a friend. Best of all, unlike the rest of the world, he liked me just fine the way I was. And I liked him a lot more than anyone I could think of. Of course, he was inconveniently located in Sydney, bound by family and a twenty-year career with the Cape Breton Regional Police. That was the bothersome part. If I’d seen a garbage can, I would have kicked it in frustration just thinking about that.
But quite apart from the state of my personal life, the day had been just plain bad. The distressing part of having Rollie Thorsten die in his dramatic way was that it would derail the Brugel trial yet again. It was good news for bad guys. So good, in fact, that I stopped to wonder if Lloyd Brugel might not have had something to do with it. Stranger things have happened after all. Laurie Roulay’s death was a result of Brugel’s actions even if it had been by her own hand. As I said, there’s never a garbage can when you really need to kick one. If my sisters had been in town, they would have told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get a job. Luckily they were far far away on a three-week cruise.
There was no sign of Bunny anywhere. But with all this stuff on my mind, I didn’t give him another thought.
At two in the afternoon, I was back in Court, curious to see what the judge would make of all this. The jury was in place, the prisoner in his bulletproof box. Brugel turned to face the jury and even in profile, his usual alpha dog sneer was evident. I could only see the back of the Crown’s head, but his shoulders were slumped.
As everyone rose and I caught a glimpse of Madame Justice Lafontaine’s face, I knew I wouldn’t like the news. Or she might have just bitten into a bad clam.
The judge said, “As a result of the death of Mr. Brugel’s counsel, Mr. Thorsten, and the withdrawal from the case of Mr. Thorsten’s junior, Mr. Kilpatrick, the Court has no choice but to recess to allow Mr. Brugel time to find new legal representation in this case.”
Brugel smirked.
The judge fixed him with a warning look. She is known for having little time for alpha dogs and their packs. She does, however, adhere to the rules.
The judge swept from the room, robe flowing. As the door closed behind her, we began to trudge out of courtroom 23. Mombourquette hadn’t been there to witness this part. It would have ruined his day.
After all those months of doing the work while Rollie took the credit, young Jamie Kilpatrick had a chance to be in charge. This could have been the case that made his name, no matter what the outcome. So why the hell had he withdrawn?
“What difference does it make?” Alvin Ferguson, my ever-present former office assistant said after I’d stomped around the house for ten minutes, swearing. I’d topped off the stomping with a major rant. Alvin watched from the kitchen door, resplendent in the Cape Breton tartan apron that someone had given me years ago. He must have found that at the bottom of my kitchen drawer. As there is almost nothing in the house left unpainted, he has turned his hand to collecting and testing heritage recipes. Luckily he wasn’t testing any of them in this weather.
I said, “It makes a big difference.”
“This Brugel is still on trial anyway. They’ve got him, right?”
“They have him now. But if he keeps on finding ways to stall, the world can change, and they may not have him forever.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’s fired lawyers before.” I leaned against the crumbling faux stone wall that Alvin had thoughtfully painted as part of his Tuscan decorating theme. The walls were somewhat at odds with the sleek stainless appliances in the modern kitchen, but congruity has never been Alvin’s strength.
“He has?”
“Sure. Why do you think this case has been dragging on for so long?”
“I really don’t know. Can you fire your lawyer?”
“Happens all the time.”
“But why does that hold up the case?”
“Because you are entitled to representation.”
“Yeah but…”
“And you are also entitled to be represented by someone you believe has your best interests at heart.”
“You think that’s a good thing?” Alvin magically produced a glass of ice tea. “There’s mint in this. Give it a try.”
“Some accused misuse this right. They fire perfectly competent counsel, just to stall.”
“But what does it get them?”
“It gets them a delay. In Brugel’s case, it has gotten him two delays before this latest setback.”
“Why would anybody want a delay? Don’t they want to get the whole thing over with?”
“Not if they know they’re guilty and they’re pretty sure they’re going to be convicted and be stuck behind bars for a damn long time. There are two solid reasons for delaying, Alvin. The first one is that if the person has been in custody during the trial, they might get two for one credit for that time served.”
“What does that mean anyway?”
“Two days taken off his sentence for every one served.”
“Really? Do you think that’s—”
“It’s the way it is in our system, Alvin. Although the current government is trying to change that. And the other point is, and this is much more important, the longer the trial drags on, the harder it will be for the Crown to control or even locate key witnesses.”
“What do you mean, control? You mean the Crown tries to control witnesses? That’s just plain wrong.”
“I mean they encourage them to stick to their stories. And remember them. They get them to show up. They get them to stay clean and sober if they can.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I guess.”
“And they don’t want them recanting their testimony either. It goes without saying.”
“They do that?”
“Sure. Often, in criminal cases, some of the witnesses are going to be criminals too. Or they’re going to be connected with the accused in some way—relatives, neighbours. But the most important thing is to keep them from leaving town or worse, disappearing.”
Alvin’s eyes bugged out. “Disappearing?”
“Sure. Some of them will just drift away. A couple will get arrested here or somewhere else. Some might be discredited. Others will die from disease or even lifestyle. And a few will take off in the hope that they won’t have to testify.”
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons, Alvin. But the main one is that they’re scared. A guy like Brugel needs time to make the kind of threats that can drive a witness away.
