Harvey Udell telephoned David. “I’ve good news for you, David. That money you have in the pension plan, you’re taking it out early, but there’s no problem. Mr. Kincaid says to give you anything you want.”
“Mr. Crowther. David Singer.”
“I’ve been waiting to hear from you, Mr. Singer.”
“The down payment on the penthouse is on its way. You’ll have it tomorrow.”
“Wonderful. As I told you, we have some other folks who are anxious to get it, but I have the feeling that you and your wife are the right owners for it. You’re going to be very happy there.”
All it will take, David thought, is a few dozen miracles.
Ashley Patterson’s arraignment took place in the Superior Court of the County of Santa Clara on North First Street in San Jose. The legal wrangling about jurisdiction had gone on for weeks. It had been complicated, because the murders had taken place in two countries and two different states. A meeting was held in San Francisco, attended by Officer Guy Fontaine from the Quebec Police Department, Sheriff Dowling from Santa Clara County, Detective Eagan from Bedford, Pennsylvania, Captain Rudford from the San Francisco Police Department, and Roger Toland, the chief of police in San Jose.
Fontaine said, “We would like to try her in Quebec because we have absolute evidence of her guilt. There’s no way she can win a trial there.”
Detective Eagan said, “For that matter, so do we, Officer Fontaine. Jim Cleary’s was the first murder she committed, and I think that should take precedence over the others.”
Captain Rudford of the San Francisco police said, “Gentlemen, there’s no doubt that we can all prove her guilt. But three of these murders took place in California, and she should be tried here for all of them. That gives us a much stronger case.”
“I agree,” Sheriff Dowling said. “And two of them took place in Santa Clara County, so this is where the jurisdiction should lie.”
They spent the next two hours arguing the merits of their positions, and in the end, it was decided that the trial for the murders of Dennis Tibbie, Richard Melton and Deputy Sam Blake would be held at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. They agreed that the murders in Bedford and Quebec would be put on hold.
On the day of arraignment, David stood at Ashley’s side.
The judge on the bench said, “How do you plead?”
“Not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.”
The judge nodded. “Very well.”
“Your Honor, we’re requesting bail at this time.”
The attorney from the prosecutor’s office jumped in. “Your Honor, we strongly object. The defendant is accused of three savage murders and faces the death penalty. If she were given the opportunity, she would flee the country.”
“That’s not true,” David said. “There’s no—”
The judge interrupted. “I’ve reviewed the file and the prosecutor’s affidavit in support of no bail. Bail denied. This case is assigned to Judge Williams for all purposes. The defendant will be held in custody at the Santa Clara County Jail until trial.”
David sighed. “Yes, Your Honor.” He turned to Ashley. “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to work out. Remember .. . you’re not guilty.”
When David returned to the office, Sandra said, “Have you seen the headlines? The tabloids are calling Ashley ’the Butcher Bitch.’ The story is all over television.”
“We knew this was going to be rough,” David said. “And this is only the beginning. Let’s go to work.”
The trial was eight weeks away.
The next eight weeks were filled with feverish activity. David and Sandra worked all day and far into the night, digging up transcripts of trials of defendants with multiple personality disorder. There were dozens of cases. The various defendants had been tried for murder, rape, robbery, drug dealing, arson… Some had been convicted, some had been acquitted.
“We’re going to get Ashley acquitted,” David told Sandra.
Sandra gathered the names of prospective witnesses and telephoned them.
“Dr. Nakamoto, I’m working with David Singer. I believe you testified in The State of Oregon Versus Bohannan. Mr. Singer is representing Ashley Patterson… Oh, you did? Yes. Well, we would like you to come to San Jose and testify in her behalf…”