Private Practice Ch. 03

"And the Police Force with the best Iron Crowbar in the world!" Micah Rudistan said mischievously and with great joviality. Everyone applauded at that.

"Okay, y'all carry on." I said. "Captain Michaels, come with me...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We went to the Main Conference Room. Tanya high-fived me as I passed by her on my way to my seat on the Chief's other side. Our Sheriff beamed at me as I took my seat next to him, and Paulina sat down next to Miriam Walters, who was to Tanya's right. Teresa sat at the other end of the table, and Cindy to the Sheriff's left.

"That was an a-maizzz-ing job, Commanderrrr." drawled the Chief.

"Yeah it was!" the Sheriff said happily, his big handlebar mustaches twitching most merrily. "Don't you agree, Ms. Walters."

"Yes." Miriam conceded. "Commander Troy's crime-solving abilities has never been in doubt. Very well done, Commander."

"So," said (who else) Cindy Ross. "What's next? Where do we go from here?"

I said "We need to decide the extent of the charges, and what plea deal we'll offer her to save the expense of a trial."

"At least you're working with us rather than going off on your own." Miriam Walters said with asperity, generating some angry looks from nearly everyone. "We certainly don't have to give her very much, do we?"

I said "There are two issues still in play. First is what Denise tells us. I'm expecting some sort of self-defense play. That won't fly very far, of course. The second issue is what's important: Denise can blow Fineman's capital murder case out of the water if she testifies to what she knows. And a plea deal in exchange for her truthful testimony will increase her willingness to talk about that."

Miriam said "If... that testimony or any of the privileged tapes were allowed in the Locklear trial. And that's not a given by any stretch."

Sheriff Griswold said menacingly "Obviously, Crowbar, District Attorney Walters has no interest in doing the right things with regard to the Locklear trial, and she apparently has no desire to try to win her next election. So what do you and ADA Patterson want to do?"

As Miriam glared at the Sheriff, Paulina said "As far as charges are concerned, we can run the gamut from Murder in the First, to Murder in the Second, to Voluntary Manslaughter. We should not accept any less. And it may depend on what Denise tells us, and that's what she and her attorney are working out right now."

All eyes went to me. Even Miriam Walters knew who was going to decide what to do, and how to go about it. And I ran with it: "Okay, we'll hear what Denise has to say, if anything. And depending on what she does, here's how I would like to play it..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

4:15pm, Thursday, August 26th. Paulina and I went back into Interrogation-1. Tina Felton said "My client would like to make a hypothetical statement, from which we can negotiate a plea deal---"

"No." I said. "No hypotheticals. This is for real; we are not playing around. So don't waste my time. And Denise, you need to understand that we don't even have to offer nor accept a plea deal. We have you ice cold, dead to rights, for murder."

Tina looked at Denise and nodded, implementing their pre-arranged plan. Denise said "Like I told you the other day, Commander Troy, I've heard of you and your reputation. I guess I didn't expect to see such an example of it... on me. You were right, about almost all of it. But I shot Peter in self-defense when he attacked me."

I sighed. "Stop treating me like an Agency of the Weak-Minded. Tell me what really happened, and we'll go from there."

Denise said "I should've gotten rid of the gun, but you were right that that gun was my grandfather's. He gave it to me before he died, and told me to keep it for self-protection. So I just couldn't let it go."

Denise: "And you were right that I applied for a carry permit after what happened with Michael Bertram. I was in his office one day when he came up behind me and grabbed my breasts, and pushed his crotch into my backside. I kicked him hard in the knee and fought my way out of his grip, then ran into the main room to get away from him. I injured him pretty badly, too; he had to have surgery on the knee I kicked in."

Denise: "I made a formal complaint to HR, and the bitch there just said I had no evidence of it. And then Gale Gaston told me that if I didn't shut up, I would not only be fired, I would be found dead in a ditch by the side of the road. I reported that, too, and did not return to work there."

Denise: "One of the senior partners in the firm contacted me and apologized for Gaston and Bertram. He also asked me to come back to work there, and said, quote 'we'll settle things like adults'. I said I was already doing that, that I was hiring a lawyer and was going to sue them, and win or lose, the publicity would kill them. He just said to think about it 'rationally'."

