Liz stared Fred down with her best judicial look. Her statement sounded like an official order.
“Judge Maxwell, you have my assurance that if our investigation finds that you have played no part in this drug scheme, your name will never be mentioned, and should anyone else in my employ disregard my promise to you, they will be looking for another job,” Jason said. He looked directly at Fred.
Jason looked down at the notes that he had made. He drummed his fingers on the table. No one said a word. We all sat waiting for Jason to say something. Mark broke the silence.
“I was leery of this plan of Mary’s at first, but now that the file has taken the route out of the courthouse in Gladys’s hands, and now that we know her husband’s background, I truly believe this was Mary’s only way to clear Judge Maxwell’s name,” Mark said. He smiled at me, and I immediately felt a gut-wrenching wave of guilt. Did Mark really believe in my plan or was this his way of trying to renew our relationship? I looked over at him and realized that wouldn’t be the worst thing to come out of this. He still had that cute Brad Pitt look along with the muscles of an athlete, visible even through his Calvin Klein shirt.
“Where is this file now?” Jason asked.
“It should be arriving in Mark’s office sometime today. Gladys will have to get the clerk to stamp the original order and give her copies. If she showed it to Billy last night, he’s probably searching for the defendant in the various Dade County jails to find out what he knows about the informant and Carillo, and waiting for Gladys to give him the dismissal order so he can spring the defendant,” I said.
“What happens when Billy finds out that this defendant isn’t in any of the jails, or that he doesn’t actually exist?” Jason asked.
“Then I may be screwed,” I answered.
“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Mark, alert me at once if Gladys arrives at the clerk’s office with the dismissal order. You’ll need to stall her so that I can have someone ready to arrest her right there,” Jason said.
“That shouldn’t be hard. Half the lawyers in this town think my office is inefficient. Today we actually will be. It can take a lot of time to get someone to stamp the original dismissal and make the copies.” Mark looked like he was really beginning to enjoy this fake file caper.
“I need to know if you intend to file a bar complaint against me,” I said. “I may need to hire a lawyer.”
“Let’s see how this plays out. The most important thing is to stop the corruption in our court system.” Jason gathered his notes and his bulging file that he had never opened. “Mary, I’ll show you and Judge Maxwell out through my back entrance. It wouldn’t be wise to have anyone spot you leaving this meeting. I’ll get in touch with the head of the police narcotics unit. I need to know how far their investigation of Billy has gone. No sense in their office and my office working separately. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of glory to share. On the other hand, it’s always good to have someone to share the blame.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Liz and I were both quiet on the way back to my office. As she got out of my car, she turned to me.
“I want to be there if they arrest Gladys. I want to confront her. I still can’t believe she’d turn on me like this.”
“I know how disappointed you are, but you see all kinds of people in court every day. We live in the kind of society where every person is looking out for himself. Just be glad that we pieced this together before you ended up in a cell next to someone who you sentenced,” I said.
“You mean you pieced it together. I would never have suspected Gladys. Just promise that you’ll call me the minute you hear anything.”
I returned to my littered desk to work on Luis’s habeas corpus hearing set for Wednesday morning. Then I saw Catherine’s reminder note taped to my computer screen. “LUIS Hearing Tomorrow A.M.” I couldn’t believe I had so few hours left to get ready for the hearing.
I called Luis’s parents and prepared Miguel to testify at the hearing. I checked in with Señor Marquez at the consulate. Catherine and I prepared witness files and case law. The day was speeding by.
At three o’clock, Catherine answered a call and handed me the phone. “It’s Liz. She sounds addled, but that’s how she always sounds lately.”
“Mary, Gladys just came in and asked to leave early again. The same dentist excuse. I stalled her for a few minutes by sending her on an errand to the equipment room. I told her as soon as she sets up some TV screens in the courtroom she can leave. I told her we’re starting a trial tomorrow and the lawyers are going to show some videos. I’m leaving now for Mark’s office. Will you meet me there?”
“Yes, I’ll call Jason and Mark and alert them. Don’t let Gladys see you when you get there.” I slammed down the phone. Catherine called Jason while I talked to Mark. I ran to the car and prayed for light traffic. I hardly noticed that it was raining again.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
I broke my old record for speeding, and parked in a parking place labeled “authorized personnel only.” A ticket was the least of my worries. I had several others in my desk drawer; a business expense that’s part of being a trial lawyer.
Liz was waiting in the lobby. We called Mark’s cell phone. He gave us instructions to use the freight elevator. His secretary met us and took us into his private office through a back hallway.
Mark came in a minute later. “Gladys just got here. I told her to wait; that I had a second file with the same defendant to send back to Liz. She thinks I’m processing the order in the file she returned. Here it is.”
Liz and I looked at an order of dismissal signed with Liz’s signature stamp.
“Jason is on his way over. He has Sergeant Morris with him from narcotics. He’s supposed to have an arrest warrant ready,” Mark said. “I’m going back out and check on Gladys.”
