“A diversion for what purpose?”

“We may not know until it’s too late. I get paid to worry about the entire jigsaw puzzle, Beth. That’s why my gut is full of holes and I’m losing my hair at a rapid pace. Any clue on who pulled the alarm?”

Beth’s face was unreadable. “Not yet. We’re working on it.”

“Well, let me know if you have anything.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, and tell your sister to just chill, Beth. You lost her for a couple of years already. You don’t want to lose her permanently.”

As Burns left the building he felt good about himself. He had just given Mace Perry an out. If Mace stood down on this, she got to live. It was her choice. And if she didn’t stand down, it became his choice.

CHAPTER 92

USING A CREDIT CARD Altman had provided, Mace bought an online train ticket to Newark for the next morning. Then she drove over with Roy to interview the Captain. When they got to the jail, the two received a shock. Mona Danforth and two homicide detectives were talking to the Captain in a small interrogation room. Mona had her legal pad out and was scribbling notes fast.

Roy nearly kicked the door open after he’d spotted them through the glass and chicken wire window cut in the door.

“What in the hell are you doing?” he yelled.

Mona and the cops looked up while the Captain stuffed a whole Twinkie in his mouth.

“Hey, Roy,” he said between gooey bites.

“You just blew your whole case!” Roy said to Mona, who just sat there smiling.

“And you are?” she said smoothly.

“His lawyer, lady! That’s who I am.”

Mona’s smile faded. “The name is Mona Danforth, not ‘lady.’ I’m the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. So show some respect.”

Mace stepped in behind Roy. “Interim attorney, Mona,” she pointed out. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mona exclaimed.

“She’s here with me, meaning she’s allowed. But you are not. And like I said, you just blew up your whole damn case.”

“Really? And how exactly did I do that, Mr…?”

“Kingman. My client has been charged. He has counsel of record. His Sixth Amendment rights have attached. You are not allowed to have any contact with him unless I am present.”

“Well, you must be a little rusty, Mr. Kingman.”

“Excuse me?”

“That was the law. But it’s not anymore. The Supreme Court overturned that requirement. Now if the defendant asks to meet with the police he can do so without his attorney present and no prejudice attaches unless you can prove coercion. I can get you a copy of the opinion if you’d like so you can come up to speed on basic criminal law.”

“And you’re trying to tell me that he just asked to talk with you?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Mona turned to the Captain and patted his hand gently. “Go on, Lou, you can talk to them.”

“Lou? He’s my client!” shouted Roy. “Not yours!”

Mace noticed that the poor Captain’s gaze was locked on the lovely prosecutor’s body. Mona’s skirt was short and her blouse open just enough to show some cleavage.

“Now don’t be mean to hon, Roy,” said the Captain. He gave Mona’s hand a squeeze before she quickly removed it from his reach.

“She’s not hon,” explained Roy. “She’s the lady who’s trying to put you in prison for the rest of your life, Lou.”

“She brought me Twinkies.”

“He asked for them,” Mona said quickly. “And then told my people that he wanted to talk to us.”

“Did you, Captain?” Mace asked him.

“I think so, yeah. Twinkie’s damn good. These ain’t stale, Roy, not like them others.”

Mona stood, as did the two detectives. She said, “Well, I think that wraps it up for now. I’ll give you some alone time with him.”

“I’m entitled to it by the law, so don’t pretend you’re doing me any favors.” He eyed her full legal pad. “And I’m still filing a motion to suppress anything he might’ve told you. And I’m going to demand a full investigation on this whole damn thing ’cause it stinks, Supreme Court decision or not.”

“I am curious about one thing,” Mona said imperturbably.

“What’s that?”

“Since I’m listing you as a material witness in this case-you did find the body after all and may still be considered a person of interest-how is it that you’re going to represent Mr. Dockery in this matter with such a blatant conflict?”

Roy looked like someone had just gutted him with a hatchet.

Mona’s smile deepened. “I can see from your poker face that you really hadn’t thought about that. I tell you what, Roy, I’ll waive any objection I might have to this little point of legal ethics, and if the judge agrees, you can be Mr. Dockery’s lawyer.”

“And why would you do that?” said Roy cautiously.

“Oh, you mean the quid pro quo? Well, let’s put it this way, I hate defense counsel’s motions to suppress. And I also hate demands for investigations. I think what we need here is a blank slate.” She stared up at him expectantly, her look about as condescending and triumphant as one face could achieve.

“So in other words I forget the stunt you just pulled and you’ll let me represent my client?”

“I didn’t pull any stunt. I’m perfectly within my rights.”

“I can seek a waiver from the court.”

“Not over my objections you can’t.”

“So let me try to understand this. If you’re maintaining you did nothing wrong here, why offer me a deal that lets me rep my client?”

“Because I want you to stay on as Lou’s attorney.”

“Why?”

Mona leaned forward and spoke in a low voice so that only Roy and Mace could hear her. “Because if you get disqualified, then they might appoint a real attorney, and that just makes my job harder. There’re a ton of highly qualified public defenders just salivating to take this case, and they all know what they’re doing. Why play against the varsity when the j.v. is available?” She picked up her briefcase and stuffed her legal pad in it. “See you in court tomorrow.” She turned to the Captain. “Oh, Lou, before I forget.” She pulled another Twinkie out of her jacket pocket and tossed it to him, like throwing a bone to a dog. The next moment she and the detectives were gone, leaving the Captain to eagerly devour the fresh offering of creamy cake.

CHAPTER 93

ROY HUDDLED in a corner of the room with Mace while the Captain sat staring vacantly at the wall and wiping goo off his mouth.

Roy said, “Maybe she’s right. Maybe I am j.v.”

Mace punched him in the arm. “Let’s get one rule down, Mona is never right.”

“The Captain deserves the best representation, Mace. I didn’t even focus on the material witness issue. And it was big enough to drive a truck through. I would’ve gone in tomorrow and gotten my head handed to me. By Mona and the judge.”

“The Captain wants you.”

“Come on, he doesn’t know what he wants. Other than Twinkies.”

“You can do this, Roy. You might be a little rusty on some of the case law, and you didn’t focus on the material witness angle because you knew you were innocent and you wanted to help the Captain.”

“You can’t rep a defendant charged with murder in the first with any rust, Mace. There’s no room for error. Especially against Mona. I know you hate the woman and I do too, but she’s sharp.”

“And she’s totally unethical. She basically bribed the Captain with junk food and cleavage.”

“But that makes her even more dangerous.”

“The point is, Roy, you made the decision to rep him. Your firm canned your ass over it. So do you want to go crawling to them begging for your big-dollar job back? And let a homeless vet be assigned some Perry Mason wannabe who could give a shit if the guy spends the rest of his life in the can? Is that what you want?”