Chapter 13
“I’ll come with you,” Morgan offered.
Penland turned the opposite way once they reached the hallway. “I’ll meet you out front.”
Upon reaching the double doors marked “Part 44”, the two women slipped quietly into the nearly full courtroom and found a vacant spot on the back row of benches. Along with everyone else present, they listened intently as McCoy questioned a prosecution witness.
When he finished and turned around to resume his seat, a slight movement
from
The defense attorney completed a short cross-examination, after which the judge announced lunch recess. As the courtroom began to clear, Morgan and Carmichael waited for McCoy to join them.
“I see you two made it,” he observed. “Did Todd have something else to do after all?”
“No,”
After McCoy had introduced her and Morgan, Southerlyn said, “Well, have a good lunch, everyone. I’ll meet you back here, Jack.”
“Don’t be late,” he admonished. He missed the disapproving look she gave him as he turned his attention back to the other two women. “Let’s go. I’m starved.”
***“Yes, the majority of the thousands of cases that come through our office every year are handled with a plea bargain,” McCoy agreed defensively. “If it weren’t for pleas, the courts would be jammed with non-stop appeals. At least when someone pleads out, we don’t have to worry about seeing them in the courtroom again for the same case, except under extreme circumstances. And we certainly don’t have the time or resources to see every person accused of a crime through a fell-blown trial. It isn’t a perfect system, but it’s the only one we have.”
“I’m not saying plea bargains don’t have their place in our justice system,” Morgan argued, “but too many P.D.’s see them as THE way to dispose of every case. Some of them haven’t been involved in an actual trial for years.”
McCoy finished chewing a bite of linguine and said, “P.D.’s are some of the most overworked people in the whole criminal justice chain. They carry incredible case loads. They don’t have the time to go through a trial for every client either.”
“And some of them use overwork as an excuse to slack off from providing their clients with competent representation. They use a plea bargain as a quick and easy way to settle a case instead of searching out all the relevant facts.” Morgan took a sip of tea and added, “There’s more to some defendants than meets the eye at first glance. You can’t fast forward people like Sara Grayson through the system. It takes a little digging to get to the truth. And not to mention any names, but some P.D.’s aren’t willing to put in the time and effort.”
“Since this whole conversation started when I said I had worked with Brenda Radcliffe on another case recently, I think we all know to whom you’re referring,” McCoy said pointedly.
Morgan shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”
Before McCoy could respond,
With a grin, McCoy relented. “Much as I’m enjoying myself, I guess we could call a truce for the remainder of our lunch break.”
“What would you like to talk about?” Morgan asked
Ignoring the sarcasm, she suggested, “How about running? I can’t make it tomorrow evening. Do you want to go Saturday instead?”
“I can’t. I need to spend the morning getting caught up at the office and I have plans for the afternoon and evening. But we could go this evening. I know it was supposed to be our night off and it will mean running four days in a row, but we would have three days to recuperate.”
Penland had chosen to stay out of the debate between Morgan and McCoy,
as had
“How much did you say the two of you run?”
“Usually five or six miles, four days a week,”
“Not bad,” he noted. “I ran quite a bit when I was in school and I’ve been thinking of taking it up again. I could use someone to run with to get me motivated, and the place where you meet is perfect.”
As Penland took another bite of his lunch, his attention was otherwise
occupied, and Morgan took the opportunity to give
Taking the hint,
“I work the same kind of hours you do,” he reminded her. “And the weather doesn’t bother me. I’d love to tag along with you two sometime, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“We’ll see,” Carmichael answered unenthusiastically. She shrugged slightly at the glare she received from Morgan.
McCoy suppressed a smile at the silent exchange between the women. “You had better be in shape or these two will leave you in the dust.”
“Oh, I think I can hold my own,” Penland answered confidently.
“Don’t underestimate them,” McCoy cautioned. “They’ve been at it for a long time.”
Penland gave Carmichael a quick smile. “I can tell.”
When they had finished eating, the four of them walked back to the criminal courts building. Once inside, McCoy steered Morgan away from the elevators, indicating to Penland and Carmichael that they preferred taking the stairs.
When they were out of earshot of the other two, he asked, “What’s the plan for Saturday?”
Morgan shook her head at his eager expression. “You mean this Saturday, the one I had to twist your arm into agreeing to spend with me?”
He reached to open the door of the stairwell with one hand, and placed the other in the middle of her back to guide her inside. “I’ve had some time to reflect and come to my senses,” he explained with a smile.
Returning the smile, Morgan said, “The play starts at 6:00 and we have dinner reservations for 8:30. I’m going to pick Drew and Grace up at their hotel around 5:00 and we’ll meet the Fairchilds at the theater. So I guess you can meet us somewhere along the way, or you and I can get together before I pick up the Compton’s.”
“Where are they staying?”
“The Regency.”
“Then why don’t I pick you up at your place about 4:00? That will give us plenty of time to get midtown by 5:00.”
“All right,” Morgan agreed. “I wasn’t looking forward to driving there by myself.”
“When are the Compton’s arriving?”
“They’re flying in tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be in court, so my assistant, Tony, is going to pick them up and bring them here. I’ll take them to their hotel after we finish for the day. If Part 44 lets out around the same time that we do, maybe you can meet Grace.”
“I’d like that,” McCoy said, holding the door open as they exited the
stairwell. “If I’m not quite finished, wait for me. We seldom go past
Morgan nodded. “You’ll like Grace, but I should warn you: She’s about the most straightforward person I’ve ever met. If she has something to say, she’s not shy about speaking her mind.”
“Sounds like my kind of person. I can’t wait to meet her.” McCoy stopped in the hallway outside of the courtroom marked “Part 36”. “If I don’t see you before tomorrow, have a good evening. And don’t be too hard on Abbie in there,” he added with a smile.
“I can’t make any promises,” Morgan replied. “See you tomorrow, Jack.”