Free JO01 - Guilty or Else by Jeff Sherratt Page B

them: who they were, how they were connected, and what all of the cloak and dagger stuff had to do with the case. I’d keep it under wraps. If all else failed, I’d have something for the trial.
    “Bobbi, can I talk to you, well, one-on-one? You know, straight out?”
    “You mean man-to-man, don’t you?”
    “C’mon, you know what I mean.”
    “Jimmy, what’s on your mind?”
    “A few minutes ago, we spoke of justice.”
    “Yes, go on.”
    “Can I trust you?”
    “That’s entirely up to you, but what I’ve been trying to explain—”
    “I know what you said, but—”
    “Let me finish.” Bobbi looked down at her salad. She paused, as if to prepare herself for what she was about to say. “In all my cases, I feel deep sorrow for the victims of the crimes. I feel for them just as I would if the crimes happened to me. I want—no, make that demand—justice, retribution for what happened.” She pushed her plate back and folded her hands on the table. “I’m not concerned with racking up convictions, getting my name in the papers, or scoring points with anyone. I’m not running for office, nor do I ever intend to. My only concern is that the perpetrators are punished for their crimes.”
    “What about the times when the police arrest the wrong man?” I asked. “You know it happens.”
    “You know better than to ask that, Jimmy. There would be no justice if that were the case. The guilty person would go free. That’s why just adding more convictions to my resume does nothing for me.”
    “If you feel so strongly about justice and retribution—and I assume you mean that the punishment should fit the crime— why were you willing to accept a plea from Rodriguez at the arraignment?”
    “That wasn’t my choice. Johnson had set that up with my superior and I had to go along. But thanks to you, it doesn’t matter now. Your client will get his trial and he’ll be convicted.”
    “You just went along?”
    “Yes. But it’s never been my goal to speed up the process and alleviate the court’s burden. As Thomas Jefferson said, ‘Delay is preferable to error.’” Her smile returned. “I had to work that in.”
    “In other words, if you had any doubts, any at all about my client’s guilt, you’d reopen the case. Is that what you’re saying?”
    “In a heartbeat,” she said. “However, it would have to be convincing. Why, do you have something that casts doubt on his guilt, something tangible?”
    Bobbi’s sincerity moved me. I had no question about her sense of fair play. She wanted to see the guilty man convicted as much as I did. I just had to convince her that Rodriguez wasn’t her guy. I decided to confide in her and take my chance. I hoped that I wasn’t letting her beauty rule my judgment. It was hard not to.
    “I have evidence that Senator Welch was having an affair with the deceased,” I said. “It wasn’t in the police report. It could provide a motive.”
    Her eyebrows arched. “Is that true? Where did you hear that?”
    “Gloria Graham told a friend of hers that she was sleeping with a politician. We could corroborate her statement, motels, restaurants, places where Welch and Gloria were seen together, that sort of thing.”
    “So what if he was? That doesn’t prove anything. If all the bosses who slept with their secretaries killed them, we’d have a whole lot of dead secretaries lying around. No, sorry, that in itself doesn’t change anything.”
    “Gloria’s girlfriend will tell her story. Reasonable doubt,” I said.
    “You’d bring up this so-called affair without a shred of evidence other than some girl’s story and possibly ruin a man’s reputation—”
    “To save an innocent person from life in prison, hell yes. Besides, if Welch wasn’t sleeping with her, then he has nothing to worry about.”
    “Yeah, sure. You’ll tell the media Welch is an adulterous murderer. You going to tell the newspapers he kicks his dog, too?”
    “Didn’t know he had a