“Hey, Boudreaux,” he said, grimacing. “Her lawyer’s here and pissed that you’re talking to her. I told him she agreed, but you know how it is.”
“Yeah, I do.” He stood and came around the table. I braced myself for a parting shot, but he simply dropped his eyes to my shackled wrist, exhaled and left the room without a word.
Before the door fully closed behind Boudreaux it opened again. A forty-something black man wearing a green t-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals strode in, plopped a binder on the table and dropped into the chair.
“Always so much fun when I visit a client and they’re talking to a detective,” he said, pairing the remark with a sour look.
“I was careful,” I said and tried not to squirm. Not careful enough.
“I’m sure you were,” he said in a tone that put the lie to his words. He began to pull papers out of his binder. “And I’ll be requesting a copy of the recording so I know what to brace for.” He glanced up and gave me a tight little smile. “Just in case, you understand.”
Great. A typical defense lawyer. In other words, a jerk. But a jerk I needed. “Yeah, I understand. Pellini called you?”
“That’s right.” He stuck a hand out. “Anatoly Gresh. Call me Tolya. You got any objection to me being your lawyer, say it now so I can get out of here in time to see if your arrest made the ten o’clock news.”
Suppressing a sigh, I gave his hand a perfunctory shake. “Call me Kara. And I’m cool with you as my lawyer.”
“Good, because I’ve been busting my ass, and I hate doing pointless work.” He pulled out a yellow legal pad already covered in scrawled handwriting. “I contacted the judge and filed a motion for an expedited hearing for preliminary examination along with a motion to reduce bond.” He tapped his pen against the pad. “And, I asked to have a subpoena issued for Detective O’Connor to appear at your bond hearing. The DA objected, but the judge overruled him.” Tolya smiled tightly at that.
“Why do you want O’Connor there?” I asked, perplexed. I’d never been to a bond hearing for one of my arrestees.
“It’s a chance to poke at his probable cause,” Tolya said. “It’s shaky, and that might help get you a lower bond.” His smile turned vulpine. “More importantly, it’s to our advantage to get him on the stand when he isn’t fully prepared—because anything he says is locked in as testimony.”
Comprehension dawned. “Which you can later use to highlight inconsistencies in his case.”
“Precisely,” he said. “I also explained to the judge that you’re a former law enforcement officer with a sterling record. I threw in that you’re the investigator who stopped the most infamous serial killer to ever terrorize this parish.” His eyes skimmed over the writing on the pad. “Not to mention you have family roots in this fine community that go back over a century. Lowers the chance that you’d be a flight risk.”
I kept my expression immobile. My exile was ready and waiting, and even though it was a last resort, fleeing to another world to live out the rest of my days would still be better than prison. If that other world didn’t succumb to yet another cataclysm.
“In addition, I pointed out the incredible danger to your person should you be put in the general population of this jail—with so many of the same upstanding citizens that you put here.” Tolya’s mouth twitched. “I heard about your little altercation with that woman in the holding cell. I confess, a part of me wishes you’d taken a punch,” he said. “That would have been a lovely bit of evidence to show the judge, but I completely understand your reluctance to get slugged. Then again, the fact that you actively avoided physical confrontation may work in our favor as well.” He leaned back and gave me an appraising look. “I must say, I do wish all my clients were as upstanding as you appear to be.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” I said. “But thanks. And I have to admit, I’m impressed with everything you’ve done.” He hadn’t exaggerated the busting ass part one bit.
Tolya nodded at the compliment. “Vince called me while you were still being handcuffed and gave me the salient points. He knows what info I need and didn’t waste time bleating about innocence or guilt. Doesn’t matter at this stage of the game anyway.” He flipped to the second page of his pad. “That said, I think I have a good shot at getting your bond lowered. I figured you’d appreciate that since the bond for principal to murder usually runs somewhere around a quarter mil.”