Watching The Detectives Ch. 13

"Well, that may be your intention but the defense has other plans. You're on their witness list. We think they're making a huge mistake."

"What the hell is Russell thinking?" asked Sousa.

"Are they going to prosecute me as a defense strategy?" Kat asked. "That's insane. With all due respect, your case against Raymond isn't that strong." Kat paused. "Actually, it's pretty damn weak."

Jameson disagreed. "I wouldn't say we have a weak case, Kat."

"You have no murder weapon and no witnesses. If I was defending my husband I'd rip your case to shreds."

John Sousa placed his hand on Kat's arm. "He's not the enemy, Kat."

"I don't see it that way," bristled Jameson. "but I agree their defense will fail if attacking you is the strategy. You're on their list. That doesn't mean they'll call you."

One of Jameson's subordinates spoke up. "You honestly don't believe your husband committed this crime?"

"I don't."

"If they call you to the stand will you help his case?"

"That depends on the line of questioning. If they attack me... Raymond's going down."

A slight smile crossed the lips of each prosecutor in the room. Kat noticed and it made her worry about her estranged husband's defense. Raymond's trial was less than three weeks away. Kat decided to do something rash, she called Raymond.

"Ray, listen to me. If your defense plan is to attack me and try to put the gun in my hand you'll go to prison for murder. I'm certain you can beat the charges if you take apart the prosecution's case."

"Please, Kat," Raymond said calmly. "My lawyers and I feel very good about our game plan. You might be surprised."

"Russell is in over his head," Kat said. "If the strategy is to cast doubt on the prosecution by implicating me you should fire him and hire a new attorney. They'll postpone the trail."

Raymond chuckled. "You don't want to take the stand, do you? You'll have to swear under oath you had nothing to do with Barnes' death. You'll have to lie in court and that'll kill you."

"Hiring your country club buddy to defend you is going to land you in jail," Kat said. "This guy he hooked up with, Ed Reynolds, he's a hack. I'm telling you..."

"Ed Reynolds is a fine attorney," Ray interrupted her. "When your friends at K&S sabotaged my defense by throwing me overboard, he stepped in to help."

"Yes, because Reynolds would never get a high-profile case like this. No one in their right mind would put their lives in his hands."

Click. Raymond hung up.

.

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--- CRAZY TOWN ---

Seated in a window booth at their favorite diner looking out on Fifth Avenue, Kat and Glo discussed the latest developments. Kat gave Glo a side nod toward an old man at the lunch counter. He was reading The Weekly Mail, holding it so Kat could see the headline

Jury Selection Set To Begin In Landry Murder Trial.

"You have to admit," Glo found Kat's eyes while sipping her soft drink through a straw. "The work Pitka's team is doing creating this crazy story is impressive."

"I don't have to admit anything. Any hack with a typewriter can churn out a fake crime story. The good ones can even make it seem plausible."

"Kat, you did most of the things The Mail is reporting; the stunts with the detectives, the digging into that girl's abduction and rescue, meeting with McDonald and Dwyer. From there, it's not difficult to imagine you having an ax to grind."

Kat stared at Glo with dead eyes. She spoke with a flat tone. "Do you think I framed Raymond?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying their narrative is not so far-fetched.

"And once you have that it's not hard to convince dimwits in this crazy town to buy the garbage he prints. He just has to make it plausible. Pitka prints the same theory over and over. If you do that often enough, gullible people will believe it."

"He did convince Raymond," Glo smirked. "It was easy. Jelly is a gullible rube and he needs to believe it."

"I know. His future depends on the jury believing it."

"And the HeMan Woman Haters Club loves bashing you. Have you listened to talk radio? You're right, this is crazy town."

"I try to avoid gossip radio."

"It's not easy being your best friend these days. People at the courthouse are talking around the water cooler and it seems the men are siding with Raymond. Not all of them, it's mostly the Neanderthals. The attorneys seem to be with you."

"Yes, because they deal with facts, evidence and law, not sleazy hearsay and gossip."

"It's been hard. When I walk into a room and everyone clams up, I know they were talking about you. I feel some of my colleagues don't want to discuss it with me. It's not nice at work these days."

"Oh Jesus, you sound like my mother. She makes it all about her and her reputation. She can't go to Bingo anymore and there are whispers in church."

"I'm not making it about me. I'm just saying the people who know we're friends are acting strange around me."

"Do you want to trade places?"

"No thanks."

The girls went quiet for a bit. Glo fidgeted with the remnants of her lunch. Kat stared out the window to avoid the eyes of the diner patrons glancing her way. They looked away she saw them.

"This plausibility troubles me," Glo said quietly. "I know you didn't kill Billy, but that angle is..."

"Is what?" Kat cut her off, "Believable?"

"Yeah. And that's troubling. Do you recall when I mentioned that you seem to have all the bases covered? I said something. It was like," Glo searched for words. "You have all this criminal defense experience and I said you could probably plan the perfect crime. That, and all this plausible speculation is disturbing."

Kat smirked, "You got me Glo. You've cracked the case. I did it."

"Don't be an ass!" Glo threw her napkin down and pointed out the window. "You were right there having an unfriendly discussion with Billy Barnes. I witnessed it, and so did some of these people." She gestured towards the counter diners. "Twelve hours later he was dead. Do you know what that looks like?"

"Yeah. It looks like I did it to people who want to believe it."