lawyer who was late for court. He’d thrown several of them in jail over the years.
At eight-thirty, his secretary hauled in a box of mail and informed Harry that there was a group of men
waiting outside who desperately needed to speak with him.
“What else is new?” he asked, eating the last bite of an apple danish.
“You might want to meet with these gentlemen.”
“Oh really. Who are they?”
“One is George Ord, our distinguished U.S. attorney.”
“I taught George in law school.”
“Right. That’s what he said, twice. There’s also an assistant U.S. attorney from New Orleans, a Mr. Thomas Fink. And a Mr. K. O. Lewis, Deputy Director of the FJ3I. And a couple of FBI agents.”
Harry looked up from a file and thought about this. “A rather distinguished group. What do they want?”
“They wouldn’t say.”
“Well, show them in.”
She left, and seconds later Ord, Fink, Lewis, and McThune filed into the crowded and cluttered office and introduced themselves to his honor. Harry and the secretary moved files from the chairs and everyone looked for a seat. They exchanged brief pleasantries, and after a few minutes of this Harry looked at his watch and said, “Gentlemen, I am scheduled to hear seventeen cases today. What can I do for you?”
Ord cleared his throat first. “Well, Judge, I’m sure you’ve seen the papers the last two mornings, especially the front-page stories about a boy by the name of Mark Sway.”
“Very intriguing.”
“Mr. Fink here is prosecuting the man accused of killing Senator Boyette, and the case is scheduled for trial in New Orleans in a few weeks.”
“I’m aware of this. I’ve read the stories.”
“We are almost certain that Mark Sway knows more than he is telling. He’s lied to the Memphis police on several occasions. We think he talked at length with Jerome Clifford before the suicide. We know without a doubt he was in the car. We’ve tried to talk to the kid, but he has been very uncooperative. Now he’s hired a lawyer and she’s stonewalling.”
“Reggie Love is a regular in my court. A very competent attorney. Sometimes a bit overprotective of her clients, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Yes sir. We’re very suspicious of the boy, and we feel quite strongly that he is withholding valuable information.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the location of the senator’s body.”
“How can you assume this?”
“There’s a lot to the story, Your Honor. And it would take a while to explain it.”
Harry played with his bow tie and gave Ord one of his patented scowls. He was thinking. “So you want me to bring the kid in and ask him questions.”
“Sort of. Mr. Fink has brought with him a petition alleging the child to be a delinquent.”
This did not sit well with Harry. His shiny forehead was suddenly wrinkled. “A rather serious allegation. What type of offense has the child committed?”
“Obstruction of justice.”
“You got any law?”
Fink had a file open, and he was on his feet handing a thin brief across the desk. Harry took it, and began reading slowly. The room was silent. K. O. Lewis had yet to say anything, and this bothered him
because he was, after all, the number-two man at the FBI. And this judge seemed not to care.
Harry flipped a page and glanced at his watch. “I’m listening,” he said in Fink’s direction.
“It’s our position, Your Honor, that through his misrepresentations Mark Sway has obstructed the investigation into this matter.”
“Which matter? The murder or the suicide?”
Excellent point, and as soon as he heard the question Fink knew Harry Roosevelt would not be a pushover. They were investigating a murder, not a suicide. There was no law against suicide, nor was there a law against witnessing one. “Well, Your Honor, the suicide has some very direct links to the murder of Boyette, we think, and it’s important for the kid to cooperate.”
“What if the kid knows nothing?”
“We can’t be certain until we ask him. Right now he’s impeding the investigation, and, as you well know, every citizen has a duty to assist law enforcement officials.”
“I’m well aware of that. It just seems a bit severe to allege the kid is a delinquent without any proof.”
“The proof will come, Your Honor, if we can get the kid on the witness stand, under oath, in a closed hearing and ask some questions. That’s all we’re trying to do.”
Harry tossed the brief into a pile of papers and removed his reading glasses. He chewed on a stem.
Ord leaned forward and spoke solemnly. “Look, Judge, if we can take the