Thompson." A prisoner raised his hand. She read out the charges and the penalties he faced. Ian Thompson had apparently burglarized three houses in the swanky Roland Park neighborhood. A young Hispanic man with his arm in a sling, he showed no interest in his fate and appeared bored by the whole process.
As she told him he was entitled to a preliminary hearing and a jury trial, Steve waited eagerly to see if he would get bail.
The pretrial investigator stood up. Speaking very fast, he said that Thompson had lived at his address for one year and had a wife and a baby, but no job. He also had a heroin habit and a criminal record. Steve would not have released such a man onto the streets.
However, the judge set his bail at twenty-five thousand dollars. Steve felt encouraged. He knew that the accused normally had to put up only 10 percent of the bail in cash, so Thompson would be free if he could find twenty-five hundred dollars. That seemed lenient.
One of the girls was next. She had been in a fight with another girl and was charged with assault. The pretrial investigator told the judge that she lived with her parents and worked at the checkout of a nearby supermarket. She was obviously a good risk, and the judge gave her bail in her own recognizance, which meant she did not have to put up any money at all.
That was another soft decision, and Steve's spirits rose a notch.
The defendant was also ordered not to go to the address of the girl she had fought with. That reminded Steve that a judge could attach conditions to the bail. Perhaps he should volunteer to stay away from Lisa Hoxton. He had no idea where she lived or what she looked like, but he was ready to say anything that might help get him out of jail.
The next defendant was a middle-aged white man who had exposed his penis to women shoppers in the feminine hygiene section of a Rite-Aid drugstore. He had a long record of similar offenses. He lived alone but had been at the same address for five years. To Steve's surprise and dismay, the judge refused bail. The man was small and thin; Steve felt he was a harmless nutcase. But perhaps this judge, as a woman, was particularly tough on sex crimes.
She looked at her sheet and said: "Steven Charles Logan."
Steve raised his hand. Please let me out of here, please.
"You are charged with rape in the first degree, which carries a possible penalty of life imprisonment."
Behind him, Steve heard his mother gasp.
The judge went on to read out the other charges and penalties, then the pretrial investigator stood up. He recited Steve's age, address, and occupation, and said that he had no criminal record and no addictions. Steve thought he sounded like a model citizen by comparison with most of the other defendants. Surely she had to take note of that?
When Purdy had finished, Steve said: "May I speak, Your Honor?"
"Yes, but remember that it may not be in your interest to tell me anything about the crime."
He stood up. "I'm innocent, Your Honor, but it seems I may bear a resemblance to the rapist, so if you grant me bail I'll promise not to approach the victim, if you want to make that a condition of bail."
"I certainly would."
He wanted to plead with her for his freedom, but all the eloquent speeches he had composed in his cell now vanished from his mind, and he could think of nothing to say. Feeling frustrated, he sat down.
Behind him, his father stood up. "Your Honor, I'm Steven's father, Colonel Charles Logan. I'd be glad to answer any questions you may want to ask me."
She gave him a frosty look. "That won't be necessary."
Steve wondered why she seemed to resent his father's intervention. Maybe she was just making it clear she was not impressed by his military rank. Perhaps she wanted to say, "Everyone is equal in my court, regardless of how respectable and middle-class they might be."
Dad sat down again.
The judge looked at Steve. "Mr. Logan, was the woman known to you before the alleged crime took place?"
"I've never met her," Steve said.
"Had you ever seen her before?"
Steve guessed she was wondering whether he had been stalking Lisa Hoxton for some time before attacking her. He replied: "I can't tell, I don't know what she looks like."