might tell a recalcitrant toddler that he has to finish his string beans if he has any hope of getting dessert.
'I did,' said Jaywalker. 'Two weeks ago.'
'And? Are you certain you haven't received Mr. Firestone's reply?'
Not 'How about that, Mr. Firestone?' or 'Why haven't you given the defense even the bare minimum it's entitled to?' Instead, she was continuing to grill Jaywalker, as though he was the one who'd been dragging his feet. And when Jaywalker did nothing but smile at the absurdity of the judge's misplaced anger, her face reddened visibly.
'Well?' she demanded.
'To be truthful,' said Jaywalker in a matter-of-fact voice, without the least edge to it, 'the only reply I've received from Mr. Firestone is that for all he cares, I can go shit in my hat.'
There are quiet courtrooms, and there are quiet courtrooms. For a full ten seconds it was as though everyone assembled-and counting court officials, interested onlookers and the media, the number had to be well over a hundred-fully expected a bolt of lightning to pierce the vaulted ceiling and strike Jaywalker dead on the spot.
But nothing happened.
Except that Justice Hinkley rolled her eyes upward, almost imperceptibly. Had he not been looking directly at her, in fact, Jaywalker would never have noticed.
'Please come up,' she said.
Up at the bench, Jaywalker fully expected to be held in contempt. Not that it would be the first time, or the last. Still, even he would be forced to admit it was a bad start, even if all he'd done was to tell the truth.
'You're lucky,' said the judge. She kept her voice low and under control, so that those in the audience couldn't hear. But the result, whether intentional or inadvertent, was that her words came out more softly, and not merely in terms of decreased volume. 'I might not have believed you,' she continued, 'but over the years, I've become familiar with some of Mr. Firestone's, shall we say, more charming expressions.'
Jaywalker exhaled.
Judge Hinkley turned to the D.A. 'What's the problem here, Abe?'
'The problem,' said Firestone, barely able to disguise his anger, 'is that this son-of-a-bitch defendant murdered eight of our innocent kids and one adult, for good measure. The problem is that because of our goddamn bleeding-heart Court of Appeals, we no longer have a death penalty for the likes of him. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to convict him of nine counts of murder, and then you're going to give him… What's nine times twenty-five?'
'Two hundred and twenty-five,' said Jaywalker, having done the math himself some time ago.
'Two hundred and twenty-five years to life.'
'And the way you propose to do that,' said the judge, 'is to withhold discovery from the defense, so Mr. Jaywalker here, who they tell me is a pretty smart lawyer, can go to the Appellate Division and get all those convictions reversed?'
Firestone emitted what was either a grunt or the last remains of something he'd eaten for breakfast.
'Give him what he's entitled to,' said the judge. 'And do it today, okay?'
Grunt.
'Now,' she continued, 'are we going to need any pretrial hearings?'
'There were no statements made by the defendant,' said Firestone, 'and no physical evidence seized from him. But there was a lineup.'
This came as news to Jaywalker, something else Drake hadn't bothered to mention. 'People from the End Zone?' he asked the D.A.
'Do I have to tell him?' Firestone was looking at the judge for help.
'Abe.'
Grunt, grunt.
Evidently one was for yes, two for no.
'Abe.'
' No, I said. Not the End Zone witnesses. The eye witness, the guy in the pickup truck.' Then, turning to Jaywalker for the first time, he snarled, 'And you're not entitled to his name until trial.'
Which was technically true, but a curious battle to pick. The guy's name had been all over the newspapers. He'd been interviewed by Matt Lauer, for God's sake. Even now, Nicky Legs, Jaywalker's investigator, was out looking for him, in order to pin him down on his story.
'Positive ID?' the judge was asking Firestone.
'Absolutely.'
'So we'll have a Wade hearing,' said Hinkley. 'I've read the minutes of the grand jury testimony, and it was more than legally sufficient to sustain the indictment. And as far as your motion for a change of venue, Mr. Jaywalker, you can renew that during jury selection if you like. But off the record, we're trying this case right here in Rockland County, where it happened. We'll let a few weeks go by so everyone can calm down. When can you gentlemen be ready?'
'The People are ready for trial today,' boomed Firestone, loud enough to reach the far corners of the courtroom.
'No, you're not,' said the judge, motioning the lawyers to step back. 'Not until you've given the defense everything it's entitled to. Understood?'
Grunt.
'Anything else?'
'Yes,' said Jaywalker. 'I have an application.'
'If it's about a bail reduction,' said the judge, 'forget about it. This is a murder case, and bail is discretionary. If you ask me-'
Jaywalker raised a hand high enough to get her attention, but no more. That red hair scared him.
'— your client's lucky to have any bail.'
'It's not about bail,' said Jaywalker. Not anymore it wasn't, anyway. But there was still his second application.
'What is it, then?'
'My application is for what's commonly called a gag order. I'm sure the court and both sides want a fair trial, uninfluenced by any outside comments made or leaked by the parties.'
'Mr. Firestone?' said the judge. They were standing back from the bench now, and Abe had given way to Mr. Firestone.
'I take that personally!' he shouted. 'And I oppose it vigorously. The press has a right to report the facts, and the people of Rockland County and the world have a right to know the facts.'
Jaywalker had to hand it to the guy, getting all wound up over a gag order. Even if he had managed to exclude his county from the rest of the planet.
'Facts-' Jaywalker began, but this time it was the judge who raised a hand.
'Facts they may report,' she said, completing Jaywalker's sentence for him. 'I have no power over the press, or the people of the world you mentioned in your little speech, Mr. Firestone. But that speech is precisely the reason I'm going to grant Mr. Jaywalker's application. Effective immediately, neither side-and that includes any and all police agencies involved in the case-shall issue or permit the issuance of any statement, comment, remark or leaked material of any sort. Do I make myself clear?'
'Yes,' said Jaywalker.
'Yes,' muttered Firestone.
'Anything else?'
There was nothing else.
'The case is adjourned to September 5,' said Justice Hinkley, 'for hearing and trial. Nice meeting you, Mr. Jaywalker.'
'Nice meeting you, too, Your Honor.'
So Jaywalker left the courthouse that day with a trial date, three cartons of discovery material and a few new insights into how justice would operate in New City.
For starters, Abe Firestone, once you got to know him, was even worse than imagined. Despite Justice Hinkley's order, he still refused to meet with Jaywalker, instead delegating a low-level assistant to turn over the
