The Lawyer's Lawyer (7 page)

J
ack found a table in the back corner of The Swamp and waited for his friend Ron to make his way over. It was a little after
five and Ron was shaking hands and slapping backs as he worked the room. As owner of the legendary restaurant and bar, Ron
was one of the best-known people in town after Coach Maddox and the basketball coach, whose name Jack couldn’t remember.

Ron made a point of looking at his watch as he approached Jack.

“You’ve been here for over an hour and you haven’t gotten that kid off yet,” he said as he gave his good friend a hug. “You’re
slipping, man. You’re not at the top of your game anymore. I told you when you stopped doing it for money you were going to
fall apart.”

Jack laughed. Ron was always in character as the slick-talking New Yorker who didn’t know much except a few common-sense rules
such as how to remove the twenties from the cash register every thirty minutes.

“Keep it there any longer, employees get sticky fingers,” he’d told Jack on more than one occasion. “It’s an occupational
disease and prevention is the only treatment. If I wasn’t here every day watching them like a hawk, there’d be nothing but
nickels and dimes in the register.”

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Ron was an astute businessman who put a great deal of faith and trust in his
employees and ran a first-class operation with good food as well as drinks, although he would deny those facts until the cows
came home.

“I run a gin mill,” was his favorite line.

Jack and Ron had been friends since high school back in New York City. They were both poor kids, sons of immigrants. Jack’s
people were Irish and Ron’s were Italian, a distinction that didn’t resonate with either of them. After college, Jack went
on to law school. Ron started a business and then another one and another one until he learned the right way to do things.

“I’m an overnight success,” he would tell people. “It was just a long night.”

“So did you meet with the kid?” Ron asked after he sat down.

“Yeah. I met with Coach Maddox too.”

“And what did the great man have to say? No wait, let me guess. ‘My hands are tied’ or some shit like that.”

Jack laughed again. Ron brought out the best in him. “That’s exactly what he said.”

“It figures. They bring these kids up here, make celebrities out of them, expose them to every temptation known to man, and
expect them to handle it like they’ve been doing it all their lives. I’m a big believer in personal responsibility, but this
is too much.”

“That’s a problem I can’t solve. I need to find out if Julian is innocent or guilty. If he’s guilty, then he deserves to be
punished. My sense after talking to him is that he’s innocent.”

“How can I help, Jack?”

“I thought you might know a little bit about the criminal investigation—who I can talk to and such.”

“The person running the investigation is a detective named Danni Jansen. She’s an old friend of mine. I’ve known her since
she came on the force twenty years ago. Good person. She used to be one of our best homicide detectives but now she’s on her
way out. I think she’s got less than a year to go before she retires so they’ve got her doing all kinds of stuff.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“I’ll call her right now and ask her to come by. She lives five minutes away.”

“I don’t need to meet her here,” Jack said.

“Why not? Aren’t most problems solved over a drink or two? Don’t answer that. It’s my mantra and I’m sticking with it. I have
to. I own a gin mill, for Christ’s sake. Besides, she’s a very good-looking woman and she’s single. She’d be perfect for you.
You can kill two birds with one stone.”

Jack just smiled. When Ronnie was on a roll, there was no sense arguing with him. It didn’t get you anywhere.

He was back five minutes later with a dejected look on his face.

“She said she’d meet you at the office tomorrow morning at nine.”

Jack laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Ron asked.

“You are—always playing the matchmaker.”

“I was just trying to sell a few drinks. I’ve gotta pay for these lights to be on, you know.”

Jack was at the police station promptly at nine o’clock the next morning but he didn’t get to see detective Danni Jansen until
nine thirty. It was part of the game to make him wait and he wasn’t upset by the maneuver.

“Danni Jansen,” she said when she finally emerged from behind a sterile wooden door with a sign on it that read “Authorized
Personnel Only.” “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Sure you are
, Jack wanted to reply. She was a tall woman, maybe five eight or  nine, with fair skin, large green eyes, and light brown
hair that settled just above her shoulders. She was pretty in a natural way, wearing very little makeup from what he could
tell, a pair of navy slacks, a light blue button-down shirt, and no jewelry except a silver watch on her left wrist.

“Jack Tobin,” Jack said, extending his hand to meet hers. “No problem. I had some work to keep me busy anyway.”

She motioned for him to follow her through the forbidden door and down a long hallway to a small room that had a table and
two chairs.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Ron tells me that you have some important new information for me in the Julian Reardon case, is that correct?”

“Not really. You know how Ron exaggerates. He’s a friend of yours, isn’t he?”

“Not really. You know how he exaggerates.” She smiled when she said the words but not in a friendly way. The woman was a poker
player. “Do you have any information at all for me?”

