d bet against it,” I said. “He loves Krista, really loves her.”

The air went out of the room with that assessment.

“So, what, then?” Halpern asked. “We put Ziegler away for a few years and the killer goes free?”

“There’s still a way you might convict Krista Larkin.”

“How?”

“Krista loves Ziegler, too. Give her the choice which one goes to prison. Indict her for Perlow’s murder, plead it down to manslaughter. Give her a chance to spend a few years locked up in return for not charging Ziegler with perjury.”

“Horse trading,” Halpern said. “It’s not perfect.”

“Justice seldom is,” I replied, as if she didn’t know that.

“And if they both hang tough?”

“Ziegler goes away for a bit, and Krista pines for him. Either way, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it. Like I told Ziegler, Perlow getting aced is rough justice. The guy ordered Krista’s execution.”

“Jesus, Jake!” Castiel exploded. “We adhere to the rule of law. We don’t countenance vigilantes.”

“The rule of law?” Halpern said. “How dare you even use the phrase!”

Castiel looked away. Defiant, not ashamed.

“I agree with Mr. Lassiter,” Halpern continued. “I can think of worse things than Perlow’s murderer not being convicted. You going free, Mr. Castiel, comes to mind.”

“I have a thought on that subject, too,” I said. “Alex suborned perjury and obstructed justice by browbeating Ziegler into fingering Amy as the shooter.”

“Jake, what the fuck!” Castiel was glaring at me.

“Ms. Halpern, I think you can put him away for a while. Again, it’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing.”

“You bastard,” Castiel said.

“Mr. Lassiter, my esteem for you keeps rising,” Halpern said.

“Thank you.”

“ ‘Rough justice,’ you called it.” She sighed. “I’ve been doing this twenty-five years, and now I wonder if that’s all we can ever expect.”

“We can always aim higher, but I never like to get my hopes up.”

She gave me a rueful smile. “That reminds me of what the Attorney General told me when I was sworn in.”

I seldom speak to an Attorney General, so I listened, figuring I might learn something.

“He said, ‘Cheryl, put your ideals in the desk drawer with the rubber bands and paper clips. Just work hard to do the right thing and hope for the best.’ ”

That sounded about right.

I said my good-byes and headed out, thinking about the law and justice, and the tenuous relationship between the two. I found my old Eldo in the steaming parking lot, a snowy white egret perched on the hood like a feathery ornament.

I keyed the ignition and listened to the giant V-8 sputter to life. The skinny-legged bird turned its pointy beak toward me but didn’t move.

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

No answer. Its beady yellow eyes seemed accusatory.

“Hey. I do the best I can.”

The egret squawked twice, crapped on my hood, spread its wings, and took off.

“Okay, okay! I’ll try harder.”

I watched the bird dip, then soar, heading toward the river and disappearing into the glare of the morning sun.