Breman, who'd been wondering just how much of her soul she was going to sell to the devil, perked up. "You think it will be a match?"
Louis nodded. "I know it will be a match," he said. "But that's not all."
This is where the other shoe drops, Breman thought. "Yes?" she said, trying not to let her voice quaver.
"If what I say is true, then in the interest of justice I will immediately file a motion to vacate the convictions of my clients and seek their immediate release from prison… And you will not oppose it," he said, the jovial bonhomie gone from his fat face. "In fact, you will join with me in my motion."
"Well," Breman said, then paused as her mind frantically worked over the political implications, "it is irregular. But I suppose we could go through the normal procedures and put Mr. Villalobos on the stand, under oath, and hold a formal hearing. Then we could issue a joint statement…" She stopped talking because Louis was shaking his head.
"I don't think that's necessary," he said. "I think you can meet with Mr. Villalobos, who with my assistance-just to make sure he doesn't backtrack on the truth-will give you a statement. I think that with the DNA tests, you will have more than enough to do what I ask."
Breman realized that while Louis said "ask," it was a demand. He was telling her how to proceed or, as he'd said earlier, she'd face the consequences. She had no intention of facing anything of the sort, and so simply nodded her head.
Louis seemed to have caught her mood and misgivings. "Now, now, Krissy," he said. "I know this might be a little irregular, but my clients have just spent the last ten years of their lives locked up where they did not belong. They went in as young men, teenagers really, and missed the best years of their young manhood, not to mention the pain and suffering they experienced in prison.
"The DNA will check out, have no fear. Your own assistant DAs-Robin Repass and Pam Russell-conceded in the original trial that there was an unidentified assailant…the only assailant whose DNA was found at the scene. Indeed, we contend, the only assailant there ever was. We have some concerns, however, about Mr. Villalobos's change of heart-he is a vile and despicable man who has committed numerous rapes upon innocent women. He could change his mind again…if he thought he could get something out of it from the authorities. My clients have suffered enough. We don't need to put them through a lengthy hearing process or raise their hopes that justice will at last be served, only to have Mr. Villalobos retract and dash those hopes again. I'm sure you understand."
Breman surrendered. "Yes, of course. If all you say is true, it's only right that this office act with all due haste to correct this miscarriage of justice."
Sighing as though he'd been laboring long and hard in the cause of justice, Louis leaned forward and patted Breman on the knee of her pantsuit, leaving a damp spot. "Yes, all due haste. And mark my words, you will come out of this a hero in the African-American community, a veritable color-blind champion of the truth."
Breman almost burst into tears. That was the nicest thing anybody had said to her in what had turned out to be a very long day. She'd never wanted a drink so badly in her life. A double shot of scotch poured over a cube of ice. "Well, then I'll wait for Mr… did you say Villalobos?…to call," she said and started to rise as if to bring the meeting to a close. But Louis didn't budge, so she sat back down.
"Uh, yes, but there is one other thing," he said. "The people who perpetrated this crime against my clients need to pay for those lost years. I intend to wring every last cent out of them now and in the future."
"Of course." Breman was willing to say anything just to get the fat, sweating man out of her office. She'd decided she would need to take a shower before that drink. Just watching the sweat pour off the man made her feel nauseated.
"That will be easier if the police officers, detectives, and prosecutors responsible are not supported by their respective administrations," Louis said. "I think it is in your best interest to put some distance between you and them so that any prospective jurors will understand where you stand in this matter."
"What do you want me to do?" Breman asked.
"I want you to put Repass and Russell on administrative leave pending an investigation into possible criminal malfeasance, as well as civil rights violations," Louis said.
Breman blinked several times as Louis leaned over and grabbed the last of the root beers out of the little bucket of ice she'd arranged between them. She didn't like Repass and Russell-a couple of hotshots who'd come in during her predecessor's tenure to create the sex assault unit.
"Okay," she'd said. "If the DNA checks out, we have an arrangement." This time she stood up before Louis could add any more caveats. But he seemed well pleased with her response and rose with her. He'd stuck out his hand and she shook it, trying not to look sickened by the feel of his warm, wet grip.
"You won't regret this," he said.
And at first she hadn't. As she'd been told, Villalobos had approached prison officials and reported that a "positive prison experience" had led him to become a born-again Christian. That in turn led him to confess to the Coney Island rape because his conscience would no longer allow him to stand by and see other men "suffer for my sins."
When the news broke in the New York Times-a story written by a weaselly fish-faced reporter named Marvin Aloysius Harriman-Repass and Russell had immediately come to Breman and demanded that they be allowed to put Villalobos on the stand and take his "confession" under oath and be cross-examined. That was, after all, how such matters were supposed to be handled. But Breman had told them that she would personally handle this case and had asked that Villalobos be transported to the Kings County jail, where she conducted the interview with Louis the only other person present.
Louis insisted that she use a tape recorder he'd brought rather than the jail's installed system. In fact, throughout the interview, he'd controlled what was actually recorded. If not satisfied with an answer given by Villalobos, he'd stopped the machine, discussed the matter with the ugly little man, and then rewound the tape. Then on his signal, Breman had repeated her question, and Villalobos answered in a "more appropriate" manner.
After the interview was over Breman had announced to the press that there was "reasonable cause" to order DNA testing. She'd felt somewhat better when the DNA results came back positive. At least that part of Villalobos's story was accurate.
By arrangement, she'd leaked the results first to Harriman, who seemed to have made his own deal with Louis, so that the New York Times-quoting "an anonymous source in the Kings County District Attorney's Office"-had the story a day before the rest of the media. Shortly afterward, Breman had held a press conference on the steps of the Brooklyn courthouse with Louis at her side, announcing that "in the interests of justice" her office would be joining Louis's motion to have the convictions overturned. "It is my opinion that the so-called Coney Island Four have been exonerated by these developments, and this office will not seek further action."
In the days that followed, Breman was even able to convince herself that she had done the right thing. It helped that she got a lot of encouragement from others. Activists in the African-American and civil rights communities lauded her "courage in the fight against institutionalized racism"; the Kings County defense bar issued a statement that read in part, "finally a district attorney who recognizes that justice, not conviction statistics, is the duty of the state when prosecuting crimes"; and the Times even wrote an editorial. The editorial noted that based on the "exclusive" reporting of award-winning writer Harriman, the newspaper's hierarchy agreed with Breman's decision and that "perhaps other local district attorneys should take note of the evenhanded administration of justice by the Kings County District Attorney and seek to emulate her to bring credibility and honor back into their own dealings."