Trial Junkies

Hutch stared at him. 'This interview is over.'

Meyer stared right back for a moment, then smiled again and reached to the table for the recorder. He flicked it off. 'You want to know what I think, Ethan? I think you're up to your neck in poisonous pussy and you don't even realize it.'

Hutch felt the tension in his chest deepen.

'I think that girl has sucked your little wee-wee so dry it's got you all messed up in the head. So messed up that you were willing to make a phone call to one of your douche-bag friends out there in Lala Land and promise him a nice bundle of that movie star money you've got languishing in the bank. All he had to do was hop a plane to Sedona and handle a job for you.'

'Go to hell,' Hutch said.

'Oh, I'm not the one going hell, my friend. You and your little fuck bitch already have that particular piece of real estate reserved, with a nice view of the fiery pit. And I will send you there. That's a promise.'

It took every bit of Hutch's self-control not to put a fist in Meyer's face. But he wouldn't allow himself to be baited. Not by this idiot.

Instead he smiled and said in a tight, even voice, 'You have a nice day now.'

Then he stood up and walked out the door.

— 50 -

'What the hell happened?' Andy said. 'I dropped you off almost an hour ago.'

He, Matt and Gus were waiting for Hutch in the hallway outside the courtroom. The doors were still closed and the crowd wasn't happy about it. There seemed to be more people here than ever, no doubt drawn by the recent turn of events in Arizona.

Hutch kept his head down as he approached his friends, hoping none of the reporters in the crowd would pay any attention to him. Up until now he'd felt fairly safe in the courthouse, but that would change if anyone leaked that he'd been questioned by the police. And he wouldn't put it past Meyer to do just that.

Ronnie, Waverly and Abernathy were now in Judge O'Donnell's chambers, trying to decide how Danny Tillman's death-and the publicity surrounding it-might affect the proceedings. Waverly would likely ask for a mistrial, claiming that the jury would be swayed by the news coverage, but Hutch doubted her request would be granted. The judge would remind her that the jury had been instructed several times to stay away from the news, and that would be that. The trial would continue.

'Well?' Andy said.

'I'll fill you in on all the gory details at lunch,' Hutch told him, then looked around. 'No Tom and Monica today?'

Matt shook his head. 'Tom's gotta do some prep work for the upcoming semester and Monica's website crashed. She's been up all night with her tech crew trying to get it back online.'

Andy smirked. 'Can't have all those ladies sitting around bare-assed with nothing to do.'

'What about Langer?' Hutch asked. 'You seen him this morning?'

'No sign of him,' Andy said. 'I'd check the men's room, but if he's in there, I don't want to interrupt his morning session.'

Gus glanced at his watch. 'Not like that boy to be late. He's usually the first one in line.'

Hutch wondered now if Langer had recognized him in that alleyway. It would explain the absence. He said to Gus, 'Did Matt and Andy clue you in on what happened last night?'

'They told me that you and Ronnie followed our boy on the train. Found him stalking some poor girl in a restaurant.'

'They tell you about the other women?'

'They did indeed. And if Matt's right, we've got a very serious situation on our hands. We need to take it to the police. If you want, I could talk to the boys downstairs, maybe even get the judge involved.'

'Not until we've got something solid.'

Hutch thought about those two cops staring at him from across the table. They didn't seem all that interested in solid evidence.

He looked down the hallway and saw Nathaniel Keating huddled with his two bodyguards. Keating caught Hutch's gaze and smiled, ever so slightly, as if he knew exactly what Hutch had just been through.

Hell, he was probably the one egging the cops on.

Gus said, 'Matt tells me you lost Langer somewhere in the Fulton River District. What do you bet he's squatting in one of the old meatpacker's warehouses out there?'

'Makes sense when you look at all his credit card purchases,' Matt said. 'A lot of them originated nearby.'

Gus nodded. 'If he doesn't show up in court, maybe we can go down there tonight, start poking around. Who knows, we might get lucky.'

'Or we might get dead,' Andy told him. 'Guy's a fuckin' psycho.'

Hutch thought about Langer's switchblade pressed against his throat and certainly didn't disagree.

As Hutch had predicted, the judge denied the motion for a mistrial and court was in session by ten-thirty that morning.

At Waverly's request, the jury was polled to make sure none of them had watched the news or read the papers. As they all swore under oath that they hadn't, Hutch looked each one of them in eye, trying to determine who was-and wasn't-telling the truth.

Unlike Detective Meyer, however, he didn't have a built-in lie detector. And his faith in humanity had not quite reached the level of Judge O'Donnell's. To Hutch's mind, there was a subtle but unmistakable current of electricity running through that jury box, and he suspected that one or more of them had heard the news about Ronnie's ex- husband.

An easel, sporting a blank piece of art board, stood near the podium, angled for maximum visibility. Apparently the ADA was planning a little show and tell.

Abernathy's first witness was Raymond Hardwick, who was sworn in and introduced to the court as the owner-operator of The Canine Cuttery.

Hardwick looked about forty-five and was slightly overweight, but was groomed to the point of fastidiousness. His thick eyebrows-easily his most animated feature-were neatly tweezed and sculpted into perfect, symmetrical arches. He wore a crisp green shirt, a leather jacket and black stovepipe jeans that somehow worked despite his bulk, and he spoke with a faint British accent that was about as real as the tan he sported.

Hutch knew that Ronnie didn't think much of the man, but on first impression, he didn't strike Hutch as a guy with an axe to grind.

'Mr. Hardwick,' Abernathy said from the podium, 'how long have you owned The Canine Cuttery?'

Hardwick took a moment to respond. 'I believe it's been… let me think now… close to fourteen years. But I worked there for nearly a decade before the previous owner died.'

'So then it's safe to say that you're an expert in the art of pet grooming?'

Hardwick laughed. 'I prefer the term stylist. But, yes, I'm a graduate of the Manhattan Academy.'

Hutch heard a few snickers behind him in the gallery, but Hardwick didn't seem to notice.

Abernathy said, 'Can you tell us what's typically involved in… styling a dog?'

'I'm not sure there's such a thing as typical when it comes to my profession. The Cuttery is a high-end establishment and we take special care of our clients.'

'Just give us a general description of what's involved.'

'Well, it all depends on the client, of course. His or her size, temperament and needs. But the stylist will usually give the client a shampoo and cut and, if necessary, trim the nails, clean the ears.'

'And what type of tools are normally used?'

'Well, there are shedding and dematting rakes, brushes and combs, and hair cutting tools, of course-electric