An Insignificant Case, page 8
One answer occurred to him. Being charged with murder was scary. Did someone want to frighten Guido into letting go of the items he took from Gretchen Hall’s safe?
Charlie frowned. Suddenly, he was thinking like Gary, and that wasn’t good. He didn’t believe in the existence of bigfoot, UFOs, and the Illuminati, and a conspiracy that involved people in power trying to frame Guido to frighten him into turning over the evidence he’d stolen sounded like a crackpot theory. But was it?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Henry Roman’s office was on the twentieth floor with views of the boats cruising the Willamette River, the foothills of the Cascade Range, and the snowy slopes of Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood. It was a lot different from the dingy suite in the Stone Age office building where Charlie practiced, and Charlie wondered if he would ever have clients whose fees would let him live and work in luxurious surroundings.
Roman had called Charlie as soon as Guido arrived at his office, and Charlie found his client and his cocounsel sipping cappuccinos when he walked into the spacious conference room where they were meeting. Two of Roman’s associates were seated at the end of a long conference table that would easily accommodate ten more people.
“Can I get you a cappuccino or a latte?” Roman asked. “One of my associates worked his way through law school as a barista and we have our own coffee bar in the kitchen.”
“A caffe latte would be great,” Charlie said as he sat down across from Guido.
Roman tilted his head toward the associates, and one of them scurried out of the room and down the hall.
“So, Guido, how are you doing after your jail experience?” Roman asked.
“It was very interesting. Some of my fellow prisoners had interesting physiognomies, which I will incorporate in future drawings.”
Roman smiled. “I’m glad the stay was useful. And what will be very useful for you will be an explanation of how your trial will work and how you can help us win it.
“The first thing you have to understand is that a trial where the DA is seeking the death penalty is different from every other kind of criminal trial. There are potentially two trials. One on guilt or innocence, which is like any other trial, and a second trial where the jury decides if you should be sentenced to death if they find you guilty of murder with aggravating circumstances.
“It’s this second potential sentencing trial that makes death cases unique. In any other criminal case, there is usually a lot of time between a guilty verdict and sentencing, and the judge decides the sentence. A sentencing hearing in a death case is held immediately after the trial in the guilt phase because the jury that finds you guilty has to decide your sentence. That means that Charlie and I have to assume you’ll be convicted—even if we think we can get a not guilty verdict—because we won’t have time to prepare for the sentencing hearing if you are convicted. Do you understand the difference?”
“Yes, but I will not be convicted, because I have excellent counsel, I am innocent of the crimes of which I am accused, and God protects me.”
“I’m glad you’re so confident of the result, but Charlie and I wouldn’t be giving you competent assistance if we didn’t prepare for all eventualities. One thing we’re going to do is prepare your biography starting when you were born and ending at the trial. We need your help to do this. I’ll need you to write out your life story with emphasis on any character witness or deed that will convince a juror that you don’t deserve to die. Then we’ll have investigators collect the evidence we’ll use at your sentencing hearing if things go bad. Can you write your bio for us?”
Guido looked uncomfortable. “This will require me to take time from my painting. Besides, all of my mentors in Italia are dead.”
Henry Roman looked confused, and Charlie sighed.
“We don’t expect to call Leonardo da Vinci as a witness,” Charlie said, “but we would like to know about your history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. You know, who are your parents, are they still alive, any siblings, your education and friends. Stuff like that.”
“This task does not evoke pleasant memories.”
“Guido, we need the information if we’re going to do a good job defending you.”
Guido stood up. “Thank you for your excellent explanation. Now I must return to my farm so I can paint.”
“But we have a lot more to discuss,” Roman said.
Guido smiled. “I am fatigued from my night in the jail’s rough accommodations. We can continue this discussion at another time.”
Guido walked out of the room, leaving Roman open-mouthed.
“What was all that about Italy and da Vinci?” he asked Charlie.
“Welcome to my world,” Charlie answered with a sigh.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
After two nights of troubled sleep, exhaustion caught up with Charlie and he slept like a dead person. Good Cup Coffee was near his office building, and he picked up a latte before crossing the street. When he walked into the waiting area, he stopped short so quickly that some of his drink slopped out of the cup.
Sitting on the sofa was the stunningly attractive woman he’d seen in the courtroom when Guido was arraigned on the murder charges. When he’d passed her in the courtroom, Charlie had only seen her face for a few seconds, but he had a vivid memory of short, golden hair, skin the color of porcelain, and eyes of the deepest blue. When the woman stood, Charlie could see that her figure was as amazing as her looks. She was tall; Charlie guessed about five ten. She was wearing tight jeans that showed off her long legs and perfect backside, and a navy-blue blouse that fit just as provocatively and showed off breasts that made erotic fantasies ricochet through Charlie’s mind.
“Mr. Webb?” she asked hesitatingly.
“Yes,” Charlie answered, struggling to act professionally.
“I apologize for dropping in without an appointment, but I was hoping you could meet with me if you have some free time. I can come back.”
