Hardy 05 - Mercy Rule, The

by John Lescroart

  Sarah bit her lip, looked at Drysdale, then Graham, finally Freeman. Hardy threw a look up to Salter, who seemed to be waiting for the objection that did not come.

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  * * * * *

  In the room itself order of a sort was restored in time for Salter to call an end to the day’s proceedings.

  But as the gallery began filing out, the orderly queue trying to get through the double doors dissipated into pushing and name-calling. The fireworks picked up out in the hallway and overflowed out the back door — the legal professionals’ exit from the building.

  Hardy went with Graham back to the changing room; the defendant would be sleeping, as usual, in his jumpsuit. Pleased that Freeman had so beautifully undercut Sarah’s damaging testimony, Hardy’s mind nevertheless kept going back to Michelle and Frannie and what in the world he was going to do with the rest of his life.

  So twenty minutes later, accompanied by the bailiff and Graham, he was surprised when they got to the corridor behind the building on the way back to the jail and were stopped by the gathered crowd of at least eighty people.

  The reaction to Sarah’s testimony.

  Pratt was in the thick of it. The district attorney had been in the courtroom and had raised her fist and said, ‘Yes,’ very audibly, right after Sarah had uttered the same word.

  Now, back behind the hall, it was a mob scene. Hardy saw Freeman standing over by Drysdale. Barbara Brandt was there, Soma, a bunch of cops in uniform, tons of press.

  In nearly twenty years under a great variety of stresses and burdens, Hardy had never before seen Art Drysdale really lose his temper. But he’d lost it now with Sharron Pratt, the person who’d fired him a few months ago.

  ‘I’ll tell you what you are, Sharron.’ His voice carried all the way back to where Hardy stood with Graham and the bailiff at the doorway. ‘You are an absolute disgrace to law enforcement. In fact, you’re not in law enforcement at all. You’re in social engineering.’

  To Pratt this was a badge of distinction. ‘You’re damn right I am! The people elected me, Art. You know why? They were tired of the letter of the law, and the spirit be damned! They were tired of deals getting cut in back rooms.’

  The bailiff decided he ought to get Graham back into the jail, to his cell, but Hardy stopped him. ‘You’re going to want to hear this, Carl.’ So they stayed, flies on the back door.

  Cameras were rolling. Microphones were pointed. Hardy saw Sarah next to Marcel Lanier, inside the knot of acrimony. She hadn’t been the grenade, but she was the pin that, once pulled, had led to the explosion.

  ‘We didn’t cut any deals in back rooms.’ Drysdale was raving, standing on a concrete planter box. He stormed at the crowd. ‘This woman has no clue! Doesn’t anybody see that?’

  Pratt shot back at him. ‘You put Graham Russo on trial for murdering his father when you know he didn’t. That says it all.’ The DA played it for the crowd, raising her own voice. ‘Anybody out here think this wasn’t an assisted suicide? Anybody think this was a murder? I’m waiting.’

  Hardy didn’t miss the irony in the fact that the defense team and Sarah were probably the only ones who did think Sal had been murdered. But this wasn’t the time to bring it up.

  Taking his cue from Pratt, Drysdale struck again. ‘Ask your friend Barbara Brandt, Sharron. Ask her if she’s ever met Graham Russo. I’ll tell you what — she hasn’t! We checked her out, Sharron. It’s all made up.’

  Brandt yelled out, ‘That’s a damn lie. That’s—’

  Drysdale shouted her down. ‘But don’t let the truth get in your way. It never has before.’

  Suddenly, even Sarah was in his sights. He turned to her and pointed. ‘And while we’re at it, what reward are you giving Sergeant Evans for her testimony today? You going to let her be your chauffeur?’

  Freeman, in the unaccustomed role of peacemaker, reached a hand up to Drysdale. ‘That’s out of line, Art. Come on down.’

  ‘This is a travesty. This is a goddamn travesty.’

  The climax was over. Hardy heard Pratt say something about ‘sore loser,’ loud enough for the crowd, but the public face-off wasn’t good politics, and evidently this had finally occurred to her. Drysdale was pushing his way, Soma in tow, to the back lot.