“Well, I’m representing Julian for one and I believe that my client is innocent.”

“That’s a shocking revelation. Do you have any facts to support that belief?”

“Just that I know Julian and I know his mother. When I talked to him today, I believe he told me the truth.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“And what would you like me to do now that you have shared your assessment—recommend to the state attorney that she not indict
your client?”

She was a tough one, but Jack sensed that it was a front. He suspected they were still looking for information since the decision
to indict had not yet been made.

“How about if Julian Reardon comes to the police station tomorrow and I allow you to interview him?”

“That would be nice.” She took a moment to look at him. Jack could tell she was sizing up the situation. “I’ve done my homework
on you, Mr. Tobin.”

“Jack.”

Danni ignored the offer to be on more familiar terms. “I don’t know why you are handling this case, but I do know a lawyer
of your caliber doesn’t make an offer without wanting something in return. So why don’t you tell me what you want in return
for allowing your client to sit down for an interview.”

“I want the name and the date of birth of the alleged victim.”

“You know I can’t do that. This is an ongoing investigation.”

It was not an outright rejection. The language invited some negotiation.

“C’mon, Detective, you know I’m going to be entitled to that information eventually.”

“Do I?”

“Look, the sooner we get to the bottom of this investigation, the better off we’ll both be. I can help you.”

“C’mon, Jack, I wasn’t born yesterday. You don’t want to get to the bottom of anything. You’re a criminal lawyer. You want
to get your client off. Who’s kidding who here?”

“Your investigation of me was incomplete, Ms. Jansen. I spent my entire career as an insurance defense lawyer. I now represent
people on death row out of choice and not for money. I want to find the truth. If Julian is guilty, he should be punished,
although I will be a part of that process as well to make sure it’s fair.”

“You want the name and date of birth of the complainant so that you can do your own investigation?”

“Right.”

“So you can vilify her in the press?”

“That won’t happen. You have my word.”

“And you are going to share information with me?”

“Immediately. You’ll know minutes after I know.”

Danni thought about his words again for a minute. It certainly would be nice to talk to Julian Reardon. And Tobin wasn’t asking
for the moon.

“All right, but I don’t want any shenanigans. You double-cross me and I’ll get the state attorney to throw the book at your
client.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.”

“Have your client here tomorrow at ten.”

“Fine.”

She stood up to let him know the meeting was over.

“How’d it go?” Ronnie asked when Jack showed up at The Swamp for lunch.

“She’s a tough cookie.”

“She is, but she’s a good cop too. You’re lucky she’s on this case. Some of those other bimbos over there would have pushed
for an indictment already. She won’t do that.”

“She’s awfully young to be retiring.”

“Not as young as you might think. I’d say forty-five or so. Still, it’s young to retire from most jobs. We had a serial killer
loose here about eight years ago. You remember because you called me in the middle of all that to find out how I was holding
up.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, that situation affected Danni tremendously. Her daughter was ten at the time and Danni sent her out of town for a while—I
don’t know all the particulars because she didn’t and still doesn’t talk about it. I do know that ever since then she’s been
counting the days until her retirement.”

“Why?” Jack asked.

“Like I said, I don’t know.”

“Well, I hope she doesn’t retire before we get Julian’s case resolved.”

“I don’t think she will, although you know how those public service jobs work. Even if you’ve got six months to go before
you retire, if you’ve got enough sick time, you can just leave.”

“Our tax dollars at work,” Jack said.

“Tell me about it.”

J
ack called Julian that night and made arrangements to meet him at eight o’clock the next morning at a coffee shop downtown.
He wanted Julian to tell the truth in his own words, but he also wanted him to be prepared so that his answers were concise
and to the point.

“Just answer her questions, Julian,” he told the young man the next morning. “Don’t anticipate what she wants to know.”

“Do you think she might want to talk to Darryl?” Julian asked.

“Who’s Darryl?”

“My roommate. He was with me that night. He didn’t see anything but I told him what happened right after.”

Jack wanted to smack himself in the head.
How did I not ask that question? I’ve been away too long. I’m slipping.

“Is Darryl on the football team?”

“Yeah. He’s the starting defensive end.”

Several ideas hit Jack at the same time.

“Does the coach know that Darryl was there?”

“Yeah, but he hasn’t disciplined Darryl or anything. Darryl has no problem telling you or anybody what he knows.”

“Where is he now?

“He’s back at the apartment. I told him you might want to talk to him.”

“I don’t need to talk to him. Maybe we’ll just bring him along and give Detective Jansen an added bonus this morning.”

“There was something else I didn’t mention to you yesterday.”

“What’s that?”

“A lawyer from Miami called me right after this story was in the news. He said he could help me and it wouldn’t cost me.”

