Rough Justice

by Lisa Scottoline

  A law degree was a good thing to have.

  Marta twisted the pickup onto the island’s main drag and headed south. The file jiggled on the duct-taped passenger seat. The street stretched in front of her like a landing strip of melting snow, and Marta drove past the house where Bogosian’s body lay. No one was around and there were no cars in the driveway. The house looked shuttered and closed.

  Marta’s stomach felt queasy. She had killed a man and was leaving his body in the snow. Strangely primal feelings of respect for the dead welled up. She thought of her father’s simple grave, then her mother’s. Marta had paid for her headstone, but didn’t even go to the funeral. She sped up, trying to leave her emotions behind.

  A car drove by in the opposite direction and its driver negotiated carefully past her in the slippery snow. Marta tugged her hood up and pulled it low over her forehead. She couldn’t afford to be recognized. The guards’ murders and her vanishing act had to be all over the news. She wished she could find out what was going on. She tried the truck’s radio again, twisting the black dial uselessly. No soap.

  Marta pressed the gas pedal and the truck sputtered slightly before it picked up speed. Along the strip she could see one or two stores opening up, a bagel shop and a 7-Eleven. She steered the pickup off the island and onto the rotary that led to the causeway, following Route 72. Light traffic traveled the highway, the drivers driving with caution in the snow.

  Marta kept her face low and checked the clock. 9:16. She wouldn’t get to Philly for hours. The jury would have been in session all morning. She hoped Christopher was delaying the jurors’ final vote. She would need the time to piece together the file. She didn’t understand the significance of the driver’s licenses, but she knew who did. Alix Locke. The newspaper offices were right in Philly. Marta would find Alix, tell her she had the file, and make a deal. A long prison sentence could be very persuasive to a woman accustomed to cashmere.

  Marta drove the pickup as fast as road conditions allowed. The highway had been plowed and salted, and mounds of snow at the shoulder were dissolving to gray slush. Snow-covered scrub pines and reedy white birches reappeared, but Marta had no time for reminiscing now. The truck hiccuped slightly, so she kept the gas flowing. She checked the fuel gauge. Still a quarter-tank left.

  The truck hiccuped again. What was happening? The truck lurched slightly, then coughed. Marta eased off the gas. The truck slowed down and its coughing turned to hacking. Was something wrong with the engine? The hacking sounded terrible. Marta thought the thing would vomit blood.

  “Don’t you dare!” she shouted, but this time the truck wouldn’t be intimidated. The warning light on the dashboard flickered to red. The engine stalled and was silent. The truck coasted to a stop in the middle of the deserted highway, almost a hundred miles from Philadelphia.

  49

  Judge Harry Calvin Rudolph sat atop the mahogany dais and scanned his courtroom. Elliot Steere sat alone at the defense table, wearing yet another Italian suit, one that everybody but judges could afford. The assistant district attorney, Tom Moran, slumped in his chair at the prosecution table, his eyelids curiously at half-mast. The gallery was empty except for the trial junkies who inhaled the Steere case like hot pizza. Any reporters able to get to the Criminal Justice Center in five feet of snow were scattered in the designated area in the very back row. Siberia, where they belonged.

  Judge Rudolph checked his watch with a discreet twist of the wrist. It was barely ten o’clock in the morning, but no law required him to wait for a studio audience. He banged the gavel. “I am convening this hearing in the matter of Commonwealth v. Steere to ascertain that the defendant Elliot Steere’s waiver of his right to counsel is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Let’s begin. Mr. Steere, please rise.”

  “Yes, sir.” Steere stood up in front of his seat. He had no lawyer but he hardly appeared powerless. On the contrary, with a rested, confident expression, he looked as in control as he felt.

  “Mr. Steere, you sent me a letter in this matter, did you not?”

  “I did, sir.”

  “Is this the letter you sent me, Mr. Steere? You may approach.”

  Steere walked to the bench like a seasoned litigator and examined the letter the judge handed him. “It is, Your Honor.”

