An Insignificant Case

Chapter Forty-Seven

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Thomas Grant was chatting with the reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom where Alexis Chandler was going to be arraigned when he spotted Charlie and Bridget walking toward him.

“What are you two doing here?” Grant asked.

“This is where Alexis Chandler is going to be arraigned, isn’t it?” Charlie asked.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to represent Chandler after she fucked you over,” Grant said.

“And good morning to you too, Tom,” Charlie replied.

“She was your employee. Don’t you have some kind of conflict?”

“Bridget and I talked it over, and we decided my relationship with Alexis won’t disqualify us from taking her case.”

Grant chuckled. “Hey, it’s your funeral. I couldn’t have been given a stronger case if I handpicked the facts myself.”

“Then the trial should be a snooze for you,” Charlie answered.

“If we get that far. Once you see what we’ve got, I expect you to run to my office to ask for a plea bargain.”

“We’ll see after we read the discovery in her case. Can you messenger it over to us?”

“Sure thing, Charlie. I’ll even use a Magic Marker to highlight all of the evidence that proves your adorable client is, beyond a reasonable doubt, a mass murderer.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

Grant turned to Bridget. “We all miss you. It’s a shame you went over to the dark side.”

Bridget laughed. “We’d better get inside. Court should be starting.”

Alexis’s arrest had been front-page news, and the courtroom was packed.

“How are you holding up?” Charlie asked when the guards had taken off Alexis’s shackles and she was seated next to him.

Alexis smiled. “Jail is a breeze after some of the places I was in when I served.”

Charlie chuckled. “I keep forgetting you were in combat in war zones.”

Alexis stopped smiling. “That’s a time of my life, like this one, that I’d like to forget. What are my chances of getting bailed out?”

“That’s not going to happen. There’s no automatic bail in a death case, and given that you’ve already been hiding out in Mexico, I won’t be able to argue that you aren’t a flight risk.”

“Then what’s happening today?”

“We’ll waive the reading of the indictment and enter pleas of not guilty to all the charges. Even though we won’t win, I’ll ask for a bail hearing so we can get some idea of the State’s case, and we’ll do some scheduling.”

The bailiff rapped his gavel, and the Honorable Isaac Steinbock took the bench. Charlie and Bridget had been happy when they heard that Judge Steinbock had been selected to hear Alexis’s case. The judge was in his late fifties, but he looked younger. He was a gym rat and had a wiry physique, a full head of curly black hair with only a smattering of gray, and bright blue eyes that were cast in shadow by bushy black eyebrows. Trying a case in Steinbock’s court was a pleasant experience because he had a jovial disposition, treated the litigants with respect, and was very smart.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Judge Steinbock said after his bailiff called the case. “Are you ready to proceed?”

The parties stood.

“Thomas Grant for the People of Oregon. We’re ready.”

“Charlie Webb and Bridget Fournier for Miss Chandler. We’re ready, and we waive a reading of the indictment.”

“Very well, Mr. Webb. How does Miss Chandler plead?”

“Not guilty to all of the counts.”

“Okay. What’s the State’s position on bail, Mr. Grant?”

“This is a murder case with no automatic bail, and the defendant has been on the run for two years, so there’s no question that she’s a flight risk. So, we ask the court to hold the defendant and not grant her release on bail.”

“Mr. Webb?” Judge Steinbock asked.

“We’d like you to schedule a bail hearing.”

“How does next Tuesday suit everybody?” the judge asked.

“We’re good,” Charlie said.

“Tuesday is fine with the State.”

“Okay, then. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be in recess.”

“What happens next?” Alexis asked.

“In a few weeks, a jury of your peers will decide if you live or die.”