First degree - By David Rosenfelt Page 0,30

lock up the bad guys and move on to the next case.

"Thanks for coming down so quickly, Andy," Dylan says. "New evidence has turned up concerning your client."

I just wait for him to continue; coaxing him to hurry up would give him a satisfaction I don't want to provide.

"We got a call from a Wallace Ferro, the manager at the Food Fair supermarket on Riverside. It turns out that there's a tape of Garcia in the store at the exact time that the coroner says the murder was committed."

I'm pleased but puzzled. "I asked him about the tapes."

Dylan nods, a slight smirk on his face. "According to him, you didn't ask too hard. This was a tape above the cash machines at the bank branch in the market. It's a different system, and they don't tape over them for months. For some reason he thought we'd be more interested in it than you would."

Little of what Dylan is saying makes sense, but I'm not really concerned. No matter what Wally the grocery manager thinks of my investigative techniques, my client is about to be freed and so am I. I'm out of the case and clear of conscience. I can go back to saving otters.

"Does Oscar know about this?" I ask.

"He does. He's been released, and he's agreed to voluntarily answer some questions."

Alarm bells go off in my head. "What kind of questions? Why wasn't I informed?"

"Don't worry, Andy, Oscar waived his right to counsel." He smiles. "Especially your counsel."

"What the hell is going on, Dylan? What are you questioning Oscar about?"

My sense of foreboding increases when Nick, not having said a word, walks out of the office. My sense is that while he may be on the same side as Dylan, he doesn't want to associate himself with this performance.

Dylan doesn't even seem to notice him leave. He is taking his time, savoring the moment. "We've made another arrest in the case, Andy. We believe Oscar has information to provide in connection with that arrest."

"Who did you arrest?" I ask, knowing that this is the reason Dylan called me here, and knowing with even greater certainty that I'm going to hate the answer.

"I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this," he lies, "but we've arrested and charged Laurie Collins with the murder of Alex Dorsey."

THE PRESS IS OUT IN FORCE BY THE TIME I GET TO the jail. When it was Oscar Garcia that stood accused, it was a marginal story. When it's Laurie Collins, ex-cop and sworn enemy of the deceased, it's page one all the way.

I work my way through the reporters and camera crews, making comments as I go. I don't usually like to speak to the press until I know the facts, so I say only what I know to be true.

"What's your reaction to the arrest?" I'm asked.

"It's beyond idiotic," I respond.

"Are you going to defend her?"

"The facts will defend her," I say. "I'll just make sure everybody knows them."

I get inside the jail and ask to see Laurie. The bozo at the front desk tells me that she's being "processed." I know she's smart enough not to talk to anyone without me present, but I don't like the fact that she's alone. After five minutes of waiting, I tell him I'm going to go outside and tell the press I'm being denied access to my client. Coincidentally, at that very moment he receives a telepathic communication informing him that the processing just ended.

I'm led back to an anteroom where I wait for another five minutes, until Laurie is brought in. Her hands are cuffed in front of her, and she is already dressed in jail clothing. I expect to see fear in her eyes, but that's not what is there. What I see is anger. Which is good, because I've got enough fear for both of us.

"Andy, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," I say. "I haven't tried to press anyone for information yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"They've charged me with Dorsey's murder," she says, total disbelief in her voice.

I nod. "Tell me what happened. Don't leave out a thing."

She sits down, resting her cuffed hands uncomfortably on the table. The cuffs are so offensive to me, I want to bite them off with my teeth.

"There isn't that much to tell," she says. "I went out to the stadium, like you said. It took a little while, but I finally noticed something in the