Notorious (15 page)

S
usan caught Melanie's eye
and motioned sticking her finger down her throat. They were at the government's table in the now-crowded courtroom, waiting for the status conference to begin. Jennifer Lamont sat between Susan and Melanie as they—along with everyone else from the press and courthouse staff who filled the spectator benches—watched Evan Diamond and Tracey Montefiore flirt shamelessly at the front of the courtroom. Evan was half perched on Tracey's narrow desk beneath the judge's bench, whispering something in the courtroom deputy's ear as she giggled wildly.

“Isn't that illegal?” Jennifer demanded.

“It's disgusting the way he sucks up to her,” Susan whispered. “But what can we do? Tracey's a slut. The judge knows it, but she's wrapped around Tracey's little finger, so she doesn't control her.”

“Somebody else should
control
her, then.” Jennifer's face was flushed, her eyes narrow slits.

“Well, but it's not only her. Diamond's a slut, too. Look at him, the man-whore.”

Susan laughed, but Jennifer appeared on the verge of exploding.

“Relax, kiddo,” Susan said, patting her on the back. “That's the burden of being the government. Everybody else gets to misbehave, and we don't. The upside is, we win in the end, and we know we did it fair and square.”

Melanie looked at her watch. “Half an hour late already.”

“Hey, Evan,” Susan called out. “Stop hitting on the courtroom deputy and get your ass over here. I have a question for you.”

Diamond smiled and unfolded his long body from its perch on the table.

“What are you, angling to get the courtroom calendar early?” Susan asked when he reached them.

“We were just chatting.”

Susan snorted. “Poor little Jennifer is getting disillusioned. So how about currying some favor with us prosecutor chicks instead and telling us when your famous client plans to show up.”

“I called him twice. The last time was twenty minutes ago and he said he was five minutes away. I'm actually starting to get worried.”

“Looks bad, Evan. Very bad.”

“You're not kidding. I can only imagine the pleasant mood it's gonna put this judge in, in contrast to her normal sweet demeanor.”

“You'll be lucky if she doesn't remand him. Atari in the clink. Imagine how they'll react in general population.”

“It's got to happen eventually,” Melanie joked.

“In your dreams,” Diamond said, grinning.

“Miss Vargas?” Tracey Montefiore called, holding the Bat phone against her chest and giving Melanie a meaningful look. “Judge DeFelice's secretary would like you to stop by chambers now and pick up that paperwork from another case.”

“Oh, the other case,” Melanie said, leaping to her feet. “I'll be right back.”

Susan and Evan Diamond were both savvy enough in the ways of the courthouse to shoot curious glances her way as she retreated down the center aisle.

 

I
n chambers, from the very beginning, things did not go as Melanie had hoped.

Bernadette sat in the same spot in the big chair behind her desk where she'd sat half an hour earlier, but this time she wore her black robe. One of the old-time court reporters, a guy with a magnificent head of hair known to everybody as Silver Max, balanced on a tiny stool beside the judge with his steno machine at the ready. Patty Atkins, a no-nonsense criminal defense lawyer whom Melanie knew well from other cases and had a lot of respect for, sat in one of the guest chairs with her hands folded in her lap. Meanwhile, Atari Briggs, resplendent in an Armani suit and diamond studs, regarded Patty with obvious disdain.

“Who is this chick? I never met her before.
My
lawyer's waiting for me in court, and he's already pissed that I'm late.”

“Ah, Ms. Vargas,” Bernadette said, looking up. “Have a seat and we'll go on the record.”

“What's
she
doing here?” Briggs demanded, pointing at Melanie. “If she's here, why isn't my lawyer here?”

“Ms. Montefiore, call the case,” Bernadette instructed Tracey, who had followed Melanie into the room.

“
United States of America against Atari Briggs,
number CR–08–2673-BAD”—Bernadette's middle name being Ann, all of her cases were marked with the initials BAD, which amused courthouse denizens to no end. “Parties, enter your appearances.”

“Melanie Vargas for the government.”

“Patty Atkins, present at the request of the court to consult with
Mr. Briggs. I note for the record that Mr. Briggs has retained other counsel, and that Mr. Briggs and I have not yet spoken.”

“Mr. Briggs,” the judge began, “I called you here today to advise you in greater detail than you have been advised previously about your right to counsel. Do you understand what is meant by the right to counsel?”

“Yeah. I got a right to a lawyer. That's what I'm saying. I already
have
a lawyer. I don't need this woman.”

“Just listen,” Bernadette said. “You have a right to counsel. You also have a right to what's known as
conflict-free
counsel. Do you understand what that means?”

“No.”

“It means you have a right to a lawyer who represents your interests and your interests alone. Who gives you advice based only on what's best for
you,
not what's best for him, or what's best for a codefendant, or what's best for some member of the criminal underworld. Does that make sense?”

