The case that Alex had flagged was five years old—right in the middle of Matt’s one brush with politics, when he’d been elected State Senator. He still didn’t know what he’d been thinking at the time.
Truly, though, maybe he did. He’d seen the flaws in the system—flaws in the laws—largely because of lawyers like Travis Hart who exploited the loopholes. Prosecutors, defense lawyers, corporate lawyers – they all manipulated the system. Sometimes for others, but largely for themselves. Stepping stones to higher office or a corporate salary. Matt had been an idealist. He had a romanticized memory of his Navy service. It wasn’t easy, but he’d been part of something bigger, something better, for the first time in his life. Something that mattered. He saw being a prosecutor as doing something that mattered, too. He was good at the law, good with knowing when to push and when to deal.
But he couldn’t fix the law as a lawyer—he needed to change the laws. So he ran for State Senate, completely na?ve that the system was broken from the top down. The people in charge put up shields to protect themselves so they could do whatever they damn well pleased.
When Sandy retired, she urged him to run for D.A. Frustrated with state government, he’d jumped at the opportunity to return to his roots. Then Travis Hart announced against him. Sandy went all out for Matt, and her endorsement carried serious weight. But it wasn’t just her name – she helped him with fundraising, she convinced her long-time supporters to endorse him, and she stood with him when Travis started slinging mud.
Matt had won. It wasn’t a landslide, but it was solid enough a victory that no one was even talking about running against him in the next election. Things could change, but chances are he wouldn’t have a viable opponent and he could focus on doing the work that needed to be done to fight for victims and protect the integrity of the justice system.
Matt pushed the memories away and focused on the case in front of him. He wasn’t familiar with it because he hadn’t been in the D.A.’s office when it had been tried. It seemed cut-and-dried. Repeat offender arrested for burglary. Sentenced to five years in state prison. The defendant didn’t have a Russian name. He was represented by Anthony Monteith.
Odd. Monteith was a criminal defense lawyer who commanded a hefty fee. He specialized in drug cases and often won outright or pled for a reduced sentence. Why would a high profile lawyer like Monteith take a petty burglary case? And then lose it? Five year sentence for burglary in the middle of the night at a closed business, even though the defendant had a knife on him, was fairly stiff. No one had been hurt or threatened. Nothing had been stolen.
Matt flipped the page. When he saw the names on this list, he straightened his spine. Tommy Cordell was the arresting officer. Had Alex seen this? She didn’t make note of Cordell, only that the address where the crime occurred—a business on River Road—seemed familiar to her.
He wished he had the entire file. All he had here were the individuals involved, the charges, and the disposition. Though it was after nine at night, he called Sandy Cullen at home.
“Thought I’d hear from you sooner,” Sandy answered. “I had to get my news from Cynthia.”
Cynthia Bryant was Matt’s number two in the D.A.’s office.
“A lot has happened.” Matt hadn’t told Sandy about the federal investigation into Travis Hart—nor that Alex Morgan had been working undercover. Sandy wouldn’t talk, but Matt couldn’t risk Alex’s position. “I’m actually calling you about an old case, from the time when I was in the Senate.”
“There were thousands of prosecutions while you were playing politics.”
He bristled. Sandy knew how to get under his skin. She’d told him not to run, but he’d done it anyway. She enjoyed saying ‘I told you so,’ even now. She was old enough to be his mother, but acted more like a big sister.
“It’s the People versus Charles Vincent Paulson. Burglary case, special circumstances. Had a knife on him, got five years. I don’t have the case file, only the info in the computer. Hart prosecuted, Monteith defended.”
“Anthony Monteith?”
“The one and only.”
“Drug case?”
“No—burglary. I don’t have the files, just the charges. Tommy Cordell was the arresting officer.” He mentally counted back in his head. “This was about two years before Cordell was moved to northern command. He was still a patrol officer.”
“I don’t know much about Cordell, only what was in the papers and what I could drag out of my friends. I swear, Matt, you retire and people think you’re nobody.”
He laughed. “You will never be nobody, Sandy.”
“Harrumph. Only because I go to all those damn charity events and rotary club meetings.”
She was blowing smoke, because Matt knew she relished her ties to the community she’d grown up in. Plus, she was teaching a seminar to pre-law students at Sac State.