  “You wrote this letter yourself?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “You sent it to me last night at approximately one o’clock in the morning, is that correct?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. I asked one of the guards to take it to you, since I had no lawyer.”

  At the back of the courtroom, two reporters scribbled notes into steno pads. A sketch artist sat next to them, drawing hastily. Steere looked even taller in her sketch.

  “You may be seated, Mr. Steere.”

  “Thank you.” Steere returned the letter to the judge and strode back to his chair at counsel table. He took his seat, crossed his legs, and brushed his pants leg into order.

  Judge Rudolph turned to the assistant district attorney. “Mr. Moran, my law clerk has provided you with a copy of Mr. Steere’s letter. Did you receive it?”

  “Huh?” The assistant district attorney started in his seat, his eyes red-rimmed and bleary. The stiffness of his three-piece suit seemed to be the only thing holding him up, like a legal El Cid. His head was full of the colicky crying of the twins. On the legal pad in front of him were a set of scribbled calculations and each number was multiplied by two.

  Judge Rudolph waved the letter like a white flag. “Did you get a copy of Mr. Steere’s letter?”

  “Yes, I got it, Your Honor.” Tom cleared his throat and tried to stay awake.

  “Does the Commonwealth have any objection to its being admitted into the supplemental record?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  “Fine,” Judge Rudolph said. “Would the court reporter please mark this letter as the next exhibit?” The judge handed the letter across his desk to Carol the court reporter, who had to stretch to take it. Tom watched her skirt hike up her slim, muscled thighs. His wife Marie used to have great legs. Now they were puffy and red pimples dotted her calves. She smeared tubes of cortisone cream on them every night. Tom hoped the leg zits went away soon.

  “Mr. Steere,” Judge Rudolph said. “As you know, we are here because you state in your letter that you wish to represent yourself for the remainder of this trial. Is that still your wish?”

  “It is, Your Honor.”

  “You are not represented by counsel at this hearing, is that correct?”

  “It is,” Steere answered. “I do not wish to be represented by counsel. I know my rights.”

  “You are aware that the Court has attempted to contact your lead counsel, Marta Richter, and has been unsuccessful.”

  “I am aware of that, sir. I repeat, I wish to proceed as my own counsel. I do not wish any of my previous counsel contacted on my behalf.”

  “You can afford counsel, can you not?”

  “Of course I can afford counsel. I simply don’t need counsel. My case is before the jury and I rely on their judgment.” Steere nodded toward the courtroom gallery, where a silver-haired John LeFort sat with another lawyer in the front row. “I have the Cable and Bess firm on retainer, Your Honor, and my attorneys are present in the courtroom this morning. They will act as my legal advisers if need be.”

  “And you are satisfied with their representation, Mr. Steere?”

  “Completely.”

  Judge Rudolph nodded. “The expertise of the Cable and Bess firm is well-known. There is an outstanding motion in limine, however, filed by the prosecution. Your former counsel Ms. Richter mentioned she would be filing a response.”

  “She was mistaken. I have discussed the matter with my attorneys and we will not be filing a response. I do not want further delay in my trial.”

  “Fine.” This would go in well. All the bases were covered. Steere was holding up like a champ. Time to wrap it up. “Mr. Steere, although you have ma
de your wish to represent yourself more than clear, Pennsylvania law requires that I hold a formal, on-the-record colloquy to make the determination that your waiver is knowing and voluntary. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Good. I will be asking you a series of questions intended to determine that you understand that you have the right to be represented by counsel, that you understand the nature of the charges against you and the elements of those charges, that you are aware of the permissible range of sentences for the offenses charged, and that if you waive your right to counsel you will be bound by all the normal rules of procedure. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Yes.”

  Tom Moran blinked to stay awake, but he kept slipping into a dream. He couldn’t find the pacifiers and the twins were about to be married. No one came to the wedding reception because he forgot the reception blankets. The twins and their husbands moved into the nursery, which remained unpainted because he ran out of Powder Puff.