  Suddenly Abe Glitsky was standing at Hardy’s elbow. ‘What’s going on? What was Art doing?’

  Hardy looked over. ‘Evans went sideways. Art thinks Sharron had something to do with it. He’s a little worked up.’

  ‘How sideways?’

  ‘Not much,’ Hardy lied.

  Shackled next to them in his jumpsuit, Graham wasn’t intimidated. ‘She said she believed me.’

  The scene shifted for Glitsky, registered. ‘How special for you,’ he said. Then, to the bailiff, ‘Carl, what’s this guy still doing here?’

  Carl could take a hint. He was moving with his prisoner before the question was over. ‘He’s on his way to AdSeg.’

  In front of them the crowd had thinned. Part of it — some reporters and supporters and David Freeman — had followed Soma and Drysdale. Pratt, enjoying the photo op, had led another group off on a different walkway.

  Evans and Lanier stood by themselves, alone, arms folded, and watched as Graham was led by them.

  ‘All politics aside, Abe, you’ll be happier in the long run if you look into George Russo’s alibi,’ Hardy said. ‘Graham’s brother?’

  ‘I know who he is.’

  ‘You know where he was when Sal bought it?’

  ‘I don’t need to.’

  ‘Well, don’t say I didn’t try.’

  But neither of the men moved away. Hardy had his hands in his pockets, wondering if Sarah was going to come over and say something. Glitsky, his jaw working, the scar white through his lips, stood with his arms crossed, feet planted. Eventually, his chest heaved. ‘Evans said on the stand she believed your man?’

  ‘She said he was trustworthy.’

  ‘How did that come up? How’d the judge let it in?’

  ‘Freeman. The guy’s a wizard. It was just one word. Drysdale objected afterwards and got sustained, but who cares? The jury heard it.’

  ‘How’d Freeman guess about Evans?’

  Hardy shrugged, unable to divulge what he knew. ‘Instinct, I suppose. He was right.’

  ‘I’ve got to talk to her. She doesn’t think Graham did it?’

  ‘That’s the impression I got.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Lies, lies, lies. He wanted to tell Abe, but didn’t dare. The higher priority at the moment was protecting Sarah — and Graham. He wasn’t happy about it, but felt he had no choice. ‘You’ll have to ask her.’

  * * * * *

  Frannie’s saving grace was that she didn’t carry a grudge. In this way she was the polar opposite of her husband, who could nurse a slight for decades if the stars were aligned just right.

  Beaten down or not, and Hardy felt utterly tromped upon, it wasn’t his style to slink. He let himself in his front door, put down his briefcase, walked into the living room, and stood in the middle of it. After a few seconds, letting out a long breath, he went over to the mantel and moved the elephants around.

  He smelled baking bread. He heard the kids in the backyard, several neighboring youngsters out there with them. He’d come directly home. There wasn’t any point in going by his office and checking up on Tryptech, talking to Freeman, reviewing anything. He wanted to be with his family. Everything else was truly out of his control.

  The weather continued warm. A breath of sea-scented air wafted through the open front windows.

  Frannie’s arms were around him from behind. ‘Why did you marry such a ball-breaker?’ she asked.

  He turned, his arms around her. ‘I didn’t mean to keep anything from you. There was just so much going on, I forgot.’

  Leaning into him, she was barefoot, wearing cutoff jeans and a blue tank-top, no bra. ‘I was tired. Maybe jealous of a
ll the time you spend with Sarah. Both of you knew something I didn’t.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m really sorry, Dismas. It just hit me wrong.’

  Kissing her, he said he’d punish her later. ‘Meanwhile, want to hear a fun story about Tryptech? Maybe you’ll want to sit down.’

  They were in the living room again, but four hours had evaporated into the children’s routines. Taking that essential half hour to brief Frannie on Michelle and Tryptech and his lost fortune — never mind any emotional reaction to it — had cost them all of their potential down time.

  And because they hadn’t called their children in early from the backyard, the games with the neighborhood kids went on until well after six. Late dinner. Brush teeth. Pajamas.