Jason and a plainclothes officer came in the back door of the office as Mark went out the front. Maybe plainclothes isn’t an accurate description. Morris was dressed like a drug dealer; tattooed arms, silk print shirt open down to his mid-section, and enough jewelry to put any movie star to shame. He was clearly working undercover. We were introduced to Sergeant Bennie Morris.
Mark returned a second later. “She was on her cell phone. I overheard her leaving a message. I guess it was for Billy. She said something didn’t look right. She’s warning him, and I’m afraid she’s about to bolt.”
“Bring her in here. Tell her she’ll be more comfortable. We’ll make the arrest right now,” Jason said.
Mark hurried out again. Sergeant Morris shook his head. “She won’t be able to warn Billy. He’s already split. We thought we had tight surveillance on him, but there was a slipup while I was getting the warrants. He’s gone. His store is closed. He could be halfway back to Colombia by now, but that’s okay. We’ve got the open warrant on him. Sooner or later they all surface.”
We sat in a semicircle around Mark’s desk, our heads turning toward the door, waiting for Mark to return with Gladys. After what seemed like hours, but was just a minute or two, Mark came in the door. He had his hand on Gladys’s shoulder steering her through the door.
“Really, you’ll be more comfortable in here. It’s no trouble at all,” Mark said as he came through the door.
“I’d really rather wait outside,” Gladys said. She tried to move from Mark’s grip. Then she spotted us. “Judge Maxwell, what are you doing here?”
Sergeant Morris stood up. “Gladys Perez-Martinez?” he asked.
Gladys turned a terrible shade of white. She had the same look that one of my clients had when he identified the body of his dead business partner at the morgue.
“Why are you asking?” Gladys said. She turned back toward the door, but Mark’s large frame blocked her.
“Please, place your hands behind your back. You are under arrest for falsifying official court documents and for conspiracy to traffic in cocaine,” Sergeant Morris said. He withdrew handcuffs from his pa
nts pocket. He gripped Gladys’s arm and deftly pulled her other arm behind her as the metal cuffs snapped. He pulled a form from under his shirt and placed it on the table. “Please have a seat here while we go over your Miranda rights form. “If you understand each line as I read it to you, please initial it and then sign your full name on the bottom of the form.”
“How am I supposed to sign it with my hands in these bracelets?” Gladys asked. I glanced at Liz and saw that she was trying to choke back tears.
“You can sign it later. Do you understand the form? Are you willing to talk to me without a lawyer present?” Morris asked.
“I just want to tell you that my husband is not involved in anything that you say I’ve done,” Gladys said.
Oh, great, I thought. This bimbo is destroying her own case. Then I told my lawyer brain to shut up. Gladys isn’t my client, and she had nearly destroyed Liz, who is my client.
“If you mean Billy Martinez, you can quit worrying about him. He’s long gone. We can’t find him this afternoon. He’s cleaned out your bank accounts and split,” Morris said.
“I don’t believe you,” Gladys said.
“Here, be my guest.” Morris handed her his cell phone. “Call your bank. Call his store. See for yourself.”
“I can’t very well call without my hands,” Gladys said. “And I need my checkbook from my purse.”
“No problem. I’ll pull the checkbook out of your purse. You tell me the number, and I’ll dial it for you.” Sergeant Morris picked up the purse and allowed Gladys to look in it while he held it. She pointed with her chin at a leather book. Morris opened it and she read out a phone number. Morris let her watch him dial the number. He held the phone to her ear.
“This is Gladys Perez-Martinez. My account number is 8326061B. Can you please tell me what my balance is? — What do you mean the account is closed? When? But that’s a joint account. I didn’t give permission to close it. — What letter? I never gave my husband any letter. — I see.” Gladys turned away from the phone the sergeant had held up to her ear.
“Shall I dial Billy’s store for you? You’ll just get the voice mail.”
“No, don’t bother.”
“Do you want to talk to me without a lawyer? Better face it. Billy is probably halfway to Colombia right now. If you decide to tell us everything you know about this drug enterprise, maybe Mr. Jimenez-Jones here, the state attorney, will cut you some slack. You work for a judge. You know you’re looking at a thirty-year-minimum mandatory sentence for the amount of drugs that have been involved. That’s a long time for a young girl like you,” Morris said. He looked over at Jason.
“If you want to proffer what you would be able to testify to in court, depending on the information you give us, we may be able to ask a judge to greatly reduce any sentence you receive,” Jason said. “It’s up to you.”
“What about Billy? Does he get a deal too?” Gladys asked.
“Are you kidding? He has absconded from the jurisdiction. If you ask me, you better look out for yourself. Billy has left you high and dry. He took all your money too, as far as we can tell,” the sergeant said.
“Well, I still have my house. It’s in my name. I can use it to post bail,” Gladys said.
“I don’t think you get it. You’re in real trouble here. My office is preparing the paperwork now for a forfeiture action. We believe your house was purchased with the proceeds from criminal activity, so your house will soon belong to the state,” Jason said.
Gladys’s face crumbled. All of her tough façade was gone.
“I need to think. Please, can I think about this?”
