"I'm having a cup," says Danny. "Then we need to have a real talk, so don't go away."
"I wasn't. I'm here to the finish."
"I want him out of our house. I don't trust him for a second."
I tell her about the missing guitar string. Her face colors up and her eyes blink rapidly.
"You must be kidding! She was strangled and her carotids cut and Tsung thinks it might have been something like a guitar string and our houseguest is missing a string out of his pack? Are you serious? I want him out, Michael! Now! Tonight!"
"We can't do that, Danny. There's a court order. There was no secondary placement made for this eventuality."
"Whose fault is that?"
I cringe. "Mine, I guess. Father Bjorn was with me and I knew he wouldn't be a good second choice. Truth is, I didn't have any other options that I could think of on the spur of the moment."
She hangs her head then reaches out and takes Dania back from me.
"Shit, Michael. Call the judge by phone tonight if you have to. I want this kid gone!"
"I can't. But I'll go see the judge and take the prosecutor with me. First thing in the morning."
"Then I won't sleep tonight. And Dania will be sleeping in our bed. I'm not closing my eyes while this monster inhabits our house."
"We don't know he's a monster. That's kind of harsh, isn't it?"
She gives me a mean, questioning look. "Really? How would you have said it?"
"I don't know."
"I rest my case, counselor. Now you’d better trot off to your computer and come up with a motion to revise conditions of release. Figure out where he can be put and ask the judge to put him there. I'm waiting and I want to see it."
"Will do."
"Good."
24
Judge Winifred Lancer-Burgess refused to change the conditions of Jana's release on bail. Her ruling was perfunctory, as was the in-chambers conference I requested with the judge and State's Attorney. Looking back, what I was able to reveal to the judge sounded rather superficial given that I, as the boy's lawyer, couldn't talk about mice and guitar strings. To do so would of course have given the SA fuel for the fire and they would have brought down a search warrant on my house and probably Uncle Tim's in order to look for mice and wires.
When we were finished, the State's Attorney pulled me aside in the hallway. He's a low-key man, modest in dress and speech, a lifer who has always played straight with me in prior cases and has never had an axe to grind. Anton Melendez is average height, black hair, dark skin, and wears two small diamond earrings in his left ear--which you would have thought would be anathema to the straight arrow image prosecutors always like to present, but Melendez somehow got away with it and, given his laid-back demeanor, it seemed to fit him naturally. He says, laconically, "Have you thought about a plea in this case?"
"Not really," I say. "We're still at the very edges of our investigation."
"I hear your investigator, Marcel, has been talking to anyone and everyone. Sounds like you're covering all the bases."
"Yes, we're putting some time in on the case. The defendant is my priest's son. That's a long story. So I feel a sort of inevitability about the dues I need to pay since the priest all but raised me when I was young."
"Got it. I had the same kind of influence in my life growing up in Mexico City. We were the lucky ones. So, why don't you wrap it up and then give me a call. Let's see if we can dispose of this one without trial."
I am taken aback. I am startled, in fact.
"This is the mayor's daughter. I would have thought there would no plea offer ever. What happened?"
"The mayor's legal staff has been privy to all our discovery. The facts aren't a hundred percent in the State's favor, Michael. But you already know that and I'm not telling you anything you don't know."
"My thinking, too. You can't actually place my guy with the dead girl."
"Well, there is the muffler. Turns out, your guy's DNA is all over it."
The DNA testing on the muffler is back. He's right about it containing Jana's DNA.
"True. For what it's worth."
"That's part of it. When you see our discovery, you'll learn more too."
"Well, let me finish up and I'll give you a holler."
"What's the nitty gritty on your request to change his living situation? Can you elucidate for me?"
I shake my head. "Not really. It's just uncomfortable for my wife, having him live with us. Not much else to say, in fact."
"Wives can be like that."
