Then she and David Turner followed Robin and Jeff outside.
Auggie Montenegro smiled at Dobson. “Looks like your client took it on the lam.”
Then he turned to Miriam. “Unlike Claire, if Lord Bobby reappears, I am definitely interested in hearing about it. There might even be a finder’s fee for any information.” Auggie winked at Ross. Then he led his date toward the door.
“You get in touch, right away, if Bobby shows up,” Dobson told Ross before he left.
When the door closed, Miriam dropped onto a couch and held her head in her hands. She couldn’t believe Bobby would run out on her. Not after all the promises he’d made. He would show up. She was sure of it. Ross took a deep breath and got to her feet. The waitstaff was standing around, watching her.
“Let’s get this place cleaned up. I want it looking spotless when Mr. Chesterfield returns.”
Ross hoped that her tone carried more certainty than she felt.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“No further questions,” Robin said.
“I don’t have any either,” Deputy District Attorney Amy Arnold said. “Can Officer Mayfield be excused?”
“Miss Lockwood?” Judge Irving Knolls asked.
“That’s fine with me.”
“Any more witnesses?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor,” Robin said as the officer headed for the door to the courtroom.
“Your motion to suppress presents a fascinating legal issue, Miss Lockwood,” Judge Knolls said, “and this is definitely a close question. You may get a different result in the Court of Appeals, but you haven’t convinced me that the officers acted in violation of state or federal law when they searched your client’s car. So I’m going to deny the motion. Are you ready to proceed to trial?”
“Miss Arnold and I have been discussing a plea offer. If you give us a few minutes, we may be able to resolve this matter without a trial.”
“Okay. It’s getting close to twelve anyway. Let’s recess, and I’ll see you back here at one thirty,” the judge said.
“Why don’t you wait in the hall while I talk to the DA,” Robin told her client.
“So, Amy, what do you want to do?” Robin asked when the two lawyers were alone in the courtroom. “Lamar doesn’t have any priors, he’s got a good job, and he was taking the painkillers for a bad back.”
“And selling them illegally.”
“Have a heart,” Robin said. “Those drugs are expensive, and he’s just making it financially.”
The DA looked troubled. She went quiet, and Robin let her think.
“Will he go to rehab?” Arnold asked.
“Definitely. He’s addicted and he doesn’t like it. It’s causing problems at work and with his marriage.”
“Okay. If he waives his right to a speedy trial, agrees to go into rehab, and successfully completes it, I’ll dismiss the case.”
“Thanks. Let me ask Lamar if he’ll accept the deal.”
Robin’s client agreed to the deal, and Robin told him to be back in court at one thirty. Then she told Amy Arnold that her client was going to take the offer. When she left the courtroom to go to lunch, she found Jeff waiting for her in the hall.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Robin said. “Want to grab a bite?”
“Did you win the motion?”
“No, but I knew Arnold was worried that I’d win on appeal, so she gave Lamar a sweetheart deal. No jail, and she’ll dismiss if he successfully completes rehab.”