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But when this trial ended there would be none of these things. Nothing but a vacuum, and that was the best-case scenario. What if they lost? Be
90
The lawyers awaited the verdict back at the office, and Be
“All taken care of. Ready on phone notice.”
“Good. You got the assistant warden?”
“Only the assistant’s assistant. She’ll say that Co
Be
“No. I made a bunch of calls and got zip.”
“No family left at all? Not even cousins or something?”
“None.”
Be
“I found an acquaintance who knew her from high school. She said Co
“You’ll do the direct exam, DiNunzio? No jitters?”
“Not after my contempt argument.”
Be
“Yes,” Mary said, and couldn’t hide a proud smile. “I got you out of jail. Almost free.”
“How’d you handle it? Were you nervous?”
“It didn’t kill me, so I must be stronger.”
Judy nodded happily. “She was awesome. She had the case law ready as soon as they took you away. It only made sense for her to argue it, not me.”
Be
“I thought you might get into trouble down the line. I would have, in your position. As nuts as my twin makes me, she’s still my twin. So I found a few cases this morning.”
Be
“No, not since this morning.”
“He hasn’t called in?”
“I checked the messages.”
Be
“No, he didn’t say.” Mary frowned, and locked eyes with Be
“Five more minutes, I call his house again.”
Mary nodded. “I’ll remind you.”
“Where do you want these?” Judy asked, holding a file of trial notes.
Be
Judy wedged the manila folder into the last red accordion file. Fifteen accordians sat in three rows of five on the conference room table, their manila folders straight. Almost all of the exhibits and transcripts cluttering the conference room had found their way into one of the accordians. Be
“How long do you think the jury will be out?” Judy asked, stuffing the correspondence file away.
“Not tonight, either way.” Be
“Sunday? You think they’ll go ’til Sunday?” Judy rubbed her neck. “It’s not like there’s a lot of physical evidence to go over. Either they believe the cops or they don’t.”
Mary nodded. “People don’t like to work on Sundays. I bet they’ll come back tomorrow, then go home and rest on Sunday.”
Judy squinted outside the large windows of the conference room. The sky was gorgeous and su
Suddenly the intercom buzzed on the credenza, startling Be
“No, relax,” Marshall said. “Turn on the TV. The news is on Cha
“Thanks.” Be
“What?” Judy said, as she and Mary gathered around.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Be
On the screen flashed a series of still photos of police officers hurrying from a cemetery. A voice-over said, “The funeral service of Officer Lenihan was disrupted by reporters today, and Philadelphia’s top cop has requested that immediate action be taken against members of the press.” The next scene was a head shot of the Police Inspector, his distinguished features marked with undisguised scorn. “I’m shocked by what I heard happened today,” he said. “It is an absolute abomination that Officer Lenihan’s family was disturbed in their most difficult hour, by a media that seems to know no bounds and have no decency.”
A woman TV reporter stuck a bubble microphone in the Inspector’s face. “Do you have any comment about the allegations of corruption against certain members of the Eleventh and Twentieth Districts, Inspector?”
“We have no further comment at this time. An investigation of the districts has been commenced today and will be fairly conducted. Thank you.”
“Specifically, are you aware that certain allegations have been made involving members of the police force taking cash payments for protecting drug dealers?”
“I repeat, I have no comment on the particulars,” the Inspector said, and walked off-camera as the TV reporter turned and flashed a capped smile.
“That’s all from the Roundhouse. Back to you, Steve.”
Be
“The word is out! How did that happen?”
Be
“Lou?” they both said in unison, but Be
“Where the hell is he?” Be
“Enough with the lecture,” Lou said, exasperated, in his chair, but Be
“Lou, the trial may be over, but the conspiracy isn’t. They have a business to run, a very lucrative business. You’re hitting them where it hurts, threatening not to let up even after the case is over. They’ll take you out, Lou. They will.”