The Spellmans Strike Again (29 page)

“I knew that butler was no good from the start,” Len said.

“I’d like you to help Mr. Winslow interview for a new valet. We’ll do a thorough background check on each one and hopefully he won’t run into any problems in the future. I need to remind you that your time here is coming to an end.”

“What if I wished to stay on?” Len asked.

“You want to talk in that voice for the next decade?”

“It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.”

“How are things at home?” I asked.

“The same.”

“Listen carefully, Len. This gig is over in a few weeks. You need to move on, and you and Christopher should have a long talk about whatever domestic war is going on here. Got it?”

“Sometimes, Isabel, you are so tiresome.”

You know who else found me tiresome? Harvey Grunderman. I drove two hours to Folsom Prison for a personal meeting. Physically, Grunderman was average in every way. Approximately five foot ten, brown hair, brown eyes, even features, no scars or tattoos. He was the perfect physical specimen for a criminal: impossible to describe beyond his averageness. The one thing that set him apart was his overly dignified bearing. He sat straight up, looked you right in the eye, was well groomed, and spoke clearly, though he didn’t waste the accent on me. Harvey had the look of civility, even in the orange uniform. That said, there was definitely something uncivil about the look he gave me when I informed him that his services would no longer be required in the Winslow home. (Once he was released, of course.)

I then informed Harvey that I would hold off on having Winslow press charges so long as I saw that he was continuing to take care of his cousin, the real Mason Graves.

Harvey tried to play on my sympathies.

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for Mason,” Harvey said in a plain American accent.

“Sell that story to someone else. I’m glad to hear that you decided to break character for your prison time. I think it was a wise decision.”

“I’m not so bad,” Harvey said, still trying to defend his actions. “I bet you and me aren’t so different.”

“Trust me. We are. In fact, I’ve encountered very few people I have things in common with. Listen carefully, Mr. Grunderman: I’ll be watching you. Don’t do anything stupid.”

THE GIFT OF PROBATION

I didn’t want Rae to do time, even in a juvenile facility. She would be destroyed within days. While her will is spectacularly stubborn, her body could withstand only so much abuse. And she would be the ultimate target in an environment where brawn wins out. However, I made it clear that I wanted her to get some serious probation time, and I wanted this infraction on her record. Of course, in a few months it would be expunged, but I needed payback. I think I got it.

The entire family, including the auxiliary members, Maggie and Henry, attended Rae’s hearing.

The Honorable Judge Walter Groggins conducted the proceedings. I found great delight in the stern gaze he held on my sister. Even I would have wilted under that stare. Judge Groggins read Rae’s verdict: guilty of false imprisonment, which, for an adult, can carry a term of three to five years. The DA met with Henry, the arresting officers, and my parents and negotiated a fair punishment for the act. While I could have filed a civil claim against my sister, my parents had derailed that option by granting my three punitive wishes against Rae (one of which had yet to be realized). And when Judge Groggins read the terms of her probation, it was like a fourth wish had been granted:

“Until the age of eighteen, you will volunteer fifteen hours a week at Greenfields, a community organic garden that donates produce to charitable organizations throughout the county.”

For some people, gardening is a soothing, fun, spiritually nourishing activity. For my sister, who has never met a vegetable she liked, it would be hell on earth. Hard labor, patience, dirt, produce—all things she loathes—and now she would be spending over 13 percent
¹
of her waking hours learning how to make things she hated grow. If that isn’t justice, I don’t know what is.

Rae looked as if she might cry or try to make a run for it across the border. Mom and Dad just seemed relieved that the ordeal was over. Maggie and David kept to themselves, whispering whatever it is that they whispered. Those two could have their secrets so long as they stayed together.

Henry walked me to the door.

“How do you feel about the outcome?”

I turned to Henry. “I could kiss the person who came up with the organic gardening idea.”

“Good to know.”

I phoned Morty from the parking lot of the courthouse and shared my exciting news. The conversation was brief, however, since the movers were at their Florida condo and he was trying to have a conversation with me while dodging large pieces of furniture.

ME
: What’s your ETA?

MORTY
: I had a pastrami sandwich on rye today.

ME
: Huh?

MORTY
: How many lamps do I need?

ME
: I can’t answer that question for you, Morty.

MORTY
: Izzele, are you there?

ME
: Yes.

MORTY
: What were we talking about? There’s lots of noise here.

ME
: Pastrami sandwiches and lamps.

MORTY
: Speaking of pastrami, I want to go to Moishe’s the second I arrive. Make a reservation.

ME
: They don’t take reservations.

MORTY
: Make one anyway.

ME
: Fine. Morty, when are you arriving?

MORTY
: Watch out. I only got the two feet.

ME
: When are you arriving?

MORTY
: What day is it?

ME
: You should know what day it is.

MORTY
: What difference does it make?

ME
: It’s Tuesday.

MORTY
: I’ll be in Frisco Thursday next week.

ME
: Don’t call it Frisco. Only tourists do that.

MORTY
: Stop telling me how to talk. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than you.

ME
: Doesn’t make you better at it.

MORTY
: See you Thursday in the Frisco, Isabel.

ME
: Bye, Morty.

FREE SOMEBODY ALREADY

The Schmidt case moved forward with the speed of light—at least that’s how it seemed in comparison to the Merriweather case. The DNA results proved that the unidentified blood found on the victim and the skin particles found under the victim’s fingernails did not match the DNA of Levi Schmidt. That DNA belonged to someone else, someone who conveniently was already in the system. His name was Jesse Harper, and he was currently doing a ten-year stint in San Quentin for rape.