Denise: "I never went back to Lowe, Ball & Lynch. I applied for the carry permit at that time, and started carrying the Beretta and pepper spray from that moment on. Peter hired me as his assistant a few weeks later, after no lawyer would take my harassment case and no one else would hire me."

I said "But Peter kept Lowe, Ball & Lynch as his attorneys?"

"Yes." said Denise. "I found out later that they'd suggested to Peter that he hire me, maybe to keep me quiet and from eventually finding a lawyer who would take my case. Anyway, it seemed to be working out. Peter and I were dating, and I really thought he was in love with me despite my knowing that his advice to couples was pretty avant-garde, and that there might be extracurricular stuff going on with some of them."

Denise: "Over time, Peter actually told me some of the things that were going on, and gave me access to the servers. All of them. He told me that if anything ever happened to him, if he were found beat up or worse, to take the two servers marked 'B' home with him, but keep the servers marked 'A' at the office so the Police could find them. That was about two years ago, when he also told me to call his lawyers first, even before the Police, if something happened to him."

Paulina said "You really put yourself in danger, there. You were a threat to Peter."

Denise: "I know, and I'll speak to that in a minute. I did protect myself by copying some of the sexually explicit files to an external hard drive, and putting it in a safe deposit box. But I think Peter was counting on me to be his protection if something happened to him."

Denise: "Anyway, we were in a serious relationship by then, and talking about moving in together, maybe even getting married. And I found out Spring before last that he was making deposits on a diamond ring. I thought it was for me and that he'd give it to me for Christmas, so I didn't say anything."

Denise's pretty face then turned dark as she hissed "And that's when she showed up. That Autumn. Marla Locklear and her husband became clients of Peter's, and it was pretty much over between me and Peter from that moment on. Peter and Marla began having sex, and Peter didn't have a lot of time for me anymore."

Denise: "Christmas came and went, and Peter gave me a nice necklace, but no engagement ring. When I brought up with him at year's end about moving in together and getting married, since my apartment contract was ending, he hemmed and hawed about it, and said we should hold off on those plans. And during the Spring, even 'friends with benefits' became just 'friends'."

Denise: "I knew why. I peeked into Peter's office during one of his solo sessions with Marla. They were on the couch, and he was on top of her, fucking her. And they were really going at it. I began secretly taping their sessions, and half the time they were banging. I had those recorded to the 'B' servers."

Denise: "But I could've lived with that. If Peter would've been happier with her than me, that was between them. It was last week, when I was watching the video of one of their sessions of them just talking, and heard them talking about Peter lying on the stand to help convict Marla's husband, that I knew he was crossing the line for her."

Denise: "So on Saturday morning, I went to his house. I was going to confront him there, but he said he needed to go to the office, and he wanted me to come with him. So I rode in his car with him. At the office, he was preparing to destroy the 'B' server files. He told me that he might have to testify in the Locklear trial, and that his files might be subpoenaed, so he was going to destroy them."

Denise: "That's when I confronted him, and told him I knew he had talked with Marla about lying on the stand. I told him that he was a better man than that, and it was wrong to falsely testify to get Mr. Locklear convicted. I'll... I'll never forget how he looked at me at that moment... through his eyebrows with an ugly glare. This was the man that was talking marriage with me just months before, and at that moment he was staring at me with pure hatred in his eyes."

Denise: "I felt real fear at that moment, and put my hand in my jeans pocket where my gun was. And when he came around the desk and grabbed at my neck with his hands, I pulled it out to stop him. I just wanted to stop him, not kill him! But he kept attacking, and I had to pull the trigger."

Denise: "When the first shot went off, he went to his knees, looking at me as if he couldn't believe I'd shot him. He grabbed at me again, and I fired at him again, and got him right in the face. He went down like a stone."

Denise: "I was in a panic. I got his keys, which he'd put on his desk, went and got the 'B' servers, and took them to his car. And like you said, Commander, I reset the alarm just in case someone heard the shots and came to investigate, and the Police would answer the alarm and come over and investigate."

Denise: "I drove Peter's car back to his house, put the servers in my car, then went inside and got the electronics stuff. He had a camera that he used to film himself and me making love, and I thought he might've taped himself with Marla, so I took the storage device that went with the camera."

