Motion to Dismiss by Jonnie Jacobs

rank-smelling cubicle, there was little we could offer Grady in the way of solace.
    He was hunched over in a wobbly, plastic chair. He raised his eyes and didn't even try for a smile. "How long until you can get me out of here?"
    As angry as I was with him for cheating on Nina, and in spite of my doubts about his version of events, I couldn't help but feel a wash of compassion. The energy and confidence Grady generally wore like a second skin had deserted him. His jail-issue jump suit was tight through the shoulders and several inches too short in the legs, yet he seemed somehow diminished. There was a dazed, frightened look in his eyes.
    "Can you do it today?" he asked, almost pleading.
    "I'm not sure we can get you out at all." I took the empty chair to his left. Marc shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot before taking the remaining chair.
    Grady's eyes met mine. "What do you mean, you're not sure?"
    "It depends on what they're charging you with. There's no guarantee you'll get bail."
    His face, already drained of color, paled further. "You mean I might have to stay locked up until the trial?"
    Or longer, I added silently before pushing the thought from my mind. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"
    He ran a hand through his hair, leaving an errant tuft at his temple angling outward. "Nina called me at work to say the police were there to search the house. They had a warrant, and also one for my arrest. I'd barely gotten off the phone when one of them showed up at my office."
    "They searched your house?" Marc asked. "What did they find?"
    Grady shook his head, swallowed hard. "I don't know. I've been fingerprinted, photographed, strip-searched ... humiliated beyond belief."
    "Did you give them a statement?"
    "No." His skin was pale and clammy. He looked like he might be sick. "I can't stay here. Please. You'll try to get me out?"
    "We'll try," I told him, "but I have to tell you, the chances aren't good."
    Grady was still, his gaze unfocused somewhere over my left shoulder. For a moment I wasn't even sure he was breathing.

"Are you okay?" Marc asked.
    "God in heaven," Grady whispered. "How did this happen?"
    It wasn't a question with a simple answer. For a moment none of us spoke.
    "This could take months, couldn't it?" Grady asked. His voice was gruff with barely contained emotion.
    "Let's take it one step at a time."
    His face crumpled. "I can't bear to think what this will do to Nina."
    Marc put a hand on Grady's shoulder. "Nina will be fine. She's stronger than you think."
    "We'll take a look at the complaint," I told him. "And talk to the D.A. At that point we'll have a better idea where things stand."
    Grady nodded numbly.
    I hesitated a moment, then asked, "Is there anything you want to tell us?"
    He looked puzzled.
    "Monday you said you were working late the night Deirdre Nichols was killed. Nobody else was there."
    "That's right."
    "You sure there's nothing you want to add? Because now's the time to do it, so we know what we're dealing with up front."
    He gave me a funny look. "You're asking if I want to change my story?"
    Technically we were stuck with the story he'd told the police, but if he was going to add to it, better now than at trial. "I'm just trying to make sure there are no surprises waiting in the wings," I told him.
    Grady sat straighter and shook his head vehemently. "I didn't kill Deirdre Nichols. I swear to it." His eyes flickered between mine and Marc's. "You believe me, don't you?"
    "Of course," Marc said, speaking for both of us.
    I didn't contradict him, but I didn't voice my agreement either.
    Half an hour later I was seated once again across the desk from Madelaine Rivera, discussing a case in which Grady Barrett was the defendant. Only this time we were talking homicide rather than rape.
    And as I'd predicted, she wasn't willing to recommend bail. Even for Nina's sake.
    "I'm sorry," Madelaine said. "I understand how terrible this must be for her."
    I wasn't sure she did. That any of us