CATHERINE OPENS THE envelope and slides out a set of papers. The room is silent as she sits and examines the contents. With a stern expression, she sets them down on the table before her and turns to Britta. “What did you do yesterday, Britta?”
Puzzled, Britta says, “Nothing really. I told you, I went for a long walk to Belmont Harbor. Overdid it, probably. Why?”
Catherine leans back on her chair; her palm is on her forehead. “This is a petition for an emergency hearing to hold you in contempt of court for spray-painting another Nazi sign on Ole Henryks’s property. Let me read it to you. ‘At approximately 3:00 p.m., on information and belief, respondent, Britta Stein, in direct violation of this court’s injunction order, did enter upon the property adjacent to the front of The Melancholy Dane, and did then and there, with malice aforethought, and in direct violation of this court’s prohibitive order, intentionally paint a Nazi swastika, a photograph of which is attached hereto. Plaintiff demands that Defendant Britta Stein show cause, if any she can, why she should not be held in direct contempt of this court for her intentional actions, and upon said hearing that the maximum sanctions allowable be imposed upon her.” Catherine slides the copy of the photograph across the table to Britta. It depicts the sidewalk in front of the tavern entrance with a large black swastika, at least four feet wide.
Britta looks at the photo and immediately begins to laugh and clap her hands. Emma cups her face in her hands, repeating, “Bubbe, Bubbe.”
Catherine’s lips are taut. “Do you think this is a joke, Britta? Obadiah Wilson can, and probably will, sentence you to jail, or at least levy a substantial fine, don’t you realize that? All the hard work we’ve been doing, it might as well be for naught. Even if Henryks was a traitor and an informer, it’s all meaningless because you have violated the court’s order of protection and committed another criminal act. Any credibility you once had is gone. We talked about your testimony; your word against Henryks’s. Well, now you have lost that credibility. You have blatantly and irresponsibly done the most self-destructive thing you could do to your legal position.”
Britta stares at Catherine with the hint of a smile. She bites her bottom lip. She holds up both of her palms like a stop sign. “This is marvelous,” she says. “It’s delightful, delirious and delicious.”
“Ach,” grunts Catherine. “I give up.”
Britta slides the photo back to Catherine. Her smile has broadened “I didn’t do this. It wasn’t me. I didn’t paint that swastika. Don’t you see, some other person who obviously knows what a rat Ole Hendricksen is painted that sign. Isn’t that wonderful? I can’t imagine who it is, but there is at least one other person who knows the truth and intends to stop his charade. I am not the only one who wants to set the record straight.” She looks around the table. “I’ll accept all of your apologies now.”
“Oh, Britta…” Catherine is not convinced.
“Wait a minute,” says Liam. “This is a photo of a swastika on The Melancholy Dane doorstep. Where is the photo of Britta painting it? When they filed the original lawsuit, they had multiple photos of Britta in her long coat taken in the middle of the night spraying the walls. This looks like a swastika was painted on the sidewalk in bright sunshine. Where is the picture of Britta?”
“Sparks isn’t stupid,” Catherine says. “He’s either holding that photo back to dramatically produce it at the right moment, or he has a witness. There will be some explanation.”
“The explanation is that I didn’t paint it,” Britta says. She taps the table with her index finger. “Catherine, look at me. I am telling you that I did not paint anything yesterday. I took a walk. That’s it. There is someone else out there who knows what a fraud Ole Hendricksen is. Don’t you think I’m telling you the truth?”
“It isn’t me you have to convince; it’s the judge. Do you have any way of proving where you were at any given time? Especially at three o’clock in the afternoon?”
Britta shakes her head. “I was on my walk. I suppose you could ask the seagulls. Maybe the totem pole at Addison Street. I stopped there for a bit to rest.”
Catherine’s scowls. “This is serious business, Britta. I’m not amused. Was the doorman on duty? Did he see you leave the building?”
“Yes, he did. His name is Clarence. He also saw me return a little after four.”
“The timing is terrible. Are you sure you didn’t see something or meet with somebody to prove you were at Belmont Harbor?”
Britta shrugs and shakes her head. “I stood there watching. All those big beautiful yachts. One of them, a long triple-decker, was pulling out of its slip and going for a cruise. It was poetry, the way it glided so effortlessly. I wished I was on that boat.”
“What was the name of the boat?”
“Oh, I can’t remember. I don’t know if I paid attention to the name.” Britta does not seem overly concerned. There is even a touch of giddiness in her demeanor, which perturbs Catherine all the more. She looks to Emma for an answer, but Emma’s expression is blank.
She turns to Liam, who appears to be deep in thought. He twists his lips. “Cat, come out and talk to me for a minute.”