Denise: "And then I drove home, drank myself half to death, then realized Sunday that I needed to act as if nothing had happened and go into work Monday. And I did... and called the lawyers like he always wanted me to, even though I despised them. And that's... pretty much it."

Tina Felton said "So as you can see, it was self-defense. Involuntary manslaughter at worst."

"Voluntary manslaughter at best." Paulina replied, a bit strongly. "And a lot closer to Murder-2 than that."

"She didn't intend to harm him." Tina tried to argue. "And it'll be hard for you to prove more than voluntary manslaughter." She was already maneuvering to the middle, I noticed.

I said "Oh, I think we can prove more. But... let's just keep that story in our minds, shall we? Maybe we will want to come back to it, like Monsieur Hercule Poirot kept the second idea in mind in Agatha Christie's 'Murder On The Orient Express'. But have no doubts, Ms. Felton. We can press for Murder in the First Degree, here."

Me: "First of all, Denise, Peter did not attack you. If he had, I would have expected to see bruising on your neck. And it's also provably true that when one is attacked, no matter how ready you are, there is a time lapse between your mind's recognition of the threat and your ability to respond to it."

Me: "There is virtually no way you could've acted defensively to pull out the gun, pressed it to Peter's abdomen, and fire it. Additionally, if he was (air quotes) 'still coming at you' like you said, he'd have either choked you, or gone for the gun."

Me: "No, you had the gun ready to go. I suspect that you confronted Peter, that you were angry or upset with him, telling him that Marla's influence over him was clouding his judgement. He was trying to calm you down, came around the desk, put his hands on your shoulders as if to hug you, and found your gun pressed into him followed by you shooting him. Then a second shot as he fell."

Me: "And there are other signs of premeditation, as well. You'd already thought out getting the 'B' servers but leaving the other servers. I understand why you took them, to keep Gaston and Bertram from getting to them, but that shows thinking ahead, and bad decision-making. If you'd called the Police first, we'd have the servers before they would."

"Unless they somehow knew Peter was dead, and came in and took the servers." Denise said.

"So why did you take the servers? Why did you want to protect them?" I asked.

Denise said "I was thinking that I might could find a way to give them to Mr. Locklear's Defense Counsel, to help him at his trial. To be honest, I didn't think that far ahead."

Tina Felton said "Denise, you need to stop talking now. So, Commander, Ms. Patterson, involuntary manslaughter, six years with parole eligibility in two? In exchange for not putting you through a trial to be hard pressed to show Murder-2, much less Murder-1?"

Paulina looked at me. I nodded, so she said "Voluntary manslaughter, ten years with eligibility for parole in six."

I said "And one more thing. Your client will agree to truthfully testify in the Locklear trial if called upon."

"Fineman will never allow that." Tina Felton said.

"It won't be her call" I replied. "It'll be the Judge's, if and when the Defense calls on her to take the stand."

"And what if he doesn't call on her?" Tina Felton asked.

"Then she's looking at six-to-ten as a very generous gift, with nothing to have to do in return." I said. "If she's called on, she testifies. If not, not. That's our final offer..."

Part 16 - Nacho Plea Deal

Paulina and I were sitting on the outside deck of the Cop Bar, enjoying beef nachos and beer or Coca-Cola Zero. Joining us for the impromptu celebration were the Sheriff, the Chief, Cindy and Callie, Teresa, Tanya and Jack Muscone, and Chaplain Romano. I learned that some priests love beef nachos. A lot.

Paulina: "Pretty damn generous of you, Don. I would not have settled for less than Murder-2. Denise's attorney is a divorce attorney, not an experienced criminal and trial attorney, and she was trying to play the tough holdout card, so maybe Denise wouldn't have taken it. But voluntary manslaughter is almost not enough for what she did. "

Tanya said "I'm a little surprised, too. Six to ten, likely just six, for murdering a man? That's not the Iron Crowbar I'm used to. What, Don, getting soft in your old age?" Everyone chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I said, rolling with it. "But Peter Frost was a sleazy son of a bitch, no doubt. And I think we got all we could out of Denise, unless we wanted to work hard at a trial that likely would've gotten the same reduced charges. And we got Denise willing to testify on Stanley Locklear's behalf."

