The Lincoln lawyer - By Michael Connelly Page 0,155
DA’s motion to dismiss with no comebacks, only to have my client arrested for a murder in the hallway outside the courtroom where I had just cleared him. I got calls from every other defense pro I knew. I got call after call until my cell phone finally died. My colleagues were all congratulating me. In their eyes, there was no downside. Roulet was the ultimate franchise. I got schedule A fees for one trial and then I would get schedule A fees for the next one. It was a double-dip most defense pros could only dream about. And, of course, when I told them I would not be handling the defense of the new case, each one of them asked if I could refer him to Roulet.
It was the one call that came in on my home line that I wanted the most. It was from Maggie McPherson.
“I’ve been waiting for your call all night,” I said.
I was pacing in the kitchen, tethered by the phone cord. I had checked my phones when I had gotten home and found no evidence of bugging devices.
“Sorry, I’ve been in the conference room,” she said.
“I heard you were pulled in on Roulet.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling. They’re going to cut him loose.”
“What are you talking about? They’re letting him go?”
“Yes. They’ve had him for nine hours in a room and he hasn’t broken. Maybe you taught him too well not to talk, because he’s a rock and they got nothing and that means they don’t have enough.”
“You’re wrong. There is enough. They have the parking ticket and there have to be witnesses who can put him in The Cobra Room. Even Menendez can ID him there.”
“You know as well as I do that Menendez is a scratch. He’d identify anybody to get out. And if there are other wits from The Cobra Room, then it’s going to take some time to run them down. The parking ticket puts him in the neighborhood but it doesn’t put him inside her apartment.”
“What about the knife?”
“They’re working on it but that’s going to take time, too. Look, we want to do this right. It was Smithson’s call and, believe me, he wanted to keep him, too. It would make that fiasco you created in court today a little more palatable. But it’s just not there. Not yet. They’re going to kick him loose and work the forensics and look for the witnesses. If Roulet’s good for this, then we will get him, and your other client will get out. You don’t have to worry. But we have to do it right.”
I swung a fist impotently through the air.
“They jumped the gun. Damn it, they shouldn’t have made the move today.”
“I guess they thought nine hours in interrogation would do the trick.”
“They were stupid.”
“Nobody’s perfect.”
I was annoyed by her attitude but held my tongue on that. I needed her to keep me in the loop.
“When exactly will they let him go?” I asked.
“I don’t know. This all just went down. Kurlen and Booker came over here to present it and Smithson just sent them back to the PD. When they get back, I assume they’ll kick him loose.”
“Listen to me, Maggie. Roulet knows about Hayley.”
There was a horribly long moment of silence before she answered.
“What are you saying, Haller? You let our daughter into —”
“I didn’t let anything happen. He broke into my house and saw her picture. It doesn’t mean he knows where she lives or even what her name is. But he knows about her and he wants to get back at me. So you have to go home right now. I want you to be with Hayley. Get her and get out of the apartment. Just play it safe.”
Something made me hold back on telling her everything, that I felt that Roulet had specifically threatened my family in the courthouse. You can’t protect everybody. I would only use that if she refused to do what I wanted her to do with Hayley.
“I’m leaving now,” she said. “And we’re coming to you.”
I knew she would say that.
“No, don’t come to me.”
“Why not?”
“Because he might come to me.”
“This is crazy. What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure yet. Just go get Hayley and get somewhere safe. Then call me on your cell, but don’t tell me where you are. It will be better if I don’t even know.”