“That was generous of him. Why didn’t you take him up on it?”

“I called my mom, and she said we should talk to you first.”

“Did you get his name?”

“I know he told me but I forgot. I think I still have his number in my phone.”

While Julian was scanning his phone, Jack tried to figure out how this new information fit into the puzzle. Every case started
as a puzzle, but some proved to be more difficult than others. Maybe this was a lawyer trying to make a name for himself by
taking a high-profile case. Maybe it was something else.

Julian found the number and Jack wrote it down. He decided not to give it to Detective Jansen until he had a little more information
although if she asked about it, Julian would tell her.

Unlike the day before, Danni was very prompt. The desk sergeant had barely set the phone down when she came out to the waiting
room to greet them. She wore black slacks and a white Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway between the wrist and
the elbow. A pair of small diamond earrings accompanied her silver watch.

“Good morning, Mr. Tobin,” she said rather frostily as she extended her hand. “I recognize Julian, but who is this other individual?”

In contrast to Julian, who was slender and muscled, Darryl was enormous and muscled, kind of like the Incredible Hulk. He
and Julian stood as Danni approached them; Darryl towered over her as Jack introduced him.

“This is Darryl Kennedy, Julian’s roommate. He was at the bar on the night in question. I thought you might like to hear what
he knows.”

Danni shook his hand, which was enormous, and turned her attention right back to Jack.

“It was so thoughtful of you to bring along a witness to corroborate your client’s testimony.”

Jack wanted to fire back a zinger of his own, but this wasn’t the time for repartee.

“I just thought it might be helpful. I have not personally talked to him.”

“Considering your reputation, that is hard to believe, Mr. Tobin. However, I will accept your words at face value.”

Jack didn’t respond. He wanted this to go smoothly.

Danni was an experienced interrogator. It didn’t take long for her to get both Julian’s and Darryl’s entire stories. She covered
all the bases, except for the call from the Miami lawyer, and Jack noticed that she studied the faces of both young men as
she listened to their answers.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked when she was done.

“I don’t think anything. Your client’s story completely contradicts that of the complainant. I’ve got to gather the facts
and put the pieces together.”

“Speaking of the pieces, you were going to give me some information today.”

Danni reached into her shirt pocket and retrieved a piece of paper which she handed to him. “Remember, if you find anything,
you’re going to bring it to me.”

“As fast as I can,” Jack said, smiling.

He called Henry on the way to the parking lot and read him the name and the date of birth of the woman who had made the charge
against Julian.

“The rumor is that she’s from Miami.”

“Good because I’m here. I drove home this morning to pick up some clothes. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”

Henry’s knowledge of criminals, since he’d been one himself, gave him an innate ability that normal detectives or investigators
did not have to find things out on the street. His time as an investigator for Exoneration had helped him hone those skills
and learn the more conventional techniques as well. He had Sandra Davis’s address and criminal record literally minutes after
hanging up the phone with Jack.

“She’s clean except for an arrest for prostitution ten years ago,” he told Jack.

“She’s thirty now so that means she was twenty when she got arrested. What do you make of that?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know, Jack. She may have been in trouble back then and picked herself up. But it does give this whole rape claim
of hers a fishy smell.”

“It sure does. Why is a thirty-year-old woman hitting on a twenty-one-year-old kid?”

“I’m not sure but I’ll find out. I’m heading over to her neighborhood now. She lives in Liberty City. I’m very familiar with
the place. I’ll just hang around and see what I can pick up.”

“Keep me posted.”

Jack knew it wouldn’t take long, maybe a game of pool or a beer or two, but Henry would have the skinny on Sandra Davis in
a matter of hours.

He dropped the boys off at their apartment and stopped at The Swamp to have another cup of coffee with Ron.

“How’s the investigation going?” Ron asked.

“Terrific. Detective Jansen and I are going to work together to get to the bottom of everything.”

“Really?”

“No, but at least we’re sharing information.”

“So she is at least cooperating with you on the investigation?”

“Somewhat. Her witness has problems and I think she knows it. She’s letting me do the dirty work.”

“You mean Henry is doing the dirty work?”

“Exactly. There’s nobody better.”

Henry called about three hours later.

“I met this druggie. He lives in the same apartment complex as our girl, Sandra. I guess they’re friends. He says she told
him the rape story was bogus.”

“Will he talk to the police?”

“Probably, if somebody makes it worth his time.”

“I’ll let you handle that part. I’ve got to tell the detective about this. She’ll probably want to interview this guy.”

“Tell her she needs to come to Miami because this dude is not leaving the place where he gets his dope for any amount of money.”

“I’ll tell her. I’ve got a phone number I need you to look up. Some guy called Julian, said he was an attorney and offered
to handle the case for nothing.”

