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In Dan’s opinion, arraignments were one of those constitutional requirements that in this day and age were largely a ceremonial waste of time. The idea was that they prevented law enforcement from imprisoning people without bringing charges, but these days, if cops wanted someone out of circulation, they simply arrested them, charged them, and worried about making it stick later. The whole business of informing the defendant of the charges could be handled by a cell phone call. But since the Constitution mandated that they all gather in court, he planned to make the most of it.
He spotted Jazlyn inside the courtroom. “I had a hunch I’d be seeing you here.”
“Psychic powers at work again?”
“Common sense. When a case gets a lot of attention, the DA brings in his best prosecutor.”
“Best may not be good enough in this instance.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t you handling this case?”
“For now.”
“Who else would do it?”
“That hasn’t been decided yet. DA Belasco really wants to win this one.”
“He always says that.”
“This time he means it. He’s pulling out all the stops.”
“Why?” He thought a moment. He knew the DA had his eye on the mayor’s seat. “Is he getting campaign funds from Zachary Coleman?”
“I couldn’t say. But I have seen the man in the office.”
“That’s all I need. Big money trying to influence the trial.”
“Are you asking for bail?”
“It would be malpractice if I didn’t. Will you oppose?”
“It would be malpractice if I didn’t. This is a capital offense, Dan. And the details of the body mutilation have leaked to the press. I have to take a firm stand.”
“Because you’re still thinking about running for the DA’s job.”
She drew in her breath. “It’s more than just thinking. I filed this morning.”
His grin spread from ear to ear. “That’s fantastic. I’m behind you one hundred percent. Anything you need, just let me know.”
“Thank you. But given your rep...”
“I know. I’ll stay out of the limelight.”
“But still. Thanks.”
“You’ll be a fantastic DA. Just what this city needs.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. They seemed to soften. “Dan—”
“I know Camila feels the same way. And her endorsement is one you can talk about in public.”
The marshals brought Ossie into the courtroom. He looked tired. The circles around his eyes suggested he wasn’t getting much sleep, which was common for people behind bars. Still it didn’t wear on him as badly as some. Youth had its advantages.
“How are you holding up?”
Ossie fell into his chair. “Get me out of there.”
“That’s probably not going to happen. This is murder, and a particularly nasty one.”
“I didn’t do it!”
“I know. But unfortunately, we have to prove that before they let you out.”
The bailiff called the court into session, and Judge Smulders entered the courtroom. One button on his button-down shirt was loose. Hair mussed. Bugs Bunny tie. Fingernails needed clipping.
Smulders was reportedly thirty-five, but he looked about eighteen. His robe was ill-fitting, and that was remarkable, given that it was basically a drape. He tugged at his neck, then reached behind himself, as if surreptitiously adjusting his underwear.
The judge cleared his throat. “So...I guess we should do this arraignment thing?”
Jazlyn rose. “The grand jury has convened and we filed our indictment. The defense has received copies.”
“That’s correct,” Dan confirmed. “Waive the reading. Not the rights.”
Smulders fumbled with the papers before him. “That means we don’t have to read all this stuff out loud to the defendant?”
Out the corner of his eye, he saw the judge’s clerk—who he knew had worked here more than twenty years—roll her eyes. Her name was Bertha and he could only imagine how she handled a boss with so much less experience.
“Yes, your honor. That’s correct.”
“And...” Smulders shrugged. “Anything else we need to do?”
“I’ve filed a motion for bail, your honor. The defendant has no priors.”
“As far as we know,” Jazlyn cut in. “The defendant has been off the grid for the past fourteen years—assuming he’s Ossie Coleman. No one knows what he did during that time. We’re not even sure what his name is.”
“His name is Ossie Coleman, and there’s a pending civil case that will prove it.”
“If I give you what you want...” Smulders’ eyes turned downward, staring at the papers. “...this guy gets out of jail.”
“Yes, your honor, that would be the point of a bail motion.” Stay cool. Don’t get snarky. “He can wear a monitoring device so his location can be ascertained at all times.”
“Gee, I dunno...”
