An Insignificant Case

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

After two nights of troubled sleep, exhaustion caught up with Charlie and he slept like a dead person. Good Cup Coffee was near his office building, and he picked up a latte before crossing the street. When he walked into the waiting area, he stopped short so quickly that some of his drink slopped out of the cup.

Sitting on the sofa was the stunningly attractive woman he’d seen in the courtroom when Guido was arraigned on the murder charges. When he’d passed her in the courtroom, Charlie had only seen her face for a few seconds, but he had a vivid memory of short, golden hair, skin the color of porcelain, and eyes of the deepest blue. When the woman stood, Charlie could see that her figure was as amazing as her looks. She was tall; Charlie guessed about five ten. She was wearing tight jeans that showed off her long legs and perfect backside, and a navy-blue blouse that fit just as provocatively and showed off breasts that made erotic fantasies ricochet through Charlie’s mind.

“Mr. Webb?” she asked hesitatingly.

“Yes,” Charlie answered, struggling to act professionally.

“I apologize for dropping in without an appointment, but I was hoping you could meet with me if you have some free time. I can come back.”

“Uh, no. That won’t be necessary, Miss…?”

“It’s Elin… Elin Crane.”

“Okay. Why don’t you come back to my office. Do you want coffee, tea?”

“No, that’s okay.”

Charlie told the receptionist to hold his calls. Then he led Crane down a long hall decorated with photos of Mount Hood, Haystack Rock, and other examples of Oregon’s scenic beauty.

“So, Miss Crane, how can I help you?” Charlie asked when they were in his office with the door shut.

Elin looked down at her lap. “This is embarrassing.”

“I don’t judge, Miss Crane, and I’ve heard it all, so just tell me what’s bothering you so I can help.”

Elin took a deep breath. “I dated this man just one time. He came on really strong, and I didn’t like it. When he asked me out again, I turned him down.”

Elin paused and took another breath.

“Do you want some water?” Charlie asked.

Elin looked up and shook her head. Charlie waited for her to gather herself.

“The thing is, he started calling me at all hours, begging me to go out with him again. I was very firm. I said I wasn’t attracted to him and he should date someone else. The calls have continued. He leaves voice messages, and I’ve seen him standing on the sidewalk across from my apartment. He sends me emails. I want it to stop. Can you help me?”

“Yes, Miss Crane, I can,” Charlie said. “I can get you a restraining order from a judge. If this man continues to bother you, we can have him arrested. Tell me, was he ever physically abusive?”

“Oh no! After that one date, he was never near me again, except across the street.”

Elin was so beautiful that Charlie was having trouble concentrating, so he took out a form he used when he was hired by a new client.

“Before we go any further, there are a few formalities I have to take care of when I have a new client.”

“Then you’ll take me on?”

“Of course. So, can you spell your full name for me and tell me your address, email, and phone number?”

Charlie didn’t know if he would be hired when he told Elin his hourly rate, but he could ask her out if he wasn’t representing her now that he had her contact information.

“Do you mind me asking why you decided to hire me?” Charlie asked when Elin told him that his fee would not be a problem.

Elin blushed. “I like lawyer shows on TV, and I’m toying with the idea of going to law school, so I decided to sit in on some cases to see what real lawyers do. Your client, well, it was obvious that he has problems, and I was impressed by how compassionate you were.”

Now it was Charlie’s turn to blush. “Mr. Sabatini has obvious problems, but I treat every client with dignity.”

“I could see that, and that’s why I decided to see if you could help me.”

“The law is a good profession. I think you’d like it.”

“I don’t know if I could practice criminal law. Don’t you worry when you represent a murderer?”

“Mr. Sabatini’s case is my first homicide. And I think he’s innocent.”

Elin hesitated. “I don’t know if I can ask this question, so tell me if it’s inappropriate, but I was wondering what Mr. Sabatini did. It sounded like he stole a painting he painted, and now the police think he killed the person who bought it. Is that right?”

“Yes. I can’t tell you much about the case, because I can’t violate a client’s confidence, but he is a very good artist, and he sold a painting to Gretchen Hall, who owns a restaurant. The police are saying that he broke into the restaurant and took back the painting. Then Hall was murdered in Tryon Creek park, and one of Guido’s paintings was found at the scene. But he says he didn’t kill her.”

“If he just took the painting, can you get the charges in the burglary case dropped by returning it?”

“That’s what we were hoping to do.”

“Was that all he took, just a painting?”

“There may have been something else.”

“Oh, what?”

“I really can’t say anything more.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It just seemed like an interesting case.”

Charlie didn’t want to be rude, but he felt uncomfortable discussing Guido’s case, so he changed the subject.

“Do you want me to try and get a restraining order, Miss Crane?”

Elin thought for a minute. “That’s a big step. Let me see what he does. Maybe he’ll just stop and the restraining order won’t be necessary. Can I get back to you?”

“Of course, Miss Crane,” Charlie said as he successfully hid his disappointment. “Why don’t you let me know, one way or the other.”

Elin stood up. “I will. Just talking to you has made me feel a lot better.” She smiled. “And you can call me Elin.”

Charlie walked Elin to the front of the office and watched her get into the elevator. Then he went back to his office. After fantasizing about Elin Crane for a few minutes, he took a deep breath and turned his thoughts to the task of keeping Guido Sabatini alive.

Charlie thought about what Gary had said after he filled them in on the case. He’d suggested that Thomas Grant might have been involved in the sex trafficking ring.

At Guido’s arraignment on the burglary charge, Monica Reyes had told him that she had been given the okay to dismiss Guido’s case if he returned everything he’d taken from La Bella Roma. Who had told her? Charlie had another case with Reyes, and he decided to use it as an excuse to find out about Guido’s case.

Charlie dialed the DA’s office and asked to be connected to Reyes.

“Hi, Monica. Did you get my discovery in Martin Coughlin’s DUII case? I wasn’t sure I sent it.”

“Yeah, it came two days ago.”

“Oh, good.”

Charlie wasn’t sure how to work the conversation around to Guido’s case, but Monica saved him the trouble.

“I heard Sabatini has been arrested for killing the owner of La Bella Roma. It looks like we messed up getting him out on recog.”

“That wasn’t your fault. Didn’t you say your boss told you that you could agree to recog?”

“That’s true.”

“Was that Tom Grant?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know he got involved in unimportant cases like Guido’s.”

“He just dropped by and asked what I had on my table. He was talking with all the lawyers in my unit. So, I hear that Bridget Fournier is livid that Sabatini is out on bail on the murder charge.”

“She was upset. But for the record, I don’t think Guido is guilty.”

“I guess we’ll see,” Monica said.

“Well, I’m glad you got the discovery. It was good talking to you.”

When Charlie hung up, he felt a little sick. Was the chief prosecutor in Multnomah County involved in the sex trafficking ring, or was Charlie getting paranoid? If that were true, who could he call for help in keeping Guido alive? Something Monica Reyes had said gave Charlie an idea.