“Nice guy. It’s understandable though. You represent a high-profile football player—it’s advertising you can’t buy.”

“Maybe you’re right. Check it out though.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be in touch.”

Jack called Danni, but she had already left the office for the day. He had to track Ron down at The Swamp to get her cell
phone number.

“I just need to relay some information to her,” he told Ron.

“Sure, sure, I know. You can leave me in the dark if you want to even though I laid all the groundwork for you two.”

“Thanks, Ron. I really appreciate it. I knew I couldn’t hide this from you. Keep it under your hat though, will you?”

“Sure, sure. Your secret is safe with me.”

Jack called Danni. “My investigator has uncovered a witness,” he said.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“At The Swamp.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

She wasn’t lying. Five minutes later she walked in the door, looking casual in a navy striped top and jeans. Jack raised his
hand to let her know where he was sitting.

“So, Counselor, tell me about this new witness,” she said after she sat down and ordered a glass of Cabernet from the waitress
who had followed her to the table.

“My investigator has found someone who says he talked to your witness and that she made up the rape charge.”

“That’s a first-class investigator you’ve got. I gave you the woman’s name this morning and you’ve already got a witness.
Where did he or she find this person?”

“He found him in Miami. Apparently this person is a neighbor of Sandra Davis. My guy says he’s a drug user.”

“Not the most credible type of witness. For a few bucks he’d probably say anything. I’m not sure one witness is going to cause
the state to drop the charges anyway.”

“I figured that. Your case already has some problems though. You know about Ms. Davis’s prostitution record.”

“I do, but that was years ago.”

“It has to make you pause at least. And the woman is thirty years old. What was she hanging around with this kid for anyway?”

“Wait a minute. You’re assuming that his story is true—that she was hanging around with him. She told us he accosted her in
the parking lot of the bar. We do have some questions though. That’s why your client hasn’t been indicted yet.”

Ron stopped over in the middle of their conversation.

“How are you kids doing tonight?” he asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “Why don’t you guys let me buy you dinner. We’ve
got some nice specials on the menu.”

Danni was confused. She looked over at Jack, who just shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe another night,” she said to Ron. “I’m
not all that hungry tonight.”

“Okay,” Ron said walking away with a frustrated look on his face.

“What was that about?” Danni asked.

“Haven’t the vaguest,” Jack replied.

She looked at him for a moment, not knowing whether to believe him or not, then she was back on the case again. “I probably
need to talk to your witness. Before I do that though, I want some assurances from you that this is on the up and up. I mean, you and I both know that you can find a drug user to say anything.”

“I wouldn’t do that nor would my investigator.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t. I’ve been reading about the cases you’ve handled, and I know your reputation is pretty solid although
I must tell you, I don’t know how you represent the people you do. Don’t get me wrong, I have some issues with the death penalty
and how it’s administered, but I think it’s perfect for some people like that piece of shit who rampaged through this town
eight years ago.”

“I appreciate that you have a totally different perspective than me,” Jack said. “But some people are innocent of the crime
for which they were charged. The criminal justice system is flawed.”

“But so is your sanctimonious position.”

Jack smiled. She was testing him for some reason. Or maybe it was the mention of the serial killer case. Ron had said that
case had affected her in a serious way although he didn’t know the details. Jack could see that her demeanor had changed when
she mentioned that case. She wasn’t finished yet, though.

“You say people are innocent of the crime for which they are charged but that doesn’t mean that they’re innocent people. Take
this Henry Wilson guy that you represented. He obviously wasn’t guilty of the murder that he had been charged with, but he
was a bad guy and you got him released back on the streets.”

“After seventeen years for a crime he didn’t commit.”

“So, he’s still a bad guy.”

“Don’t you have any belief in the power of redemption?”

“None. I guess I’ve been on the streets too long.”

“Well, maybe you just continue to see the failures and not the successes and that frames your judgment. Henry Wilson is one
of the finest people I know. He’s my closest friend.”

Danni looked genuinely surprised. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Jack. I just thought he was somebody you represented. I didn’t
think you knew him personally.”

“It’s fine. I’m not angry. It’s just that a lot of people think like you. They don’t want to look at the person and ask how
they got where they’re at and what should or could be done to prevent it in the future. It’s so much easier to look at them
in that one-dimensional frame—as criminals—and snuff them out like cockroaches.”

They were silent for a long minute. “I guess we can agree to disagree on that one, too,” Danni said finally. Jack looked at
her and saw a smile on her face. He smiled back.

“That’s a good idea,” he said.

Danni called the waitress over and handed her a ten-dollar bill for the glass of Cabernet. Then she stood up to leave.

“I’ll be in touch,” she said.