Finding Elvis Ch. 07

I shook my head and picked up his untouched drink. "To hell with no booze. I'll take my chances, and Gretchen can yell at me later. I'll drink this, but no more." It burned my throat in a comfortable way as I sipped it. "I'm telling you to do everything I always hated the defense doing: trying the case in the media, blocking the investigation, making me work for every lead. Isn't that just ironic?"

"While I do all that, what will you do?" he asked finally.

"I'll be making life a pain for Detective Sweeny. I'm going with Gretchen and I'll delay the proceedings as much as I can until her well-compensated mouthpiece gets there. Then I get busy in the morning tracking down the killer. Wish me luck." I tossed back the rest of the drink and set the glass on the table. Time to go find Gretchen and Lisa.

-----

When I caught up with Lisa, she was waiting for Gretchen to dress, and a police technician was already bagging my wife's clothes. After the tech left, Lisa shook her head. "It's not good."

"No," I agreed. "Once she gets dressed, they will either take her into custody or take her down to the station for questioning and then take her into custody. I have Hans calling people and doing things."

"Hawk," Lisa said quietly, "this is bad. I'd charge her and go for the conviction."

"She's innocent, Lisa."

"Are you sure?" Lisa asked worriedly. "Hawk, you only just met her last week. I know you're married, but this is..."

I cut her off with my hand. "I know murder and I know people. I can read people pretty well and Gretchen is not a murderer. I'd stake my career on it. Besides, from the little I saw, I think the forensic evidence may help us, too. I need you to back my play, Lisa. Trust me. Trust her."

I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the bathroom door. "Lisa, I know you're not licensed here, but I'd appreciate if you'd stick with her until her merry band of lawyers get there."

She nodded. "I'll stick by both of you. I promise. Where did Hans and Ted get off to?"

"Hans is in the Brown Room. Ted left us there alone to talk for a bit, but I bet he's back there now."

"Good," Gretchen said, coming out of the bathroom dressed in blue jeans and a tee shirt. "Daddy needs someone with him."

I stood up and took Gretchen into my arms. She held me and then pulled back, scowling. "You've been drinking! Hawk!"

"Cut me some slack here, will you? This has been the day from hell," I said with an eye roll.

A knock at the door interrupted her no doubt hot retort. The door opened and a female officer looked at us, and motioned Detective Sweeny in. He upheld my low opinion of him by pulling out the cuffs with no foreplay.

"Gretchen Werner, you're under arrest for the murder of Senator William Cartwright and Katrina Werner. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney..."

He continued to read her rights as he cuffed her. She stood there stoically, looking regal. Several officers came in to escort her out.

"Chin up, Gretchen. We'll have you out fast," I told her.

She blew me a kiss on the way out the door. "You better."

Sweeny swaggered up to me as Lisa followed Gretchen out. "I need you to come down to the station and answer some more questions, Hawkins."

I stuck my index finger in his face. "That's Detective Lieutenant Hawkins, Detective Sergeant Sweeny. Let's not get too familiar. I'm coming down to the station, but not to answer your questions. You have my statement and that's all you get until my wife's arraignment."

He sneered at me and poked me in my chest. "You'll do what I say or I'll haul your southern ass in as an accessory to murder."

Swatting his hand back, I poked him in the chest twice as hard as he had poked me. "I'm not your little push-over, burnout. Nothing I say or do will make this situation any better with you. If you could arrest me, you would have. You might be able to awe some society bimbo with that gold badge, but you don't impress me one little bit." I leaned in, glaring into his face. "I'll find the real killer in spite of your lazy ass. Get in my way and I'll walk all over you."

I left him standing speechless as I turned and stalked past the awe-struck uniforms.

By the time I got downstairs, Gretchen was being put into a squad car, and Lisa was getting into a car that Lurch had brought out front. I slid into the passenger seat and buckled in wordlessly.

-----

We made the trip to the station in silence, each of us preparing for battle in our own way. The police station was like most of its ilk: drab and worn.

Police streamed in and out of the front as we came in from the parking area. They kept us cooling our heels while Gretchen was processed in. They were taking her picture, getting her fingerprints and gathering basic information. They then parked her in a holding area to stew. It seemed that keeping everyone waiting was almost universally normal police procedure. I'd done it myself many, many times. Surprisingly, this gave me a sense of patience I normally didn't have. I was so intimately familiar with the process that my estimate was within five minutes of when they came to escort us back.

I half expected Sweeny to try and block my presence, but he didn't. The interrogation room felt as comfortably familiar to me as my house. Of course, I was the one usually asking questions. Gretchen was now dressed in an orange jump suit and shackled to the floor. No doubt that was to unsettle her and me. It didn't seem to be working on either of us.

She smiled at me as if we were in a diner. "There you are, Hawk. I was getting worried."

"No need to worry," I assured her. When we sat down on either side of her, I tipped back in the chair just a bit and smiled at Sweeny. "Time's short, little man. If you want to ask some questions, let's get started."

The flush of anger told me that he was not happy to have the rhythm of the questioning broken and his initiative taken away. "You'll be here until I say we're done." I could hear the unspoken "Dyke Bitch" at the end of that sentence. Good. I liked having an adversarial relationship with this guy.

"Wrong," Lisa said. "As soon as I say we're done, we're done."

The glare between them was interrupted by a knock at the door. A uniform opened the door and let in a portly man in his late fifties. He looked a size too big for the suit and had the air of someone who was a bit disorganized. That was obvious when his briefcase popped open and dumped papers all over the floor.

"I beg your pardon," he said as he set the briefcase down and started gathering papers. "I'm Danny Zieter, here for the defense. One of you two ladies is Hawk and the other is Lisa, right?"

