custody?’
Kim scoffed. ‘Bail? Are you kidding?’ She leaned further in. ‘He’s a fucking murderer, Joe. You don’t bail murderers.’
Joe had to suppress a smile at the sound of expletives spoken with the refinement of an expensive education. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Watch the judge let him walk instead, because if you don’t agree bail, I’m asking for the case to be thrown out.’
‘Bullshit. You can’t do that.’
‘I know that, and I’ll get shouted down, but I might be able to cement in the judge’s head that it’s a weak case. You know how a judge can wreck a case, that if he decides he doesn’t like it, he will pick it apart, piece by piece, until you’ve nothing left to give to the jury. So your case ends up as a loss, and all because of what I say here.’
Joe could see her thought processes in the flare of her nostrils and the twitch of her lips. She was trying to decide which would turn out worse for her – Ronnie getting out because she agreed it, or the judge turning against the case.
‘You’ve got to justify bail in a murder case, you know that,’ she said.
‘That’s easy. You’ve got a weak case, and until you find the bodies, it will stay that way.’
‘We’ve got enough.’
‘Have you? So this is it? You’re not expecting any more evidence?’
‘Making the case stronger doesn’t mean it’s weak to start off with.’
‘No,’ Joe said, ‘but all you’ve got is a jigsaw. Lose a piece, and you haven’t got enough left to finish it. Take the blood. That’s just one piece of the jigsaw, and Ronnie has an explanation for it.’
‘I bet he has, Joe. And when did this recall happen? Just after you took over the case? Why didn’t he tell the police all that?’
‘That’s Mahones for you,’ Joe said. ‘You can’t punish a man for his bad representation.’
Kim was silent for a while, and then said, ‘So what is it, this explanation for the blood?’
He shook his head. ‘Not yet, but do you agree that if he has got an explanation, your case becomes too weak?’ Joe was trying to persuade her that she had no case. It wouldn’t end it yet, but it might make it easier to persuade Kim to drop the case later if she started out with less confidence. He pointed to the television. ‘You were looking for the stain of guilt. Do you think that person there could have killed his own child? Really?’
‘They come in all guises. That’s what you were saying two minutes ago.’
‘Killing your own child is different. That would lead to some kind of darkness. With Ronnie, there’s nothing. He’s scared, because of this case, but he doesn’t seem haunted by anything.’
Kim didn’t have time to respond because the door behind the raised bench opened and the judge walked in, with his horsehair wig and red sash over his silk clothes, like some extravagant dandy. It was the Recorder, the senior judge on the circuit who supervised all the most serious cases. Joe made a mental note that it was ‘my Lord’ , not ‘your Honour’. The words were habit-forming, a way of filling the gaps in speech, but when it resulted in bad etiquette, it gave the judge an excuse to try to make him look small.
Everyone rose to their feet and waited for the judge to nod that they should sit down. Joe fastened his suit jacket. It was supposed to be fastened, but he always made a show of it, just so the judge spotted his respect. It was the little things that won arguments. Once in his place, the judge looked towards Joe with a scowl.
They rushed through the preliminary matters. Ronnie’s name. The charge. Ronnie’s plea of not guilty. Joe was able to set out which witnesses he wanted. When it came to fixing a date, they needed to know whether Ronnie would stay in prison. The trial would come around sooner if he stayed behind bars. The judge waved for Kim to stay seated.
‘Do you have an application, Mr Parker?’
Joe understood the shorthand. Don’t waste my time with a bail
Kim scoffed. ‘Bail? Are you kidding?’ She leaned further in. ‘He’s a fucking murderer, Joe. You don’t bail murderers.’
Joe had to suppress a smile at the sound of expletives spoken with the refinement of an expensive education. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Watch the judge let him walk instead, because if you don’t agree bail, I’m asking for the case to be thrown out.’
‘Bullshit. You can’t do that.’
‘I know that, and I’ll get shouted down, but I might be able to cement in the judge’s head that it’s a weak case. You know how a judge can wreck a case, that if he decides he doesn’t like it, he will pick it apart, piece by piece, until you’ve nothing left to give to the jury. So your case ends up as a loss, and all because of what I say here.’
Joe could see her thought processes in the flare of her nostrils and the twitch of her lips. She was trying to decide which would turn out worse for her – Ronnie getting out because she agreed it, or the judge turning against the case.
‘You’ve got to justify bail in a murder case, you know that,’ she said.
‘That’s easy. You’ve got a weak case, and until you find the bodies, it will stay that way.’
‘We’ve got enough.’
‘Have you? So this is it? You’re not expecting any more evidence?’
‘Making the case stronger doesn’t mean it’s weak to start off with.’
‘No,’ Joe said, ‘but all you’ve got is a jigsaw. Lose a piece, and you haven’t got enough left to finish it. Take the blood. That’s just one piece of the jigsaw, and Ronnie has an explanation for it.’
‘I bet he has, Joe. And when did this recall happen? Just after you took over the case? Why didn’t he tell the police all that?’
‘That’s Mahones for you,’ Joe said. ‘You can’t punish a man for his bad representation.’
Kim was silent for a while, and then said, ‘So what is it, this explanation for the blood?’
He shook his head. ‘Not yet, but do you agree that if he has got an explanation, your case becomes too weak?’ Joe was trying to persuade her that she had no case. It wouldn’t end it yet, but it might make it easier to persuade Kim to drop the case later if she started out with less confidence. He pointed to the television. ‘You were looking for the stain of guilt. Do you think that person there could have killed his own child? Really?’
‘They come in all guises. That’s what you were saying two minutes ago.’
‘Killing your own child is different. That would lead to some kind of darkness. With Ronnie, there’s nothing. He’s scared, because of this case, but he doesn’t seem haunted by anything.’
Kim didn’t have time to respond because the door behind the raised bench opened and the judge walked in, with his horsehair wig and red sash over his silk clothes, like some extravagant dandy. It was the Recorder, the senior judge on the circuit who supervised all the most serious cases. Joe made a mental note that it was ‘my Lord’ , not ‘your Honour’. The words were habit-forming, a way of filling the gaps in speech, but when it resulted in bad etiquette, it gave the judge an excuse to try to make him look small.
Everyone rose to their feet and waited for the judge to nod that they should sit down. Joe fastened his suit jacket. It was supposed to be fastened, but he always made a show of it, just so the judge spotted his respect. It was the little things that won arguments. Once in his place, the judge looked towards Joe with a scowl.
They rushed through the preliminary matters. Ronnie’s name. The charge. Ronnie’s plea of not guilty. Joe was able to set out which witnesses he wanted. When it came to fixing a date, they needed to know whether Ronnie would stay in prison. The trial would come around sooner if he stayed behind bars. The judge waved for Kim to stay seated.
‘Do you have an application, Mr Parker?’
Joe understood the shorthand. Don’t waste my time with a bail
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