  Then, for an added bonus, Vincent remembered that he’d forgotten his homework. He had to write a poem — at least sixteen lines and it had to rhyme and his parents weren’t allowed to help him except that he needed his dad to approve every word, but not give him any of his own.

  ‘Daddy, no help allowed.’ Eyes overflowing, the glare. ‘It has to be mine. You don’t think I can do anything myself!’

  Frannie had earlier decreed that this would be a bath night too. Rebecca decided to take a shower, no more bath with her little brother — more weeping and gnashing of teeth from Vincent. It wasn’t fair. Everybody hated him. Rebecca got everything she wanted.

  Vincent hated everybody and was going to run away and live with the wolves or Balto or somebody who cared about him.

  Finally, nine-thirty, Hardy pulled the windows down, drew the blinds against the darkness. A chill evening breeze had freshened, the breath of autumn. ‘Well, that was a good time.’

  With an exhausted sigh Frannie dropped onto the couch in the front room. ‘No kidding. I am going to drink a glass of wine,’ she announced. ‘Perhaps two. Would you like to join me?’

  ‘Gin,’ Hardy said. ‘Three fingers. One ice cube. No olive.’

  * * * * *

  The television was all over it. The war between the prosecutors. Cops divided among themselves. Sharron Pratt and Barbara Brandt and social engineering. Art Drysdale and David Freeman with their sound bites on Sarah.

  Drysdale: ‘Sharron Pratt’s wrongheaded policies have so permeated the system that good cops don’t even know what the law is anymore.’

  Freeman: ‘Inspector Evans knows the truth in her heart. Graham Russo loved his father.’

  Hardy hit the remote, killing the picture. ‘God bless David.’ The gin was nearly gone. ‘He’s got his lines and he rides ’em like a racehorse.‘

  ‘But Sarah’s in big trouble, isn’t she?’

  ‘That could be, although in today’s climate, if Pratt’s got anything to do with it, she might get a medal.’ Hardy sighed.

  ‘It’s serious down there, isn’t it?’

  ‘As bad as I’ve seen it. It’s civil war — brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters. Everybody hates everybody. I’ve got one last problem, too, fairly serious.’

  She looked over at him sympathetically. ‘Not a new one?’

  He smiled wearily. ‘This one’s almost ancient — seven, eight hours. Leland Taylor.’

  ‘He hasn’t stopped paying you? Not now?’

  ‘No,’ Hardy said, ‘but he might.’

  He told her about his morning discussion with Graham, that he really should tell Leland he was going to be investigating the family. Leland would cut him off. ‘And if you’re doing the math, my love, you’ll realize that he’s my last regular source of income.’ He tipped up the glass of gin, the last drops. ‘I can’t tell him, not after today.’

  ‘Do you need George?’

  He shook his head. ‘I tell myself no, but that’s just what I want to hear. If we found out he killed Sal, then Graham’s free and we won. So of course we need him. I’ve got to find out about him and if I even start to look, I’m dead.’

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Hardy looked at his watch: ten-fifteen. It must be Sarah, he thought, wrecked over her testimony today, needing more counsel and comfort.

  Hardy’s day had begun at five-thirty after last night’s late one and the tension with Frannie. He’d actually considered asking Salter for a continuance this very morning for fatigue, and that was before he learned he’d missed out on more than half a million dollars, before the long day in the courtroom, the marathon with the children.

  It had to stop, he thought. He couldn’t continue like this.

  But if Sarah needed him, he had to be there for her. She was doing so much work for him, and doing it well. He couldn’t abandon her now and wimp out. Willing himself out of his chair, he got up and opened the door.

  ‘We’ve got to talk.’ It was Glitsky.

  30

  Sarah thought the car ride into town was about as free from tension as a dentist’s waiting room. Marcel was driving, silent. He’d turned up the squawk box, which he never did. The dispatcher was sending squad cars to Potrero Hill for a domestic disturbance. There was a robbery in progress at a fast-food store down by San Francisco State. A couple of backup units were needed at a fire site in Chinatown.

  Finally Sarah reached over and turned the thing down. ‘Get over it,’ she said. ‘I’ve always told you he didn’t do it.’

  ‘Not the point,’ her partner said. ‘We’re on the stand, we are with the DAs. They might fuck up our cases, they might be assholes, but they’re our assholes.’

