Until Proven Innocent (13 page)

Strolling down the dock, I bump into Tony, who tells me that some assistant from the soundstage called and said that Joe wants to meet with him tonight. This probably means I’ll be going over there tomorrow to try and get Tony’s job back for him. Amazingly, he hasn’t been fired in a while, and he’s certainly due. I just hope there’s no gunfire during their meeting tonight.

And speaking of shots on the soundstage, I recently got shot down there by a pretty young starlet who told me that I reminded her of ‘her dad,’ because he has a boat too. Not willing to let it go at that, I’ve had further conversations with her, and surprise of surprises, I have a dinner date tonight. Not with the pretty young starlet, but with her divorced mother, who hopefully still has an affinity for boats. I haven’t the slightest idea of what she looks like, but her daughter says that she’s attractive, and seeing what type of genes are in that family, I’ve got to take a shot at this.

We’re supposed to meet at Pollo Meshuga. I picked the place because it worked so well for my recent dinner with Myra, I want to see if the restaurant can work its charms again.

One interesting thing about the place is the numerous television sets hung from the ceiling throughout the dining room. Tonight I’m not going to be watching them, because a woman just walked in the front door who I am now praying is my date. I prefer redheads, but I’ll make an exception for her, because she’s a grown-up version of the blonde starlet who set us up. She stops at the reservation desk and is directed towards my table. I can tell that her body is in pretty good shape because she’s wearing a pair of tight jeans, and she’s walking in my direction. She smiles when she sees me, sticks out her hand as a greeting, and says “Hello Peter, I’m Evelyn, your date.” Yes! There is a God.

I walked over to the restaurant, so there’s no hesitation in ordering another round of Patrón margaritas when she sits down. I’m already one up on her. After about half a drink and fifteen minutes, the conversation is going on like we’ve known each other for years. We talk about everything from movies, to the law, to boats, and anything else that comes up.

She already knows that I’m a lawyer who lives on a boat, and must have done some checking up, because she also is aware of the fact that I had been married to the current District Attorney of our County.

This restaurant was a favorite place for my ex-wife and I to frequent and I was really hoping to not have her name come up here, because it makes me feel like Myra is haunting the place while I’m here with someone else. I change the subject as quickly as possible, so that no thought of Myra will cloud my already foggy brain, when my date points out to me that my ex-wife is now in the room.

If you went to Las Vegas, I’m sure you could get odds of at least ten thousand to one that Myra wouldn’t show up here, in this restaurant, tonight, while I’m here on a date with another woman. I carefully look around the room, when my date points something out to me. “No, silly, I don’t mean she’s here in the restaurant… she’s up there, on the television screen.”

I look up and sure enough, there she is, looking as good as ever. I signal the bartender to turn the volume up, and we hear the newscaster standing next to her make the introduction: “I’m standing here in front of the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles, with Myra Scot, the District Attorney. Miss Scot, would you please tell our viewers about the arrest?” Myra takes the microphone from the newscaster’s hand, and as usual, takes over the newscast.

“
Our office has made an arrest this evening. We are charging a man with the murder of a film executive. Later this week, we will be going to the grand jury to get an indictment on this case.”

The newscaster has a question. “Miss Scot, if you’ve already made the arrest, why are you going for an indictment? Isn’t the regular procedure for you to just charge the defendant and set the matter for a preliminary hearing?”

Myra has an answer, but it’s definitely not the one that I want to hear.

“
Yes, that would be the ordinary procedure, but in this case the suspect is a twenty-year veteran of the police department, and is also a detective, so we’re treating this matter in a way consistent with the reasons that the grand jury was formed… to investigate allegations of misconduct and crime of persons in official positions.”

“
Miss District Attorney, if you won’t reveal the name of the defendant, can you at least tell us something about the victim, and the crime?”

“
Yes, I can. I’ve been informed there have already been notifications made to the family, so I can tell you that the victim was a film producer named Joseph Caulfield, who was in the process of shooting a motion picture at a studio in Venice, California.”

* * * * * *

Chapter 8

I knew it. Everyone knew it. It was just a matter of time before Tony shot Joe Caulfield. Not only was Tony a loose cannon, he was a loose cannon who carried a cannon, and didn’t care for people of color. I don’t know if he’s retained a lawyer yet, but I sure hope he does, because this is not a case I feel like getting involved with. I know too much about the relationship between the suspect and the victim, and somewhere in the pit of my stomach I think that Tony actually did it. He may not be guilty of murder in the first degree, but unless it was self-defense, he’s surely looking at some degree of manslaughter – but that’s only if the D.A.’s office is willing to deal.

Knowing Myra, she’ll probably not want to plead this case out for anything less than murder one if I’m the defense attorney, for fear of making it look like she’s doing a favor for her ex-husband. Boy, if the public only knew how much that’s not possible.

Needless to say, this has put a slight damper on my first date experience. Evelyn obviously had heard the news about conflicts between Tony and Joe from her daughter. “Well, at least he hasn’t called you to represent him.”

“
To be quite honest, I’ve had my telephone turned off since you walked into this place, and I’m afraid to turn it back on, because it might mean our evening will end before it should.”

I don’t know how such a nice statement ever came out of my mouth. As I hear it, I’m saying to myself ‘what wimp is saying this?’ It seems to have worked, because there’s a slight blush on her cheeks as she reaches forward and takes my hand.

“
You’d better turn your phone on. We can always get together again, but your friend Tony may have only one phone call coming to him.”

She’s right. Grudgingly, I turn on the phone, and as soon as the signal strength comes up to par, I see that there are several voice messages waiting for me. When checking them out, there are no surprises. The first one is from Tony, and subsequent ones are from Suzi and Myra. They all give me the same information: like it or not, I have a new client.

