Jeremy shifted in his chair.
“Damn it, you told me you didn’t tell the cops anything.”
“I didn’t tell them nothing important. But they were saying I was on the subway that night. All I said was I wasn’t.”
“I told you not to say anything.”
“I didn’t say anything. They just said I was on the subway, and I said no, I wasn’t.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“And then they wanted to know where you were?”
“Yeah.”
“And you told ‘em you were at the movies?”
“Yeah.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“If you really were at the movies, nothing. If you weren’t, you just slit your throat.”
“I was at the movies.”
“What was the name again?”
“What?”
“The name of the movie.”
“
“What’s it about?”
“What do you care?”
“What do you think?”
“I told you. It’s a teen comedy.”
“About what?”
“It’s about this crazy chick and this guy who talks like Jack Nicholson go around killing people and making it look like suicide.”
Steve looked at him. “That’s a comedy?”
“Yeah. It was funny.”
“O.K., I’ll check it out. Now, here’s what we’re gonna do. First of all, I’m going to waive extradition and get you transferred to New York.”
“Why would you do that?”
“In the first place, the cops got enough on you to extradite you anyway.”
“Oh.”
“In the second place, it’s a pain in the ass to have to come all the way to Jersey every time I want to talk to you. I’m just telling you so when they move you, don’t be upset.
“Here’s another thing. They let you shave in here?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Next time they do, shave off the fucking hair.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I gotta sell you to a jury. It’s gonna be hard enough without dealing with that.”
Jeremy thrust out his jaw. “Hey man, this is America. I got a right to a fair trial. They got no right to judge me on how I look.”
“Right,” Steve said. “And if you believe that, I have this land in Florida.”
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, and it’s also true someone sometimes wins the lottery. But I wouldn’t wanna bet on that person being you.”
“That’s bullshit, man. I didn’t do it. No one’s gonna find me guilty ’cause of how I look. I ain’t cuttin’ my hair for that.”
Steve took a breath. “All right, how’s this? The prosecution’s gonna put someone on the witness stand and say, ‘And did you recognize the man you saw walking in the subway station with Jack Walsh?’ and the witness will say, Yes sir, it’s that kid right there with the green hair.’”
Jeremy thought that over. He frowned. “You may have a point.”
24
Mark Taylor was still on the phone when Steve Winslow pushed open the door. He covered the mouthpiece. “Sit down, Steve. I got stuff comin’ in now.” Into the phone he said, “Uh huh. Go on.” He listened for a minute, said, “O.K., keep on it,” and hung up.
“Glad you’re here, Steve, this thing is moving fast.”
“What you got?”
“The biggie is, it’s the kid’s gun.”
“The murder weapon?”
“No question about it. The bullets match.”
“Shit.”
“Well, it’s what you expected, right?”
“Yeah, but you can always hope. What else?”
“I understand you just waived extradition.”
“Right.”
“How come?”
“Frankly, I was tired of running over to Jersey.”
“Makes sense. Anyway, they’re putting together a grand jury, getting ready to indict Jeremy Dawson for murder.”
“Yesterday’s news, Mark. All of that’s just routine. You got anything fresh?”
“Well, word is Harry Dirkson’s gonna handle the case himself.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. And that’s opened up a bit of speculation.”
“Over what?”
“Is the D.A. getting involved personally just because the victim was a millionaire, or is it just because you happen to be attorney for the defense.”
“You’re trying to tell me Harry Dirkson doesn’t love me?”
“That’s putting it mildly. The word is he’s so pissed off about what happened in the Harding case, he can’t resist taking a shot at you in a case where he’s got your client dead to rights.”
“He doesn’t have my client dead to rights. He’s got circumstantial evidence. It’s bad, but it’s still just circumstantial.”
“Yeah, well he’s also got the eyewitness.”
“What eyewitness?”
“The one who saw Jeremy and Jack Walsh together in the subway station.”
“There really was such a witness?”
“Yeah, there was.”
“That’s not good.”
“Well, it’s not as bad as it could be. It turns out we were right about the witness bein’ a bum.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. That’s unofficial, by the way. The cops aren’t letting it out, but my man managed to get it. So that’s good news. The guy’s a wino. His identification’s not gonna be that strong. You should be able to rip him apart on
