up right now. Just you and me. Let's do it.'
'Nuh-uh.' He shakes his head hard. 'I know my rights. I want a lawyer.'
'All right.' Frank sighs. 'I'll get you one.'
Chapter 40
Bailey is silent during the drive to L.A. Frank tries to get him talking but he maintains, 'I ain't saying nothin' else until I get a lawyer.'
She drives slowly, finding the most congested routes. She stops at a Del Taco for lunch. By dragging her heels, they get Bailey processed into County during a shift change. His paperwork gets lost. When they find it, he gets transferred to Pitchess. Then back to County.
While Bailey rides the legal merry-go-round, Frank has his camper towed to the LAPD garage. Because the case is such a low priority, it will be weeks before the vehicle is processed. Frank searches it carefully. There's no sign of the panties. Nothing that can be considered a souvenir. Frank needs more for McQueen. After his arraignment she visits Bailey in lockup.
'How they treatin' you?'
'Shit,' he complains.
'How'd it go with your attorney? They spend a couple hours with you?'
'Hours?' Bailey's incredulous. 'She wasn't here but ten minutes.'
'That happens.' Frank shrugs. 'They got a lotta cases—I'm not being cold, it's just a fact—that are probably a lot more important than you. Anyway'—Frank slaps a stack of printouts—'we got your blood work back. Doesn't look good, Twan. You better give her a call. Let her know.'
Bailey's eyes are all over Frank. She can almost smell him thinking. He doesn't know that any possible physical evidence was lost years ago and she lies to him with a confidence born of knowing how public defenders prioritize their schedules. There's no way a PD will get back to him this far from the pretrial.
'Anything you need in here?'
'Shit. What I need'd fill a phone book.'
'A'ight. I'm outta here.'
As she's leaving, Bailey calls out, 'Toothpaste.'
'Any particular flavor?' she answers without looking back.
'Crest. Regular.'
'You got it.'
Frank gives Bailey two days, letting the scum build up on his teeth. He's not overjoyed to see her, but he's not disappointed either.
'What'd your lawyer say about the DNA?'
'I ain't talked to her yet. She ain't returning my calls.'
Frank pitches her ball. 'You never been in here before, have you?'
'Nah.'
'Antoine.' Frank wriggles close to him. 'You're lucky if your lawyer reviews your case five minutes before it goes to court. Look around you, man. How many people you see in here? You think each one of these bastards got Johnnie Cochran reppin' 'em? Hell, no. They all got PDs just like you. There are about six hundred public defenders in the system. Only half of 'em do felonies. On any given day there are about twenty thousand people in and outta these jails. Not counting Juvenile Hall and CYA. You do the math. Soon as a PD gets one case cleared she gets slammed with three more. She ain't calling you back till you're dressed for court, man.'
Frank shakes her head in disbelief.
'You're staring down two murder counts, Twan. You gonna put your faith in a stressed-out, overworked, underpaid, court-appointed PD? Man, if you just poked the Pryce girl admit it now and move on. Look at this place. It's packed so fuckin' tight the judge'll probably kick you in the ass, tell you not to do it again and make you serve six months. But you're gonna take a chance on a murder one rap over a little piece a poonannie? You're crazy, Twan. Rape's a longways from murder.'
Bailey considers this, eyeing Frank like a granny he's fixing to jack.
'Well, the good news,' Frank says with a grin, 'is you ain't young and pretty like that boy over there.' Frank gives the nod to a delicately featured man-child, sobbing to his mama. 'At least you got that going. Most you'll likely have to do is clean the shit stains outta your cellie's drawers. Could be worse.'
'Just 'cause you slept with someone, don't mean you killed her,' he says slowly.
'That's what I'm trying to tell you. And that's exactly what your lawyer's gonna say. Admitting to boning the girl can't hurt you in the long run, 'cause it makes you look honest. And like you said, screwing someone's a long way from killing them.'
'Yeah.'
Frank makes a show of rummaging through her briefcase. 'I think I got a statement in here if you wanna fill one out. That'd speed things up when you talk to your PD.'
'What would I say?'
'Depends on what you did, man. Did you poke her or not? Lotta guys mean to but they get nervous and can't get it up. Happens all the time. Don't mean nothing.'
'Nah, that don't happen to me.'
'So write that down, how you did her.'
Antoine's still reluctant, but Frank wags her head at him. She chuckles. 'You're
'You got that right.'
'So why some girl?'
Antoine shrugged. 'Why not?'
Frank agrees, 'Yeah, whatever. Parts is parts. Why don't you fill that out?' She tips her head to the statement. 'Get you outta here so someone else can have your bunk.'
'Yeah, I heard that.'
Handing him a pen, she mentions, 'Yeah, just explain real simple what happened. How it went down.'
'Yeah, all right. You know, I just had a little sex with her. Nothin' else, you understand.'
'Yeah, sure,' she encourages. 'It's not like you were out looking for her. She came to you, right?'
'Yeah, that's what happened.' Bailey relaxes, crossing his legs at a cocky angle. 'She come by my camper. It was raining a little out. I axed her in, thought she might want to get dry, you know. Wait out the rain. She come in. Sat on my bed, looked around. One thing went to another. She a pretty little girl. Next thing you know, I'd done it to her. She didn't seem to mind too much. Didn't say nothin' 'bout it.'
Bailey pauses, checking Frank's reaction.
There is none and he continues, 'I ain't no child molester, though. Nothing like that. It was just that one time. One time only. You know how it is, a man living all alone, he gets lonely. Men got needs. You know how it is. You been around, you seen plenty.'
'Got that right,' Frank echoes.
'Yeah, so see. It ain't no big deal. Just had a little fun with her, that's all, then I let her go.'
'What time was that?'
'Oh, I don't know. Afternoon sometime. You know, when all the kids is outta school. Wasn't dark yet. She had plenty a time to get home. I don't know what happened to her after that.'
'Tell me about doing her. Did you take her front or back first?'
Bailey looks sly. 'Front, I guess.'
'Where?'
'Whatcha mean where?'
'Well, like standing up, lying down. How'd you do it? That first time.'
'Um, up against the table. Yeah. It was good.' He chuckles a little, clearly delighting in the memory.
'How 'bout the second time.'
'Wasn't much later,' he brags. 'She a pretty little thang. Took her up against the stove that time. From behind. Um, yep, I liked that, too.'
'What was she doing all this time?'