  ‘Maybe yours, not mine. And Glitsky finally woke up.’

  Lanier cast her a disgusted glance, quick, then brought his eyes back to the road. ‘What else’s he gonna do, you rub his face in it? Makes him look like a horse’s ass for not pursuing it sooner, even though there was no way he could have done it. I’ll tell you—’ He stopped, biting his tongue.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing. Doesn’t matter.’

  ‘Nothing, doesn’t matter,’ she mimicked.

  He set his teeth. ‘Maybe it does, then. I’ll tell you something, Sarah. You’re the first woman we got here in homicide, and if you weren’t one you’d be out of it. So don’t tell me Glitsky’s your pal now. You showed him up, and he’s covering his ass.’

  ‘I didn’t make it here on some kind of gender quota, Marcel, if that’s what you’re saying.’ He was silent and she raised her voice. ‘Is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘I’m saying a man pulling that shit on the stand would be directing traffic out in the Taraval.’

  ‘I was right.’

  ‘Yeah, well, join the crowd. Pratt thinks she’s right too. Always.’

  Sarah had an arm resting on the open windowsill and stared out at the grimy Tenderloin streets. ‘Look, Marcel, what if we go out now with Glitsky’s blessing and find a killer here? What if the wrong guy’s in jail and we put him there? That bother you at all?’

  ‘I’ll tell you what bothers me, Sarah. What bothers me is you’re my backup, and suddenly I’m seeing you’re not there for me. That’s what bothers me.’

  ‘How am I not there? One word yesterday?’

  They were at a red light and it afforded him the opportunity to turn and face her. ‘It’s a team game. Yeah, one word puts you on the other side.’

  Her lip quivered, but she was damned if she was going to break. ‘I’m not on any other side. I’ve always said Graham Russo didn’t kill his dad. I’ve always told you that.’

  ‘That’s me, here, privately. That’s in the family. A witness stand’s a whole different thing.’

  ‘What about you looking at Tosca? What was that all about? You’re telling me that’s different?’

  ‘That was on my personal time, doing a favor for the AG. Yeah, it’s different.’

  ‘So we don’t care about getting the right suspect?’

  ‘Yep. We do.’

  ‘All right, so?’

  ‘So. We got him.’

  * * * * *

  ‘My name is Blue. I work as a model.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Soma said. ‘Your full na
me, please.’

  ‘Blue is my full name.’

  Sal Russo’s downstairs neighbor stared at the young prosecutor as though daring him to ask her again. She was dressed in a black leotard and a black sweater. She was leaning forward, resting her hands on the rail at the front of the witness box, tapping her metallic blue, inch-long fingernails.

  In the morning’s session, at the hands of Art Drysdale, Marcel Lanier had run through the kind of grilling that Sarah had gone through yesterday. He’d recounted Graham’s lies again for the jury, definitely leaving the strong impression that at least one of the investigating officers — the man, the guy who identified with the jury as a working-stiff cop — did not find the handsome young defendant trustworthy at all. Hardy and Freeman had let his testimony go without cross-examination.

  But Blue was going to be different. Blue’s testimony was about the struggle that had undoubtedly occurred, which Hardy had to keep her away from connecting to Graham.

  ‘Now, Ms… ?’

  Soma had talked to Blue a minimum of half a dozen times in preparation for her testimony today, but apparently he was having a hard time with the concept of formally addressing a one-named witness on the stand, and this worked to Hardy’s advantage. Blue was Soma’s baby and he was making her impatient and cross with him from the outset.

  ‘Just Blue,’ she snapped. ‘Blue is my legal name. I had it changed like five years ago.’

  ‘All right, Blue, I apologize.’ Soma gathered himself, tugged at an ear, cleared his throat. ‘Can you tell us your address, please?’ She did. ‘And where is this apartment in relation to the deceased’s apartment? Sal Russo’s apartment?’

  Soma’s tongue was tripping him up. Hardy thought he must have done far better in moot court appearances during law school or he never would have gotten selected for his clerkship. This was not his finest hour and Hardy thought it couldn’t have come at a better time.