I can't mention the snake and the guitar strings, so I don't. Instead I come off sounding vague and ambiguous and that's fine. We both know there's more; he just doesn't know what else there is and it's my job now to keep him in the dark.
I head back to my office, three blocks on foot.
* * *
SITTING IN MY OFFICE, at my desk, I finish studying Marcel's file memos and set them aside. Then I buzz him into my office.
"This kid," I begin.
He lifts a ham-sized hand.
"I know," he says. "Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't."
"Let's take them one at a time and see what we have," I say. "Catch that door."
Marcel goes over and shuts the door to my office while I buzz Mrs. Lingscheit and tell her no interruptions.
"Let me get Danny in here, too."
I buzz Danny and she comes in and takes a seat in a client chair moments later.
"How's Dania doing in her new digs?" I ask Danny. We've taken a spare office that connects to Danny’s office and outfitted it with baby gear. We did this on the spur of the moment because Danny refuses to leave the baby alone in the house when there's a chance Jana might be there with her. Priscilla now comes to our office and performs her nanny duties.
"Sleeping. It's quiet in there and Priscilla's done wonders. Dania has everything she could need or even want."
"Good, good."
"Yes. But we need to talk about long-term. He's got to go, Michael."
Marcel says, "Do you want me to go out while you discuss this?"
"No, stay put," I tell him. "You're in on our protection all the way. Speaking of which, do you have any ideas how we might dislodge Jana from our home without sending him back to jail?"
"Whoa, what am I missing here?" Marcel says. "Why the sudden antipathy toward the kid?"
We explain to Marcel what we've found out. I show him the M.E.'s report.
"I hope she was already dead when he placed the mouse."
"You're saying maybe she was alive when he put the mouse in her mouth?" I reply.
Marcel shrugs. "Do you have any proof she wasn't?"
Danny and I look at each other.
"I guess not. I guess the thought was so revolting that I just didn't go there," Danny says.
"Me too," I add.
"Well, there you are. Weird is weird. I prefer not to rule out any possibilities when I'm approaching an investigation. It only gets as weird as the human imagination can manufacture. You both know by now that that particular dynamic is without limit. Until a few minutes ago, I thought I'd seen it all. Now I know--again--that I haven't."
Marcel is thoughtful for several moments. He rubs his eyes. Then he gets down to the issue.
"Do you have a guest house?"
"No."
"What about getting him his own apartment?"
Danny and I look at each other.
"I like that," Danny immediately says. "That works for me."
"But the judge won't go for it, I don't think," I reply. "He's not in our custody if we do, and having him in our custody was the whole point."
"Let me think about it," Marcel says. "I'll bet my devious little brain can come up with something."
"Do that," Danny smiles at him. "But please hurry."
He reaches over and squeezes her arm and nods. "Sure, that."
I'm anxious to get into the case proper. I say, "All right. We've got Amy Tanenbaum, who has been murdere
d. We've got Jana at the football game that night, but his Uncle Tim says it ain't so. Whatever."
"What's Jana say?" asks Danny.
"He told me he was there," I reply. "He said he wasn't with Amy. He said he didn't kill her, either."
"Told me the same thing," says Marcel.
"That's nice," says Danny, "given that he's staying in our guest bedroom."
"Touché," I tell her. She's not going to leave it alone.
"So. Aren't you going to tell me how it went this morning? What exactly did Winny say when you asked her for different accommodations for our little houseguest?"
I sigh. "Winny wouldn't hear of him moving out. She said that she made her original placement with us based on many factors. And that she specifically ruled out Uncle Tim as a possible placement option."
"Did you ask about him moving in with this dad?"
"Moving into the priests' apartments? That wouldn't work."
"Why on earth not? I'm sure Father Bjorn has an extra room. If not, he damn sure has a couch where Jana could flop."
"Okay, I'll talk to him."
"And ask the judge again," Danny says. It isn't a request, it's a demand.
"Okay, moving right along. We've also received the DNA study. Jana's DNA is all over the red muffler they found near Amy's body."