“The lawyer I got now, Evan Diamond, he's fine with me. He represents my interests. If I have no problems with him, I don't see why you do.”

“The court has reason to believe that Mr. Diamond may be interfering with choices you want to make about your case. Ms. Vargas, please make a record of the facts regarding the cooperation.”

“Yes, Your Honor. I spoke with the defendant's previous lawyer, Lester Poe, right before his death, and he told me that—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Briggs said, shaking his head vigorously. “I know what she's gonna say, and it's a lie, a big lie.”

“You'll get your turn, Mr. Briggs. Let her make the record. Ms. Vargas, proceed.”

But Briggs's outburst made Melanie lose her train of thought. Was it possible that this man didn't want to cooperate, that he never
had? That he'd planned all along to rely on his face and physique and charisma to sway a jury, or brute intimidation, rather than snitching on one of the most dangerous men in the world? The thought hit her with the bitter force of truth. She almost decided to back down and call this whole thing off, but how could she do that when everybody was sitting there waiting for her to speak?

“Ms. Vargas?” the judge prompted.

“Judge, Mr. Poe told me that the defendant had significant incriminating information against a target of great interest to the government, and that he would be willing to provide such information in return for a sentencing reduction—”

“Lies!” Briggs exclaimed.

“Let her talk, or we'll be here all afternoon,” the judge said, but her annoyance level was building visibly.

“Mr. Poe indicated that the defendant wanted to postpone the trial and explore cooperation,” Melanie continued. “A few minutes later, Mr. Poe attempted to enter his vehicle and was killed when the vehicle exploded. Mr. Diamond was subsequently retained to represent Mr. Briggs. The government approached Mr. Diamond about the cooperation. Mr. Diamond told us that Mr. Briggs had no interest in cooperating. Given that Mr. Poe had said the opposite a mere day before, and had then been killed, under those unusual circumstances, we were concerned that Mr. Briggs's sudden change of heart was the result of intimidation or the threat of force.”

“Thank you,” Bernadette said. “Mr. Briggs, those are the facts that caused me to be concerned for your welfare. I have called you here to make sure you know that if you're being threatened, we'll help you, and if your lawyer isn't serving your interests, we'll provide you with another lawyer. Do you understand?”

Atari's jaw stiffened and his eyes flashed. “Look at me. I'm worth fifty mil. You really think I need your help?”

Bernadette was taken aback. “Well, any defendant who—”

“You know what I understand? I understand that it's y'all trying to intimidate me, not my lawyer. You're trying to put out there that I'm a rat because you want to ruin my reputation and disgrace my name. I'm no rat. I never was. I never will be. Whosever saying I want to cooperate is full of shit. If Poe said it, he's a liar. Evan Diamond is the best lawyer I ever had. He's who I want. Now can I go find him, please?”

“Yes, in one moment,” Bernadette said. She turned her hard eyes on Melanie; they were lit with fury. “For the record, I am fully satisfied that Mr. Briggs is happy with his representation. The government's concerns were overblown, possibly deceitful. I hereby order that a transcript of this proceeding be produced and provided to defense counsel, Evan Diamond, as well as to the chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office for consideration of any disciplinary action that might be warranted against Ms. Vargas. Ms. Vargas, I'll see you at the status conference five minutes from now, and I expect you to make a full explanation of your behavior in open court. Understood?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Melanie said, her voice shaky.

Bernadette smacked the gavel on her desk. “Adjourned.”

H
ad Lester Poe lied
when he'd said that Atari Briggs wanted to cooperate? Melanie agonized over that question all the way back to the courtroom. She was about to face the firing squad because she'd believed Lester when he'd told her that Atari had the goods on Gamal Abdullah and planned to snitch. Well, of course she'd believed him. Lester was Atari's
lawyer
. It made sense that he'd approach her about cooperation, and he'd never lied to her before. She couldn't fathom why Lester would have lied this time, but Atari's denial in Bernadette's chambers had rung disturbingly true. Now she didn't know whom to believe. Her actions had been justified if what Lester had told her was true. But apparently, he'd lied, and the shadow counsel proceeding had gone south in a big way. Melanie was about to suffer the consequences. There wasn't much she could do about it, either, except think fast and try to contain the fallout.

Atari had arrived at the courtroom before her. He was sitting at the defense table, telling Evan Diamond what had happened in a
loud, angry voice. Evan glared at Melanie as she walked down the center aisle of the courtroom, and so did Susan Charlton, who'd heard Atari's every word.

“What the hell is he talking about?” Susan demanded under her breath as Melanie sat down at the government's table. “You did a shadow counsel proceeding without me?”

“Look, it wasn't my idea,” Melanie said. “The judge ordered me to come to chambers.”