The two leave the room, walk into Catherine’s private office and shut the door. Catherine is beside herself. “What the hell am I going to do at three o’clock? How am I going to defend this? She just doesn’t get it, Liam.”
“I have a thought,” he says. “Yesterday was the first day this week that we haven’t all met together. You had an emergency hearing in the appellate court, right? It’s public knowledge. Anyone who checks the docket could know that. It was also the first time that Britta decided to go out for a walk alone.”
Catherine sighs. “What’s your point?”
Liam continues. “We know that Sparks hired that punk Rivers to spy on the office and throw a splash of red paint.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Well, we think that. We do know that I ran him down after he dropped a paper bag with a can of spray paint.”
“We can’t prove that he was working for Sparks. He could be some crazy Ole fanatic.”
“But what if Sparks has this guy keeping an eye on what we’re doing? What if he has someone watching Britta? He sees that Britta is out for a walk—all the way to Belmont Harbor. Perfect time to paint a swastika. How will she provide an alibi?” Liam shrugs. “Just sayin’. I wouldn’t put it past Sparks. You know he’ll have a whole bunch of reporters there this afternoon. That’s how he litigates.”
“I’m not buying it. It’s just as likely that Henryks, his kid or one of his barflies is behind it. If it were Sparks, or someone working for him, who stalked Britta and then intentionally planted that swastika for the sole purpose of falsely accusing Britta, Sparks would be disbarred and face serious jail time. He’s not that stupid.”
“Only if he gets caught.”
Catherine shakes her head. “He’s a rat, but this is even beneath Sparks. That’s a bad theory, but it is possible that it originates at the bar. It’s also possible some prankster painted the swastika. Still, I’ll bet you that Sparks has a photo or a video that shows Britta clear as day and he’ll produce it at the hearing today.”
There is a knock on the office door. It is Emma and she has the emergency petition in her hand. “Catherine, I have read through this petition very carefully. May I share a few thoughts?”
“Of course. You know we are very concerned about your grandmother and what she may have done yesterday.”
“I know. I don’t believe she did anything wrong and I don’t believe she spray-painted the Nazi sign, but that’s beside the point. I found some irregularities in Sparks’s petition that I want to bring to your attention. For one thing, the petition is based on ‘information and belief.’ A petition for a rule is required to be verified; it must contain the signature of a person who swears under oath that the allegations are true. In this case, the affiant, Ole Henryks, swears that the allegations are true ‘to the best of his information and belief.’
Catherine immediately perks up like a Doberman on alert. “Let me see that, please.” She scans the document, looks up and smiles. “Good catch, Emma!” Then to Liam, she explains, “It’s a defective affidavit. The petition is flawed. Henryks didn’t swear that Britta painted the swastika, only that he believes she did. Maybe they don’t have a picture. Not that I will lower my guard, but I don’t think they have any proof.
“Britta, we are about to head over to the courthouse. For a hearing like this, I would usually take days to prepare my witness. We have about an hour. I need you to listen carefully to my instructions. You will be called as a witness and you will be sworn to tell the truth. If you did anything other than walk to the harbor yesterday, as you have told us several times, then you need to disclose it to me now.”
Britta shrugs nonchalantly. “There’s nothing else. I’m a pretty boring person.”
Catherine holds up her index finger to make a point. “Only you know what you did yesterday. I know what you told me, but only you know what you did. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I feel like you don’t trust me.”
“I’m doing my job. In a proceeding like this, which is quasi-criminal, you have the right to refuse to answer any question, other than your name. It is a right guaranteed to you by the Constitution.”
“I know about the Fifth Amendment. I watch TV. I see those crooks refusing to testify and claiming their Fifth Amendment rights. They are all criminals. How would it look if I did the same thing? Everyone would think I am a criminal.”
“I don’t care what anyone but the judge thinks, and he is not allowed to draw any adverse inferences from the exercise of your constitutional rights. I will give you a piece of paper to read in the event you decide not to testify. It says, ‘I respectfully refuse to answer that question on the grounds that my answer may, in whole or in part, tend to incriminate me.’ Do you want to practice that?”
“I most certainly do not. I do not believe that any answer I give will incriminate me and I will not say so.”
Catherine’s eyes roll up to the ceiling. She exhales a blast of air. “One more thing. There will be a crowd of reporters and court watchers in the lobbies and in the courtroom. There will be video. The reporters will shout out questions at you, like ‘Why did you do it?’ Do not answer them. They have no right to ask you questions and you have no duty to answer them. The best advice is to look straight ahead and walk into the courtroom. Okay?”
Britta nods. “Okay.”
“Any final questions before we head over to court?”
Britta bites her bottom lip. “Am I dressed fancy enough to see a judge?”
Catherine smiles warmly. “You look great.”