“So you say, Archer. We have it on good authority that you were seen with him last night right here at this hotel. Then he was found nearly bled to death early this morning three floors down from your ass.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“They moved him to the big hospital over in Garfield. He’s still unconscious, not that you give a damn.”
“We were working the case together.”
“What case?”
“These damn killings.”
“Again, so you say. We don’t know nothing about that.”
“But I’m out on bail.”
“Not anymore you’re not. Not after what happened to Lieutenant Shaw.”
They hauled him out of his room and led him out the front in handcuffs.
Shortly after that he was behind bars in a holding cell.
They had found Shaw’s spare gun on him, which did not help his cause in the least.
Indeed, when they had found the .38, Bart had eyed him triumphantly. “Shot the man and took his gun. Don’t get any lower than that in my book.”
“Well, maybe you should read some more books then, Bart.”
That had cost him a heavy fist in the face and a bloodletting from his nose.
He sat on the bench against the wall of his cell, wincing from his shiner and pinching his nose. His facial injuries from his encounter with Draper hadn’t even fully healed yet. Archer took a deep breath and contemplated his options. That didn’t take long, because he really had none.
But then a tall, portly man in his late forties with slicked-back hair and wearing a gray three-piece suit and a tightly knotted blue tie appeared on the other side of the bars. He looked like a preacher or a politician, and Archer didn’t really care to be jawing with either one right now.
“Mr. Archer?”
Archer looked up. “Who’s asking?”
“I am Herbert Brooks, the district attorney for Poca City.”
Herbert Brooks. Archer recognized the name from the letter that Archer had found inside Tuttle’s shotgun barrel.
“That means you’re no friend of mine.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Come again?” said Archer, rising to his feet and coming over to the bars.
“It appears that Lieutenant Shaw’s current condition was due, unfortunately, to a previous injury.”
Archer’s brows knitted together. “I’m not following.”
“He was wounded in an altercation at Miss Jackie Tuttle’s house.”
“I know that, I was there. I stopped the bleeding and got him to the hospital.”
“Yes, however, the doctors did not realize that that injury had nicked an artery. Either through some exertion or otherwise on Lieutenant Shaw’s part, the nick turned into a partial tear of the artery. He nearly died from blood loss. He’s still unconscious and still not out of danger. We’re speculating that he realized something was wrong and rushed out into the hall for help and collapsed.”
“I hope to hell he pulls through. But then why did they arrest me for shooting him?”
“The police didn’t know what had happened. He had blood all over him. They thought he had been freshly wounded.”
“So am I free to go?”
“You are, and I’m seeing to that. But please keep in mind that you are still charged with the murder of Lucas Tuttle. And I must tell you in all fairness that I’m also thinking of charging you with the murder of Hank Pittleman. I can’t imagine, after studying the evidence, that Lieutenant Shaw did not arrest you for that crime as well. But you are not to leave Poca City under any circumstances. I understand that you have made bail, which again strikes me as quite unbelievable. But Lieutenant Shaw did not go through me for that. He apparently talked one of my underlings into agreeing to it. And while I would like to revoke your bail, since you clearly did not attack Lieutenant Shaw, I have no grounds to go to court and seek that remedy. But because of the unusual conditions, I have ordered that you be kept under constant watch. If you attempt to leave town you will be immediately arrested.”
“When will my trial come up?”
“Probably in a few weeks or so. I am putting together my case now and lining up my witnesses. It’s a little more difficult, what with Lieutenant Shaw being incapacitated, but we must push on, and the notes he took during his investigation will be part of the trial record.” He looked keenly at Archer. “And I must say, the evidence against you is quite compelling.”
“Would one of those witnesses be Jackie Tuttle?”
“Yes.”
“She’s gone. Left town.”
“So I understand. And while her testimony is not critical to our case, we have put out notices in as many places as we can think of for her to return and testify. I like to cover all bases.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
Brooks gazed at him suspiciously. “You haven’t done any harm to her, have you?”
“Other way around, actually. And while you’re at it, try to find Ernestine Crabtree.”
“The parole officer?”
“Yeah, she’s skipped town, too. I wonder why?”
Brooks looked at him skeptically and shook his head.
“Hey, Mr. Brooks, one more thing.” From his pocket Archer drew out the onion skin copy of the letter he’d found in Tuttle’s shotgun. He passed it between the bars to Brooks.
Brooks looked at it and then glanced sharply up at Archer. “Where did you get this?”
“Mr. Tuttle gave it to me. But he sent the original to you, right?”
“Yes.”
“And what do you intend on doing about it?”
“I represent the law, Mr. Archer. So I intend on following it up. Mr. Tuttle was a very important man hereabouts and his word carries great weight. And that’s the other reason I want her back here. And if she doesn’t come back, I have ways to track her down. One way or another, justice will be served.”
“Okay.” Archer put out his hand for the letter.
“I’m not sure I should give this back to you.”
“You already have the original of it, and I might need it for my defense.”
“How so?”
“I don’t need to tell you that, do I?”
“Well, actually no.”
“Okay then.”
He reluctantly passed the copy back to Archer.
Archer slowly put the paper back in his pocket and said, “Hey, do I get a lawyer, or what?”
“Yes, if you can afford one. If not, well...” He shrugged.
“Yeah, that happened to me last time. I didn’t have a lawyer because I didn’t have any money. Doesn’t seem right that justice should depend on how much you have in your wallet.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court has actually agreed with you, Mr. Archer. Under the Sixth Amendment a criminal defendant is entitled to a lawyer provided by the government if he can’t afford one.”
“Well, then?”
“But, at the current time, that rule only applies in federal court criminal prosecutions, not state court, except in very special circumstances — none of which you meet, unfortunately.”
“Well, hell, I can be hanged if I’m convicted. What’s more special than that?”
In the face of this, Brooks seemed to take pity on Archer. “I can recommend someone who comes relatively cheap.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, Mr. Archer. I’m going to do my best to see that you hang.”
He walked off. Archer sat back down and leaned against the concrete wall, desperately wanting a smoke. But they’d taken his Lucky Strikes and matches along with the gun.
An hour later a stringy, beady-eyed, bald-as-a-billiard-ball gent in a dark blue worsted suit with a porkpie hat in hand walked up to the cell and peered through the bars. He had a battered leather briefcase in his other hand.