He went up to the intersection, waited for the light, and then crossed. The courthouse lawn was broad and well cared for and was raised above the level of the sidewalk with a stone retaining wall. There was about the whole thing a kind of self-important aloofness that Raphael secretly found amusing. Slowly, step by step, he went up the stairs and into the building.
Frankie was waiting for him just inside the door. Her face was determined, and her dark eyes were flashing. “It’s about time you got here,” she snapped, looking up at him.
“The hearing isn’t for another half hour, Frankie.”
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you all morning.”
“I’m shacked up with a girl.”
She actually blushed. “That’s really crude, you know.”
“Sorry.”
“I have to talk to you, Raphael. It’s important.” She led him to a room a few doors away.
“Are we allowed to go in there?” he asked dubiously as she opened the door.
“It’s one of the places we have here in the building. They have to give us rooms to conduct our business in, because most of the time we’re more important in the courtroom than the lawyers. Give us a few more years, and we’ll be able to eliminate the lawyers altogether.”
They went into the room, and she closed the door. “We’re laying for you, Raphael,” she warned him. “We’ve got a couple of crack troops in that courtroom. We’ve got a lot of time invested in that motorcycle gang. If those hairballs go to prison, three caseworkers and a supervisor are going to be out of work, so watch what you say in there. I know how you feel about us, but watch your mouth when you get on the stand. Those two girls have all the compassion of a pair of meat grinders. They’ll hang you out to dry if you screw up things for us. They’ve been literally sleeping with the defense attorney-who’s also a girl, which makes for a very interesting situation.”
“You’ve got a dirty mind, Frankie.”
“What else is new? Anyway, the defense is going to try to lay all this on your friend. He was the one with the gun, after all. Did you know that he killed two people that night?”
“I’d heard.”
“The defense is going to try to picture him as a Detroit hoodlum who led these poor, innocent young local boys astray. If you say anything that damages their case, my colleagues will cream you.”
“Why are you telling me this, Frankie?”
“Because I gave notice yesterday morning. I’m quitting. I’m changing sides.”
“Hell, babes, don’t do that. You’re one of the good ones.”
“Not anymore. You peeled my soul raw when you told me about how Jane Doe got away from us. I didn’t realize how much the people we’re trying to help really hate us. I can’t live with that, Raphael. I cried for three days. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“Aw, Frankie.” He half reached for her.
“None of that. If you start groping me now, you’ll get us both arrested.”
He stared at her, not comprehending. “You lost me on that one, kid.”
“I’ve got a letch for you, you dumb klutz. If you put your hands on me, I’ll peel you like a banana right here on the spot, and I don’t have a key, so I can’t lock that door.”
He had to put a stop to that. “Francesca,” he said firmly, “don’t even talk about things like that. You know it’s out of the question.”
“I have enormous self-confidence, Raphael.”
He suddenly realized that she was about half-serious.
She sighed. “You’ve saved three of us, do you know that? You saved yourself, you saved Jane Doe, and you saved me. You got the three of us out of the goddamn system. That may be the only victory for our side in this whole freaking century. That’s why you have to be very careful in that courtroom. Don’t let them rattle you enough to make you get mad and start running your mouth. Keep it all strictly business, because if you start ranting and raving, and if the wrong judge is sitting on the case, those two girls will have you committed before you ever get out of the courtroom. You watch your ass, Raphael Taylor. Jane Doe and I won’t be able to have much of a victory celebration if our glorious leader’s in the loony bin.”
“They can’t do that to me, Frankie,” he scoffed.
“Like hell they can’t. If you get the least bit excited, they’ll have you out at Medical Lake before the sun goes down.”
“Maybe I should call in sick.” She actually had him a little worried.
“That’s what I wanted to tell you, but you wouldn’t answer your goddamn telephone! It’s too late now. If you don’t show up at this stage, they’ll put out a bench warrant for you. Just go in there, keep a smile on your face, and keep your big mouth shut.” She glared up at him, her lower lip very active. “At least I was able to cover your ass a little bit.”
“What?”
“I purged your file. There aren’t any reports in it but mine.”
“Why?” That really baffled him.
“Because you were playing games when you first got here. What the hell were you doing with all those empty bottles? You’re listed as an alcoholic, did you know that?”
“I’m what?”
“There was a report in your file. It said that there were wine bottles all over that pigeon coop you live in. What were you thinking of?”
He laughed ruefully. “I was trying to be cute, I guess. They gave me a caseworker I didn’t like. I thought I’d give her something to worry about.”
“Dumb! How can you be so goddamn dumb? Don’t you know that when you talk to one of us, you’re talking to all of us? That’s what those files are for, dummy. You owe me at least one roll in the hay, Raphael Taylor, because I’m the one who punched the erase button and covered your ass. And I did it with this finger.” The finger she held up was not her index finger.
He grinned at her. “You’re a buddy, Frankie.” He was genuinely grateful.
“They don’t have a single goddamn thing on you,” she continued. “I even cleaned up some of my own reports. There’s nothing in your file that says that you can’t walk on water or raise the dead. What are you going to say in there?”
“I’m going to tell them the truth.”
She said a dirty word in Italian. “They’ll eat you alive if you do that, Raphael. Just let it slide. Nobody gives a damn about the truth.”
“I do.”
“That’s because you’re a weirdo. Just say what they want you to say and get out of there before they get their hooks into you. Your friend is dead. Nothing can hurt him now.”
“I want to set the record straight.”
“The record’s never straight, you idiot! Haven’t you ever read 1984? They rewrite the record anytime it doesn’t suit them. You’re spinning your wheels and exposing your bare fanny for nothing.” She looked up at him and then threw her hands in the air. “All right. Do it your way-you will anyway-but please be careful. Now come here.” She grasped the front of his jacket and pulled him slightly off balance. Then she kissed him very savagely.
“Mar-rone!” she breathed. “Why do you have to be-” She stepped back and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I laid eyes on you. You’re lucky you’re out of action, Raphael Taylor. I’d have destroyed you. I’d have devoured you. If you’ve never had an Italian girl jump your bones, you don’t know what you’ve missed.”
“I love you, too, Frankie.” He really meant it.
“I’m not talking about love, Taylor. That might have come later, but there would have been much, much more important things to take care of first. Be careful in there, my Angel. Be very, very careful.” She wiped her eyes again. “Now get out of here.”
He smiled at her fondly and half turned.
“Raphael?” She said it in an almost little-girl voice.
“Yes?”
“I love you, too, dammit.”
The assistant prosecutor was the young man who had been sitting in Flood’s hospital room the day he had died, and he was waiting nervously near the elevators when Raphael came up.
“I’ve beers trying to get hold of you all week, Mr. Taylor,” he said, coming up to Raphael. “I wanted to go over your testimony with you.”
Raphael immediately disliked the man. “Why?”
“No lawyer likes surprises in the courtroom.”
“Life is full of surprises. Is this likely to take long? I have a lot of things to do today.”
The prosecutor looked at him, a bit startled by his tone. “I’ll speak with the judge. I think he’ll agree to letting you testify first-because of your disability. To be perfectly honest with you, Mr. Taylor, I didn’t really understand what you and Flood were talking about the night he died. Are you going to be getting into that? I mean, is it relevant?”