I stood up and helped him gather up papers. "I'm Hawk. You can have my seat. I'm used to standing up and walking around in places like this. It helps me think."

He laughed. "I like that. Hawk, we shall get along just fine."

Sweeny interrupted our little meeting with a snarl. "I don't care who represents who. Fine, Daddy Warbucks sent you. Let's get back down to business."

Zieter smiled at Sweeny in a friendly way. "Oh, I'm afraid not, detective. My client stands on her privilege to remain silent and we have an appointment in Judge Masters' chambers in half an hour. The District Attorney has already been notified. Here are the papers to present Gretchen Werner for her arraignment at that time."

Sweeny looked as surprised as I felt. In addition, he looked monumentally pissed. "That's crap. Masters is a day judge."

"I know," Zieter said with a smile. "He has agreed to come in and hear the argument for bail in this very delicate matter. Amazingly enough, District Attorney Danforth had almost the exact same reaction to the news. Thank you, Detective. I'll be consulting with my client now."

After he stomped out, Zieter laughed. "I love that. Pissing them off like that. No offense, Detective."

"You just go right ahead and piss them off as much as you like. I'll handle it," I said, already liking him. "What's the plan?"

"You two can step on out and harass the good sergeant and I'll talk with my client alone for a bit, if you don't mind."

Lisa and I were both used to this from differing viewpoints, so we weren't offended, and we left them alone. Sweeny was gone, so I couldn't piss in his Wheaties. Pity.

In ten minutes, Zieter was bustling out and herding the two of us toward the far end of the hall. "The judge's chambers are through here and up two floors. When we get there, just let me handle it."

"Will we get her out?" I asked, showing some of my worry.

"Maybe, maybe not. It depends on all kinds of things, and I won't promise anything except to try my very best. I can assure you that my best is pretty good, though," he said with a wink.

The chambers were cozy, like those of most judges. The judge, on the other hand, didn't look like most judges. He looked like a quantum physicist, with a tweed jacket, bow tie and older suit. He looked like a geek that had let middle age catch up with him.

The other man there looked like a used car salesman. His hair was slicked back and despite the grease, was a flat black that screamed bottle job. To top it all off, he looked smarmy, and arrogant. His stare at us spoke volumes. He felt like he had the upper hand and was going to crush us. An officer came through the other door with Gretchen in front of him.

Once we were all seated, the judge spoke with a voice so deep, I had to look again to make sure it was him speaking.

"Gentlemen, ladies, it's late, and I'd like to get back to my wife, so let's hear the arguments in a concise and brief manner. Save the grandstanding for a jury, and just lay it out clean and fast."

"Your Honor," said Danforth, "the facts couldn't be clearer. Gretchen Werner was found by her own wife standing over the bodies of her victims, with the murder weapon in her hand. Open and shut. The People request she be denied bail and remanded into custody immediately."

"Thank you, Mister Danforth." Masters looked at Zieter. "Your turn."

"Let me be just as concise, your Honor. My client did not kill anyone. She found the knife and then the bodies. That will all come out if this ever makes it to trial. My client is like anyone else, innocent until proven guilty. We ask she be allowed to surrender her passport and present reasonable bail until the police realize they have the wrong person."

"That it?" the judge asked both of them. "Fine. The court sets bail in the amount of ten million dollars, and Miss Werner will surrender her passport. Don't leave the area, Miss Werner."

Danforth looked like he had swallowed his tongue. "Your Honor, this is unheard of! Ten million dollars is like pocket change to her family. She is a serious flight risk!"

The judge shook his head. "Not that her record shows, Counselor."

"Her record? Let's talk about her record, your Honor. The woman is a prostitute, pure and simple. Anyone that would sleep with men for money is not the bedrock of society," Danforth said with a sneer.

"Your Honor," Zieter said with a shake of his head, "Counselor Danforth surely knows that as an escort in the great State of Nevada, what she did or did not do in her professional capacity was completely legal and has zero bearing on this matter."

"Agreed. Counselors, we will expedite the process and get this case on the docket as soon as possible. Have a good night." With that, he rose and exited at the door in the back of the room.

The look that the DA gave us as he rose didn't bode well for our chances to get on his Christmas list. "I don't know who paid him off, but I'll see this overturned tomorrow." With that, he stalked out the other door. The police officer took Gretchen out, but Gretchen was smiling and gave us a thumbs up.

"Ladies," Zieter said with a smile, "this is why I love the law. Let's get your wife free and back home where she belongs." I shook his hand and hugged Lisa. This could have been so much worse, and I was thrilled with the ruling.

-----

The police dragged their feet, and it was almost two hours later when we finally arrived back at the house with Gretchen. In the privacy of the back seat, she finally broke down in my arms and cried while Lisa drove. None of us felt like talking, so I just held her.

Lisa brandished a key to the front door and let us all in. "You two go get some sleep. Tomorrow we need to plan what happens next."

Gretchen nodded.

"Thank you, Lisa. I won't forget your help. Come on, Hawk."

She led me up the stairs and to one of the guest rooms. "I don't keep anything here, so this room is as good as the next."

She held me and whispered in my ear. "I'm so sorry that I dragged you into this."

Softly, I kissed her cheek, finally allowing Hawk the cop to slide away. Gretchen had needed me to be the cop earlier. Right now she needed me as her wife and friend. "We'll make it, honey. Let's just get what sleep we can, and tomorrow will get here when it does."

Gretchen nodded. "I just need to hold you now."

We stripped slowly and slid into bed. I held her in my arms as she cried again. It was almost half an hour before she finally dozed. Long after that, I lay with her head cushioned on my breast and stared into the darkness at the ceiling, thinking. I never felt it when sleep took me.