The smell of vomit came from his cellmate, a fat guy passed out in the corner, breakfast all over the front of his shirt.
Steve thought it fitting. His life wasn’t worth what was on the guy’s shirt, and stank just as bad.
Rogue sheriff and partner plant coke in Steve’s car. That would be it for the law career. License yanked. You’re through now. Sorry, no parting gifts, but thanks for playing.
He’d requested his phone call an hour ago. They’d taken his cell phone and everything else. No one had come back for him. Violation of rights! Sure! And the only witness was snoring in the corner, not out of his stupor yet.
As soon as they let him, he’d get Sienna on the phone and start the ball rolling on hiring a lawyer. He’d have to hock everything to do it, but he needed somebody aggressive, somebody like Cutler, who’d defended John Gotti. A down-and-dirty New Yorker, a bare-knuckle brawler. Get him up to this one-horse burg and chew some rear, because without someone like that, he was dead.
What was Mott after?
It had something to do with Oderkirk’s death. Or maybe just the fact that Steve was associating with the LaSalles and Mott didn’t like the cut of his jib.
Steve sat on the aluminum bench attached to the wall and knew not even a Bruce Cutler would do him any good. They’d seen to that. Two law-enforcement officers, one former coke-addict lawyer.
His word against theirs.
He didn’t need Cutler, he needed Houdini. He’d even settle for Penn & Teller.
The door to the cell unit opened. The young deputy, the one who’d arrested him with Mott, was standing there. Letting in Johnny LaSalle.
“Ten minutes,” the deputy said, then slammed the door shut.
“Johnny — ”
“Well, this is a fine howdy-do,” Johnny said. “I should be in there and you should be out here.”
Steve gripped the bars, just like in the movies. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to get you out, Steve. To take you home.”
“Bail?”
“They’re gonna release you OR.”
“How’d you manage that?”
“Remember I asked you to trust me, Steve? You can, you know.”
“Do you know why I’m in here?”
Johnny nodded.
“Do you know it’s all a setup?” Steve said.
“Trust me, Steve. I know. But it’s all right now. I’m here for you.”
In Johnny’s Jeep, heading toward Beth-El, Johnny said, “Mott has done this before. We know all about it. And that’s what’s going to get you out of this.”
Steve breathed in the fresh air, trying to get the cell smell out of his body. “What do you mean, get out of it?”
“Dropped.”
“How?”
“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Johnny tipped his head back and laughed.
“What do you have over Mott?”
“Why do you think he’s where he is? Why do you think he keeps getting re-elected?”
“He’s in your pocket?”
“Not without some wriggling, but yeah.”
“Why is he going after me then?”
“He’s a guy who only understands one thing, and that’s power.
Who holds it, who can get it back. Maybe he thinks doing this to you is a way to get some power back on his end. But I’m not going to let him do that, Steve. Not to you.”