Trial Junkies

Nadine hugged herself as if the room had suddenly gone cold. 'My God… If that's true, then it could've been anyone in that casket. One of us.'

'It was one of us,' Hutch said.

'You know what I mean.'

Tom Brandt, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up. 'I know you're all hoping for a tidy end to this saga, but if you look at the stats, the Chicago PD only clears about thirty-five percent of its homicide cases in a given year. So the prognosis is fairly bleak.'

Tom had been something of a pretty boy in College, but was now a slightly rotund man with very little hair and pasty, indoor skin. He had always, however, been a pessimist, and Hutch refused to allow that pessimism to get to him.

'No,' Hutch said. 'That's unacceptable. They'll catch this son of a bitch, and the minute he goes on trial, I'll be sitting there in the front row.'

'So will I,' Ronnie said.

Several of the others nodded their heads solemnly as the waitress approached with a tray full of drinks and started passing them around.

Then glasses were raised and Nadine said, 'To Mama J.'

It was a nickname Hutch had forgotten about. Given to Jenny because of her striking resemblance to a young Michelle Phillips, one of the members of an old sixties rock group, The Mamas amp; the Papas-a favorite of Nadine's father.

'To Mama J,' everyone repeated, then clinked their glasses and drank their drinks.

— 8 -

Over the course of the next couple hours the drinks kept coming and the conversation flowed, moving on to other, less painful topics-memories, new careers, relationships, travel, sports-several of the conversations branching off as they often do.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Andy showed up carrying a thumb drive, trembling slightly as he handed it to Hutch, saying, 'Just give it an honest read. That's all I ask.'

Hutch had never seen him so vulnerable. Felt as if he may be catching a glimpse of the real Andy McKenna.

'You took your sweet time getting back here,' Matt told him. 'You might've missed your golden opportunity.'

'I decided it needed a few tweaks. Couple clarifications in the second act. The killer's motive seemed a little murky, so I figured I'd-'

'No spoilers,' Hutch said. He wanted to smile, but resisted. 'I like to read a script fresh.'

Andy nodded. 'Totally get that, man. I feel the same way.' But he stayed on his feet as if he expected Hutch to somehow pop the thumb drive into an invisible computer and start reading.

'Don't worry,' Hutch said. 'I'll check it out before I head back to L.A. and read the rest on the plane.'

This seemed to satisfy Andy and he finally found a chair and sat down. 'Thanks, man.'

'No problem,' Hutch told him, hoping like hell he could get past the first five pages. It wasn't likely, but he was willing to try.

As the conversations changed course again, Hutch switched chairs with Tom and finally got a chance to sit next to Ronnie. They chatted for a moment, then Hutch said, 'You still smoke?'

'Not if I can help it.'

'It's the one addiction I haven't been able to conquer. I'm down to two a day and I'm due. You mind stepping outside with me?'

'Be glad to,' she said.

'Fair warning-I have a bit of a reputation. You might not want to be seen with me.'

She smiled. 'I'll take my chances. If anyone looks, I'll pretend I don't know you.'

A moment later, they excused themselves and went outside. The sky had grown dark and the air felt crisp and clean-and there Hutch was, about to destroy it all with cigarette smoke. The booze and the drugs had been a cakewalk compared to nicotine, so he'd decided to wean himself. Slowly.

So far it seemed to be working. He only felt the craving a couple hundred times a day.

He dug a pack of Marlboros out of his shirt pocket, then lit up and took a deep drag, careful not to blow the smoke in Ronnie's direction.

'So Nadine tells me you're grooming pets these days.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Oh, God, I'm so embarrassed.'

'Why?'

'Because clipping dog hairs isn't exactly what I had in mind for a career path in college. I feel like such a failure.'

'Don't,' Hutch told her. 'Failure has nothing to do with how you pay your rent, and things don't always go the way we planned. I'm a shining example of that.'

She smiled wanly. 'Thing is, I've never had any real plans. I went to pet grooming school on a lark, and I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. Hell, I'm not even sure I want to grow up.'

'Believe me, I know the feeling. Sometimes I think I never will.”

On this note, they both fell silent, Hutch wondering what he'd do with himself if he ever decided to leave L.A. for good. He had no real skills other than acting, and that one was questionable at best. Maybe Ronnie and he could shampoo dogs together.

After a moment, she said, 'So how does it feel?'

'How does what feel?'

'Being back home after all these years?' She gestured to the bar. 'Especially here. It's gotta be surreal.'

'Trust me, I've seen surreal and this isn't it. Truth is, despite the circumstances, I feel more comfortable right now than I've felt in a long time.'

'But you're the big Hollywood star…'

She was grinning when she said it, but he still gave her a look. 'You're trying to hurt me, aren't you?'

'No, that cigarette will hurt you. I'm just giving you a hard time.' She paused, then said, 'What happened to you out there, Hutch? If you're so comfortable here, why did it take Jenny's death for any of us to see you again?'

It was a serious question, and he knew it. He just didn't have much of an answer for her. 'I guess I'm a victim of my own success.'

'Oh, please. Who do I look like-Oprah? Give me something I can work with, for chrissakes.'

Hutch waggled the cigarette at her. 'If you're gonna bust my balls, I may need to light up another one of these.'

'Sorry,' she said, 'but I don't think you quite get how much we all missed you. You were always the one, Hutch. The one member of the group that everyone gravitated toward. We tried to carry on after you left, but it felt like the engine was missing. So everyone pretty much abandoned the vehicle.'

'It was bound to happen sooner or later.'

'But it wasn't supposed to happen to us, you know? And I think it sucks that it takes one of us getting stabbed to…'

She left the words hanging, suddenly distracted, her gaze focusing on a spot behind him.

Hutch turned and saw two dark sedans and a police cruiser coming around the corner at a good clip, and to his surprise, they pulled to a stop in front The Monkey House. Doors flew open and several cops emerged, two