The Victim (19 page)

“
Good. But if you’re concerned about Bryan you should know that as long as you’re onboard with the prosecution, charges will be filed and he could remain in custody indefinitely. The judge is pro-state. And the prosecutor handling this case has a bone to pick with me. It’s really up to you.”

“
I…I never meant for this to happen.” She sniffled. “I mean, I just wanted him to stop. I was so scared. It was like something just snapped, you know? He wasn’t himself. I thought he was going to kill me.”

***

The wind woke him, jolting him upright. Startled, Samson lifted his head, eyes scanning the room on high alert. His hackles stood.

“
It’s okay, buddy.” Anton clapped him on the hindquarters, signaling all was well.

Samson shook out the tension in his neck and flopped back into his mound of covers.

Gina was snoring lightly. Amid the static of the baby monitor he could hear Charley breathing in rhythmic gurgled breaths. The teething had her so congested. He sat up, peering over Gina to the monitor on her nightstand. The infrared camera mounted to the crib railing showed her lazily sprawled on her side, clad in her
Doc McStuffins
footie pajamas. Her pacifier lay beside her, having been spit out in her sleep.

The wind rustled the ficus hedge that stood chest-high outside their bedroom window. Dead leaves brushed against the pane, crackling like sheets of cellophane.

Shards of moonlight splintered through the plantation shutters, spreading into fragments of white light across the bed and floor.

Anton caught his breath and wiped the sweat from his brow with the top sheet. The slightest noise could jar him awake. It had been that way ever since that morning out on the Beeline. He hadn’t really slept in over ten years.

The sound of the icemaker churning out cubes at four in the morning would echo throughout the house. In a dream, it sounded like a dozen federal marshals banging on his door. The harsh reality of it was that under Arizona law, the statute of limitations didn’t begin to run until the crime was discovered. He wasn’t home free just because he hadn’t been caught. He could be caught at any moment.

Even worse, his crimes weren’t vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. The news reports, the bits of information relayed to him by the attorney retained for the chapter by the national organization; they all suggested—with great conviction—that the man and woman inside of that car had burned alive. Thinking that they might have been dead when he ignited the wreckage didn’t alleviate his criminality.

He murdered them.

CHAPTER 19

It took some cajoling and being extra nice, but Judge Sonia Morales’s judicial assistant was willing to set the Arthur Hearing for the week before the arraignment. The JA reminded Anton that he was lucky, that most judges don’t set Arthur Hearings until after charges have been formally filed. Anton feigned gratitude and held his tongue. The law in Florida was abundantly clear—the filing of formal charges was not a requirement for the court to hold an Arthur Hearing. But Anton wasn’t willing to get into a debate over the phone. What was lawful and what was judicially convenient were seldom one and the same.

Anton thanked the JA for her time and hung up. Considering the judge she worked for, she was actually quite pleasant. Most big-shot defense attorneys had their secretaries schedule their hearings. But one, Anton wasn’t a big shot, at least not yet. And two, Anton preferred to manage all aspects of his solo practice. He clicked on his calendar application on his desktop and made a note on the scheduled date. The JA had given him a two-hour block of time in the afternoon. Anton typed up a notice of hearing and faxed one to Sylvia and to Judge Morales’s chambers. Within fifteen minutes his intercom came to life.

“
Anton,” Yessenia said. “I have Sylvia Kaplan on the line.”

Anton pressed the button. “Thanks.” He saw the light flashing on the other line. He clicked over. “Good afternoon, Sylvia.”

“
Hi, Anton,” she said, the pleasantry strained and without feeling. “What’s this about an Arthur Hearing in ten days?”

Anton resumed his game of Tetris on his desktop, pinning the phone between his cheek and shoulder. “It’s an Arthur Hearing in ten days.”

“
Don’t sass me. You didn’t want to
discuss
this with me first?”

Anton pressed the arrow keys, moving the falling shape into better position.

“
Nothing to discuss. I don’t need your permission to get my client a bond. Unless you want to stipulate, then I’ll be happy to cancel.” A line fell vertically into place, clearing four rows and sending him to the next level. “No priors, well-established community ties including a local business that he operates, generations of family right here in Dade County. How’s thirty thousand with a GPS monitor?”

“
Ha.
And I wish I had Britney Spears’s body, circa 2002. No way. I’m not stipulating to a bond. However, I just want you to know that if this is how you want to play ball, I should tell you what to expect.”

“
What should I expect?”

“
If you go through with this Arthur Hearing and make me bring my witnesses in, you can forget about ever getting a plea. You cancel the hearing, let your guy sit in custody for a while, and maybe a few months down the road we can talk.”

“
Make you bring your witnesses in? Like it’s such an inconvenience for them, Sylvia. What, the cops? Cops don’t wanna come in and make an extra three hundred bucks in court time? Gimme a break.”

“
I’m not talking about cops. If you make me bring Daniella Avery in and put her through the trauma of having to testify there’s no deal.”

