the parking lot adjacent to the police station. Harold nodded toward me. “My client—“
“He means Merle.” Ed interrupted.
“Yes, I do. As you know, he’s been arrested. The last time they brought him in, he had no alibi and a dirt match. Fortunately that fell through when a co-worker came forward and stated he’d seen Mr. Pokov at work at the time of the murder. The dirt match wasn’t enough, so much to their chagrin, the police couldn’t charge him. They kept looking for evidence. Of course, we’re also looking for evidence that Mr. Pokov didn’t commit the murder.”
Watching Harold pull his too-short shirt sleeves to cover his bony wrists reminded me my client’s attorney was still a growing boy. “They’ve found some,” I added in a soft voice, “but so far we haven’t found any.”
“A matter of time.”
While Harold’s optimism probably assured his clients, it didn’t convince me. Nor did it seem to allay Ed’s worries. He fidgeted as if fire ants were on him. “Dammit! We gotta do something. Merle didn’t kill Coco. I’ve known him all my life. Guy wouldn’t stomp on a worm.”
Harold checked his watch. “Don’t worry, Ed. The jury will be convinced of his innocence. Now I have to go see someone about Mr. Pokov’s arraignment. For his sake, the sooner it’s held, the better. From what I already know, the evidence is not ironclad. My objective is to find and exploit the weak spots.”
I thought again about Rico. “Or prove someone else committed the crime.” I needed to get my hands on Coco’s phone, but I had no idea where to look. Tony denied having it and Rico was looking for the thing. The police had found Coco’s car in Rocky River Reservation, part of the Metropark system, and for sure, gone over it with great care. They didn’t find the phone either.
An idea came to me, but it meant asking Corrigan for another favor, something I hated to do. But if I could save Merle, my pride didn’t matter. Or, I could ask Ed to ask Corrigan for the list of calls in Coco’s phone.
Ed looked at me like I’d asked him if he could jump across the Grand Canyon. “Nah, Corrigan’s sweet on you. You should do it. You’d get better results.”
Harold held up a hand. “If the police get her records, as Mr. Pokov’s defense attorney, I’ll have access to them as well.”
“That’s great, but it’ll take time. I’m going back to the West City Lounge to talk to a witness.” I wanted to talk with Eric about Coco’s phone. The cops didn’t have it, nor did Rico or Tony. That left Eric, especially since he might have been the last person to talk to Coco. At the very least he could tell me if she had her phone with her when he saw her.
On my way to see Eric at the lounge, I stopped to get a burger. While waiting at the takeout window, I got a call from Aunt Lena. The woman has the worst timing of anyone I know.
“Claire, I hate to ask, but have you seen Ed? He just called off our date for tonight and cancelled our whole weekend together. He sounded worried sick over his cousin. He didn’t give me the details. Is there anything I can do?”
Not being the person to give out advice to the lovelorn, I squirmed a bit. Besides that, it seemed unnatural for my aunt to hesitate, unsure of what to do. She’d always barreled through life’s problems. “Just be there for Ed if he needs you. Merle’s been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Coco. Ed’s taking it hard, but he’s working with me to clear his cousin.” Pretty inane but it was the best I could do. My record on relationships wasn’t exactly stellar.
She sighed. “But he’s got to take care of himself.”
“He is, by doing something. He’ll be okay. I’ll let him know you called, concerned.”
“No, don’t tell him. He’ll think I’m sticking my nose in his business. I am, but I don’t want him to know. If I can do anything…”
“I’ll let you know.” The girl at the takeout window handed me
“He means Merle.” Ed interrupted.
“Yes, I do. As you know, he’s been arrested. The last time they brought him in, he had no alibi and a dirt match. Fortunately that fell through when a co-worker came forward and stated he’d seen Mr. Pokov at work at the time of the murder. The dirt match wasn’t enough, so much to their chagrin, the police couldn’t charge him. They kept looking for evidence. Of course, we’re also looking for evidence that Mr. Pokov didn’t commit the murder.”
Watching Harold pull his too-short shirt sleeves to cover his bony wrists reminded me my client’s attorney was still a growing boy. “They’ve found some,” I added in a soft voice, “but so far we haven’t found any.”
“A matter of time.”
While Harold’s optimism probably assured his clients, it didn’t convince me. Nor did it seem to allay Ed’s worries. He fidgeted as if fire ants were on him. “Dammit! We gotta do something. Merle didn’t kill Coco. I’ve known him all my life. Guy wouldn’t stomp on a worm.”
Harold checked his watch. “Don’t worry, Ed. The jury will be convinced of his innocence. Now I have to go see someone about Mr. Pokov’s arraignment. For his sake, the sooner it’s held, the better. From what I already know, the evidence is not ironclad. My objective is to find and exploit the weak spots.”
I thought again about Rico. “Or prove someone else committed the crime.” I needed to get my hands on Coco’s phone, but I had no idea where to look. Tony denied having it and Rico was looking for the thing. The police had found Coco’s car in Rocky River Reservation, part of the Metropark system, and for sure, gone over it with great care. They didn’t find the phone either.
An idea came to me, but it meant asking Corrigan for another favor, something I hated to do. But if I could save Merle, my pride didn’t matter. Or, I could ask Ed to ask Corrigan for the list of calls in Coco’s phone.
Ed looked at me like I’d asked him if he could jump across the Grand Canyon. “Nah, Corrigan’s sweet on you. You should do it. You’d get better results.”
Harold held up a hand. “If the police get her records, as Mr. Pokov’s defense attorney, I’ll have access to them as well.”
“That’s great, but it’ll take time. I’m going back to the West City Lounge to talk to a witness.” I wanted to talk with Eric about Coco’s phone. The cops didn’t have it, nor did Rico or Tony. That left Eric, especially since he might have been the last person to talk to Coco. At the very least he could tell me if she had her phone with her when he saw her.
On my way to see Eric at the lounge, I stopped to get a burger. While waiting at the takeout window, I got a call from Aunt Lena. The woman has the worst timing of anyone I know.
“Claire, I hate to ask, but have you seen Ed? He just called off our date for tonight and cancelled our whole weekend together. He sounded worried sick over his cousin. He didn’t give me the details. Is there anything I can do?”
Not being the person to give out advice to the lovelorn, I squirmed a bit. Besides that, it seemed unnatural for my aunt to hesitate, unsure of what to do. She’d always barreled through life’s problems. “Just be there for Ed if he needs you. Merle’s been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Coco. Ed’s taking it hard, but he’s working with me to clear his cousin.” Pretty inane but it was the best I could do. My record on relationships wasn’t exactly stellar.
She sighed. “But he’s got to take care of himself.”
“He is, by doing something. He’ll be okay. I’ll let him know you called, concerned.”
“No, don’t tell him. He’ll think I’m sticking my nose in his business. I am, but I don’t want him to know. If I can do anything…”
“I’ll let you know.” The girl at the takeout window handed me
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