on Corbin’s left hand clawed into his palm. They sat in silence.
“I told you before, I’m not going to implicate you,” Beckett finally said. “If we get to a point where the only way to save him is for me to confess, I will confess. . but I’ll tell them I worked alone.”
“And you don’t think they’re going to zero right in on me?”
“No, I don’t. But if you think that’s going to happen, then you need to help me save Beaumont or you need to leave right now.”
“I’m going to help, that’s why I’m here,” Corbin said. “But if you decide you’re going to confess, I need a day’s notice to get the hell out of here before you do it.”
Beckett agreed.
Corbin paced back and forth in his hotel room. He was still angry from his earlier argument with Beckett. He’d debated if he was even in the right frame of mind to call Alvarez, but ultimately made the call, though he knew he shouldn’t have. The conversation wasn’t going well.
“Tell me again why you’re investigating his old crimes?” Alvarez asked. He kept peppering Corbin with questions Corbin didn’t feel like answering.
“Because the judge won’t tell us how far he’ll let the prosecutors go in terms of using evidence of his prior crimes,” Corbin said crankily. “We need to assume they’re going to bring in everything he’s done, and we need to be ready to poke holes in all of it.”
“But I thought you couldn’t talk about prior crimes? That what everybody says.”
“You can in some circumstances,” Corbin lectured Alvarez. “If you’re proving a pattern of behavior or if you need to use the prior conduct to show something like opportunity — like access to a weapon, then you can bring it in. That’s why they included the weapons charge. They want to use it as a wedge to bring in his prior arrests.”
“How?”
“Because he was caught with a gun each time, but he denies every owning a gun. So either he pleads guilty to the weapons charge or they bring in all the evidence related to his prior arrests.”
“Wow, that sucks.”
“Yeah. The judge will instruct the jury that they can’t consider his prior arrests as proof of guilt for the current charges, but there’s no way a jury can separate that out.”
“Is he going to plead guilty to the weapons charge?”
“No, he won’t plead to anything, no matter how much it might help him. He’s playing an all or nothing game.”
Alvarez changed the topic. “You said, Beckett thinks he’s innocent?”
“Of some of it.”
“Does that change your thinking?” Alvarez sounded like he wanted assurance.
“No. I’m not doing seventy-five years for anyone. Besides, even if he didn’t commit the murders, he did most of what they’re accusing him of doing. The cops don’t just pick you out of a crowd to make you a target; you earn that kind of trouble. Don’t forget, he’s guilty of stealing this information from the mailboxes and using it to steal money. He’s not innocent.”
“What if-”
“I’ll tell you something else,” Corbin said, cutting Alvarez off. “He could have taken the two-year offer and he wouldn’t be facing any of this! So fuck him!”
“Beckett won’t change his mind about turning himself in?”
“No, he’s more convinced than ever.”
“Can we still afford to wait?”
“For now. He agreed to give me one day’s notice. That gives us time to act,” Corbin said, though his tone was less than convincing.
“I don’t believe him. He’s too erratic. There’s nothing to keep him from confessing without telling you.”
“What do you want me to do about it?!”
“You know what I want,” Alvarez said cautiously.
A tense silence passed between them.
Alvarez continued: “You’re going to some dangerous places to interview witnesses. There’s no reason something couldn’t happen to him as you’re walking up the stairs in one of those damn tenements.” He paused. “You know what the cops would think.” He paused again. “Then we’re free, the ordeal’s over. No one could blame you if you dropped the case. Or hell, just get him convicted. Either way, we’d be clear.”
Corbin looked toward the suitcase in which his gun was hidden. He hadn’t touched the gun since arriving in Philadelphia, though he stared at the suitcase every night. “We can wait.” He hung up the phone before Alvarez could respond. He pulled up Penny’s number on his cell phone, but hesitated before hitting dial. Slowly, he closed the phone without making the call. “Not tonight.”
Chapter 31
Paul Webb sat on a wooden bench outside the courtroom. He was here to handle a series of traffic violations. As he looked over his notes, Hillary Morales walked up to him. Webb didn’t like Morales as she was rarely pleasant with him. She was particularly unlikable today.
“Officer Webb,” she said abruptly.
“Assistant District Attorney,” Webb acknowledged her.
“I understand you met with Washington Beaumont’s attorneys.” She set the file she was holding down on the bench next to Webb and positioned herself so he couldn’t stand up without bumping into her.
“Did I?”
“Yes, you did,” she responded humorlessly.
Webb shook his head. “I don’t know who told you that? I haven’t met with anyone.”
“You forget, I’m the one who told you about the request for a meeting, and I personally gave you Beckett’s cell phone number.” She left no doubt this was an accusation.
“I am aware of that, but I never called him,” Webb lied.
“You never contacted him?” She frowned and folded her arms. She looked down and began kicking the heel of her boot against the tile floor, causing a sharp noise to echo throughout the already-noisy hallway. She waited for him to respond.
Webb looked around to see who could hear them. The hallway was full of attorneys engaged in their own conversations. He looked Morales straight in the eyes and spoke loudly enough for everyone in the hallway to hear: “You told me I had no obligation to meet with the defense attorney. You made it clear I was not to call him and tell him what I witnessed.”
It is unethical for attorneys to discourage witnesses from talking to opposing counsel. When Webb spoke, several of the attorneys gathered in the hallway looked his way.
Morales’ face burned bright red. “I did no such thing,” she hissed. She leaned in close to him, grabbing the back of the bench for support. “I’m telling you, Webb, I want to know what he told you and what you told him, or there’s going to be hell to pay. Do you understand me?!”
“I told you, I never met with him.”
“I don’t believe you,” she spat out menacingly.
He let out a half-laugh. “I don’t care. I never met with any of ’em.”
“Then why did Russell tell me you did?”
“I wouldn’t know. Ask Russell.”
“Don’t play games with me, Webb! If you’re holding out on me-”
Webb rose from the bench, causing Morales to step backward awkwardly. “Lady, playing games with you is the last thing I want to do. I can’t even stand talking to you.” As he walked away, down the hallway toward the courtroom, he called back over his shoulder: “You tell Russell, if he has a problem with me, he should come after me himself. Don’t send his fuckin’ lawyer.”
Corbin stood in the doorway of Beckett’s office. Beckett was on the phone, but was on hold.
“Did you call Saitoo?” Corbin asked.