“Uh, no. That won’t be necessary, Miss…?”
“It’s Elin … Elin Crane.”
“Okay. Why don’t you come back to my office. Do you want coffee, tea?”
“No, that’s okay.”
Charlie told the receptionist to hold his calls. Then he led Crane down a long hall decorated with photos of Mount Hood, Haystack Rock, and other examples of Oregon’s scenic beauty.
“So, Miss Crane, how can I help you?” Charlie asked when they were in his office with the door shut.
Elin looked down at her lap. “This is embarrassing.”
“I don’t judge, Miss Crane, and I’ve heard it all, so just tell me what’s bothering you so I can help.”
Elin took a deep breath. “I dated this man just one time. He came on really strong, and I didn’t like it. When he asked me out again, I turned him down.”
Elin paused and took another breath.
“Do you want some water?” Charlie asked.
Elin looked up and shook her head. Charlie waited for her to gather herself.
“The thing is, he started calling me at all hours, begging me to go out with him again. I was very firm. I said I wasn’t attracted to him and he should date someone else. The calls have continued. He leaves voice messages, and I’ve seen him standing on the sidewalk across from my apartment. He sends me emails. I want it to stop. Can you help me?”
“Yes, Miss Crane, I can,” Charlie said. “I can get you a restraining order from a judge. If this man continues to bother you, we can have him arrested. Tell me, was he ever physically abusive?”
“Oh no! After that one date, he was never near me again, except across the street.”
Elin was so beautiful that Charlie was having trouble concentrating, so he took out a form he used when he was hired by a new client.
“Before we go any further, there are a few formalities I have to take care of when I have a new client.”
“Then you’ll take me on?”
“Of course. So, can you spell your full name for me and tell me your address, email, and phone number?”
Charlie didn’t know if he would be hired when he told Elin his hourly rate, but he could ask her out if he wasn’t representing her now that he had her contact information.
“Do you mind me asking why you decided to hire me?” Charlie asked when Elin told him that his fee would not be a problem.
Elin blushed. “I like lawyer shows on TV, and I’m toying with the idea of going to law school, so I decided to sit in on some cases to see what real lawyers do. Your client, well, it was obvious that he has problems, and I was impressed by how compassionate you were.”
Now it was Charlie’s turn to blush. “Mr. Sabatini has obvious problems, but I treat every client with dignity.”
“I could see that, and that’s why I decided to see if you could help me.”
“The law is a good profession. I think you’d like it.”
“I don’t know if I could practice criminal law. Don’t you worry when you represent a murderer?”
“Mr. Sabatini’s case is my first homicide. And I think he’s innocent.”
Elin hesitated. “I don’t know if I can ask this question, so tell me if it’s inappropriate, but I was wondering what Mr. Sabatini did. It sounded like he stole a painting he painted, and now the police think he killed the person who bought it. Is that right?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you much about the case, because I can’t violate a client’s confidence, but he is a very good artist, and he sold a painting to Gretchen Hall, who owns a restaurant. The police are saying that he broke into the restaurant and took back the painting. Then Hall was murdered in Tryon Creek park, and one of Guido’s paintings was found at the scene. But he says he didn’t kill her.”
“If he just took the painting, can you get the charges in the burglary case dropped by returning it?”
“That’s what we were hoping to do.”
“Was that all he took, just a painting?”
“There may have been something else.”
“Oh, what?”
“I really can’t say anything more.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It just seemed like an interesting case.”
Charlie didn’t want to be rude, but he felt uncomfortable discussing Guido’s case, so he changed the subject.
“Do you want me to try and get a restraining order, Miss Crane?”
Elin thought for a minute. “That’s a big step. Let me see what he does. Maybe he’ll just stop and the restraining order won’t be necessary. Can I get back to you?”
“Of course, Miss Crane,” Charlie said as he successfully hid his disappointment. “Why don’t you let me know, one way or the other.”
Elin stood up. “I will. Just talking to you has made me feel a lot better.” She smiled. “And you can call me Elin.”
Charlie walked Elin to the front of the office and watched her get into the elevator. Then he went back to his office. After fantasizing about Elin Crane for a few minutes, he took a deep breath and turned his thoughts to the task of keeping Guido Sabatini alive.
Charlie thought about what Gary had said after he filled them in on the case. He’d suggested that Thomas Grant might have been involved in the sex trafficking ring.
At Guido’s arraignment on the burglary charge, Monica Reyes had told him that she had been given the okay to dismiss Guido’s case if he returned everything he’d taken from La Bella Roma. Who had told her? Charlie had another case with Reyes, and he decided to use it as an excuse to find out about Guido’s case.
Charlie dialed the DA’s office and asked to be connected to Reyes.
“Hi, Monica. Did you get my discovery in Martin Coughlin’s DUII case? I wasn’t sure I sent it.”
“Yeah, it came two days ago.”
“Oh, good.”
Charlie wasn’t sure how to work the conversation around to Guido’s case, but Monica saved him the trouble.
