Arbitrage

by Thomas Ransom

  She nodded.

  The officer continued, “You will stay in police custody until your trial, and after a verdict is reached, you will either be released or moved into prison as per the decision of the judge.”

  Aria was having an out-of-body experience. She could see herself sitting, shoulders hunched up, eyes on the floor, and face drained of any color. She already looked beaten. She may go to jail! She thought. “I most definitely will be going to jail since I have no lawyer to fight for me,” she whispered to herself.

  “Excuse me?” said the officer, without looking up from the clipboard she was holding.

  “Nothing,” Aria replied quickly.

  The officer continued to explain other things to Aria, but she had zoned out. Her head was hurting and her mind was racing. She couldn’t figure out who could have placed that knife in her house. The anonymous tip, she pondered. Why did someone decide to place the blame on her all of a sudden? They could have easily done that the night of the murder too. She was the only one at the crime scene.

  Her life was being carefully controlled Aria realized from the night of the murder, maybe even before that. But why? Her mind screamed. Why her? What did she do?

  “Do you understand?” the officer’s voice startled Aria.

  She had no idea what the officer had said, but she plainly nodded. What’s the point? She figured. The officer gave her a look and then turned to leave.

  “Wait!” Aria suddenly called out to her.

  “Yes?” asked the officer.

  “Can I make a phone call?” she asked.

  The officer gave her a puzzled look, “You haven’t already?”

  “What! No!” quickly replied Aria. “I have been stuck in this room the minute I arrived here,” she explained.

  The officer nodded. “Give me a few minutes. I will ask someone to escort you to make the call.”

  Aria felt relieved. She wanted to call Tanya. She might be able to tell her what was happening, and may even help her find a good lawyer. Plus, it would be good to hear a friendly voice, Aria thought. Suddenly, her thoughts became clouded. What if Tanya was in on it? Everything started falling apart the minute she told Tanya about the emails Coons sent her.

  But why!? Her mind screamed at her for the umpteenth time. Why would Tanya do something like that? Maybe she was also being threatened? She wondered. “Uggh!!” she screamed out in frustration. She felt hopeless. But Tanya is her oldest friend. She would surely help her out, Aria tried reasoning with herself.

  Just then, the door of the interrogation room flew open. It was another officer. “Hello Aria,” he nodded at her. Aria said nothing.

  “You want to make a call?” he asked.

  Aria nodded.

  He moved towards her and juggled the huge set of keys on his belt. He found the right one after trying for a few minutes and uncuffed Aria’s hands from the table. “Let’s go,” he said.

  He led her down a corridor towards a big room and explained how she could make the call. “So you dial the number of your family member, friend, or lawyer, and if they accept the charges of the call, then your call will be connected. The call will be recorded except when you are talking to your lawyer.”

  She saw two to three sets of phones on the wall.

  “Here you go. Are you calling your lawyer?” the officer asked.

  Aria shook her head, “I am calling a friend. I don’t have a lawyer right now.”

  The officer gave her a questioning look but didn’t say anything. He moved away from her to sit at the table at the far end of the room.

  Aria picked up the phone and started dialing Tanya’s number. She hesitated midway. She paused for a few minutes.

  “All good?” called out the officer.

  She waved a hand, indicating she is fine and started over. This time, she dialed Clark’s number. The call was instantly connected, and Aria was relieved.

  “OMG Aria?” came Clark’s voice.

  His voice felt like fresh air to her at that moment, “Clark!” said Aria, her voice trembling.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “I mean, they are not mistreating you right?”

  Aria’s eyes filled with tears, “Clark, I am fine. I just…”

  “What is it?” he asked immediately.

  “I don’t know what to do!” whispered Aria, tears falling down her cheeks.

  “I know, honey. I know. I am trying my best to help you,” Clark assured her. “Please, be strong. It is not over yet. I heard the company refused to send you a lawyer.”

  Aria replied, “Yes! I met a lawyer named Terry… someone. But he was useless, Clark! He wanted me to plead guilty.”

  “What! Don’t do that!” Clark exclaimed.

  “Yeah. I told him to leave. They will probably send me another lawyer, but I am sure they are all the same,” said Aria.

  “Okay. Yeah, they will. But listen to me, Aria,” said Clark urgently. “I am trying to get a lawyer for you. She is a really good one. The problem is it might take some time to convince her to take your case. She usually doesn’t take criminal cases.”

  “Okay. But what if she refuses?” asked Aria.

  “I will convince her,” Clark stated confidently. “However, in the meantime, let them assign you another lawyer and see how it goes.”

  “Okay,” whispered Aria.

  “Don’t lose hope,” came Clark’s voice. “We can fight this. Okay? I will make sure you get out of that place.”

  Aria was filled with renewed hope as she hung up the phone.

  Chapter 10: The Clock is Ticking

  “I am sorry, but I honestly don’t think that taking this case will help my career at this stage. It looks like a rather straightforward case, and I need cases that are challenging and show my skills. The murder weapon was hidden in her house all along! She is guilty,” declared Nicole Diaz as she strutted towards her car. She was late to work today and didn’t have any other choice but to park her car miles away from her building. “

  She fumed as she tried to balance her cell phone between her ear and shoulder while digging into her purse to find the keys.

