She opened her eyes, pooled with tears, and saw the wheelchair. She immediately hugged its aging occupant, tightly, attempting to suppress the sobs. “It’s okay,” Dana said. “It’s my mom, Lee. She died. In front of my eyes. I have this scar . . .”
“Want to talk about it a bit?”
“Lee,” she managed to get out. “It was an old accident. Almost twenty years ago. My mother died and I remember it every day I look in the mirror. I remember every time that those, those prosecutors call me scarface.”
Lee pressed her further, and she talked about how her father reacted, which was equally tragic for her. “He really adored her and could not cope with the stress of losing my mom that way. He was an executive in a large software company, brilliant, but he stopped showing up for work. When he came to work, he was usually drunk. They gave him a nice severance package and sent him on his way. Alcohol led to drugs, and drugs led to heroin. He hangs around the back alleys in Gastown these days.”
“Do you ever see him?”
“I try to go down on Sundays and get some nourishment into him. But it’s scary down there. And Dad, well, he’s just basically lost his mind. He’s changed. He used to be kind, charitable, loving. The absence of money, and I guess the absence of love, has turned him into a different person. He lives a harsh and brutal life on the street. In times of stress those memories come back, and I can’t control it, Lee. I just can’t. Especially now. You know what Lestage did for a living. It’s so tough, Lee.”
They talked for a bit, and the hideous memory faded. She then realized that Penn-Garrett was inside her cell.
“What, did the old goat throw you in here, too?”
Lee Penn-Garrett shook his head and laughed. “The sheriff in charge of the lockup knows me well. We all know this is a travesty. He let me in here.” He saw her red and swollen eyes. “Hey, young lady, this’ll work out. You are going to win this trial, even though that stinker Mordecai is picking on you a bit.”
“A bit? He’s making my life a living hell. If there was any way I could get out of the trial I would, and go to med school. This trial is wrecking me.”
“Now, now, Dana. I’m here to help you. Don’t disparage the whole profession. There are a few good judges and a few good lawyers around, although I’ve got to admit that they seem to be a minority.”
“Fine, Lee. How can you help me?”
“That ruling was so far off the wall that it’s appealable.”
“Yes, but how does that help me now?”
“I have some connections, still. I have already filed the appeal and prepared an affidavit. I need that document that you were dealing with when Mordecai shut you down.”
Dana fluttered through her papers and pulled it out. “Here it is.”
“Good, Dana. We’ll call this Exhibit B. Now read the thing, and if you swear to the truth of it, I’ve got what I need.”
Dana read through the document Lee had compiled. It set out the history of the case, what had occurred thus far, and attached a transcript detailing everything that occurred in Courtroom 401 the day before.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing Lee?” Dana asked cautiously. “I mean, I don’t want to offend you, but the judge has been screaming at me all day, the prosecutors are carving me up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and look at me. I’m in jail.”
“Well, young lady, a lot of people think I’ve gone senile. But I haven’t. You’re not watching the jury. I am. They are totally with you. And once we win this appeal, which is a slam dunk, you can ask those questions about missing documents, and you will destroy their case that way.”
“How can you get us in front of the Court of Appeal so quickly?”
“You know, Dana, as soon as they see the wheelchair they think my brain has turned to slop. But I maintain a little office near the courthouse. I’ve done this for at least fifty years, and I can do it fast. I had to call in some favors from the court reporter to get the transcript. Not that many favors, actually. They are all cheering for you. Now swear this affidavit. You have to trust me.”
“Yes,” said Dana, also identifying the two exhibits for him. “Okay, the trial starts at 10, and so does the Court of Appeal. How does that work? And what will Judge Mordecai do? He’s likely to send you down to the cells, too.”
“No, no,” said Penn-Garrett, smiling. “You are going to have a blast in court tomorrow. Good luck, kid,” he said, taking the sworn affidavit with him. “Tomorrow will be a regular three-ring circus. You watch. Now I have a surprise for you.” He turned and nodded to one of the sheriffs. A few seconds later, a metal door clanged and a throaty whuff echoed through the concrete hallway. With one bounce, Bam-Bam launched himself through the open cell door and pinned Dana against the wall with his massive paws. Chris was two steps behind.
30
Richard looked in dismay at the armada of police, Coast Guard, and military vessels that were arrayed between KDDE and the open sea.
“How are we possibly going to navigate through that? I don’t care how fast you say the Allegro Star is, she’s not going to outrun a BrahMos or Harpoon missile.”
“They won’t see us,” said Kumar.
“Fat chance,” said Richard. I see that she rides pretty low in the water, and that might help if maybe one ship was looking for us, but damn it, Kumar, the entire Pakistani Navy is sitting out there. There are choppers in the air. And it’s a narrow harbor. It’s solid decks from one shore to the other.”
“Guys, get in