"And Judge Folsom signed off on the deal?" Sheriff Griswold growled.

"Yes, he did." said Paulina. "He was surprised, too, but he signed off on it readily enough. And to be candidly honest, I don't know if Judge Watts would have signed off on it."

"Will she be able to help Locklear?" Jack Muscone asked. "Will she be allowed to testify?"

"I don't know." I said. "The minute we had Denise's words about Marla and Frost on tape, Father Romano looked up those files on the 'B' servers, and he confirmed what Denise said. Marla and Peter were a'conspirin' to convict if not murder Stanley Locklear. That Marla..." I stopped mid-sentence.

Cindy said "I know what you're thinking. Marla must be the best piece of ass in the State. She manipulated Stanley, she had Tom Maple and Peter Frost pussy-whipped---" She was stopped by the outburst of laughter by everyone, even Father Romano.

I said "Yep. That is what I was thinking: Marla must be amazing in bed. As to the Locklear trial, as soon as Father Romano confirmed the data, I called Michael Thomas McGill and told him about it. He's subpoenaing the tapes, and is putting Denise on his witness list. I suspect Savannah and Marla's new legal representation are going to go ape-shit tomorrow."

"Who is her new representation?" Teresa asked.

I just 'looked' at her and said "You get one guess."

"And that guess had better be 'Gwen Munson'." said Paulina.

"Her?!" gasped Tanya. "She handles big names. Is Marla a Swamp Frog?"

"I don't think so." I said. "I suspect that Fineman asked Gwen to represent Marla. And for a Prosecutor like Fineman to be working in cahoots with Swamp Frog lawyers... that is---"

"A strangeness!" said a chorus. I love my team, I love my team, I love my team...

"I was going to say that it was something of (air quotes) 'interest', something to keep in our field of vision." I said. "And methinks it does not bode well for our futures."

"Well, Don," Jack Muscone said. "Modesty aside, you did a hell of a job."

I said "Modesty aside, it really was a team effort. Everyone contributed pieces of data to the puzzle. I saw all of it, so I was able to correlate things, put the pieces together into a cohesive picture. By the way, are there any leftover questions?"

"Joey Mendon attempting to assassinate Father Romano." said Cindy. "Who, and why?"

I said "I think Sheriff Griswold may have been spot-on about it when he said Gale Gaston and Michael Bertram may have been working for interests other than Peter Frost. Those are two sleazy, bad men, and I expect to be seeing more of them in the future... in our realm of work, not theirs."

Paulina said "I heard a rumor that the senior partners at Lowe, Ball & Lynch may be asking them to seek employment elsewhere, even though Savannah dropped the charges against Gale Gaston."

"So, Paulina," Teresa said, "will we be seeing more of you and less of Savannah now?"

"I-yi-yiiii." Paulina said. "We'll have to see how the Locklear trial goes. If Miriam doesn't stop Savannah's insanity, and at least take death off the table, and if Stanley is convicted, then I'm resigning from the District Attorney's Office..."

Part 17 - School Daze and Discrimination

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Friday, August 27th, from roof of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in her background. "The Police Union demands the Town & County Police Department name an Internal Affairs leader!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "The Police Union has filed a formal grievance against the Town & County Mayor and Council and the Town & County Public Safety Department over the Police Department's continuing failure to appoint an Internal Affairs leader. The position carries the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and answers to the Police Commander and Police Chief."

Bettina: "The Union is claiming that they are grieving on behalf of their member Officers, saying that not having a viable, independent Internal Affairs with an appointed, vetted leader of integrity potentially harms the rights of the Officers with regards to issues of indemnity as well as potential infractions such as insubordination. The Union claims they have strong support for the grievance from their members, and did not rule out authorizing a strike over the issue."

Bettina: "The Union grievance to the Federal Government includes a request for binding arbitration by the National Labor Relations Board. Reached for comment, Police spokesman Damien Thompson stated that, quote, 'the Town & County Police Department will never accept binding Federal arbitration for any Union grievance, and especially not for a specious and illegal grievance over an issue that is not within their purview', close quote. Police Commander Donald Troy has not responded to repeated requests by Channel Two News for comment."