“Whatcha doing out here all by yourself so early? The big to-do won’t start until noon.”
“I’ll be gone then, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, now that’s a shame. They work you too hard in that lab.”
“Actually, I’m on leave and about to go out of town.” He added the lie he’d told Larson. “There’s been a death in my family — an aunt of mine.”
“I’m so sorry!”
Her look of genuine sympathy touched him. “Thank you. It’s made life rather chaotic, I’m afraid. Are you on your morning break?”
“Yes, just on my way to that coffee place across the way. I’m gonna get me a real cup of coffee. You ever drink the awful stuff they serve in the courthouse?”
“No,” he said, horrified.
She laughed.
“Will you be watching the ceremony, Denise?”
“No, you and me, we’ll be the only ones to miss it. I’ll be working.”
“Where?” he asked sharply.
She laughed. “Where? Where do I always work? Somebody has to guard the entrance to the old building — even on a day like today.”
He relaxed and smiled. “Maybe that won’t be such a bad place to be after all.”
She shaded her eyes and looked up at the cloudless sky. “Yes, you may be right. Maybe I’ll make that an iced coffee. You take care, Dr. Haycroft.”
He watched her enter the coffee shop, then stood up and, making sure he did not touch any part of the bag that had touched the bench, threw the bag away. He felt uneasy. He would have preferred not to have been seen here by anyone he knew, but there was no reason to panic. Still, he should be more careful.
He could go back to the van for a time, listen to the radio — any moment now he should be able to hear the reports of the death of Detective Frank Harriman of the Las Piernas Police Department. He looked at his watch and released a breath he did not even realize he had been holding. He had time.
He had a little moment of mistrust in himself. Had he done everything properly? Did he follow Wendell Leroy Wallace’s instructions as he should have?
Of course he had! Was anyone more conscientious than he was? No. The device would go off at the appointed hour. There was nothing to worry about. The great day was here. Kerr, that most unjust of judges, would be gone, as would his monument to his own ego!
Although he was eager to hear about the results of his work at Harriman’s home, he wasn’t sure he could pull himself away from looking at the new courthouse annex. After all, Harriman was undoubtedly already dead. Haycroft could stay here and watch the destruction of the courthouse — see the grand results for himself — all the while knowing that Kerr would be entombed in its rubble.
He debated over this for some time, but decided he would make one last trip to the van now, so that he could satisfy his curiosity about the outcry that would be attached to Harriman’s death. If he waited much longer to do so, he might not ever hear about Harriman, because that rather minor news item would be bumped right off the air by the courthouse debacle.
He must hurry. The first of the little events he had planned for the courthouse was not far away.
47
Friday, July 14, 10:50 A.M.
Las Piernas County Courthouse
“Ms. Kelly and Mr. Lefebvre,” the guard said, smiling at Seth as they passed through the metal detectors. She handed Irene’s purse back to her as it came through the X-ray machine, then gave them each a visitor’s tag. “If you’ll have a seat right over there, Judge Kerr’s clerk will be down in just a moment to escort you up to his office.”
“Thank you,” Seth said.
As they took their seats, Irene thought Seth seemed restless.
“Would you like me to call Jack?” she asked. “You don’t have to be here with me, you know.”
“No, I have to see the judge.”
She raised her brows. “You do?”
“Yes. About a please bargain.”
“A please bargain?” she asked in a strained voice.
“You know, you ask, ‘Pretty please, Judge, will you let me go?’ and you do something nice for him, and it’s a bargain.”
She looked away for just a moment, then said, “Do you think maybe you mean a plea bargain?”
He shrugged.
“Is this about your mom?”
“Yes. I don’t want her to go to jail.”
Irene put an arm around his shoulders. “You know, Seth, she may not be in any trouble at all. And she has a good lawyer — he’s a friend of mine. He’s kept me out of jail a couple of times.”
