“When can I get discovery?” she asked.
“Anytime you want it.”
“Care to tell me why you think you have a case?”
“It’s all laid out in the police reports.”
“What about bail?”
“Not happening. Chesterfield isn’t an American citizen. If he gets out of custody, he’ll flee. Of course, I’d make all sortsof concessions, like taking the death penalty off the table, if Mr. Chesterfield admits he killed Mrs. Randall and Mr. Gentry and pleads guilty in both cases.”
“My client is adamant that he’s not involved with either case.”
“I’d expect nothing less. Isn’t it amazing how many innocent victims of our justice system are serving time at the penitentiary?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Multnomah County Courthouse is an ominous, eight-story, gray concrete building that takes up an entire block in downtown Portland. The courtroom of the Honorable Henry Beathard was on the fifth floor. Regina led Lily Dowd past the reporters who crowded the corridor and into a room with high windows and marble columns. The grim faces of judges past stared down at them from the walls.
Regina guessed that the courtroom would be packed, so she’d asked the bailiff to reserve a seat for Lily behind the defense table. As she led Lily down the aisle, Regina noticed Morris Quinlan sitting on the back bench. Regina respected Quinlan, so she smiled at him as she passed by.
“Chesterfield’s called in the A team,” Roger Dillon said.
“Yeah,” Quinlan answered. “This could get embarrassing. Regina is the last person you want on the other side of a case if you have the IQ of a gnat.”
When they were almost to Lily’s seat, Regina saw Gary Randall, Sophie Randall’s husband. He glared at Regina, but Regina was not offended. She felt very sorry for him and understood whyhe would hate her for helping the man accused of murdering his wife.
The guards had brought Robert Chesterfield over from the jail after letting him change into a hand-tailored suit that Lily had provided. He was waiting at one of the two counsel tables that stood within the bar of the court.
“It’s so good to see you,” Chesterfield said as he reached out to take Lily’s hand.
“No touching,” one of the guards said, and Chesterfield pulled his hand back.
“Sorry,” he apologized.
“Why can’t I touch my husband?” Lily demanded.
“It’s a rule, dearest,” Chesterfield said. “These gentlemen are just performing their sworn duty.”
Peter Ragland sat at the other counsel table. Regina nodded at the deputy district attorney as she passed through the gate that separated the spectators from the attorneys and the judge. After setting out her notes, law books, and statutes, she took a seat next to her client.
“How does it look?” Chesterfield asked.
“We lucked out. Henry Beathard is going to hear our bail motion and motion in limine.”
“Why is that lucky?”
“Beathard taught Evidence before being appointed to the bench, and our motion in limine is based on an interpretation of a rule of evidence. If we win the motion in limine, the judge will probably grant our motion for bail.”
Before Chesterfield could ask another question, a door opened behind the bench, and a barrel-chested man with thinning black hair, old-fashioned horn-rimmed glasses, and a goatee stepped out.
Regina had loved law school. She had been fanatic about preparing for class, and she relished the battle of wits with her professorswhen they called on her. Henry Beathard conducted motion hearings the way he had conducted his law school classes, and Regina had prepped extra hard for this one.
“Good morning, Mr. Ragland and Miss Barrister,” the judge said. “Miss Barrister, you want me to decide your motion for bail and your motion in limine at this hearing. That’s a bit unusual.”
Regina stood. “It is, Your Honor, but the State can’t hold Mr. Chesterfield without bail under ORS 135.240 unless it convinces you that the proof is evident or the presumption is strong that Mr. Chesterfield is guilty of the crimes charged in the indictment. If we prevail on our motion to exclude evidence of the Gentry case from Mr. Chesterfield’s trial for the murder of Sophie Randall, it will have a major impact on the State’s ability to convince you that Mr. Chesterfield should be denied bail.”
“Very well,” Judge Beathard said. “I’ll hear the motion in limine first. Mr. Ragland, let me see if I understand the facts you hope to establish in our trial, and please correct me if I don’t get this right.