  “But she didn’t do it! Come one, think about it. Why on earth would she keep the knife at her place after killing her own boss?” insisted Clark on the other end of the phone.

  Diaz was getting frustrated now. She had already told Clark she doesn’t want to take on this case. Why would she? If it really were a strong case, then other lawyers would have been racing to get Aria to represent her. Plus, she had more things to worry about. Her bills were piling up, and she needed to get a good promotion. For that, she needed good cases.

  “I told you. I have plenty of other cases that I am dealing with. I don’t have time to take on more cases.” She was still trying to find her keys. She slightly felt guilty saying that. She had been striding high with success a while back when she won case after case. Now, it seemed like she was in a slump. She was barely getting more cases, particularly after giving her boss a piece of her mind when he promoted a male colleague over her (even though she was clearly more qualified and had won far more cases than him). She wanted to quit the job in protest, but she needed the money. Her boss was probably trying to blacklist or discredit her among her clients. The clients who always requested for her had now finding excuses to leave her.

  Clark was still trying to convince her, “I am telling you. Just have a look at her files and talk to her once. You will see. Please. That’s all I am asking.”

  “Shit!” Diaz bellowed as she lost the grip of her purse, and it fell, scattering her things all over the pavement.

  She sighed loudly. “Listen… I keep telling you…” she retorted.

  “I will pay you as much as you want. Name the price,” Clark interrupted her.

  That stopped Diaz mid-sentence. She was in need of money. However, she didn’t need any lost cases under her belt at this stage, especially when her employers were trying their best to make her quit and destroy her career.
/>   “Look,” she started but was interrupted again by Clark.

  “I know the case is difficult. We might not win it, but I will never forgive myself if I didn’t do anything to get the love of my life out of prison. I know she didn’t do it. She is being set up.”

  Diaz stood there flustered, watching one of her lipstick rolling underneath a parked car. She was tempted to take the case, mostly because of the money.

  “So, if I lose the case…?” her voice trailed off.

  “As long as you try your best. I know the evidence is against Aria. I am willing to pay half of the fees upfront and will pay the rest when the verdict is announced. Whether we win or lose, you will get the money,” Clark responded immediately.

  Diaz bent down to gather her scattered things and thought about it for a while. “Okay. Send me the details, and I will meet her once. I am not saying I’m taking the case. But I will let you know once I have met her and examined her case.”

  She heard a sigh of relief on the other end.

  “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” Clark replied.

  “Yeah, okay. Don’t get too happy. I haven’t said yes, yet,” Diaz reminded Clark, as she got down her knees and tried to retrieve her lipstick from under the car.

  “I know. I know. I will email you the details in a few minutes,” he informed her. “Thank you once again.

  “Sure,” Diaz hung up the phone. She quickly stuffed all the things inside her bag. Her mind was still pondering on what to do about the case.

  She had heard about Aria’s case, of course. A few of her friends were discussing it a while ago, but she was so preoccupied with her own issues that she barely paid attention to it. She tried to remember the details of the case. The woman found her boss’ body in an alleyway, only two sets of fingerprints were found at the crime scene, and there was no murder weapon until it was discovered a few months later at that woman’s place… plus, there was something about an anonymous tip.

  “Didn’t she replace her newly murdered boss at work?” she tried to recall more of the conversation. “But that’s motive, isn’t it?” Her mind was racing as she headed towards her car.

  “Dang! Murdering her own boss to get his job. She almost got away with it too,” she pondered out loud. “Maybe I should have taken a leaf out of her book,” she chuckled. “But would I ever take someone’s life no matter how cruel that person was with her?”

  She shook her head. No matter how much she hated her employer, she could never do such a thing. She had dealt with murders in the courtroom several times before, and she never understood how someone could take the life out of another human being. How messed up does a person have to be to do such a thing!

  She had seen murders with blank eyes and cruel expression, and then some seemed as normal as any other person. You would never even in your wildest dream imagine them harming someone else. The human psyche, it always amazed her.

  Diaz shrugged. Maybe I should take the case. I might find out why she did it. Anyway, it seems like an easy case. They already have so much evidence against her. I probably won’t have to dig too deep, but still, get the money I need for the next couple of months. She felt guilty. This wasn’t why she became a lawyer. She wanted to help people get justice. It wasn’t about the money for her. However, times have changed. She is on the verge of losing her job and needs a strong win. What if taking this case, destroy her chances? She sighed. Maybe she will take this case as a freelance project.

  No one has to know. Who knows she might even be able to crack the case, and then her boss will see how talented she is and how they are making a major mistake by not promoting her. She would love to get a significant win and then quit her job after that. She might be able to open her own practice or join another law firm. If only she gets a good case.

  Just when she reached her car, she realized she still doesn’t have the keys in her hand. Ugggh! She sighed in frustration. She once again dug into her purse to find the keys only to realize that there was so sign of them in her bag. “Damn it! I must have left them on my drawer.”