"Which means one of two things," says Marcel. "Either it dropped down through the bleachers or Jana was under the bleachers at some point."
"Maybe he was under the bleachers before Amy was murdered," says Danny.
"Why would that be?" I ask.
"I don't know. Maybe someone else dropped something and he went under looking for it? I don't know. I'm just saying it's a possibility."
"It is a possibility," I agree, "but we don't want to go there, not ever. We can't have Jana under the bleachers."
"You didn't tell me about the DNA," Danny blurts out. "How long have you known?"
"A couple, three days, maybe."
"Were you keeping it from me?"
"I don't think he was doing that," Marcel begins.
"I'm talking to my husband!" Danny snaps. "Let him answer, please."
"No one was keeping anything from anyone else. It just hadn't come up yet."
"Don't you think I would have wanted to know? That's our baby we're talking about, two doors down from that guest bedroom! You know what? I'm going to take Dania and move into a hotel until this gets sorted out. I'm done with all this."
I look at her and her look back at me is a pure challenge. The glove has been thrown down. And, wouldn't you know it, I can't argue with her. In fact, in a way I'm relieved that my females will be away from Jana.
"I like that idea," I say slowly. "You might not think I do, but I do."
She sniffs and finger-combs her blond hair. "See? All I want to do is get the baby away from Jana. It will work better if I move her out."
Then I'm depressed at what that means. We'll be living separately and apart.
We'll be separated.
"Before you use a credit card," I say, "let me talk to Father Bjorn. Maybe he can step up."
"Fine, you do that. But until you have Jana dislodged, Dania and I aren't coming home. Pure and simple, so you do what you need to do, Michael."
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, I've spoken with Father Bjorn on the telephone. The church absolutely doesn't allow any priest to have a roommate or guest living with him in the priests' quarters. It just isn't done. So that's out.
"Is it that bad?" Father Bjorn asks me.
I tell him about the mouse and the missing guitar string.
"Michael, I would never have involved you in this if I'd known. Please, I apologize to you and Danny. And Dania. I'm truly sorry. Maybe the best thing is to let him go back to jail. I don't want to see you and Danny living apart because of my son. That just isn't right."
"I'm leaning more that way," I say and I am surprised to hear myself say that. It's the first time I've actually considered letting him return to jail. "I'm going to reach out to his mom first. I'm going to see if I can arrange something with her and then ask the judge if that works."
"Naomi will be very difficult to work with. I've spoken with her twice since the arrest. She simply cannot handle our son. He refuses to listen to her and tells her to go to hell."
"I wish I'd known that going in," I say. "That puts him in a whole different light."
"Yes, I think it's time for him to return to jail. Naomi isn't a solution."
"All right. I'll have a talk with him. Wish me luck."
"No, but I'll say a prayer for you. A good prayer."
"I need it. We all need it, Father."
"Yes, we do."
25
I don't waste any time with it. That night when I get home, Jana is already inside his room with the door closed. I can hear Metallica blasting loud and angry. It pisses me off, truth be told, to have him there at all now that Danny and Dania aren't coming home. Something needs to be done without delay.
I knock on his door. It opens after I knock a second time.
"Turn that down, Jana," I shout into the wall of sound that greets me.
He complies and the song abruptly ends.
"Thank you."
It smells strongly of pot smoke. And his eyes are glassy and there's a sloppy smile on his face.
"You're smoking in here," I say and wave my hand as if to cut the smoke. "You know the rule."
"No, really, dude. I'm not."
"Really, dude, you are," I tell him.
"All right. Busted. But it was only a couple of hits to relax me before I start cracking the books."
"Jana, this living arrangement isn't working for anyone."
He flops down on his bed and places his back against the wall. He fiddles with the knee of his jeans.
"I guess," he says absently.
"I've talked to your dad and now Danny's moved out with Dania. She's terribly uncomfortable with you here."
