Read Online Fatal February by Barbara Levenson - Free Book Online Page B

to the bench. He was an unknown quantity. In his past life he had been a commercial litigator. He had little or no knowledge of criminal law. Why had he been assigned to this case? I never bought that blind filing system by the clerk’s office. It was as blind as a sharpshooter.
    Rumor had it that this circuit court judgeship was just a stepping-stone for Harvey. He hankered after a seat on the appellate court, but without criminal experience he wouldn’t be considered, so Lillian’s case was going to be his training ground.
    “The first case this morning on the arraignment calendar is
State vs. Lillian Yarmouth
, ” Judge Arnold announced.
    Lillian and I approached one lectern, while Karlstood behind the other. The arraignment is the first time formal charges are filed in court. The state had been holding the indictment in secret. All of my phone calls to Karl had been stonewalled. The clerk’s office claimed that they had not received a copy of the charges. The entire courtroom appeared to be holding its collective breath awaiting the degree of the charges. I was hoping for a manslaughter charge, assuming the State would look at the crime as one of passion, a spur-of-the-moment decision by whoever was the killer.
    “Good morning, Your Honor,” Karl said. The state is filing a one-count indictment against Mrs. Yarmouth for the second degree murder of her spouse, Gary Yarmouth.”
    A gasp resounded from the audience. Lillian swayed slightly and grabbed my arm. I heard a sob behind me and knew it was Sherry.
    “However, Your Honor, I think it advisable to warn the defendant and her counsel that this charge may be superseded by an indictment for first degree murder. We have reason to believe that there was premeditation. The state attorney’s death penalty committee is scheduled to meet in March to evaluate whether we will be seeking the death penalty.” Karl finished with a flourish.
    “How say you, Ms. Katz, on behalf of your client?” the judge inquired.
    I was as dizzy as if I had just gotten off a rollercoaster ride. “We enter a plea of not guilty, waive reading of the indictment, request immediate discovery, fifteen days for further motions, and request a very early trial date.” My lawyer mind had returned. I would ram this case to a swift conclusion before these gestapo prosecutors dreamed up any other tortures for Lillian. “Also, Judge, you will notice that I have filed other motions to be heard this morning.”
    “Judge, I was unaware of any motions calendared for today,” Karl whined.
    “These motions were delivered one week ago to the state. The court file will reflect the date they were served.” I smiled at the clerk who was already going through the court file.
    “She’s right, Your Honor,” the clerk said, as she passed the papers to the judge. “Date of service was actually nine days ago.”
    One of the young assistants was rushing forward with the motions from Karl’s file. Karl gave her a dirty look and began to study the documents.
    “My first motion is to remove Mrs. Yarmouth from the electronic monitor. She has posted a one-million-dollar bond with her family home as collateral. She has lived her whole life in Miami. Her children have left college to live with her while this case is pending. Her brother and sister-in-law live nearby and the family business is located here as well. All of these safeguards insure that my client will never leave the county.”
    “What are you asking me to do?” Harvey asked.
    “Judge, you can’t be considering this.” Karl’s voice rose in a grating squeak. “I was going to ask you to revoke her bond and put her in jail.”
    Lillian began to cry. I patted her shoulder.
    “I believe the bond itself is sufficient without any further impediments. I need my client to assist in her defense. That means she needs to be free to come to my office and to attend the depositions of State witnesses. If you feel that you need some other protective