  “This matter is somewhat unusual in that it has already been submitted to the jury,” the judge continued, “but I am holding this colloquy out of an abundance of caution. As far as scheduling, your letter requests this matter to proceed with dispatch. I will have the jury resume its deliberations as soon as this colloquy is over.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.”

  “Quite welcome.” Judge Rudolph reached for his colloquy notes. He would go down the list and ask each question. By the last one, the Steere case would be back on track. It was finesse like this that destined Judge Rudolph for greatness. He eased his glasses back to the bridge of his nose and began with the first question.

  50

  Bennie and Emil walked down the wide hallway, past the huge mahogany door flanked by display cases and an etched-glass sign that read OFFICE OF THE MAYOR. Rose and gray marble wainscoting covered the walls. The corridor was empty and its marble floor lustrous as a casket.

  Emil pointed left, down the hall. Double mahogany doors opened onto the middle of the corridor and TV lights poured from them, casting a bright parallelogram on the shiny floor. Laughter echoed from the room. “Another grip ’n’ grin,” Emil said. “Does this man want to be reelected or what?”

  “I gather. Won’t Pressman be there?”

  “She only goes to some. She’s probably in her office.” Emil reached the door with a gold number painted next to it. “Let me do the talking. The secretary is a friend of mine. You stay behind me.”

  “Emil, I’m a foot taller than you. You can’t hide a sequoia with an olive tree.”

  “Then we cover your face.” Emil tugged Bennie’s hat down. “To the left of the door is a waiting room. Sit there until I get past the secretary. Understood?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Don’t be such a joker. Men don’t like that.”

  “Then I’ll stop. Right away.”

  “Hmph.” Emil straightened his tie and opened the door onto a sparsely furnished secretary’s area with high ceilings. It was empty except for a secretary who was fast asleep, propped up by her elbow on a desk that faced the door. Emil flashed Bennie a thumbs-up sign and pointed to the waiting area, which held a couch and two chairs around a small coffee table. Bennie marched obediently to the couch and sat down. To the left was a water cooler and a shelf of slots for mail. Down the hall must have been Pressman’s private office.

  “Flossie,” Emil whispered. “Flossie?” He touched the secretary’s arm and she woke up with a start.

  “Oh. My. What?” The secretary’s sleepiness vanished when she recognized Emil. “Emil, my goodness! I must have been snoozing on the job. How embarrassing!” She laughed nervously and patted a gold chain around her neck.

  “That’s all right. I sometimes doze off myself now that I’m on the night shift.”

  “Now I know how you feel. I was here all last night.” She straightened her navy sweater and finger-combed her short brown hair. She looked middle-aged, with soft jowls around the laugh lines in her face. Snapshots of lithe Bengal cats covered her desk. “I don’t know how you do it.”

  “Not very well. Sometimes I feel like a mole. How did your stuffed grape leaves turn out, by the way?”

  “They were wonderful! I’ve been meaning to thank you. My daughter-in-law ate three and you know how picky she is. She reminds me of you-know-who. Her nibs.” The secretary jerked a resentful thumb toward Pressman’s office.

  “I’m so pleased the grape leaves turned out well. You didn’t fry the leaves too long, I hope. That is the secret.”

  “No,” the secretary said, “I followed the recipe exactly. It was so much easier than I thought.”

  “Now, tell me, why have you been here all night, Flossie?” Emil’s voice was honeyed as baklava. Back on the couch, Bennie rolled her eyes, wondering when he was going to get to the point.

  “The snowstorm, of course. The snowplows. What a mess. The cats must be so upset. Smoochie can’t sleep without me, poor thing.”

  “I understand completely. On night shift, I hardly see my wife or the girls. It’s hard to get used to.”

  “I’m so mad about what they did to you, Emil. I never buy the News anymore.”

  “Flossie, my fight is not yours. Anyway, I don’t mean to keep you, I wanted to see Jennifer. Is she in?”

  “No.” The secretary’s lip curled. “She left a while ago. Just cut out and left. I have to stay because I’m a ‘subordinate.’”

  “What?”

  “Don’t get me started.”

  “Where did she go? I would like to see her.”