  She punched the top of her car. “Why the hell am I having the worst of lucks these days!”

  Diaz took a deep breath and turned around to take the long walk back to the office building. Hoping against hope that her luck changes soon; otherwise, her future looked too bleak.

  Aria sat in the room, tapping her foot impatiently. She was told there was another lawyer assigned to her. She was hoping against hope that it was the same one Clark told her about. She was still handcuffed and exhausted. Thankfully, she was given a cold water bottle and a sandwich. The sandwich was rather stale, but she gulped it down. She was famished. The door opened and in walked a young man, who looked way too young to be a lawyer.

  He smiled widely at Aria, extending his arm to shake her hand. Aria stared at him, he lowered his arm awkwardly and took a seat opposite her.

  “Hello, Aria. My name is Adam…,” he started but was interrupted by Aria.

  “How many cases have you taken on?” she asked, knowing fully well that he probably worked on small cases.

  “Umm… well… I am really good at what I do…,” Aria interjected again. “How many?”

  There was a pause.

  “Let me make this easier for you. How many murder cases have you fought?” Aria asked.

  “Well…” Adam stammered.

  “Not one, right?” Aria raised her brows.

  “Yeah. But, I can still…,” he tried to convince her, but Aria wasn’t hearing any of it.

  “I will save you time, Adam. You should leave,” her tone indicated that she was in no mood to argue more.

  Adam looked at her for a while and then stood up. “Umm… I am sorry. Good luck.” And with that, he left. Aria buried her head in her hands.

  Diaz opened her email account, and sure enough, there were a few emails from Clark with multiple attachments. She sighed and put her phone down. After a horrible day, she needed a few minutes to calm herself down. She made herself a cup of coffee and sat down on her couch. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  Just a few seconds later, her phone started vibrating. “Uggh!! Leave me alone!” She yelled, looking at her phone. As if on cue, the vibration stopped. She picked up her phone to see there were a few more emails from Clark. She sighed. After drinking her coffee, she opened her laptop and started going through those emails.

  The more she read, the more she realized Clark might be right. However, she still wasn’t completely convinced. She had to talk to Aria herself and needed to know her side of the story. All of this seemed confusing. She had already been picked to replace Coons after his retirement, and there were chances that she might become the permanent head of the department. Coons himself had recommended her. Why on earth would she murder someone who was supporting her and had already retired? Diaz checked to see if Coons was on a board member. Maybe he had a hidden agenda. No. he wasn’t a board member.

  “Okay. Something is missing here,” she thought to herself. She needed to know more.

  She was in no mood to head to the police station that night because of this case. However, after going through the case, she knew she had to go. She stuffed her laptop in her bag, grabbed her keys, and sped out.

  Within minutes, she was at the prescient where Clark had said Aria was taken in. After talking to a few police officers, she found out that they were about to move Aria to a cell and that she had refused a second lawyer just a few minutes ago.

  Diaz nodded, “I would like to see her now, please.” She was led down a long corridor, and the officer stopped in front of the door. “In here,” he said, nodding towards the door. Diza peered in from the small window on the door and could see a woman sitting with her head in her hands. She took a deep breath and went inside.

  Aria quickly looked up. The two women looked at one another for a few seconds. “I am Nicole Diaz,” announced Diaz as she closed the door.

  “Clark sent y
ou?” Aria asked earnestly.

  Diaz slowly made her way to the table and sat down opposite Aria. “More like begged me to visit you.” She saw Aria sighing with relief. Diaz noticed she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy, her hair was a mess, and she was clearly tired.

  “I heard you sent away two lawyers,” inquired Diaz.

  Aria’s face hardened, “The first one wanted me to plead guilty. I didn’t do anything. He refused to listen to me and was trying to persuade me that it is the only option I had. The second one looked like he was still in college,” Aria rolled her eyes. “It’s like they are not even trying! My entire life is being destroyed, and they send me a kid!”

  Diaz felt an instant liking towards Aria. She was smart, and it seemed she was not going down without a fight. She nodded.

  “Well… pleading guilty actually is a good option for someone in your position,” Diaz started.

  “WHAT!” Aria glowered. Diaz immediately held up her hand, “I am not suggesting that you do that. Relax!” She gave Aria a few minutes to calm down.

  “What I am saying is that usually when someone really does commit murder, pleading guilty is usually the right way to go,” Diaz explained. “So, the first lawyer wasn’t giving you bad advice, but that wasn’t the right advice in your case.”

  Aria stayed quiet, taking it in.

  “The thing is our system isn’t always fair, especially when they arrest a suspect for murder. They just want to book them and throw them in jail quickly and without any hurdles,” Diaz continued. “It’s all a numbers game. The more bad guys they send to jail, the better they look, and whatnot.”

  “So you don’t think I…,” Aria started.

  Diaz interrupted her, “I have gone through the details that Clark sent me. All I know is that something isn’t right. There are a few things that don’t make sense, especially your motive to kill your boss. You were about to take his position, and he retired. He had no shares or say in the company anymore, then why would you want him dead?”

  Aria felt a flush of relief washing over her. At last, someone was actually trying to figure out this mess.