David pushed through the crowd and into the narrow alcove that housed the jail elevator. The courthouse jail was used to hold prisoners who had court appearances and for booking new arrestees.
The elevator stopped at seven, and David stepped up to a thick glass window and called through an intercom to a guard who was seated at a control panel.
“I’d like to see Larry Stafford. Do you have an empty booth?”
“Try two, Mr. Nash,” the guard said over his shoulder. David signed his name in the logbook. The guard pressed a button and a floor-to-ceiling steel gate swung open. David walked into the narrow holding area and waited for the gate to close. As soon as it clicked shut, the guard pressed another button. There was an electronic hum, and the solid-steel door at the other end of the holding area swung open. David walked to a door that opened into the conference area. Several identical booths were set up side by side. Each booth was divided by wire mesh that started halfway up from the floor. There was a chair on each side of the mesh and a ledge underneath it.
David took some papers out of his attache case and read them while he waited for the guard to bring Larry Stafford. Stafford arrived a few minutes later, smiling and looking thinner than he had at the arraignment.
“It’s good to see you, Dave,” he said through the mesh. There was no tremor in his voice, as there had been the last time they were together.
“How are you getting along?” David asked.
Stafford shrugged.
“I guess you can get used to anything. In a way, it’s not all that bad. No clients yelling at me. No partners making demands. Plenty of sleep. If the food was a little better, I’d recommend the place.”
David smiled. Stafford seemed to have developed a sense of humor, and that was essential if he was going to get through his ordeal.
“You do look a little thinner than when I saw you last.”
“Yeah, well they cut down on all those fancy sauces here. It definitely helps the waistline.”
David took the appointment book out of his attache case and held it against the wire mesh.
“We have some time before the bail hearing, so I want to go over some stuff. Does this help you remember any more about the night of the murder?”
Stafford read over the entry for June 16.
“Right. I was going to talk to you about that. I talked to Jenny and she mentioned the book. Call Dietrich. He’ll tell you. We had a conference that night. Remember I told you about that securities case? Well, we were together until six, six-thirty. You can check the time sheets we keep at the firm for billing clients.”
“Okay,” David said, making a notation on his pad, “but that doesn’t help us too much. Hersch started her shift around ten-thirty, and she was killed about midnight.”
“Oh,” Stafford said, momentarily dejected. Then he brightened.
“It would still be good circumstantial evidence that I’m innocent. I mean, it doesn’t make sense, does it, for me to have a normal business day, confer on a securities case, then slice up a policewoman. I mean the two are pretty inconsistent, aren’t they?”
“Not necessarily. There are plenty of businessmen who use the services of prostitutes. Why should you be any different?”
“Okay,” Stafford answered eagerly, “I’ve been thinking about that angle. But it won’t work. Jenny will testify that we’re happily married. You’ve seen Jenny, haven’t you? What jury would believe that a guy married to someone as good-looking as that would waste his time with a whore? Right? It doesn’t fit in.”
Stafford sat back and smiled, satisfied that he had won his case. David looked up from his notes and waited a moment before speaking. He noticed that his palms were damp, and for the moment he felt certain that he was more unsure of himself than was his client.
“A man married to a good-looking woman might seek the services of a prostitute if he and his wife were having difficulties with their marriage.”
Stafford continued to smile. He nodded his head to acknowledge the point.
“If. But there’s no ’if about Jenny and me.”
“No difficulties at all? No arguments, no sexual difficulties or money problems? You’d better be straight with me on this, Larry, because putting you and Jenny on the stand will open the door for the district attorney, and if there’s dirt, you can bet she’ll find it.”
David thought about his evening with Jenny as he waited for Stafford to answer. A mental image of her, naked and in his bed, appeared, and he fought to erase it.
“We have spats. Who doesn’t?” Stafford paused. “Look, I’m going to level with you. Jenny and I have had our problems. What marriage doesn’t? And you know what they say about the first year being the toughest.”
David thought back to his first year of marriage. It had not been pleasant for either of them. Vicious words, said for the sole purpose of hurting. Slammed doors and backs turned in anger.
“Hell, it was both our faults. I’m not an easy guy to live with sometimes. I didn’t make partner last year and it really hurt me. Two other guys who were hired the same year I was made the grade, and I was pretty depressed for a long time. I don’t suppose that was easy for Jenny to take.”
“How are you two sexually?”
Stafford reddened slightly. The question seemed to make him uneasy.
“I don’t know. I’d say we do okay. I’m maybe more demanding than some guys. You might say I dig sex a little more than Jenny. She’s more conventional in her, uh, tastes. Nothing I’d call a, uh, problem though.”
Stafford hesitated. He looked upset.
“Will…will they be asking about that at the trial? Our sex life, I mean?”
“It could come up. Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s just embarrassing, I guess. I don’t mind talking to you. You’re my lawyer and I trust you. It would be different in front of all those people.”
David glanced at his watch. The bail hearing was set for two and it was ten of.
“It’s almost time to go to court,” he said, “so I’m going to stop now. But I want to ask you one more question. You remember how surprised I was that the district attorney’s office opposed bail at the arraignment? Well, I talked with Monica Powers after court, and she acted very peculiar. She hinted that they had some kind of surprise evidence I didn’t know about. Do you have any idea what that might be, Larry?”
“Surprise evidence,” Stafford repeated. “I can’t think of…” He stopped for a moment, and David got the distinct impression that something was troubling his client.
“Look, I didn’t do it, so what could they have? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“You do some thinking on this, okay, Larry? I don’t like surprises, and it looks like Monica is planning one. Remember what I told you about being straight with me. If you’ve done something that can hurt us, I want to know right now.”
“Dave, I have been one hundred percent square with you. There’s nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. Say, how do my chances look today?” Stafford asked anxiously.
“I don’t know. It depends on what kind of showing the State makes. One point for our side is that Jerry Miles is the presiding criminal judge this month.”
Stafford brightened. “He’s pretty liberal, isn’t he?”
“He’s good and he’s fair. Keep your fingers crossed. I hope you’ll be out of here by this evening.”
They shook hands and David buzzed the guard. Stafford was still waiting in front of the door when the guard let David out. On the elevator ride up to the courtroom, David tried to analyze his feelings about his client. He felt uncomfortable around Stafford. The man appeared to be open and honest, but David could not help feeling that Larry was using the same technique on him that David used on a jury. Or did he just want to feel that way? He had to face one very unpleasant fact: he wanted Jenny, and Larry Stafford was his rival for Jenny’s affections.