Armed with this information, Maggie filed an immediate writ of habeas corpus.
¹
While the evidence was compelling, the DA wanted a confession out of Jesse Harper to seal the deal, and that confession would take weeks of negotiation. Still, Rae was hopeful, which had the unfortunate side effect of taking the edge off her gardening work.

As for Demetrius, I knew from the start his case wouldn’t be so easy. I just didn’t realize how not easy it would be. I presented what I believed was an irrefutable argument to Maggie, beginning with the absence of convincing physical evidence. If he’d murdered a woman, shouldn’t he have had her blood all over him? If he was foolish enough to keep her television, how could he be so crafty as to hide a murder weapon so well that it was never discovered? There was also the ten-year-old witness, who saw a man who showed no signs of having just committed murder casually leave Ms. Collins’s home. Aside from all that, Demetrius didn’t have a single violent crime on his record. Nothing pointed to murder. But having no evidence pointing to a murder suspect isn’t incontrovertible evidence that the suspect did not commit the murder. Once Demetrius was incarcerated, the burden of proof fell back on the defense. Turns out that my case hinged on circumstantial logic. And you can’t free a man just because it makes sense.

After compiling all the data that I had on Merriweather’s case, I returned to Maggie’s office to see if it was enough. She shook her head and said, “No.” Then she excused herself to use the restroom. Then she returned to her desk and consumed half a stack of saltines and drank some ginger ale. I did my best to pretend not to notice, which came off as more suspicious than just asking, “Are you feeling all right?” Maggie then reminded me of what I was up against.

To free a man who has been wrongly incarcerated, you need a really good reason and you a need a reason that wasn’t presented in the original defense. While I knew that Harkey had mishandled Merriweather’s case, I also knew that police misconduct would be a hard sell and there wasn’t enough evidence yet to convince a judge to even reopen the investigation.

My only chance of freeing Merriweather would be to look into all of Harkey’s cases to see if there was a common thread. If I could cast doubt on Harkey’s reputation, there was a chance that all of his cases would require some review.

Maggie could subpoena all of Harkey’s cases, but that would draw direct attention to the case and to me. I told her to hold off. There might be an easier way.

•   •   •

I returned to the Spellman offices and immediately pounced on Dad.

“I need to see the police files on all of Harkey’s cases when he was working homicide. Any chance you can get those for me?”

I had hoped for a simple yes or no answer, preferably yes, but my father said, “What’s going on, Isabel?”

“Can’t you just do this for me and not ask any questions?”

“Uh, no.”

“It’s very simple. Rick Harkey was the arresting officer on the Merriweather case.”

“The convicted murderer that you’re wearing on your shirt?” Dad asked.

“Yes, the innocent convicted murderer. The DNA evidence is conveniently missing, the case was purely circumstantial, has as many holes as a Wiffle ball, and it looks like Harkey coerced the alibi into retracting her testimony. If I can prove misconduct on other cases, then maybe we have a shot at proving a trend, which could result in a reinvestigation of Harkey’s cases in general.”

“So, you’re not doing a good deed, looking into a wrongful conviction; you’re still on a Harkey witch hunt.”

“Why can’t it be both?”

“What are you getting yourself into here?”

“There’s no other way, Dad. And I just know Demetrius is innocent.”

Dad said he’d think about it. But Dad uses the “thinking” excuse as a stalling tactic. He’s done it for years. When I was twelve, I asked for a puppy. He’s still “thinking” about that one. I took my father’s response as a clear-cut no.

I’d hoped to escape the house before I ran into Mom, but she intercepted me in the foyer.

“Isabel! Just who I was looking for.”

“Do I know you?” I asked.

“I believe you’re due for another lawyer date. How’s the hunt coming along?”

“Mom, are you aware that the doorknob to the dining room is now missing?”

“Yes. Now how is that date coming along?”

“I’m busy,” I replied. “Why don’t you go to the store and pick one out for me?”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch,” I replied.

“Okay,” Mom said, not losing her suspicion.

There was a catch, but I’ll get to that later.

FREE MERRIWEATHER—

CHAPTER 3

I needed ten years’ worth of police files, which meant I needed either a cooperative DA or a cop who had access to police records. I went to the only other cop I thought might cooperate in my endeavor.

The door to Henry’s office was slightly ajar. I shoved it a bit and said, “Are you busy?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“You’re always in some neighborhood,” he replied.

“Isn’t everyone?”

“Come in and close the door behind you.”

I did. I was about to sit down when Henry said, “Don’t sit.”

I didn’t.

Henry then circled his desk and proceeded to frisk me without even asking first. I slapped his hands away. His payback was reaching into my coat pocket and pulling out a dirty tissue.

“Ha,” I said.

“Throw them out when you’re done,” Henry said, tossing the tissue into his trash and then searching his desk for hand sanitizer.

“What were you looking for?” I asked.

“Drugs, Isabel.”

“Get over it. It was a one-time deal.”

Once Henry was satisfied that I hadn’t brought contraband into his office, he offered me a seat.

“I need a favor,” I said.

“Of course you do. Why else would you visit me?”

There was enough of an edge to Henry’s reply that I felt, well, guilty. And here’s something that might surprise you: I don’t feel guilty all that often.

“That’s not true,” I replied, even though as far as I could recollect, it was true.

“What do you need?” he snapped.

“Now I feel bad. I’m not going to ask.”

“Go ahead,” he said.

I quickly got to my feet and said, “I’ll be back later.” Then I made an abrupt exit.

Two hours later

I returned with a picnic basket (i.e., a large paper bag) full of farmer’s market items—anything I could find in the unprocessed food category, including organic cheese and crackers, since I can’t make a meal of apples and whole-grain bread.