Redress of Grievances (22 page)

"Riley
might have known soon enough to bury the evidence under a mountain of red tape.
Remember, they didn't have to make the disclosure until they knew officially
who the defense attorney would be."

"She
got this case from Winston and Dunne, didn't she?"

"She
got it from Dunne. She and Harriett were....close, once upon a time. I've known
Harriett a long time, but I wouldn't swear she's gotten over her," Wayne
said as he paused on the embankment. "You met the legendary Alexis Dunne
yet?"

"No."

Slapping
Nick on the back, Wayne said, "Well, maybe this will be your lucky week,
counselor."

Harriett
was quiet during the drive back to the Hyatt, sitting between Wayne and Nick.
Wayne returned to the bar for a nightcap while Harriett and Nick took the
elevator to their floor.

"Wayne
cares about you very much, Harriett," Nick said.

Harriett
smiled slightly, "He's been watching out for me since my father
died."

"What
time do you have to appear before the judge in the morning?" Nick asked as
the elevator door opened and they stepped out.

"Eleven.
He's working us in between a couple of other motions."

"Do
you want to run over your presentation?"

Looking
at her watch, Harriett said, "Yeah. Maybe once."

IT TOOK
HER less than thirty minutes to sum up her arguments for moving the trial to
Travis County. She had a collection of newspaper stories, and interviews of the
victims' families. As a backup, she had prepared a file on the publicity
surrounding the Wilkes case. At the bottom of the Wilkes file were four sheets
of paper. She looked at them and frowned.

"What's
that?" Nick asked as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"Death
threats."

"What?"

"Wayne
gave them to me earlier today," she said.

Nick
took the papers from her and read over them.

"Are
these legit or something Wayne planted?"

"They're
the real deal. But they're also my trump card. Wayne got them from the
newspapers after the re-hash stories about the Wilkes case began
appearing."

"You
should have reported these to the police, Harriett."

"The
Dallas Police have better things to worry about than crank calls, Nick."

"They
threaten your life, for Christ's sake."

"Pretty
convincing argument for moving the trial, don't you think?" Harriett
smiled.

"The
sooner the better. You shouldn't be alone."

"I
assume Wayne told you about Wilkes," Harriett said.

"Just
the basics."

"Then
you can understand why people might get worked up over the case and my
involvement in it. I have to do a good enough job tomorrow, so I can get out of
here."

"What
if the judge won't grant the change?"

"Then
I guess I'll have to hire a bodyguard or start packing a gun."

For
the first time since joining Harriett's legal practice, Nick was nervous
despite her calm demeanor. She had lived with an attorney's worst nightmare and
was looking at the possibility of repeating it. It was one thing to talk about
the lofty ideals of the law and another to live them, jeopardizing your own
life in the process.

THE
FOLLOWING MORNING, Harriett presented her motion for a change of venue
forcefully. The arguments against the motion by Sean Lassiter were equally
forceful. The fatal blow to the prosecution's arguments was the death threats
made against Harriett. Nick escorted her from the courtroom with the judge
promising he would make a decision the following day.

She
paused in the corridor outside the courtroom to get a drink from a water
fountain while Nick went ahead to the elevators. When she turned, Riley was
standing behind her.

"Cute
stunt," he said.

"If
my motion is rejected, I'll expect personal security from the police department
for the duration of the trial," Harriett said calmly.

"This
one ain't gettin' away to kill again."

"That
isn't up to either of us. Fortunately, juries make those decisions. So you do
your job and I'll do mine."

She
tried to step around him, but Riley blocked her path again.

"Are
you planning to dance this do-se-do all day, Riley? I have to meet with my
client."

"Maybe
if you ask me real nice, I'd move."

"Go
to hell," Harriett said as she pushed him away.

Riley
grabbed her arm and stopped her, "Assaulting a police officer, counselor.
That's pretty stupid."

"So
is assaulting an officer of the court," Nick said.

"This
isn't any of your business, buddy, so take a hike," Riley growled.

"If
you don't release Ms. Markham immediately...," Nick began.

"You'll
do what? Sue me?" the detective smirked. "I'm all shook up."

In a
move Harriett hadn't anticipated, Nick knocked Riley's hand away from her and
stepped between them. Nick was about the same height, but Riley outweighed him
by at least fifty pounds. The disadvantage didn't stop Nick from getting nose
to nose with the burly detective.

"If
I catch you harassing Ms. Markham again, you'll be more than just shook up. The
newspapers recorded the threats against Ms. Markham, and I'm tempted to have
your voice analyzed to see if it matches any of those threats. If I find out it
does, I'll drag your ass into court and fuck you over so bad, you'll wish you
were walking a beat again," Nick said in a low steady voice. "Is my
position crystal clear to you, Mr. Riley?"

The
detective tried to stare Nick down, but it didn't work. Riley blinked first,
and Nick moved to let him pass before escorting Harriett to the elevator.

"Thanks,"
Harriett said as the elevator door closed.

Nick
smiled at her. "Jesus, that ape could have ripped my head off."

"That
was a pretty gutsy move, Nick."

"Remember
to carve that on my tombstone. Here lies Nicholas Lazslo, Gutsy But
Stupid."

"That
wasn't a bad idea about the voice check though."

"Yeah,
except the newspapers didn't record shit. I wonder if there's a bar near
here."

