Sunset Express

When the elevator opened, Elliot Truly was waiting for me. I guess the parking guard must've called. I said, 'Some security.'

He stared at my eye.

'Cut myself shaving.'

Truly realized he was staring and looked away. 'Yes, well, I guess that happens.'

I followed him past the floor receptionist and along a glass hall. 'Why all the spooks?'

'Many of Jonathan's cases are unpopular, as you might imagine. You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't believe that defendants are entitled to the best possible defense.'

'No kidding.'

Men and women in business suits hurried in both directions, some carrying files, others long yellow legal pads, still others small Styrofoam cups of what I took to be coffee. Nine in the morning, and everyone looked tense. I guess tension is a way of life when you're trying to give people the best possible defense. Especially at five hundred dollars an hour.

I said, 'Are all of these people working for Teddy Martin?'

'Oh, no. The firm is involved in over two hundred active cases.'

'Mm.'

'Jonathan only involves himself in the more, ah, trying cases.' He gave me a sly smile.

I nodded.

He looked at me. '"Trying."'

'I got it.'

Truly looked disappointed. 'Oh.' Lawyer humor.

We turned down another hall and then into a conference room about the size of Rhode Island. A breakfast buffet had been set up at one end of the room with coffee and mineral water and enough lox and bagels to sink the Lexington. Six men and three women were crowded around the buffet, talking in soft whispers. Everyone had coffee, but no one was eating. Probably too tense. Truly said, 'Would you like something to eat?'

'Just coffee.' Elvis Cole, at one with the team.

'Let me introduce you. Jonathan will be along in a moment.'

We got the coffee, and Elliot Truly introduced me. Everyone in the room was an attorney except me. While the introductions were under way, yet more attorneys arrived. I stopped counting at fourteen. The large lesser attorney came in, followed by the small lesser attorney, both of whom were wearing beige linen Armani suits. So was Elliot Truly. I said, 'Beige.'

Truly said, 'Pardon me?'

'Nothing.' Jonathan Green would be wearing beige, too. You could bet your house on it.

Thirty seconds later Jonathan Green came in wearing a beige linen Armani. You see? I said, 'Shucks.'

Truly glanced at me and whispered, 'What?' Now that Jonathan was here I guess we would whisper.

'No videographer. I was hoping for more air time.'

Truly blinked at me, then seemed to get it. 'Oh, right. Ha-ha.' Ha-ha. We're just a riot at nine A.M.

Another man came in behind Jonathan. He was a little shorter than me, but his arms were as long as backhoe shovels and his shoulders so wide they looked like they had been built of steel frame girders. The arms and the shoulders didn't go with the rest of him, as if they had once belonged to King Kong or Mighty Joe Young or some other large mammal, and now this guy was using them. He was carrying a manila envelope.

Green smiled when he saw me and offered his hand. 'Thank you for coming. This is Stan Kerris, our chief of security. Stan, this is Mr Cole.' Stan Kerris was the guy with the shoulders. He had a monstrously high forehead, sort of like a Klingon's, and eyes that looked at you but gave you nothing, like windows to an empty room.

Truly said, 'Let's get started.'

Jonathan Green took his seat at the head of the table with Stan Kerris sitting next to him. The two lesser attorneys elbowed each other to sit nearby. Like the lesser attorneys, everyone else tried to jockey as close to Jonathan Green as possible. Truly sat next to me. When everyone was down, Green crossed his legs, and smiled at me. 'So. Elliot tells me that you've found no corroborating evidence to Mr Earle's claims.'

'That's right.'

'And the same for Mr Haig?' He raised his eyebrows in a question.

'That's right. I spoke with Haig and with Earle, then with Earle's mother. I did a cursory background check on Earle, and reviewed the Internal Affairs investigation into the funny money bust. I found that Rossi made a quality bust.'

Truly was shaking his head. 'What does that mean? Of course, they would say that.'

'No, Mr Truly. They wouldn't. LAPD takes these things seriously.' I looked at Green. 'I concur.'

Green laced his fingers across a knee and settled back. 'Please tell us why.'

At least seven of the assembled attorneys copied what I said. I started with Raymond Haig and worked my way through Eddie Ditko and Rossi's condo and my interviews with both LeCedrick Earle and Louise Earle. I told them about LeCedrick's past record, including his close association with Waylon Mustapha, and I described in detail how Louise Earle's version of events matched with Rossi's police report. I spoke for close to twenty minutes, and for twenty minutes pens scratched on legal pads and Jonathan Green sat unmoving. His eyes narrowed a couple of times, but mostly he watched me as if he could absorb the details without effort and assimilate them. Or maybe he was just bored.

When I finished Kerris said, 'Anything we can use in the Miranda?'

'What do you mean, use?'

Truly smiled. 'Was there anything in her action indicative of malice aforethought or a willingness to commit an illegal act?'

I took the reports that Eddie Ditko had faxed me from my file and passed them to Truly. I told them about the guys with the machetes. I described what had happened at the Burrito King. 'They let both these guys walk and Rossi took the heat for it. I don't think there was much forethought to blowing out her career at the end of a highspeed chase because of an adrenaline rush.'

Truly smiled again and shrugged at Kerris. 'Guess not.'

Jonathan Green said, 'You're sure about these things?'

'Yes, sir. There is no evidence that this woman has ever done anything illegal or even improper other than the Miranda beef, and she stood up for that one. She wouldn't have had to set up LeCedrick Earle. He's a career criminal.'

Green nodded. 'Then you don't believe that she could've planted the hammer on Theodore's property?'

'No, sir.'

'We should abandon this as a legal theory?'

'That would be my opinion, yes, sir.'

Jonathan Green nodded again, then stared at the far wall for what seemed like several minutes. No one moved, and no one spoke. All of the other attorneys stared at Jonathan as if he might suddenly utter some dictum and they would have to act on it. Apprehensive.

I looked at my watch. It was nine forty-two, and the staring continued. Maybe Jonathan Green had lapsed into a trance and no one knew it. Maybe he would continue to stare all day and I'd still be sitting here when Lucy and Ben landed at LAX. I drummed my fingers on the table and Elliot Truly looked horrified. I guess it just wasn't done.

Jonathan Green suddenly spread his hands, then placed them on the table and leaned forward. 'Well, that's that. Better to know now than embarrass ourselves in court. You've done an outstanding job, Mr Cole. Thank you.'

The other attorneys breathed as one and broke into large smiles, saying what an outstanding job I'd done.

Green swiveled toward Truly and said, 'It was one theory, and there's still plenty of ground to cover. We'll just have to roll up our sleeves and try harder.' Green -swiveled back to me and leaned forward again, absolutely serious. 'I remain convinced of Teddy's innocence, and I'm determined to work all the harder to prove it.'

The fourteen other attorneys around the big table nodded, and I guess I could understand why. Green seemed to bring it out in you. I wanted to nod, too.

Jonathan Green said, 'Mr Cole, I know you were hired for this specific part of our investigation, but it's very important to me that people of your caliber work with the team.'