Stephen Penner - Presumption of Innocence

Yamata paused, then answered, "Yeah, one."

"What is it?"

"Seriously," she said, "Can I shove the needle in his arm?"

Brunelle appreciated her enthusiasm. "Sorry, no. There's a separation of powers thing or something. But let's take it one step at a time. We have to get a conviction first."

Yamata grinned. "Right. First thing's first."

But that reminded Brunelle of what really came first. "Actually, the first thing we have to do is lock in his accomplice as our witness."

Then he explained what had happened that morning.

"Wow, that sucks," Yamata observed. "Hope he doesn't bail out before then."

"Well, I don't think he will," Brunelle answered. "But even if we do, the judge will take him back into custody if we can show her he has to be held without bail."

"Need a brief?" Yamata offered. "My briefs are exquisite."

Brunelle nodded. "Of course they are."

Then he shook the thoughts of her panties-her exquisite panties-from his head. "That would be great. First thing to research is that 'no bail' issue. My guess is Welles is full of shit. That provision has been in the Constitution since 1889. I bet there's case law that interprets it the way we want."

"That's why he did it orally," Yamata suggested. "If it was written, you would have had time to research it."

Brunelle grimaced. "Yeah, he's pretty sleazy. But it might come back to bite him if Quinn feels like he tricked her."

"Is there anything else we need?" Yamata asked.

Brunelle rubbed his chin. "It might be useful to know whether we can rely on Holly's statement even if we don't have her on board. Once Jess gets wind of our predicament, she's gonna squeeze me- us -for a better deal."

Yamata stood up and leaned over his desk. He managed not to look at her chest. Just barely. "My briefs will be on your desk in the morning."

Brunelle sighed. "Great, Michelle. Great."

"Dismissal?" Brunelle was incredulous. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"No joke, Dave." Edwards leaned back in the chair across Brunelle's desk. She had stopped by after court on another matter. Nothing like face to face negotiations. "I heard what happened this morning. The whole courthouse is talking about it. Welles kicked your ass."

"Welles' client is in on ten million dollars bail," replied Brunelle. "That's not exactly an ass-kicking."

"He should be in on no bail," observed Edwards.

"He will be."

"Not without my client." Edwards crossed her arms and grinned. "Dismissal."

Brunelle appreciated the hardball tactics, but he wasn't about to dismiss one case outright to maybe get a conviction on another.

"Well, here's what I know." Brunelle folded his hands on his desk. "I have two defendants. One of them gave a full confession. So I'm going to get at least one conviction. It's up to you and your client to decide whether it will be her or him."

Edwards' smile faded just a bit. Just enough for Brunelle to know she understood.

"Don't get me wrong, Jess. I would much rather convict Arpad Karpati. I believe Holly when she says it was all his idea and he did it while she puked in the bathroom. But Welles has a point. It's a very self-serving statement. She really minimizes. I cut her a dismissal and the jury may well believe I jumped to conclusions and cut the wrong person a deal. But if she pleads to something less, like maybe burglary, she'll do less than a year in juvi prison, and when I put her on the stand, that very conviction supports one of the aggravators I'll be trying to prove. Fits nicely with my case theory."

"Case theory?" Edwards laughed bitterly. "Listen to you. I'm talking about a young girl's life and you're worrying about your case theory."

Brunelle raised an eyebrow. "It's not like her hands are totally clean in this, Jess. She knew exactly what that bastard was gonna do, and she still knocked on that girl's door."

Edwards didn't have a response ready for that.

"Don't try to hardball me, Jess. I'll cut her a fair deal, but I'm not desperate. Michelle Yamata is already working on the brief that'll get Karpati in on a no-bail hold, regardless of whether Holly is smart enough to save her skin."

"Michelle Yamata?" Jess practically choked. "Yamata's your second chair?" She started to laugh. "That cheerleader's gonna file a sexual harassment claim on you the second the case is over."

Brunelle forced a smile. "You think she'll wait that long?" he joked darkly.

"Well, of course, Dave. She'll want to notch a capital case in her belt before she gets your ass fired."

Brunelle nodded. "Great."

"All right, no dismissal," Jess changed the subject back to their negotiations. "But I don't like burglary. How about rendering criminal assistance? Burglary is a level eight offense. With her history that means mandatory time in juvi. You cut her a rendering and at least I can argue for credit for time served and probation."

Brunelle pursed his lips. He drummed his fingers on his desk. He pushed himself back into his chair.

"I have to think about it, Jess. That's a huge reduction. From aggravated murder one all the way down to rendering criminal assistance? I'll have a lot of explaining to do."

That reminded him. Brunelle slapped the desk. "Damn it. I gotta talk to the family before I can offer anything. I almost forgot."

"What if they say no?" Jess furrowed her brow. "You're not going to let them have the final say, are you?"

"Of course not," replied Brunelle. "They don't have any say. It's my call. But they need to think they had a say. I have to at least pretend to listen to them, explain the options, and tell them why they should agree with what I'm going to do anyway."

Edwards looked at her watch. "Well, you better hurry, Dave. That bail hearing is gonna be here before you know it."

Brunelle nodded. "Yeah, I know. And I have to meet with someone else first."

"Grande triple americano with one ice cube, please," Kat told the barista.

"One ice cube?" Brunelle asked as he pulled out his wallet.

"I like to drink it fast," explained Kat. "And put your wallet away. At least for my drink. I'm paying for myself."

Brunelle smiled. "Okay. As long as you're not paying for me too. I don't want to owe you anything."

Kat looked him up and down. Then she started laughing. "Like hell you don't."

She took her drink and headed for a small table in the corner. Brunelle ordered a brewed coffee and in a few minutes joined her.

"As much as I'd like to think the coffee invite was because of my dazzling eyes," Kat batted her eyelashes over her drink, "this is business, isn't it?"

Brunelle shrugged and took a sip from his still too-hot coffee. "Probably both. But yeah, I do need to talk to you about the Montgomery case. Have you done the autopsy yet?"

"Are you kidding? That was a week ago. We don't let them back up like that. I've done that and a dozen more since."

Brunelle smiled tightly. "Wonderful."

Kat laughed again. "I love my job."

"That's great. Really. I couldn't do it, I know that."

"It's almost like opening Christmas presents," Kat enthused. "You never know what you're going to find inside."

"Wow," laughed Brunelle. "Remind me not to let you join our secret Santa this year."

Kat shook her head. "Fine, Mr. Squeamish. What do you want to know about the Montgomery autopsy?"

Brunelle was bothered that she might think less of him for being squeamish, but he decided not to protest. He was a lawyer, not a pathologist. He'd never keep up with her on that front.

"Maybe," Brunelle tried, "it might be best if I just lay it all out on the table."

Kat laughed. "That's generally how I work."

Brunelle smiled and shook his head.