Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

“Not really. AJIS is mostly an abridged database – just the main facts. There’s a section for witness lists, but most of them aren’t filled in. If we want to see every person involved, we have to go through the files manually.”

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

“Sara, Victor’s been in this office for almost fifteen years. We’re talking close to a thousand case files – each of them six inches thick. Just to pull the files will take at least a week.”

“I don’t care. I want those files.”

“But-”

“Guff, if there’s a connection between Victor and Kozlow, I’m going to find it. And I don’t care how long it takes me or how many pages I have to read.”

“It’s your eyesight.”

“Actually, it’s yours, too,” Sara pointed out. “Now we’ve got until one o’clock, when Doniger gets here. If you can get the most recent files, we can start now and work our way backwards.”

“So I shouldn’t get them all at once?”

“No – I don’t want Victor finding out about this. If he realizes what we’re doing, we’re dead. Order fifty of his cases, fifty of Conrad’s and fifty of some other hotshot’s. If anyone asks, tell them we’re studying how the best ADAs win in court.”

Guff smiled wide. “You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?”

“Damn right I am. For the first time since this started, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“What the hell am I doing?” Sara groaned four and a half hours later, her desk and most of her office submerged under piles of case folders and storage boxes. “This is absolutely hopeless.”

“I warned you,” Guff said. “But did you listen? No. Did you trust me? No. Did you go off on your own, and act all cocky, and think you were going to save the day with one simple idea? Yes, yes, and yes. And what do we have to show for it? Dust. Dust on our hands, dust on my tie, dust in my lap. I’m serious, missy, I’m not happy about this. Not happy one bit.”

“Guff, did anyone see you put in the request for these?”

“I don’t think so.”

“And is there any way to tell if someone else checked them out before us?”

“There should be, why?”

“I’m just trying to figure out if Victor knows what’s going on. I mean, maybe he already went in and altered some of the files.”

“Now you’re being neurotic. The sad truth is that there’s no mention of anyone. Not Kozlow, not Doniger, not Doniger’s neighbor, nobody.”

“Speaking of which, where is Doniger?” Sara asked, looking at her watch. “She was supposed to be here at one.”

“She’s only a half hour late,” Guff said. “Give it time. She’ll be here.”

“I don’t know,” Sara said, leafing through the file on her lap. “I have a bad feeling about this. This is just another thing that stinks.”

“Why? Just because your prime witness is late for her interview? Big deal. We can’t find the witness in the pickpocket case either.”

“Guff, you know it’s different.”

“Listen, we’re hunting through every file in this building. That’ll tell us if Victor has any other ties to Kozlow or Doniger. But until that happens, you can’t keep thinking everyone’s a boogeyman.”

“But what if everyone is a boogeyman?”

“Forget about the imaginary monsters and focus on the real ones. You still have four other misdemeanor cases to deal with, as well as this felony and its big bad grand jury. And since the misdemeanor courts are backlogged beyond capacity, this may be the only one where you’re going to get a chance to strut your stuff. So if you don’t get the grand jury to indict, you’re not getting to trial. And if you don’t get to trial, it doesn’t matter how suspicious everyone is acting.”

“I know, I know – you’re right – if I mess up this trial, there’s no way I’m saving my-” Sara’s thought was interrupted when her phone started ringing. “ADA Tate,” she answered.

“Sara, this is Claire Doniger.”

“Of course, Ms. Doniger,” Sara said. “Where are you? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, dear. I just wanted to have a word with you about this burglary case. I was thinking about it last night, and I realized that I really can’t spare the time that you require. For that reason, I’ve decided that I don’t want to press charges. Considering that I got all my belongings back, I’m willing to turn the other cheek.”

“Turn the other cheek?” Sara asked, stunned. “That doesn’t make any-”

“I know it’s short notice, but that’s how I feel,” Doniger interrupted. “So you can just call the case off.”

“Actually, it doesn’t work like that. Once we arrest someone, we’re the only ones who can decide to drop a case. And that’s our decision to make, not yours.”

“Well, then I guess you know exactly what you’re doing,” Doniger said, sounding insulted. “Hopefully, though, you’ll stop interfering with my life.”

“Ma’am, I never meant-”

“We don’t need to get into it. I’m busy enough as it is. Good-bye.”

As Sara hung up the phone, Guff asked, “What’s going on? She wants you to drop the case?”

“So she says.”

“Do you think she’ll still testify?”

“I’m not sure,” Sara said, reaching for the phone. “But just in case she doesn’t…”

“Who’re you calling?”

“Doniger’s next-door neighbor. If we can’t get the victim, I want to make sure we still have Patty Harrison. And truthfully, she’s our best witness – she’s the only person who saw Kozlow actually leaving Doniger’s house.” Sara quickly dialed Harrison’s number.

“Hello?” a voice answered.

“Ms. Harrison, this is Sara Tate from the district attorney’s office. I know we were supposed to meet this afternoon, but I was wondering if we could move your appointment to some time earlier today.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry, Ms. Tate, but I can’t give that testimony anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t do it,” Harrison stuttered. “I’m far too busy – you’ll have to find someone else. I’m very sorry. Have a nice day.” With that, Harrison hung up.

Sara looked up at Guff. “What the hell is going on?” she asked.

“Don’t tell me she’s out, too.”

“If she is, we’re in serious trouble,” Sara said as she redialed Harrison’s number. The phone rang five times before Harrison picked up.

“Hello?” Harrison said, her voice soft and anxious.

“Ms. Harrison, this is Sara Tate calling again.”

“I’m sorry, but-”

“Listen to me, Ms. Harrison,” Sara interrupted. “I’m not sure who threatened you, but I want you to know that if you give us their names, you’ll never hear from them again.”

“No one threatened me,” Harrison shot back. “No one at all. Now please leave me alone.”

“Ms. Harrison, yesterday you said you’d be happy to testify. Today, I can’t keep you on the phone for thirty seconds. Now, I understand you’re scared, but if you don’t testify, you’re only encouraging this kind of behavior. If you truly want to feel safe, tell me who approached you, and I’ll have our officers pick them up within the hour. There’s no reason for you to be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“How about if I come over there right now? That way we can talk and-”

“No!” Harrison insisted. “You can’t come over here. Now, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’ve made up my mind. Good-bye.”

As Sara put down the receiver, Guff said, “I can’t believe you just confronted her like that.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Sara said. “There’s no reason to tiptoe around. Kozlow’s done this two times before – there’s no way he’s not responsible now.” Hearing a knock on the door, she shouted, “Who is it?”