"Oh no, man, we can't have that. I'll leave."
"Where would you go? You know the judge placed you with me."
"Then what should I do?"
"I'm going to ask the court to modify conditions of release so you can go back to your Uncle Tim's. That's the only choice left."
"My dad won't even take me, will he?"
"The church won't allow it. Otherwise, he would take you. I think he'd love to get to live with his son."
"Well, we'll never know, will we now?"
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, SA Anton Melendez and I again approach Judge Winifred Lancer-Burgess in her chambers during a break in the court's morning. She is not pleased that we're here again and speaks sharply to me.
"So, Mr. Gresham, you're still unhappy with the court's placement? Do I need to return the young man to jail?"
"I'm here to vouch for his uncle, Tim O'Donnell. He's a plumber by trade, single with two spare bedrooms in his house. He is a light drinker, doesn't use drugs, and has no criminal history."
"What's wrong with the current placement, Mr. Gresham?"
"It's my wife. We have a new baby and she doesn't like the idea of a man we don't know living with us. Plain and simple."
"She was in court when I made the original placement. She seemed happy enough with it then."
"She just didn't know what it would feel like. Now she does."
The judge blows a stream of air upward to her bangs. They move away from her forehead.
"Very well. I'm going to leave the placement as is, but I'm going to amend to give you the right to place the boy physically with Tim O'Donnell, the boy's uncle. What's the State's position?"
"No objection, Your Honor," says Mr. Melendez.
"The order will issue this afternoon. I'm also having the sheriff verify the uncle's lack of criminal record, Mr. Gresham. Let's hope the representation you've made to the court of a clean record proves true. If it doesn't, I'm sending your young man back to jail without further comment. Do we understand ea
ch other?"
"We do, Your Honor." It's the best we can do. If there's any kind of criminal record on Uncle Tim, I can't help Jana. I'm done; I want my wife and daughter back in their house with me where they belong.
"Very well, we're in recess. Please clear my office, gentlemen. I need a smoke."
We say our thanks and leave. Outside in the hallway, I clap Melendez on the shoulder and give him my sincere thanks for working with me on the issue. He smiles and nods and heads off to the elevator. I stop off in the men's room and use the urinal, then wash my hands at the sink and cup cold water into my face.
"Traitor," I say to my reflection.
But I don't really mean it. I'm glad to see him go.
Now to tell Father Bjorn and prepare Uncle Tim.
26
Jana has been safely returned to Uncle Tim's and last night after work Danny and Dania returned home. All is well, calm is restored, and Danny stayed home this morning to clean out Jana's old room and open the windows with the door closed. It's cold outside and she knows the hot air of the house will carry out the smells and smoke with ease. She arrives in the office after one and comes into my office to check-in with me.
"His pot is gone, evidently. I searched every last nook and cranny. And I cleaned up everything, but it wasn’t much. It was really surprising that it wasn’t a mess. After all, he is a teenage boy – I always thought they couldn’t’ be bothered cleaning up after themselves."
"Well, thanks for doing that. So much for having a defendant in a criminal case move in with us."
"Did you call Father Bjorn?"
"I did. He totally understands. In fact, he apologized to me--and asked me to apologize to you--for getting us into this mess in the first place."
"Accepted. By the way, did you get Jana's front door key when you left with him?"
I snap my fingers. "Forgot. I'll get right on that."
"Please do. I don't want any unannounced drop-ins. Or break-ins."
"Please, let it go, Danny. It's all over, you're home safe and sound, Dania is home with Priscilla, and Jana is long gone. Everything's okay again. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Now, let's get Marcel in here and let's look at Jana's legal case. It's time we resolve that, too. The State's Attorney was talking to me yesterday like he was open to plea negotiations, so let's figure out our bottom line."
Legal Thriller: Michael Gresham: Secrets Girls Keep: A Courtroom Drama (Michael Gresham Legal Thriller Series Book 2) Page 13
