Free Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais Page B

information three years ago, I would not have taken his case.”
    I expected Levy to be angry, but he wasn’t. Alan Levy was never reversed. Levy was the guy who got the other guy reversed. Instead, he looked sad.
    â€œAlan, we proved he could not have killed Yvonne Bennett. We proved it.”
    Levy studied me for a moment, then spread his hands.
    â€œI make up stories. That’s my job, Elvis. Making up stories within the defined parameters of an established structure. That’s what I do.”
    Talking to a genius is hard work.
    â€œI don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œThe law. I start with a list—names, dates, events, whatever—information on a page, facts without a narrative structure. My job is to frame those facts with a narrative, you see? A story. The opposing counsel, they have exactly the same facts, and they have to make up a story, too. The facts are the same, but the stories are always different. Same facts, two different stories, and whoever tells the best story convinces the jury. I am very good with my stories, Elvis. I can take a list of facts, any facts at all, and create the most wonderful stories. I do that better than almost anyone.”
    I was growing impatient. He was giving a lecture in narrative theory, and I was the retard who couldn’t keep up.
    â€œWhat does this have to do with Lionel Byrd?”
    â€œI’m not saying I couldn’t prove it again. I’m telling you I wouldn’t take the case. Chief Marx and Ms. Pinckert were very open with me this morning. I wasn’t always polite, but they were patient. They convinced me.”
    â€œThey convinced you Byrd was good for the killings.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œBecause he had these pictures.”
    â€œThey were thorough in their presentation. Tell you the truth, I was impressed.”
    â€œI’ve seen scans of the album. I know how they broke it down and what they found with the camera and the film packs. Having this album doesn’t mean he killed them.”
    Levy raised his eyebrows.
    â€œI’m not the only one who’s had a meeting.”
    â€œAll the album means is Byrd and the person who took the pictures were somehow connected.”
    â€œI made the same point. These people aren’t stupid, Elvis. They investigated the possibility of a second killer or some sort of an association, but found nothing to support that idea—no likely suspects were identified through his call register, nothing was found in his residence or vehicle, and no forensics belonging to anyone else was found on the album or pictures.”
    â€œThey couldn’t find Angel Tomaso, either. They’re right about this only if they ignore what Tomaso said in a sworn statement, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re assuming he made a mistake.”
    â€œMaybe he did.”
    â€œYou thought he was right at the time.”
    â€œIf Tomaso was telling me the same thing today, I would still believe him, but I would discount his statement. A person can tell the truth as he knows it, but be mistaken in what he knows. That happens all the time.”
    I expected Levy to come out swinging for having been cast in a role that potentially made him look like the villain in Marx’s Circus of Justice, but, instead, we were arguing.
    â€œSo what you’re saying is, three years ago when we proved this guy couldn’t have killed Yvonne Bennett, we were wrong.”
    An embarrassed smile flickered at the corners of his mouth as if he couldn’t bring himself to admit it.
    â€œNo, we were right. We were right with the information we had at that time. There’s a difference.”
    â€œDid they go over the other six victims with you?”
    He nodded.
    â€œOkay. Do you remember Lionel Byrd?”
    Now he frowned, wondering where I was going.
    â€œOf course I remember him.”
    â€œI’ve only spent a few hours with this, Alan,