  “Home, supposedly, but we can’t reach her there. I don’t know.” The secretary shook her head. “She’ll probably be in soon, and you’re welcome to sit and wait.”

  “If we must, we must. Thank you,” Emil said graciously, but back at the couch, Bennie just growled.

  51

  The jurors sat at the conference table in the hotel in the same positions as they had in the deliberations room at the courthouse. The hotel conference room was large, modern, and windowed, like the one at the Criminal Justice Center, the legal pads sat stacked in the middle of the table, and the ice water tasted the same. In fact, the only difference between yesterday and today was that Christopher Graham had, to the astonishment of all, changed his vote. And shaved off his beard.

  “You changed your vote?” asked Ralph Merry, his soft jowls draped around a mouth open in surprise. “You think we should convict Steere?”

  “Absolutely,” Christopher answered, with as much certainty as he could muster. “I vote guilty as charged.”

  Megan was amazed at the change in Christopher, and she wasn’t thinking about his vote. Without his beard, Christopher’s chin was strong, with a rugged cleft in it. His lips were full and nicely formed. He looked ten years younger, and thinner. Megan edged forward in her chair. “You shaved your beard?” she asked.

  Ralph ignored her. “But, Christopher, yesterday you said we should acquit Steere. You’ve said he was innocent from the beginning. Why did you change your mind?”

  Megan couldn’t get over it, over him. The difference in Christopher was so awesome. He looked way hunky. “I think you look better without your beard.”

  Christopher smiled and shrugged happily. He felt better without his beard, like a new man with a fresh start. Lainie didn’t want him and neither did Marta. Well, he was starting over, but he couldn’t tell Megan that. “I don’t know why I shaved, but I know why I changed my mind. I couldn’t sleep all night. My conscience got to me.”

  “Your conscience?” Ralph asked in disbelief.

  Gussella Williams looked crestfallen. “Christopher? You’re changin’ your vote? You’re not puttin’ us on?” Her large features collapsed into a frown that broke Christopher’s heart, He paused, uncertain, and scanned the jurors one by one. The pain on Gussella’s face was reflected on almost every juror around the table. They were even wearing their Sunday best, dressed up to go home today. Christopher fe
lt terrible keeping them from their families, especially Mrs. Wahlbaum, who looked at him last, her eyes hooded in disappointment.

  “Do you mean this, Christopher?” she asked, uncomprehending. She couldn’t have felt worse if her best student flunked a midterm. “Please explain this to me.”

  Christopher reminded himself of his purpose and bore down. He would tell the truth, in a way. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wahlbaum. I’m sorry, all of you, but I think Steere belongs in jail. He’s a dangerous man. A murderer.”

  Smack! Kenny Manning slapped a loud high five with Lucky Seven, but theirs was the only joyous reaction. The other jurors remained puzzled.

  “For real?” Nick asked. He was surprised. He woke up this morning all calm. Now he was getting all nervous again. Last night he knew just how to vote. Antoinetta visited him and told him what to do. He should vote not guilty. It would be over sooner if he did and go better for him in the neighborhood. Now Nick was all confused.

  “But why?” Mrs. Wahlbaum asked. “You have to have some sort of rationale. Please explain.”

  Christopher cleared his throat. He’d spent all night rehearsing. “I don’t agree with what Steere did. I don’t understand why he just didn’t drive away. If a man came up to me and I was in my truck, I’d drive away.”

  “Damn right,” Lucky Seven said.

  Mrs. Wahlbaum frowned. “Mr. Steere was frightened. In fear of his life, as you said. I thought you showed a real understanding of the situation yesterday.”

  “I hadn’t thought it out yesterday. I needed to sleep on it.”

  “But you were so perceptive. So sensitive.”

  Christopher looked as uncomfortable as he felt. “I guess my conscience got to me. Steere shouldn’t have just shot the poor man in cold blood.”

  Mrs. Wahlbaum’s penciled eyebrows drooped. “Mr. Steere panicked. He didn’t know what to do. It was a biological reaction, for self-preservation.”