New Tricks - By David Rosenfelt Page 0,66
has followed me into the kitchen, no doubt amazed at behavior that is bizarre, even by my standards.
“What is going on?” Laurie asks.
For the first time in my memory, I am more interested in talking to Marcus than Laurie. “That was in the yard?” I ask. “Just lying there?”
He nods. “Yuh.”
“Did you hear anything? Is that what made you go outside?”
“Yuh,” he repeats. This conversation is moving right along.
“You think somebody threw it there?” Laurie asks, as it starts to dawn on her. “You think it could be poison?”
“You’d be amazed at how few hamburgers are thrown into my yard at night,” I say, which is another way for me to say yes.
“We need to get it tested,” Kevin says.
I call Pete Stanton, tell him that I am reporting a possible crime, and ask him to come out with a forensics team.
“What happened?” he asks.
“Somebody threw a hamburger into my backyard.”
“Those bastards,” he says. “I’m sending out a SWAT team, and I’ll tell them to bring ketchup.”
“I think they were trying to poison Waggy,” I say.
“Who the hell is Waggy?”
“Walter Timmerman’s dog. Trust me on this one, Pete. There are some things I haven’t told you about the Timmerman murder and Jimmy Childs.”
“Are you going to tell me when I get there?”
“If I have to.”
“If you don’t, I’m not going to get there.”
I agree to tell him the story, and he’s there within twenty minutes with two officers and a forensics expert. Within fifteen minutes, only Pete remains, and the hamburger has been taken away for a rush test.
“Okay,” Pete says after they’ve left. “Let’s hear it.”
I’m not sure why I haven’t told Pete that Childs had killed the Timmermans and been targeting Waggy; I guess it’s just a habit for me to err on the side of not sharing information with anyone not on the defense team. But there’s nothing about any of it that causes any additional jeopardy for Steven, and I’m not breaking a confidence, so I bring Pete up to date.
“Marcus is sure about this?” Pete says, directing the question at me even though Marcus is in the room. Pete has as much trouble talking to Marcus as I do.
“Marcus is not involved in this in any way,” I say. “The anonymous caller who told me Childs was in the river sounded quite sure, though.”
“But he didn’t say why Childs killed the Timmermans, or why he wanted to kill their dog?”
I shake my head. “No, he didn’t mention that.”
“Have you used your tremendous investigating skills to uncover the reason?”
“Not quite.”
He pauses a few moments to take this all in. “So your client is on trial for two murders, and not only do you know he’s innocent, but you know who actually did it.”
“Yes,” I say.
“And you can’t do shit about it.”
“Not yet.”
He shakes his head in amazement at my predicament. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I actually feel sorry for you.”
“That’s a great comfort.”
Laurie, Kevin, Pete, and I kick it around for another half an hour, accomplishing absolutely nothing. Pete’s cell phone rings, and he answers it. “Stanton.”
He listens for a while, says “thanks,” and disconnects the call.
“Two ounces of pure arsenic. If the dog had eaten that, he’d have been dead inside of a minute.”
“Hatchet better rule in our favor,” I say. “We cannot let this dog leave this house.” I look over at the dog in question, Waggy, who is chewing on a toy and doesn’t seem distressed by the goings-on.
But I sure as hell am.
IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG for my worry to prove justified. Even though it is Saturday, Hatchet issues a ruling on the court Web site directing me to turn Waggy over to Robinson immediately. Robinson is hereby named Waggy’s custodian, though the ruling is deemed temporary, and can be revisited at the conclusion of the Timmerman trial. Hatchet does not promise to reconsider his decision in the event Steven is acquitted; he merely retains the right to do so.
Hatchet also directs that Waggy be housed at Pam Potter’s training facility for the first month, to be evaluated as to his promise as a show dog. It seems to be a concession to me, but the ruling as a whole is a disaster.
Hatchet’s ruling also makes it clear that an appeal will be of no avail. He will not stay his ruling, which means that Waggy will be with Robinson while the appeal is considered. This won’t exactly be a high-priority case for an appeals court, and