The Lincoln lawyer - By Michael Connelly Page 0,56

was victimized by an animal and I’m not going to dismiss anything against —”

“Quite badly? She’s been turning tricks again all week. You —”

“How do you know that?”

I shook my head.

“Man, I am trying to help you here, save you some embarrassment, and all you’re worried about is whether I’ve crossed some line with the victim. Well, I’ve got news for you. She ain’t the victim. Don’t you see what you have here? If this thing gets to a jury and they see that disc, all the plates fall, Ted. Your case is over and you have to come back in here and explain to your boss Smithson why you didn’t see it coming. I don’t know Smithson all that well, but I do know one thing about him. He doesn’t like to lose. And after what happened yesterday, I would say that he feels a little more urgent about that.”

“Prostitutes can be victims, too. Even amateurs.”

I shook my head. I decided to show my whole hand.

“She set him up,” I said. “She knew he had money and she laid a trap. She wants to sue him and cash in. She either hit herself or she had her boyfriend from the bar, the left-handed man, do it. No jury in the world is going to buy what you’re selling. Blood on the hand or fingerprints on the knife—it was all staged after he was knocked out.”

Minton nodded as if he followed the logic but then came out with something from left field.

“I’m concerned that you may be trying to intimidate my victim by following her and harassing her.”

“What?”

“You know the rules of engagement. Leave the victim alone or we’ll next talk about it with a judge.”

I shook my head and spread my hands wide.

“Are you listening to anything I’m saying here?”

“Yes, I have listened to it all and it doesn’t change the course I am taking. I do have an offer for you, though, and it will be good only until Monday’s arraignment. After that, all bets are off. Your client takes his chances with a judge and jury. And I’m not intimidated by you or the sixty days. I will be ready and waiting.”

I felt like I was underwater and everything that I said was trapped in bubbles that were drifting up and away. No one could hear me correctly. Then I realized that there was something I was missing. Something important. It didn’t matter how green Minton was, he wasn’t stupid and I had just mistakenly thought he was acting stupid. The L.A. County DA’s office got some of the best of the best out of law school. He had already mentioned Southern Cal and I knew that was a law school that turned out top-notch lawyers. It was only a matter of experience. Minton might be short on experience but it didn’t mean he was short on legal intelligence. I realized that I should be looking at myself, not Minton, for understanding.

“What am I missing here?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Minton said. “You’re the one with the high-powered defense. What could you be missing?”

I stared at him for a moment and then knew. There was a glitch in the discovery. There was something in his thin file that was not in the thick one Levin had put together. Something that would get the prosecution past the fact that Reggie Campo was selling it. Minton had so much as told me already. Prostitutes can be victims, too.

I wanted to stop everything and look through the state’s discovery file to compare it with everything about the case that I knew. But I could not do it now in front of him.

“Okay,” I said. “What’s your offer? He won’t take it but I’ll present it.”

“Well, he’s got to do prison time. That’s a given. We’re willing to drop it all down to an ADW and attempted sexual battery. We’ll go to the middle of the guidelines, which would put him at about seven years.”

I nodded. Assault with a deadly weapon and attempted sexual battery. A seven-year sentence would likely mean four years actual. It wasn’t a bad offer but only from the standpoint of Roulet having committed the crime. If he was innocent, then no offer was acceptable.

I shrugged.

“I’ll take it to him,” I said.

“Remember, only until the arraignment. So if he wants it you better call me Monday morning first thing.”

“Right.”

I closed my briefcase and stood up to go. I was thinking about how Roulet was probably waiting for