“Your honor,” Jazlyn said, “though not completely unprecedented, I can tell you as someone who has been in the prosecutor’s office for more than a decade that granting bail in a capital murder case is highly uncommon. And here we have a crime that is...grotesque in the extreme.”
“You’re assuming he’s guilty. Your honor, please don’t be influenced by speculation. My client has no record. He’s living in a foster home. He will gladly submit to wearing a tracking device.”
Jazlyn frowned. “So we’ll know where he is the next time he decides to melt someone in a bathtub.”
“So he will be highly unlikely to do anything remotely improper. Not that there’s any proof he ever did. He’s a victim who was abducted as a child and—”
“Stop. You’re talking too fast. I can’t follow it.” Smulders’ eyes were like balloons. He thought he detected beads of sweat running down the left side of the judge’s face. “This is all so serious...”
“Your honor, I will personally vouch for my client’s behavior.”
“Which won’t stop him from doing anything,” Jazlyn rejoined.
Judge Smulders squirmed. “This is very hard. Do I have to make a decision?”
Technically no, the judge could delay ruling forever. But that wouldn’t help Ossie. “My client has already been behind bars, subject to the cruelty of the system and the barbaric behavior of some of the inmates. He’s extremely high profile—practically a public figure. Incarceration poses a threat. In the name of mercy and common decency, please grant our bail motion.”
Smulders fumbled with his papers. His eyes darted to the left—toward Bertha, the court clerk seated below him. The older woman offered a tiny shake of the head. “I think I’m going to have to say no to this one.”
Jazlyn allowed a small smile. “Thank you, your honor.”
“Sorry about that, Mr. Pike. I owe you one.”
That was something he’d never heard from a judge before. Of course, most judges didn’t act as if they were still on training wheels, or let their nanny make their decisions. He texted Jimmy, asking him to dig up anything he could on this new judge. And his clerk.
But since the man apparently thought he owed him something... “Your honor, I’d like to ask for the earliest possible trial setting.”
Smulders pressed a hand against his forehead. “Oh, man. Like you want to go to trial today? I’m totally not ready...” He glanced at his clerk. “Am I?”
“I’m not asking for today, your honor. But as soon as you can fit it in. As I mentioned, there’s a concurrent civil trial that I can’t get postponed. We need to get these criminal charges out of the way before that proceeds. And frankly, I’m concerned about the possibility of...outside influences tainting the judicial process.”
Smulders looked tongue-tied. “You—You—” He took a deep breath. “You’re not accusing...our pretty lady prosecutor of being a crook, are you?”
Jazlyn looked as if she were about to explode.
“No,” he said hastily. “She’s as clean as they come. And I’m hoping she’ll soon be elected DA so she can give the office the clean sweep it needs.”
Jazlyn arched an eyebrow. “May I consider that an official endorsement? For the pretty lady prosecutor?”
The judge cleared his throat. “Does the prosecution object to this early setting?”
“As long as it’s within reason, no.”
“Okay, swell. I’ll have my clerk set it down as soon as we can get our act together and throw a good trial. Probably need to call juries and all that stuff.”
“Yes, probably so, your honor.” Where did they find this guy? Gymboree?
The judge tugged at his collar. “Well then. If there’s nothing else...”
They rose. His clerk followed behind him, still shaking her head. It was almost as if Bertha was embarrassed to be in the same courtroom with him.
But this Andy Hardy in a black robe would be making critical decisions affecting Ossie’s future. Or his clerk would.
“Sorry about that,” he told Ossie. “But it was almost inevitable. We’ll get to trial soon.”
“How soon?”
“Not as fast as you’d like. But we still have much investigating to do.”
“I don’t think the judge likes me.”
“I don’t think the judge likes making decisions. Which is sad, since that’s like the whole description of what judges do.”
“Any chance of getting a different judge?”
“Unless he commits gross malpractice or displays gross incompetence—no.”
“Have you ever seen a judge removed from a case?”
“No.”
“Does this mean we’re sunk?”
He thought for a long moment before answering. “No. It just means we have to make this case as easy as possible for the judge. And the jury.” He smiled. “I know you’re innocent. Now we have to convince everyone else.”