Стюарт Вудс - Barely Legal

Five minutes later she returned with the paper. The headline, LAWYER’S GIRLFRIEND MURDERED, jumped off the front page.

Taperelli snatched up the phone and called Mookie. “Did you kill the girl?”

“What?”

“The lawyer’s girlfriend. I told you to pick her up, not kill her.”

“I didn’t kill her.”

“Then why’s she dead?”

“She’s not dead. Chico’s holding her out in Queens.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yeah. I took her there myself.”

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Alive?”

“Alive and kicking.”

“You see the New York Post ?”

“No, why?”

“The paper says she’s dead.”

“Bullshit. She’s in Queens.”

“Yeah, well, then someone’s wrong. She can’t be dead and in Queens.”

“Why not? They got a cemetery.”

“Get out there. Make sure she’s alive.”

“She’s alive, all right.”

“You sure she’s the right girl?”

“Absolutely. I saw her myself. It’s her, all right.”

“Yeah, well, get out there and check on her. This fucking case is jinxed.”

The medical examiner called Commissioner Dino Bacchetti with the autopsy report. “You wanted a heads-up on Yvette Walker. It’s pretty straightforward. The girl was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. No contributing factors.”

“She wasn’t drugged?”

“No. Trace amounts of alcohol and that’s it. On the other hand, the toxicology report on the man she was found with is off the chart.”

“What?”

“You were right on the money with the knockout drops. Someone slipped your guy chloral hydrate, and a whacking dose of it. He’s lucky he’s not dead.”

“Could you tell when it was administered?”

“Not long before the sample was taken. He still had a lot in his system.”

“But the decedent didn’t have any in her bloodstream?”

“Like I said, trace amounts of alcohol and that’s it.”

“What about the time of death?”

“She was killed sometime between seven and nine o’clock.”

“Based on what?”

“Body temperature, largely.”

“What about the stomach contents?”

“Doesn’t narrow it down. She was killed five or six hours after eating what appears to be a Cobb salad.”

“What about pizza?”

“What about it?”

“Was there any in the stomach contents?”

“Nope. Just salad.”

“There’s no chance she had a slice of pizza shortly before she died?”

“No, there isn’t. I can’t speak for the gentleman involved. He only had a blood test.”

Dino had barely hung up the phone when it rang again.

It was Herbie.

“Dino. Thank God. I went back to my apartment to get clothes for court.”

“You’re still going to court?”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen. I had a voice mail on my cell phone, came in about midnight last night. It said I better lose the court case because they had my girlfriend.”

Dino blinked. “Is that right?”

“There was no number, just the message and that’s it.”

“Midnight last night?”

“According to the voice mail.”

“That makes no sense at all.”

“No kidding.”

“Go to court. Act as if nothing happened. Let me handle it.”

“How can you handle it? What is there to handle?”

“Let me worry about that. You just get ready for court.”

Dino hung up and called Stone. “I think Herbie’s losing it.”

“Can you blame him?”

“No, he just called me and said he got an anonymous phone call saying his girlfriend’s been kidnapped.”

“What?”

“I know, it makes no sense. He said they threatened to kill her if he doesn’t lose the case. Do you think there’s a chance Yvette’s death had to do with the case after all?”

“How would the con man fit in? And why would they make the threat after she’s already dead?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, I wish I could be more help, but I have to be in court.”

“You seen the New York Post ?”

“Why?”

“It’s on the front page. Lawyer’s girlfriend murdered. You can bet at least half of the jurors will have seen it.”

“Does it mention Herbie?”

“Says he was questioned as a suspect. The fact that the police are now looking for another suspect didn’t make the cut.”

“Has Herbie seen it?”

“He didn’t say. But he had other things on his mind.”

Stone sighed. “Oh, Christ. He’s probably the only one in New York who hasn’t.”

Stone Barrington arrived at court to find Herbie there already.

“Are you all right?” Stone said.

“No, but I managed to tie my tie. This morning I’m a nervous wreck.”

“I can take the cross.”

“What does it matter? If I don’t dump the case, they’ll kill my dead girlfriend.”

“Dino told me. He’s on it. We need to concentrate on winning this case.”

“Are you saying I can’t?”

“I’m sure you can if you’re not inhibited by an empty threat.”

The jurors were led in. It was clear from their posture that most of them had either read or heard of the story in the Post . Before the witness was returned to the stand, Stone Barrington stood up to address the court.

“Your Honor, I have a motion that should be made in chambers.”

Judge Buckingham glared down at the defense table. “We have already wasted a full day of the court’s time. I think we should proceed.”

Stone Barrington’s eyes twinkled. “Would you like me to make this motion in open court, Your Honor?”

Judge Buckingham could not think of a proper rebuke. “Attorneys. In my chambers,” he snapped, and slammed the gavel down.

When they were all assembled in chambers, Judge Buckingham said, “What is it now?”

“Your Honor,” Stone said, “the New York Post has a front-page story saying that Mr. Fisher’s girlfriend has been murdered, and that he is being questioned as a suspect in the crime. Under the circumstances, you can hardly expect the jurors to render a fair and impartial verdict in this case. I ask you to declare a mistrial, dismiss the jury, and postpone proceedings until we can impanel an impartial jury.”

“I had a feeling that was the motion you were about to make. The jurors have been instructed not to read or listen to any news stories relating to the crime. There is no reason to suppose that they have disobeyed the court’s order. The motion is denied.”

“The jurors wouldn’t know this article had any bearing on the case until they read it, Your Honor. At which point the harm would be done.”

“The only way to tell would be to question the jurors. If they didn’t know before, they’d know then. I’m not going to deliberately create a mistrial. I have already denied your motion. If you persist in pursuing this, you will be in contempt of court.”

Judge Buckingham turned on his heel and strode from chambers.

“What do we do now?” Herbie said.

“Relax,” Stone said. “I’ll take the cross.”

When the lawyers were back in court and Detective Kelly had been returned to the stand, Judge Buckingham said, “Does the defense have any further questions for this witness?”

Stone stood up. “The defense does, Your Honor.”

In the back of the courtroom, a tough-looking thug got up and walked out.

A cab pulled up to Cousin Lou’s house in Queens. Mookie got out, told the driver to wait, and went in.

Lou was asleep on the couch. Mookie gave it a kick. Cousin Lou woke with a start and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“What the fuck?”