Free Copp In Deep, A Joe Copp Thriller (Joe Copp Private Eye Series) by Don Pendleton Page A

tough making something like that stick before the question of guilt has been decided. They are supposed to give the benefit of any doubt to your constitutional rights. So I knew I was in pretty deep when my lawyer came back at eleven o'clock that morning with the news that the prosecutor was demanding that I be retained without bail. The judge was going to announce his decision at one o'clock. Even if he ruled in our favor, he would probably impose a very high figure for bail, high enough that I would have to rot in jail until I got my day in court.
    "How high would that be?" I wondered aloud.
    "It could go to a million dollars."
    I said, "I'll rot, yeah."
    But it seemed that maybe I was being offered a deal by the prosecutor. If I would be more cooperative . . .
    "What do they want?"
    The lawyer acted a bit embarrassed. "It seems that there are national security implications, Joe. They want you to tell them what you've been doing, on whose behalf—where, when, all the details. I doubt that they will be satisfied until you've incriminated yourself in one area or another, that's my worry. I advise you to talk to them but in my presence only. Let's at least create the impression that you're trying to cooperate but control the damage all we can. If the deal falls through then at least I'll have something to take before the judge to argue for a reasonable bail."
    "What exactly am I being charged with?" I asked.
    "You don't know?"
    "I was booked on suspicion of homicide, haven't seen the actual charges," I replied.
    "Well they've got you for three."
    I swallowed hard and said, "Okay."
    "A Walter Mathison —who, incidentally, was a Special Agent of the FBI—a George Delancey and a Morris Putnam."
    "That was Delancey , eh?"
    "What do you know about these people, Joe?"
    I said, "Not nearly enough to cop for their murders. I shot Mathison , sure, because he was shooting at me, but I didn't know at the time that he was FBI. The other two guys I just walked in on. Dammit , they were stiff already."
    "The theory is that you came back to look for something."
    "That's too dumb," I said. "I don't even know how they died."
    "They were shot." He was looking at me hard and close. "With your gun."
    I looked him back, harder and closer. "Neither of my guns had even been fired since . . ."
    "Yeah?"
    I said, "Oh shit."
    "What?"
    "A certain person walked away with one of my guns early yesterday. It was out of my hands until late last night, just before I went out to Putnam's house."
    "All three men were killed with the same weapon, Joe. This gun that was out of your hands all day yesterday—was it by chance an odd-size big calibre ?—a .41 Magnum Smith & Wesson?"
           I sighed and said, "That's it."
           "They have a ballistics match on it."
             I said, "I'll talk."
    The lawyer patted my hand and said, "I'll tell them," and went out of there quick. Damn right I'd talk.
    I would talk to anyone who would listen.
     
           It was quite a party. Present were two detectives from the sheriff s homicide team, a guy from LAPD, two prosecutors and the two FBI men, Browning and Vasquez. Plus me and my lawyer, of course, and a stenographer. The room was crowded and stuffy and I felt like a jerk. One of the prosecutors was a woman, pretty little thing with a sympathetic smile masking a mind of cold steel.
    I told it pretty straight, beginning with the Sunday night meeting with Tom Chase and the illegal entry at the Russian consulate, my discovery and escape through the second story window. Browning wanted to know what I'd taken from Gudgaloff’s office. I told them about the black book, explained that I'd had time to only glance inside to verify the contents and that it seemed to contain the information I'd been sent for.
    Of course I told about the encounter with Gina out-
    side the consulate but for some strange reason I covered her the best I could, said I didn't know her last name and that was not exactly a lie,