Chapter
Twenty-Two

MID-MORNING
FRIDAY the judge granted Harriett's motion for a change of venue citing the
threats made against her as his primary reason. She arranged to meet with Dr.
Richard Talbot at eleven for a preliminary report on Sharon Taggart's mental
evaluation.

"You
understand, Ms. Markham, that I would need to spend much more time with Mrs.
Taggart to give an in-depth report," Talbot said.

"Of
course, doctor, but right now I need your preliminary findings. I haven't filed
a motion to change her plea yet."

"I
wouldn't have any difficulty testifying that Mrs. Taggart absolutely needs
psychiatric help. The dissociative disorder is almost certainly there, but it
is extremely difficult to say whether she has more than one personality or
merely a single disturbed personality."

"Did
you speak to Jan?"

"I
spoke to Sharon when she claimed to be Jan."

"But
you didn't believe her?"

"The
change was so slight it was hard to tell. I finally had to hypnotize her."

"Did
that reveal anything?"

"The
theory is that early childhood trauma, such as sexual abuse, can develop into
the creation of an alter personality. The child uses this personality to escape
whatever pain he or she is encountering, essentially suppressing the memory of
it quite effectively."

"Was
Sharon sexually abused as a child?"

"I
have no doubt whatsoever that Sharon was an abused child, but even under hypnosis,
she was reluctant to talk about it. That leads me to believe that she was very
young when it occurred. I did get her to recount an early memory of holding a
man's penis in her hand, and she was quite specific about that."

"Did
she say it was her father who abused her?"

"No,
she didn't. It might not have been. It could have been someone close to her
family and not a family member."

"Well,
where do we go from here, doctor?"

"I'll
see her again in the morning."

"If
she says anything my investigator can track down and verify, let me know."

"I
trust you're going to have her examined by someone other than me."

"Yes.
I have two other experts lined up, but not until she's transferred to Austin
the first of next week."

"I
won't allow any videotaping of my meetings with her, but if you'd like to
observe our session in the morning, I won't object to that."

After
Talbot left her room, she and Nick spread out the information they had about
dissociative disorder on the bed. Sitting on the bed, they began looking through
the paperwork again.

"When
are you going to make the NGRI?"

"As
soon as they move Sharon to Austin. Might as well make Lassiter do the running
back and forth between Austin and Dallas. Make a list, Nick."

"Of
what?"

"First,
the points I'll need to drag out of the witnesses. I have to have at least one,
and hopefully more, psychiatrists say she has a mental defect. I already know
the prosecution's expert will say she doesn't, so I need some guidelines about
what to ask. Second, I need a list of cases that are even remotely similar to
this one."

"Guess
I get that part," Nick said as he wrote on a pad.

Before
Harriett could continue, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Must
be Wayne," Harriett said. "Come in!"

The
door opened, and Alexis stepped into the room. When Harriett saw her, she
looked surprised.

"I
hope I'm not interrupting a strategy session," Alex said, glancing at
Nick.

"No,"
Harriett said as she stood up. "We were just sketching out a few
preliminaries."

"I
heard you got the change of venue. Congratulations."

"Thank
you."

Alex
smiled at Nick and walked toward him.

"I
don't believe we've met," she said. "Alexis Dunne."

Nick
got up to accept the hand Alex extended toward him. "Nick Lazslo."
Nick understood immediately why Harriett had been attracted to the woman.

"I'm
sorry," Harriett said. "Nick is my law partner and will be helping me
on the Taggart case."

"I'm
sure she'll need all the help she can get," Alex said. She turned to
Harriett. "Are you still considering a change in her plea?"

"Yes.
She agreed to be evaluated by independent experts. One of them saw her
today."

Glancing
back at Nick, Alex said, "Could I speak to you for a
moment....alone?"

"Um,
listen, Harriett, I can look over some of this in my room, and we can discuss it
on the way back to Austin tomorrow," Nick said as he picked up his coat.

"Thanks,
Nick. I'm sorry about this," she said, following him to the door.

"Not
a problem."

Harriett
closed the door and walked back toward Alex.

"What
can I do for you, Alex?"

"I
thought I might take you to lunch if you haven't already eaten."

When
she glanced at the clock next to the bed it was already after one.

"That
sounds harmless enough," Harriett smiled.

AFTER
LUNCH AT the Carriage House, a dimly lit restaurant where patrons paid for the
privacy the lack of wattage offered, Alex drove Harriett to the condominium she
purchased after the separation from her partner. It was comfortably and simply
furnished, yet formal enough to make a visitor aware of dirt on their shoes.
Slipping her shoes off, Harriett smiled contentedly as her feet sank into the
luxurious carpeting.

"It's
lovely, Alex. And somehow it seems to suit you better than your old
house."

"I
really don't spend that much time here, but I can give you the two dollar tour."

"Do
you still cook?" Harriett asked as they left the kitchen.

"I've
collected quite a few new recipes since the last time I cooked for you."

"I
still don't cook much."

"Is
that how you've managed to stay so slim? By not eating?" Alex smiled.

"It
isn't intentional because, God knows, I love food, but it seems silly to get
carried away cooking for just Lacey and myself."

Harriett
smiled inside as she looked at Alex. Around clients, Alex always seemed to have
a smile on her face and exuded charm. But in private, her smiles were less
frequent and her more serious nature had often turned into a deep passion when
they were together.