But she’s not gonna come in,
he thought, grinning. He manipulated a T-shape and cleared the bottom two rows.

“
I’ll take my chances.”

“
You may want to discuss this with your client first. Before you go running your mouth, you may want to convey to him that by having an Arthur Hearing, all pleas are off the table.”

***

He called for the second time that day shortly after four, right after shift change; likely his first opportunity to use the phone since morning.

Anton pressed zero, accepting the charges. “What’s up, Bryan?”

“
Any news?”

“
There was no news at eleven this morning when you called. There’s no news at four. Nothing other than a threat from the prosecutor—if we persist with the Arthur Hearing, she won’t negotiate a plea with me later down the road.”

“
A plea? They haven’t even filed charges yet and you want me to take a plea?”

“
That’s not what I said. I’m just conveying the message. I told her I didn’t think you would be interested in forgoing the chance to get a bond. Hearing’s scheduled ten days from today. Corrections’ll bring you over. Try to look presentable.”

“
Ten days? I gotta sit here another ten days?”

“
Bryan. You might have to sit there ten months if she denies your bond and if Daniella decides she wants to prosecute you. If we go to trial and you’re convicted, try sitting there for ten years. You need to be realistic.”

“
You gotta get me a bond.” The desperation thickened his voice. “I don’t care how much. I own property. I have cash. I’ve got no—”

“
I know, I know.” Anton tried to seize control of the conversation, knowing full well that Bryan could easily take up thirty minutes of phone time. “I know exactly how to craft my argument.”

“
Can you come see me?”

“
There’s nothing to discuss at this time. I’ll come the day before the hearing to prepare you and let you know what’s going to happen.”

“
I gotta wait nine days to see you?”

“
I have a lot to do. I’m still working on Daniella.”

“
That fucking bitch hasn’t made up her mind yet?”

Anton saw red. He folded his tongue, biting down with enough force to chomp right through it. “Ease off her, okay? She’s been through a lot.”

“
Fuck, man. Whose side are you on?”

***

Anton was packing up his things when Mandy knocked on his open door.

“
Come on in.”

Mandy assumed his spot in the corner, folding his thick arms across his chest. He was holding a few sheets of paper.

“
Quittin’ time?”

Anton shoved a few files into his briefcase, the ones he needed for court in the morning.

“
God willing.”

Mandy glanced toward Anton’s desk, spotting the notice of hearing. He chewed his thumbnail. “So, when’s the Arthur Hearing?”

Anton looked up. “Week before arraignment.”

“
You think she’ll come around in time?”

“
Yeah.” Anton managed to sound convincing. “She’s gonna come around. I’ve dealt with this situation a thousand times before. She’s gonna sign the affidavit. She’s gonna avoid Sylvia Kaplan like the goddamn plague. This shit will all blow over.”

“
I think you don’t wanna believe that little Daniella Avery with the puppy dog eyes would want to go for the jugular on your client.”

“
She already said she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Bryan. She has no reason to lie to me.”

“
You sound confident.”

Anton got up and grabbed his briefcase by the handle. “You have no faith in anything. Stop being such a cop all the time. Not everybody’s got something to hide. You’re too goddamn suspicious. Sometimes a case is what it is.” He stood in front of Mandy, poking a finger in his barrel chest. “Nice, very attractive woman marries a rich asshole who gets physical with her when he realizes she ain’t coming back to him. Textbook shit. She’s got the marks on her skin; cops have to tackle the guy to get him under control. Just a bad night.” He started for the door. “What’re those papers in your hand anyway?”

Mandy shook the sheets. “Tox report from the infirmary at TGK.” Anton stopped mid-stride. “Your boy? He was drugged.”

CHAPTER 20

Anton studied the papers. One was a discharge summary from Ward D, the medical unit of the Miami-Dade County jail system: an itemized list of medications given by jail medical staff to Bryan upon his transfer from Ward D to a housing unit—nothing but acetaminophen, generic Tylenol.

The second sheet was a toxicology report, a quick analysis of a sample of blood taken as a precaution against drug interactions. Since he was brought into the jail while still conscious, he would have been asked to sign a consent form.

“
Benzodiazapine,” Anton muttered, reading the report. “No other drugs present. This test doesn’t give blood-alcohol content. Just the presence of benzo.”

Mandy held up his hands. “
Exactly
, bro. Benzodiazapine’s the active ingredient in Rohypnol. The date rape drug.”

“
Thank you for telling me what I already know. Benzodiazapine’s also present in Xanax and Valium. If he’s prescribed either of those he may not have considered them to be drugs when I asked him if he had taken anything prior to meeting with Daniella at Blue Room.”

“
Prescribed?”

“
Yeah. He runs a company, seems like the kind of guy who stresses out easily. It’s not surprising that he’d be prescribed Xanax or Valium for anxiety. Take a few Xanax or a few Valium and drink two martinis?” Anton thought back to his fraternity days. “That’ll do it.”