“I heard Sabatini has been arrested for killing the owner of La Bella Roma. It looks like we messed up getting him out on recog.”
“That wasn’t your fault. Didn’t you say your boss told you that you could agree to recog?”
“That’s true.”
“Was that Tom Grant?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know he got involved in unimportant cases like Guido’s.”
“He just dropped by and asked what I had on my table. He was talking with all the lawyers in my unit. So, I hear that Bridget Fournier is livid that Sabatini is out on bail on the murder charge.”
“She was upset. But for the record, I don’t think Guido is guilty.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Monica said.
“Well, I’m glad you got the discovery. It was good talking to you.”
When Charlie hung up, he felt a little sick. Was the chief prosecutor in Multnomah County involved in the sex trafficking ring, or was Charlie getting paranoid? If that were true, who could he call for help in keeping Guido alive? Something Monica Reyes had said gave Charlie an idea.
PART THREE
DESPERATE MEASURES
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Why are you calling me?” Bridget Fournier asked.
“I might have some information that will help you prosecute your sex trafficking case,” Charlie answered.
“What could you possibly know?” Fournier asked.
“Look, I don’t want to be mysterious, but we need to meet in person. And not in your office. You’ll see why when we talk.”
“Look, Mr. Webb, I’m busy, and I don’t have any time for this spy shit.”
“I don’t know why you’re mad at me, Bridget. It’s Judge Noonan who granted bail, not me. Please, this is important. A life may be at stake. Can you meet me at the Good Cup coffee shop across from my office? The drinks are on me. I’ll even spring for a scone,” Charlie said.
There was silence on the line. Charlie waited.
“This had better be good,” Bridget said before she disconnected.
* * *
Charlie was sitting at a table in the back corner of Good Cup Coffee. When Fournier came in, he waved. Fournier sat opposite Charlie. She did not look happy. Charlie smiled and pushed a latte and scone across the table.
“As promised,” he said.
Fournier didn’t look at the scone or the latte. “Let’s cut to the chase, Mr. Webb. Why are we meeting?”
Charlie took a deep breath. “Okay, no more small talk. When Guido took the painting from Gretchen Hall’s office, he also took some items from her safe. Guido wouldn’t tell me what they were, but he seemed certain that Hall would drop the charges in exchange for them. He said he would return the painting and the items from the safe if Hall would agree to hang his painting in La Bella Roma’s dining room. Hall agreed to Guido’s terms, and we went to his farm to seal the deal. Only Guido wasn’t there, and his house and the barn where he paints had been ransacked. Then someone searched my office.
“Do you have any idea what Guido took from the safe? Because I think it’s evidence that could be used in your sex trafficking prosecution, and I think Guido is in danger as long as he has the items.”
Bridget’s features had changed from angry to thoughtful while Charlie was talking. Charlie let her think. After a minute, Bridget looked across the table.
“Your client may be in possession of a snuff film and a list of the men who had sex with the women who Hall procured.”
“I was afraid it was something like that.” Charlie paused. “You wanted to know why I didn’t want to talk about this in the district attorney’s office. I had a very good reason. I’m going to say something you might not like. It’s just a suspicion, and I hope I’m wrong. It concerns Tom Grant.”
Charlie could see he had Fournier’s full attention.
“When Guido stole the painting from La Bella Roma, it was the third time he’d pulled a stunt like that, but Grant told Monica Reyes to agree to his release on recognizance. Then Grant showed up at Guido’s arraignment. I could see that you were surprised and upset. I may be crazy, but I’m worried that some powerful people want Guido out of custody so they can find out where he’s stashed the items he took from Hall’s safe.
“I have two men watching Guido, but he won’t pose a threat if you can convince him to give you what he took from the safe. Will you come to his farm and try and convince him to give you what he took?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Charlie had told Guido to expect his friends, so Guido continued to paint when he heard the growl of two Harleys driving into the yard in front of the barn. When his bodyguards walked inside, he put down his paintbrush.
“Hey, Guido. This is Bob, and I’m Gary. Charlie sent us to keep you safe.”
Guido beamed at the Barbarians. “I welcome your assistance, and, with your permission, I would like to paint your portraits to show my appreciation.”
“That would be nice,” Gary said, “but let’s table that gesture until our job is done.”
Guido shrugged. “As you wish.”
Gary and Bob walked behind Guido and studied his depiction of a peaceful valley with a waterfall as its centerpiece.
“You’re really good, aren’t you?” Gary said.
“I had the best teachers.”
“Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, right?” Gary said.
Guido smiled.
“We Googled you,” Bob said. “You’ve got a checkered past.”
“How so?” Guido asked.
“Don’t be shy. We know all about your adventures in the world of gambling. Any tips?”
Guido smiled. “Yes. Don’t gamble. I never did when I played poker or blackjack.”
Gary smiled, and Bob threw his head back and laughed.
“I’m going to walk the perimeter, and Bob will stay inside,” Gary said. “You go back to doing what you’re doing and try to forget we’re here.”
Guido turned to his easel and examined his evolving nature study.
