rap or take a plea. Hole-in-the-Wall’s a big place to supervise and
you can’t be everywhere at once. You know, that kind of thing. The Church of
Final Judgment keeps no records and it looks like takes no prisoners and
nobody thinks Harrison will do a whole lot of talking, so that’s probably all they’ll get. Too bad it took a day
to get that goddamn search warrant.”
“Why couldn’t you get the warrant?” she said. “I thought you and Judge Lardner were thick as
thieves.” You should only know, he thought. He
hadn’t called her
in months , that was why.
It pissed her off. Simple as that. She wouldn’t even talk to him. And he
couldn’t do much begging with Frommer standing by. He shrugged and bit into his
burger.
“So there’s nothing at all on Micah
Harpe.” “Nothing,” he said. “Vanished.”
“Good,” she said and smiled.
She looked terrific in the turban, he
thought. Hell, she’d even looked terrific in the bandages last night. The
bandages and nothing else. Stark white against tanned smooth skin. She was
quite a goddamn woman to have gone through all of that and come out of it the
way she did. He was going to have to marry her soon before somebody else beat
him there. If he didn’t know that before, he sure did now.
“Good? Why’s that?” he said.
Her smile broadened. “Don’t worry. You’ll
see.”
* * *
Arthur “Little” Harpe sat on a bench in
the hall flanked by guards on either side. He got up when he saw Janet and her
new co-council Linda Morrison striding in his direction and smiled that shaky, snaky little smile of his that she used
to wish she could dissuade him from using in the courtroom.
“Hi, Janet,” he said. “Feeling better
today?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“What was the problem? I mean, if you
don’t mind my asking. All’s they told me was you weren’t so hot.” “Nothing to
worry about, Arthur.”
He didn’t need to know about the
nightmares. God, no. Certainly not Arthur Harpe. He didn’t need to know about
that poor little girl twisting in a sudden gale of gunfire.
“Come on,” she said. “We’re going to see
if we can’t get you out of here today.”
The smile this time was absolutely
genuine. The little worm probably had never hoped for such luck. The fact that
it wasn’t luck—-that she’d be lying
when she got up there on the witness stand and told the jury that Micah Harpe
had confessed to the Willis murders to her back in Hole-in-the-Wall—that was
something he didn’t need to know either.
Linda opened the door to the courtroom
for them and they stepped on through.
“By the way,” she said, “I have a message
for you. From your brother.”
The look of alarm on his face nearly made
her smile. But it wouldn’t do to smile. Instead she put her hand on his
shoulder and turned him toward the defense table. “But that can wait for now,”
she said, “can’t it?”
you can’t be everywhere at once. You know, that kind of thing. The Church of
Final Judgment keeps no records and it looks like takes no prisoners and
nobody thinks Harrison will do a whole lot of talking, so that’s probably all they’ll get. Too bad it took a day
to get that goddamn search warrant.”
“Why couldn’t you get the warrant?” she said. “I thought you and Judge Lardner were thick as
thieves.” You should only know, he thought. He
hadn’t called her
in months , that was why.
It pissed her off. Simple as that. She wouldn’t even talk to him. And he
couldn’t do much begging with Frommer standing by. He shrugged and bit into his
burger.
“So there’s nothing at all on Micah
Harpe.” “Nothing,” he said. “Vanished.”
“Good,” she said and smiled.
She looked terrific in the turban, he
thought. Hell, she’d even looked terrific in the bandages last night. The
bandages and nothing else. Stark white against tanned smooth skin. She was
quite a goddamn woman to have gone through all of that and come out of it the
way she did. He was going to have to marry her soon before somebody else beat
him there. If he didn’t know that before, he sure did now.
“Good? Why’s that?” he said.
Her smile broadened. “Don’t worry. You’ll
see.”
* * *
Arthur “Little” Harpe sat on a bench in
the hall flanked by guards on either side. He got up when he saw Janet and her
new co-council Linda Morrison striding in his direction and smiled that shaky, snaky little smile of his that she used
to wish she could dissuade him from using in the courtroom.
“Hi, Janet,” he said. “Feeling better
today?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“What was the problem? I mean, if you
don’t mind my asking. All’s they told me was you weren’t so hot.” “Nothing to
worry about, Arthur.”
He didn’t need to know about the
nightmares. God, no. Certainly not Arthur Harpe. He didn’t need to know about
that poor little girl twisting in a sudden gale of gunfire.
“Come on,” she said. “We’re going to see
if we can’t get you out of here today.”
The smile this time was absolutely
genuine. The little worm probably had never hoped for such luck. The fact that
it wasn’t luck—-that she’d be lying
when she got up there on the witness stand and told the jury that Micah Harpe
had confessed to the Willis murders to her back in Hole-in-the-Wall—that was
something he didn’t need to know either.
Linda opened the door to the courtroom
for them and they stepped on through.
“By the way,” she said, “I have a message
for you. From your brother.”
The look of alarm on his face nearly made
her smile. But it wouldn’t do to smile. Instead she put her hand on his
shoulder and turned him toward the defense table. “But that can wait for now,”
she said, “can’t it?”
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