“We’ll give you a few minutes, but that’s it.” Sergeant Morris stood up. “We’ll have you moved to the interrogation room over in the state attorney’s building. You can do your thinking there. Mark, can you let us out the back way?”
Liz stepped in front of Gladys. “Can I have a minute with Gladys before you move her?”
I put my hand on Liz’s arm. “I need to stay with you Liz, as your attorney. I don’t want you subjected to any more accusations.”
“We’ll give you a couple of minutes, but this is our prisoner so I can’t leave the room. I’ll step over to the end of the room while you talk.” Sergeant Morris motioned to Jason and Mark who stepped into the back hallway. Morris stood by the door, his arms folded over his chest. In his undercover drug outfit, he looked like a character from The Sopranos.
Liz pulled her chair up close to Gladys. I stepped in front of Gladys just in case she attacked Liz. I don’t know any great defensive moves, but at least I could look threatening.
“Gladys, I thought I was more than just your boss. I thought we were friends. How could you have set me up? Were you deliberately out to get me?” Liz stared directly at Gladys, forcing her to look Liz in the eye.
“Listen, I saw what you are, an old lonely workhorse. Billy saved me from that. I love him. I love the excitement he brought into my life. I just tolerated you, Judge High and Mighty.” Gladys looked away from Liz and turned to me. “What are you looking at? Trying to grab a new client? Why don’t you both get out of my face so I can get on with this shit.”
Liz turned and walked over to Sergeant Morris. “Get her out of here before you have to arrest me for battery,” she said.
“Gladys, you definitely can never be my client, but if you could, I’d advise you to give up what you know. Maybe you can make a deal to save your house,” I said.
“When they hear what I’ve got to say, they’ll probably give me the house and the Miss America crown. Come on, Detective, I guess I’m ready to play Let’s Make a Deal.”
Sergeant Morris took Gladys firmly by the elbow and they moved out the back entrance. Jason started to follow them. I ran over to Jason.
“Can I listen to her statement, Jason? After all Liz has been through, I’d like to be able to assure her that there are no more accusations for her to deal with. I know you’ll be stationed outside the interrogation room in your building. Please, let me stay there with you,” I said.
“Mary, you’ll have to be sure that nothing she says leaks to the press until we finish this investigation. You couldn’t represent anyone she gives up. It’d be a clear conflict of interest.”
“I know that, Jason. I’m only doing this for Liz. I hope you’ll be informing the chief judge that Liz has been cleared entirely in this matter.”
“As soon as we hear what Gladys has to say. If Liz has no part in this, I’ll call Judge Marconi first thing in the morning.”
“Not soon enough. I want you to call him at home tonight.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
While Jason and I walked over to his offices, I pulled out my cell phone and called Catherine. I told her Gladys was in custody. I also told her to call Carlos and let him know that I was working on a case and wouldn’t be at his house until late evening.
“And Catherine, try to get him not to be so angry with me. Let him know that I’ll be able to tell him everything very soon. You’re great at smoothing over ruffled feelings.”
“I’ll do what I can, but Carlos has a lot of feelings to unruffle.”
Jason and I went directly to the secure area just outside of the interrogation room on the sixth floor. We could see Bennie Morris settling Gladys into a chair across the small table from the glass window. We could see her and hear her, but she was unaware that she could be surveilled. Bennie removed the handcuffs and cuffed her left arm to the chair. She was signing the rights form as we got comfortable.
Bennie came out of the room. “I’m waiting for a court reporter. I’m going to get her a Diet Coke. I don’t know why she’s worried about the calories. Wait’ll she starts dining on the prison menu. Can I bring you guys anything?”
“Coffee,” Jason and I said together. I needed it to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day and night. I still hadn’t finished my work on Luis’s hearing.
By the time Bennie returned with a cardboard tray of drinks, th
e court reporter had arrived. Bennie let her into the room. We watched her set up her machine. Bennie also turned on a tape recorder. There weren’t going to be any slipups in this confession, no suppression motions because of alleged threats or abuse.
Bennie went through the usual Miranda warnings again. He asked Gladys if that was her signature on the bottom of the form. Then the real questions began.
Was she married to Billy Martinez? How long had she known him? How long had they been married? Where did they live? When was the first time she knew that Billy was involved in drugs and stolen property?
“I knew from before we were married,” Gladys said.
“And how did you first learn of this?”
“When Billy explained that he was going to make a lot of money with my help. He said we’d be living like movie stars, that he could introduce me to all kinds of great people.”
“Weren’t you worried about being caught?”
“Not really. He said we’d always be able to split to Colombia. He wanted me to be comfortable, so we took a trip to Colombia. He showed me some beautiful places where we could be safe. We met with some of the opposition forces who would hide us. They were a little scary. They had all these terrorist type of books and pamphlets, and they said they’d be in charge of the country pretty soon.”
“When did you and Billy think up the plan to fix the cases in Judge Maxwell’s court?”
“We never thought it up.”
“What do you mean? Did someone tell you to do it?”
“Of course. Billy wasn’t the head guy. He was kind of high up, but he wasn’t the boss.”
Justice in June Page 18