“Why would she do that? Out of the blue, she decides Atari needs shadow counsel? You must have said something to her.”

“After she heard Vashon was attacked, she called me to her chambers and grilled me about the security posture of the whole case. I told her—”

“You went to her chambers by yourself?” Susan exclaimed, so angry she nearly spit.

Melanie gestured at Susan to keep her voice down. “You weren't here,” she whispered, “and Tracey insisted. What could I do?”

“Call me on the fricking telephone. Don't run off and have some ex parte conversation with the judge.”

“Bernadette didn't give me any choice. You would have done the same thing.”

“No, I would not. Besides, when Tracey told you to go back to chambers the second time, I
was
here. I was sitting right next to you. I'm your goddamn trial partner, Melanie, and you didn't have the courtesy to tell me that you were running off to do a shadow counsel hearing?”

“Maybe you've forgotten, but Evan was here, too,” Melanie said in a low tone. “How could I tell you in front of him?”

Even to her own ears, that sounded like a feeble excuse. Deep down, Melanie knew that the reason she hadn't told Susan was that she didn't want to be overruled. She'd been convinced that the
shadow counsel proceeding would save their case. Well, it had been a catastrophe. Maybe it was Bernadette's idea originally, but Melanie would be taking the fall alone.

Tracey Montefiore sauntered through the back entrance, which meant that the judge wouldn't be far behind.

Melanie turned to Susan. “I'm sorry, I truly am,” she said. “I thought this would solve our problems, and it backfired. I screwed up badly. But please, for the sake of the case, help me with damage control. Bernadette is about to come in here and make me put everything on the record.”

“About the cooperation?” Susan asked. “You can't talk about Abdullah in open court.”

“I understand that.”

“Refuse to answer.”

“She may not let me.”

“If she holds you in contempt, then you suck it up and go to jail,” Susan said.

That prospect seemed real enough that Melanie couldn't speak for a moment.

“It—it would help if you backed me.” But it was clear from the expression on Susan's face that no help would be forthcoming.

“This is your mess,” Susan said. “You made it. You fix it.”

 

E
van Diamond came out swinging.

“Did the government think my client wouldn't fill me in?” he demanded of the judge once the case had been called. They stood before the bench, Diamond at one podium and Melanie at the other. Susan hadn't even come up with her.

“I heard all about this so-called shadow counsel proceeding, and it was a farce,” Diamond said. “An outrageous violation of the at
torney–client relationship. I demand that the indictment against my client be dismissed and all charges dropped.”

Melanie had managed to make a few notes on a legal pad before the case got called. She'd known that Diamond would try to get the charges dismissed, but in the pressure of the moment, the phrases she'd jotted in response looked like chicken scratch to her. She opened her mouth but couldn't figure out where to start.

“Your motion is denied,” the judge said calmly.

Melanie looked up in shock.

“You'll see when you get the transcript that Mr. Briggs was represented very ably by Patty Atkins,” the judge said. “He was never asked about the facts of the murder case. He was only asked whether he wanted to cooperate and whether he was happy with you as his lawyer. There's plenty of precedent saying that's the right thing to do when the defendant may be being prevented from cooperating. Mr. Briggs reassured me that he was satisfied with your services, and the proceeding was stopped. His rights were not violated in any way.”

“My client was never prevented from cooperating!” Diamond insisted. “I resent the implication that I would do such a thing. He never wanted to cooperate in the first place.”

“Mr. Briggs already told me. Nobody's accusing you of anything, Mr. Diamond.”

“It's not me I'm worried about. How does it look for him? This whole sideshow was designed to humiliate my client publicly and force him to plead guilty. I demand an investigation. I demand that the government attorneys be forced to testify under oath.”

“That won't be necessary,” the judge said, and Melanie could hardly believe her ears. Bernadette was coming to her rescue.

“I insisted that Ms. Vargas put the facts on the record during the shadow counsel proceeding. You'll get a copy of the transcript. I'm satisfied that she had a basis for requesting the proceeding. Now let's move on.”

The rest of the status conference passed in a blur. Melanie described the attack on Vashon Clark and asked for a month's delay to make sure he'd be available to testify. The judge gave them two weeks, which wasn't enough, but she seemed to feel that she'd done Melanie enough favors for one day. They now had seventeen days to pull off a major miracle, or else lose the trial of Melanie's career and let a killer walk.

“The judge saved your butt,” Susan said grudgingly when Melanie returned to the government's table.

“I wasn't expecting that,” Melanie said. “She
was
the one who got me into this whole mess. Maybe she felt guilty.”

Susan shrugged, gathered her files, and walked out of the courtroom without another word. Melanie might've escaped sanctions, but her relationship with her trial partner had taken a real hit. To redeem herself, she needed to produce a break in the case. A big break. Fortunately, she had an idea of where she might find one.