case against Jackson, emphasizing that any questions about possible
conspiracies must be decided by the jury. If anyone from the office
called Prescott to check up on me, it would look like I'd played my
proper role in the system. I wasn't looking for a dismissal against
Jackson, just enough of a reaction from the court to get my office's
attention.
When we were done arguing, Judge Prescott gave me what I needed.
'All right, I don't know what exactly happened in here today, but I'm
ready to rule.'
When I got back to my office, I was greeted by a note on my chair. See
me ASAP. And, no, that doesn't mean after a quick run. Russ.
I didn't go for a run, but I did take a second to check my voice mail:
two defense attorneys, a victim, and my father. Since I had changed my
outgoing message to say I'd be in court all day, the callbacks could
wait.
In Russell's office, I did my best to look worn out from my crazy
morning. 'Hey, there. I'm finally out of the Jackson prelim.' I held
up the note he'd left for me.
'What the hell's going on over there? Your gem of an ex-husband called
Duncan a couple of hours ago claiming you were sabotaging your own
case. Something about you telling the defense attorney to subpoena
some clients you called him about over the weekend?'
Russell had been good to me so far, so I almost felt bad about lying to
him. Almost. 'Roger's got his head up his ass. The defense
subpoenaed the same witnesses I asked him about, because anyone giving
a second thought about this case would be asking the same questions. If
anyone should be in trouble, it's him. He's thinking more about the
other clients than he is about Townsend.'
'Sounds like a conflict,' he said.
'I thought so too, but apparently all the clients signed off on it.'
'So what was the end result?' he asked.
'Prescott found probable cause, but not without a fight. She said on
the record that the defense had raised serious questions about whether
we had the entire story, and that we skated through only because the
standard of proof's so low. Oh, yeah, and the media were in the
courtroom.'
'You're fucking shitting me.'
'I shit you not. After the morning I've had, I am in a strictly non
shitting mode of communication.' I did my best to sound upset, but now
I had the office right where I needed it. No way would Duncan permit
the bureau to continue ignoring the evidence pointing to Gunderson.
'I'm almost afraid to ask: Who are these witnesses?'
'Larry Gunderson, who owns the Glenville construction site, and Billy
Minkins, who works for him.'
'For the love of God, Kincaid. Not this again. The defendant's mom
says one thing to you 'my boy ain't never had a job so good' and ever
since then you can't let it drop.'
His Mrs. Jackson impersonation wasn't half bad.
'It's more than that, Russ.' But before I got a chance to explain it
all to him, his phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he decided to
answer it.
'Hi, Duncan .. . Yeah, she's right here.. .. No, Prescott found
probable cause, but it's a little more complicated than that.. .. OK,
yeah, we'll be right down.' Russ hopped out of his chair as he hung
up. 'I'll do what I can for you, Samantha, but if I were you I'd hold
my nose and pucker up, because you've got some serious ass-kissing in
front of you.'
In the couple of minutes it took to run down the back stairs to
Duncan's office, I managed to give Russ at least the big picture. I
left out the part about my role in steering Slip's action, but I did
tell him about the contents of Clarissa's safe deposit box and
Gunderson's stake in the urban growth boundary.
'So what's your theory?'
'I'm not done telling you everything yet.'
'Reader's Digest version, Kincaid. Duncan's waiting for us.'
'I think Clarissa had some kind of deal with Gunderson where she agreed
to rule in his favor on his appeal. I also think that Gunderson has a
lot to lose if the urban growth boundary doesn't expand in Glenville,
and that Clarissa's affair with Caffrey had something to do with that.
For whatever reason, though, Clarissa was thinking about blowing the
whistle '
A voice cut me off. 'Where the hell are they?' Shit. It was Duncan
standing in the hallway, apparently counting the seconds to make sure
we weren't dillydallying.
