Phillip Margolin - Ties That Bind

The elevator took them down to the reception area of the jail. When the doors opened they could see a group of reporters milling around.

"Oh, shit," Amanda said. "Someone tipped them off."

The reporters shouted questions at Amanda as she walked through reception. She stopped in the lobby. The lights from one of the TV cameras blinded her for a moment, and she squinted.

"Are you representing Jon Dupre?" one reporter asked.

"Did you meet with him face-to-face?"

Amanda held up her hand and the questions stopped.

"Judge Robard asked me to represent Mr. Dupre and I've just come from a meeting with him . . . ."

"Were you frightened?" someone shouted.

"Did Dupre admit that he murdered Senator Travis?"

Amanda waited patiently until the reporters quieted down.

"Those of you who know me know that I believe that the proper place to resolve a matter of this seriousness is in a courtroom and not in the press. So, I won't be discussing the case with you and I certainly will not reveal any attorney-client communications."

Several reporters continued to ask questions. Amanda waited patiently for the shouting to subside.

"I'm not going to comment on this case in the press," Amanda repeated. "I'm sorry, but that's my position. Let's go, Kate."

Amanda and her investigator walked away from the reporters and through the main doors of the Justice Center just as Tim Kerrigan jogged up the stairs from the street. The prosecutor stared for a second as if trying to place her, then smiled when he did.

"Hey, Amanda, it's been a while."

"Two years, the Harrison case."

"In which you were a graceful winner, if I remember correctly."

"You know my investigator, Kate Ross? She used to be PPB."

"Sure. You were involved in the Daniel Ames case."

"That was me," Kate answered.

The reporters and cameramen had been walking away when they spotted Kerrigan talking to Amanda. They surged toward them like a pack of ravenous wolves.

"What's with the reporters?"

Amanda looked over her shoulder and grimaced. "I'm handling Jon Dupre's case."

"Then we've got something in common. I'm prosecuting. Maybe I'll get to even our record."

"We'll see," Amanda answered without much confidence.

"Mr. Kerrigan," someone shouted.

"I'll leave you to your public," Amanda said.

"Gee, thanks," Kerrigan answered.

As the reporters closed in on her adversary, Amanda and Kate raced down the stairs and started to put some distance between themselves and the press.

"He's the jock, right?" Kate asked.

"Not just any jock. He won a Heisman about ten years ago."

Kate whistled. "How is he in court?" she asked.

"Good. He's smart and he works very hard." Then she sighed. "But the way this case is shaping up, he won't have to break a sweat."

Chapter Seventeen.

Oscar Baron's office was on the eighteenth floor of a modern glass-and-steel office tower. The waiting area was tastefully furnished and gave the impression that Baron was doing well, but Amanda knew that he was renting space from a firm and had nothing to do with selecting, or paying for, the reception-area furnishings.

The receptionist buzzed Baron and told him that Amanda was waiting for him. After five minutes, she started thumbing through a copy of TIME . Fifteen minutes later, Baron hurried into the waiting room.

"Sorry," he said as he extended a hand. "I was talking with a lawyer in New York about a case we're cocounseling."

Amanda pretended to be impressed that Baron was working with a New York lawyer as he led her down a long hall and into a moderate-sized office with a view of the river.

"So, Robard stuck you with Dupre," Baron said when they were seated.

"I took the case as a favor because no one else would touch it. I'm surprised you aren't representing Dupre. You'd have gotten a lot of media exposure."

"Yeah. I can see it now." Baron held up his hands as if he was a director framing a shot. "oscar baron's client gets the chair." He laughed. "Or maybe, mad pimp claims second lawyer victim. Just the kind of publicity I need. Besides, he couldn't afford my fee." Baron leaned forward and dropped his voice a notch. "And between us, I'm glad. Poor Wendell." He looked at Amanda wide-eyed. "There but for the grace of God, huh? I'm telling you, I've had nightmares about that little bastard. It could have been me in that room at the jail."

"You think Dupre might have tried to kill you?"

"Who knows what that lunatic is capable of."

"Did he threaten you while you were representing him?"

"Well, no, not directly. But the guy is scary. I always felt he was ready to explode. I guess I just got lucky. So, how are you two getting along?"

"We're at the feeling-out stage. You know how that is."

"Oh, sure. That's when they don't trust you and lie to you. Then you pass that stage and they trust you and lie to you."

Baron barked out a laugh and Amanda forced a smile.

"How long have you been representing Jon?" she asked.

"It was just this one case, but I represented a few of his girls when they got in trouble."

"The women who worked in his escort service?"

Baron nodded.

"Tell me about the escort-service case."

"I can't reveal any confidences without Jon's okay."

"Of course, but I'm interested in public knowledge. Information that's in the police reports. I'll need copies from you, anyway. I thought you could give me an abridged version now."

"Why do you need the police reports from the escort case?"

"The penalty phase. I understand that Dupre was rough with some of the women. The DA will try to introduce those incidents as evidence of his propensity to be dangerous in the future."

"Right, of course." Baron paused. "You know, that's a big file. It's going to cost a lot to make the copies."

"We'll pay for the costs, Oscar."

Baron looked relieved.

"Now about the escort service, how does that work?"

"Exotic Escorts is a pretty simple operation. Jon recruits the girls . . . ."

"How does he do that?"

"You've met him. He's a stud, and he's smooth. He'll go to the clubs where young girls hang out. He likes college girls. He'll pick up a freshman who's away from home for the first time. He'll fuck her silly, give her a little coke, and let her hang out in his hot tub. She falls hard for him. That's when he tells her about his business problem. How he runs this escort service and has this very good client who's in town for the evening, but the girl who was supposed to go out with this guy is sick. He tells her it's just like going out on a blind date, then he'll show his pigeon the jewelry and designer clothes she'll wear--all knockoffs, of course."

"Do they realize that they'll have to have sex with the customer?"

"Jon will be all embarrassed when he tells them about that part. He'll admit that the guy will probably ask for sex, but he says that it's up to her. That's when he mentions how much extra money she can make by doing this little extra favor for him."

"And this always works?"

"Of course not. But it worked often enough for Jon to build quite a stable. He hooks the girls on the easy money or the coke. He's clever about not using a girl too often, unless they're really into it."

"Don't the women catch on? Don't they see he's using them?"

"Some do."

"What happens then?"

"He lets them walk away, unless they're going to cause trouble. Jon can be pretty rough on girls who get out of line."

"Is the DA going to put on a parade of women who'll testify that Dupre beat them?"

Baron shrugged.

"How bad does it get?"

"It's in the reports. Besides, they're all whores. I would have clobbered them on cross."

"How does Dupre get clients?"