purse and that Andrea gave it to Kendra. Lopez was able to show that
Andrea was in the store a month before Christmas, and there's at least
a possibility that she stole something the size of a purse when she was
there.'
'So what you need,' he said, 'is something showing that the purse came
from another shop.'
'That's the idea,' I said.
He clicked his tongue while he thought. 'Alright. Walker and I are
still tied up on this Zimmerman letter, so I'll check with Forbes and
Calabrese. Someone will do it, though, and we'll let you know what we
find out.'
When I got off the phone, I noticed Tim O'Donnell waiting for me in my
doorway. He looked annoyed that I hadn't noticed him during my phone
call.
'Hey, Kincaid, how's that trial going?'
I didn't see any point in lying. 'Pretty crappy, actually. My best
evidence was this guy's print on the vic's purse. Turns out he had a
temp job doing inventory, so he's claiming an alternative explanation
for the evidence.'
'Bummer,' he said. 'Anything new about the Zimmerman connection?'
I couldn't tell whether O'Donnell actually gave a rip about my case or
if he was faking it to find out if there was anything he needed to know
for his investigation into the anonymous letter.
'I've got until tomorrow morning to file papers to exclude any evidence
relating to the Zimmerman case.'
O'Donnell looked concerned. 'Have you talked to the boss about making
that motion?'
'No,' I said. It hadn't dawned on me to consult the District Attorney
himself about my trial. In our large office, it was rare that we had
any direct contact with the boss, let alone on individual cases.
'Well,' he said, 'this is something Duncan would want to know about.
He's feeling the heat on this Zimmerman thing. The last thing he needs
is for one of his deputies out there trying to prevent a court from
hearing evidence supposedly exonerating Landry and Taylor.'
'But, Tim,' I said, 'Lopez isn't trying to exonerate Landry and Taylor.
She's trying to get Derringer off by confusing the jury and trashing
MCT. That evidence has nothing to do with my case.'
'Sam, I'm trying to help you out. How about joining the rest of us in
the real world? I don't get it. You're so fucking smart, but you're
acting like some rube on misdemeanor row who can't see the politics
here.'
I knew the politics, but I hadn't connected them to my case. Duncan
Griffith ran for DA as an opponent of the death penalty who'd make sure
that the law was at least enforced even handedly against the truly
reprehensible. In short, he got it both ways. The libs liked him
because he talked the talk against the death penalty, but no one came
after him on it, because he said he'd enforce the law.
O'Donnell had more advice. 'Jesse Taylor is the first scheduled
execution this state has seen in decades. And we put him on death row,
Sam. This is the center of the storm.
If he turns out to be innocent, Duncan's got well, he's got a major
problem. The only way he's going to make it through is if he's one of
the good guys making sure we know who killed Zimmerman. If one of his
deputies looks like she's part of a cover-up, he's toast. If you don't
go to him with this, I will. The Zimmerman case was mine, and this
shit that's going down now is a hell of a lot more important than some
loser like Derringer.'
'Yeah? Well, that loser basically tortured a thirteen-year-old girl
and then left her to die. I don't see much of a difference between him
and Jesse Taylor.'
He looked frustrated, but at least his response seemed earnest. 'Sam,
I wasn't saying Derringer was a good guy. Hell, maybe I was too quick
to write it off as an Assault Three. But be pragmatic. The boss's
political exposure on this Zimmerman thing is huge. You at least need
to tell him before you try to keep Derringer from getting into it in
your trial.'
He was right. 'I'll talk to Duncan when I get out of trial today.' He
started to walk away, but I couldn't leave it at that. 'You know, Tim,
you could be a little more careful about how you handle things, too. I
don't think it would help the boss's political image if the newspapers
heard that the head of his major crimes unit short-shrifts
thirteen-year-old sex-crime victims and tells jokes about incest.'
O'Donnell rolled his eyes at me. 'You want to make it around here,
you're going to have to tame those emotions. This isn't personal,
Sam.'
The truth was that I didn't know why I'd snapped at him. He was being
helpful, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him I appreciated it. 'We
