When the hugs were over, Roulet turned to me and with hesitation shook my hand.
“I wasn’t wrong about you,” he said. “I knew you were the one.”
“I want the gun,” I said, deadpan, my face showing no joy in the victory just achieved.
“Of course you do.”
He turned back to his mother. I hesitated a moment and then turned back to the defense table. I opened my briefcase to return all the files to it.
“Michael?”
I turned and it was Dobbs reaching a hand across the railing. I shook it and nodded.
“You did good,” Dobbs said, as if I needed to hear it from him. “We all appreciate it greatly.”
“Thanks for the shot. I know you were shaky about me at the start.”
I was courteous enough not to mention Windsor ’s outburst in the hallway and what she had said about him backstabbing me.
“Only because I didn’t know you,” Dobbs said. “Now I do. Now I know who to recommend to my clients.”
“Thank you. But I hope your kind of clients never need me.”
He laughed.
“Me, too!”
Then it was Mary Windsor’s turn. She extended her hand across the bar.
“Mr. Haller, thank you for my son.”
“You’re welcome,” I said flatly. “Take care of him.”
“I always do.”
I nodded.
“Why don’t you all go out to the hallway and I’ll be out in a minute. I have to finish up some things here with the clerk and Mr. Minton.”
I turned back to the table. I then went around it and approached the clerk.
“How long before I can get a signed copy of the judge’s order?”
“We’ll enter it this afternoon. We can send you a copy if you don’t want to come back.”
“That would be great. Could you also fax one?”
She said she would and I gave her the number to the fax in Lorna Taylor’s condominium. I wasn’t sure yet how it could be used but I had to believe that an order to dismiss could somehow help me get a client or two.
When I turned back to get my briefcase and leave I noticed that Detective Sobel had left the courtroom. Only Minton remained. He was standing and gathering his things.
“Sorry I never got the chance to see your PowerPoint thing,” I said.
He nodded.
“Yeah, it was pretty good. I think it would have won them over.”
I nodded.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. See if I can ride this out and somehow hold on to my job.”
He put his files under his arm. He had no briefcase. He only had to go down to the second floor. He turned and gave me a hard stare.
“The only thing I know is that I don’t want to cross the aisle. I don’t want to become like you, Haller. I think I like sleeping at night too much for that.”
With that he headed through the gate and strode out of the courtroom. I glanced over at the clerk to see if she had heard what he had said. She acted like she hadn’t.
I took my time following Minton out. I picked up my briefcase and turned backwards as I pushed through the gate. I looked at the judge’s empty bench and the state seal on the front panel. I nodded at nothing in particular and then walked out.
FORTY-FOUR
Roulet and his entourage were waiting for me in the hallway. I looked both ways and saw Sobel down by the elevators. She was on her cell phone and it seemed as though she was waiting for an elevator but it didn’t look like the down button was lit.
“Michael, can you join us for lunch?” Dobbs said upon seeing me. “We are going to celebrate!”
I noticed that he was now calling me by my given name. Victory made everybody friendly.
“Uh…,” I said, still looking down at Sobel. “I don’t think I can make it.”
“Why not? You obviously don’t have court in the afternoon.”
I finally looked at Dobbs. I felt like saying that I couldn’t have lunch because I never wanted to see him or Mary Windsor or Louis Roulet again.
“I think I’m going to stick around and talk to the jurors when they come back at one.”
“Why?” Roulet asked.
“Because it will help me to know what they were thinking and where we stood.”
Dobbs gave me a clap on the upper arm.
“Always learning, always getting better for the next one. I don’t blame you.”
He looked delighted that I would not be joining them. And for good reason. He probably wanted me out of the way now so he could work on repairing his relationship with Mary Windsor. He wanted that franchise account just to himself again.
I heard the muted bong of the elevator and looked back down the hall. Sobel was standing in front of the opening elevator. She was leaving.
But then Lankford, Kurlen and Booker stepped out of the elevator and joined Sobel. They turned and started walking toward us.
“Then we’ll leave you to it,” Dobbs said, his back to the approaching detectives. “We have a reservation at Orso and I’m afraid we’re already going to be late getting back over the hill.”
“Okay,” I said, still looking down the hall.
Dobbs, Windsor and Roulet turned to walk away just as the four detectives got to us.
“Louis Roulet,” Kurlen announced. “You are under arrest. Turn around, please, and place your hands behind your back.”
“No!” Mary Windsor shrieked. “You can’t -”
“What is this?” Dobbs cried out.
Kurlen didn’t answer or wait for Roulet to comply. He stepped forward and roughly turned Roulet around. As he made the forced turn, Roulet’s eyes came to mine.
“What’s going on, Mick?” he said in a calm voice. “This shouldn’t be happening.”
Mary Windsor moved toward her son.
“Take your hands off of my son!”
She grabbed Kurlen from behind but Booker and Lankford quickly moved in and detached her, handling her gently but strongly.
“Ma’am, step back,” Booker commanded. “Or I will put you in jail.”
Kurlen started giving Roulet the Miranda warning. Windsor stayed back but was not silent.
“How dare you? You cannot do this!”
Her body moved in place and she looked as though unseen hands were keeping her from charging at Kurlen again.
“Mother,” Roulet said in a tone that carried more weight and control than any of the detectives.
Windsor ’s body relented. She gave up. But Dobbs didn’t.
“You’re arresting him for what?” he demanded.
“Suspicion of murder,” Kurlen said. “The murder of Martha Renteria.”
