for now. The judges heard what Payton said. Payton saved you, Rennell, just like he wanted to.'
Rennell's eyes widened. With painful slowness, he struggled to comprehend. In a tentative voice, he asked, 'You mean I can leave here?'
Heartsick, Terri shook her head. 'Not yet. What it means is that you should take care of yourself, do what Payton asked.' She took his hand, speaking softly. 'The important thing is that no one's going to take you from here on Friday. You're safe from that, okay?'
The first light seemed to seep through his depression and with it, Terri hoped, renewed appreciation of the chance to live. 'What they gonna do to me?'
'Keep you here, for now.' Terri forced herself to sound confident. 'I'm going to see another judge, tomorrow morning. I'll do my best to make him understand who you really are.'
FIVE
GARDNER BOND SAT AT THE HEAD OF HIS CONFERENCE TABLE, for once in shirtsleeves, as though prepared to grapple with a distasteful task. On one side of him, Terri and Carlo sat, facing Larry Pell and Janice Terrell on the other. 'The Ninth Circuit has permitted you to file,' he told Terri. 'But how we resolve your petition remains a matter for this Court.
'You've moved for discovery, and to be allowed to present evidence at a hearing with live witnesses. Let's talk about discovery first. Tell me what you want.'
'To be able to put the circumstances of Rennell Price's life, and of his conviction, before this Court.' Terri nodded toward Pell. 'In terms of documents, we request the D.A.'s files regarding Eddie Fleet—'
'That's fine,' Bond said in a clipped manner. 'Who do you wish to depose?'
'The players in Rennell's conviction.' Terri ticked them off on her fingers. 'Charles Monk, Lou Mauriani, Dr. Elizabeth Shelton, and—critically—Eddie Fleet.'
Bond turned to Pell. 'Mr. Pell?'
'We'll scrape up whatever we have on Eddie Fleet. But there's no automatic right to any depositions, and no need to depose Monk, Mauriani, or Shelton. As for Fleet, he's beyond our control . . .'
'Not quite,' Terri snapped. 'You told him about Payton's accusation, which prevented me from talking to him any further. That's a de facto cover-up, with you protecting Fleet at Rennell's expense.'
'That's nonsense,' Pell told Bond briskly. 'Payton Price made certain accusations. On behalf of the State, I was required to ask Fleet if they were true. He denied them. Whether he kept talking to Ms. Paget was wholly up to him.' Turning to Terri, he added, 'You have the transcript of Fleet's original testimony. That should be enough.'
'For what?' Terri said to Bond. 'Fleet's the only key witness against Rennell who's still alive. We're convinced that he's the murderer, which also makes him a flight risk. There's no way to resolve this petition fairly without his testimony.'
Bond considered her and also, Terri guessed, the publicity which would ensue if he were perceived to shelter a man guilty of Thuy Sen's murder. 'I'll give you Fleet,' he said curtly. 'As to the others, your motion for discovery is denied—this proceeding is supposed to be fair, not endless.
'This is beginning to sound like a second trial. Instead of a proceeding to determine whether Mr. Price deserves a second trial.'
'We agree,' Pell put in hastily. 'The original prosecution team knows nothing about guilt or innocence beyond what Inspector Monk and Dr. Shelton testified to at trial. Nor does Mr. James, who can testify by affidavit.' Briefly, Pell glanced at a note passed to him by Janice Terrell. 'That leaves Mr. Fleet. Where the Court has already ordered his deposition, there's no need to call him live . . .'
'No live witnesses?' Carlo whispered in Terri's ear. 'What kind of kangaroo court would that be?'
'Your Honor,' she protested, 'the Attorney General is trying to reduce any hearing to an argument between lawyers over fifteen-year-old evidence, rather than the live testimony of witnesses regarding new evidence—'
'Which comes down,' Bond admonished, 'to the deposition of Payton Price, already granted you by order of this Court. With respect to the man he accuses, Eddie Fleet, I'll reserve my ruling until after you depose him.'
Terri felt a rising desperation. 'As to that, Your Honor, we continue to search for evidence that Mr. Fleet—in addition to being physically abusive—has a sexual interest in children. Which would suggest that he, not Rennell, was involved in the murder of Thuy Sen—'
'Do you have any such witness?'
'Not at this time—'
'Then that's all speculation, isn't it?' Examining his cuff links, Bond asked, 'Do you have anything to offer which is real?'
'Yes, Your Honor. The testimony of three of the jurors who sentenced Rennell Price to death. They would not have voted for the death sentence if Payton had testified against Eddie Fleet—'
'Based on what?' Pell interjected with what seemed to be genuine scorn. 'We can't replicate the trial, or assess the state of mind of jurors who—fifteen years later—may be moved by a murderer's imminent death to forget why he deserves it.'
'Go no further,' Bond cut in. 'Their testimony is inadmissible, and Ms. Paget knows it. Or should.'
With great effort, Terri maintained her surface equanimity. 'Your Honor,' she said in a respectful tone, 'the question is whether, on the evidence we now have, a reasonable juror would have voted to convict—'
'Which determination,' Bond interrupted, 'will be made by this Court. We've told you what evidence we'll hear on the matter of guilt or innocence. Give us your wish list with respect to presenting the state of Mr. Price's mental functioning.'
To her side, Terri saw Carlo staring at the table in an effort to conceal his frustration. Across the table, Janice Terrell watched him, the first hint of a smile surfacing in her cornflower blue eyes. But Terri spoke as though Bond's