*****

Having a cop for a client has its advantages. First, you get treated with respect by other cops, because now you’re on their side, representing one of them. Second, you don’t have to worry about your client blabbing anything that can be used against him.

After Evelyn leaves the restaurant I call Myra at home.

“
You got my call, huh?”

“
Yeah, but you could have saved me the dime by adding another sentence to your on-camera interview. All you had to do was say ‘Peter, get your ass down to central booking, someone wants to see you.’ That would have saved some time, too.”

“
I actually considered doing that, but I know that you don’t take orders from me anymore, so I called Suzi instead. Let her tell you what to do, because God knows you need direction.”

“
If he’s at County Jail, I’m on the way down there. Would you please do me a favor and call the kid to let her know I’ll be late tonight?”

“
No need, she already knows. And your client is not at County Jail, he’s in the Venice Police Station.”

“
Aha, that must mean you haven’t got as good a case as you thought you did.”

“
Wrong again, Peter. I had other reasons to put him there tonight. I suppose you’ll be in court tomorrow with a bail motion?”

“
I will be if you intend to charge him.”

“
See you in court tomorrow Peter.”

*****

The jailer at Los Angeles Police’s Venice Division knows me. I’ve been to his establishment many times as a lawyer and once as a tenant. I see that Tony is being treated nicely, because he’s not in a cell. Instead, he’s sitting at a table, playing cards with the jailer.

As I figured, he didn’t make any statements to anyone, and they knew better than to ask him any questions.

“
Okay Tony, let’s hear it. From the time that someone called you on your boat.”

“
As I told you, some production assistant whose voice I didn’t recognize called me. Joe and I were having some differences about tomorrow’s scenes, so I figured he had someone call me to come in for a meeting. The PA told me that they would probably wrap the day’s shoot between six and seven, so I should drop by at eight. I was told that the back door to the stage would be left ajar for me, but I was supposed to make sure that I locked it from the inside after I came in.

“
I got there at seven fifty-five, came in the back door, locked it after I came in, and then went to Joe’s office. He wasn’t there, so I sat down and waited for him. I figured he was in the head or something. After about ten or fifteen minutes, he didn’t show up, so I started walking around the building, calling out his name.

“
I checked all the rooms except for the soundstage. When I went back there, it was still dark, so I flipped on the house lights. Then I saw him. He’d been drilled right through the middle. I must have passed him by when I walked through the dark stage. I didn’t touch him, or anything else. I used my cell phone to call the uniforms. When they arrived, they confirmed what I already knew: he was shot in the chest. The bullet went clear through him and flattened itself out on the concrete wall of the soundstage, after it penetrated the soundproofing.

“
As a routine matter, they asked if I was armed, and I opened my coat to let them see my S & W 500. They took it out of my holster and sniffed it. They realized that it had been fired, and they were right, because I was out at the range today. That’s where I was coming from when you saw me on the dock.

“
When they checked my weapon, they saw one expended round. That’s when they gave me my rights and brought me here. I don’t know how that empty casing got there, and I swear to you, I didn’t shoot Joe.”

“
They’ve got a long way to go before they have an airtight case against you, so relax. I talked to the D.A. and she’s meeting me in court tomorrow, where we’ll be fighting over your bail. At least she gave you a break by sending you here instead of to County Jail. I’ll see you in court tomorrow.”

*****

The next morning Myra is in rare form. Not only does she look good, but she sounds good too. The usual procedure takes place. After the bailiff announces that we should remain seated and come to order, he says the judge’s name, the man with the robe walks in from his private entry, steps up to the bench, sits down, and the clerk calls the first case… Tony’s. The judge starts.

“
Good morning counsel. I see that we’re honored by the attendance of the District Attorney herself. Is that because you’re here, Mister Sharp?”

“
I’ve given up trying to imagine what type of food coaxes her out of the cage Your Honor, so it must be for the purpose of starting one of her office’s weakest cases.”

Myra looks at me for a few seconds until she runs out of daggers. The judge continues.

“
Okay, boys and girls, we’ve got an arraignment to do here now. I see that the Defendant is present in court, and I know who the players are, but why don’t you say your names anyway, just for the record?”

We comply with his request, and he goes to the next phase.

“
We have a charge of Penal Code Section 187 being made by the People today. Mister Sharp, am I correct in assuming that you and your client waive reading of the charges and enter a plea of not guilty?”

I let him know that he is correct. We all know what’s next, so he doesn’t disappoint us. “Miss Scot, I saw you on television last night and you hinted that you might be taking this case to the Grand Jury, am I to take it by your presence today that you’ve changed your mind?”

Myra confirms that he is correct, and that the case will be going through the normal channels, with a Preliminary Hearing being requested. The judge asks her the big question. “Do the People have any recommendation on bail?”

“
Yes we do, Your Honor, we feel that bail should be denied and this defendant should be remanded to custody. The victim was shot by a large .50 caliber handgun, exactly like the one removed from the defendant’s shoulder holster. We have witness statements to the effect that the defendant argued with the victim, and there was one empty shell casing in the defendant’s recently fired weapon. The defendant was given a paraffin test to see if he fired a weapon shortly before the crime was committed. The results were positive. He failed.”

The judge is surprised to hear about the gun and has a question.

“
Did you say that it was a fifty caliber handgun that was used? I didn’t know they made handguns that big. What are they good for, stopping runaway elephants?”

I better say something before this whole procedure turns into a circus. There are already quite a few reporters in the courtroom, and I don’t want the public to get the feeling that Tony is a big game hunter who mistook the victim for black bear.