it’s my ass on
the line. And I still have to pay you, whether I go free or not. Am
I right or am I right?”
“You can’t handle all this yourself. My help
is worth every penny.”
“Fifty thousand is a lot of pennies.”
“I’m going to get the best possible outcome
for you, which may or may not be freedom. I’m a lawyer, not a
magician. You can always pick some stuffy male lawyer out of the
phone book, if you feel lucky.”
The woman looked over at her smiling. So
Sandy continued, “Okay, now I need your husband’s social security
number, so I can start investigating. Also, I need to get at any
financial or medical records of his you might have.”
“I know where he keeps all that stuff in his
condo. I’ve got a key. He asked for the door key back when we
separated, and I gave one to him. He didn’t know I had a spare on
my key ring.”
“They arrested you in your apartment. Where’s
the spare key now?”
“I always toss my key ring into the brown
dish on the bookcase when I come in the door. I guess it’s still
there.”
“Where’d you leave your phone?”
“Don’t know, at my place somewhere, maybe the
kitchen counter.”
“Okay, they would have thoroughly searched
your apartment after the arrest. They would have found your phone
and taken it as evidence. They certainly would have hauled away
your car to go over it. They might have missed your key ring with
his condo key. It might still be there. First, I need to get into
your apartment. How can I get in? Do you leave a door key under the
mat?” she was joking.
“Someone stole my door mat. It’s above the
door on that wood molding thing.”
“If the condo key is on your key ring, and I
get into his condo, where should I look? I need to search for
papers or anything else that might help me.” The police had also
searched his condo after the murder, but they were looking for
murder evidence, not personal papers.
“In the bottom dresser drawer in the big
bedroom. Of course, anything special would be in the freezer. Some
of my stuff is still over there. I need to get in there
myself.”
“The freezer huh, fireproof and all that I
suppose. So if he had a will, it likely was in the freezer.”
“He wasn’t organized enough to get a
will.”
“Now, you told me you saw John’s body, dead
on the shower floor. But you told Jaworski that you were not at
John’s condo—you were home Tuesday night. Why did you tell him
that?”
She looked away. “You’re the one I lied
to...I never saw John dead in the shower stall.”
Sandy shook her head.
Margo continued, “I was excited and confused.
I didn’t know what to say. I was never at his condo. And I didn’t
kill him.”
That’s what Sandy wanted to hear. Even if it
were true, she had to prove it. She pointed to some papers. “This
police report states he was found in the shower.”
“That’s what I just said.”
“I know you just said it, yet that detail
wasn’t in the newspaper.”
“Someone must have mentioned it to me.”
“Who have you been talking to about the
murder?”
“No one.”
Sandy glanced around the room. As frustrated
as she was, she liked this routine, and she liked this atmosphere.
She liked being at the jail, the police station, and the
courthouse. She liked thinking and talking about important
things—things that had life and death consequences. She liked law
enforcement men and woman who knew what they wanted and would be
self-assured even if they didn’t carry a deadly weapon on their
hip. Men and women who knew they could go through a thirty-year
career and never draw their weapon, and then be shot dead the day
before they retire. People who would put their life on the line to
protect a citizen, and who thought a good day was one in which no
one, including the bad people, got hurt. Each office location was
like a busy little community with officers running around trying to
help citizens who were in trouble.
She also loved the law. She
the line. And I still have to pay you, whether I go free or not. Am
I right or am I right?”
“You can’t handle all this yourself. My help
is worth every penny.”
“Fifty thousand is a lot of pennies.”
“I’m going to get the best possible outcome
for you, which may or may not be freedom. I’m a lawyer, not a
magician. You can always pick some stuffy male lawyer out of the
phone book, if you feel lucky.”
The woman looked over at her smiling. So
Sandy continued, “Okay, now I need your husband’s social security
number, so I can start investigating. Also, I need to get at any
financial or medical records of his you might have.”
“I know where he keeps all that stuff in his
condo. I’ve got a key. He asked for the door key back when we
separated, and I gave one to him. He didn’t know I had a spare on
my key ring.”
“They arrested you in your apartment. Where’s
the spare key now?”
“I always toss my key ring into the brown
dish on the bookcase when I come in the door. I guess it’s still
there.”
“Where’d you leave your phone?”
“Don’t know, at my place somewhere, maybe the
kitchen counter.”
“Okay, they would have thoroughly searched
your apartment after the arrest. They would have found your phone
and taken it as evidence. They certainly would have hauled away
your car to go over it. They might have missed your key ring with
his condo key. It might still be there. First, I need to get into
your apartment. How can I get in? Do you leave a door key under the
mat?” she was joking.
“Someone stole my door mat. It’s above the
door on that wood molding thing.”
“If the condo key is on your key ring, and I
get into his condo, where should I look? I need to search for
papers or anything else that might help me.” The police had also
searched his condo after the murder, but they were looking for
murder evidence, not personal papers.
“In the bottom dresser drawer in the big
bedroom. Of course, anything special would be in the freezer. Some
of my stuff is still over there. I need to get in there
myself.”
“The freezer huh, fireproof and all that I
suppose. So if he had a will, it likely was in the freezer.”
“He wasn’t organized enough to get a
will.”
“Now, you told me you saw John’s body, dead
on the shower floor. But you told Jaworski that you were not at
John’s condo—you were home Tuesday night. Why did you tell him
that?”
She looked away. “You’re the one I lied
to...I never saw John dead in the shower stall.”
Sandy shook her head.
Margo continued, “I was excited and confused.
I didn’t know what to say. I was never at his condo. And I didn’t
kill him.”
That’s what Sandy wanted to hear. Even if it
were true, she had to prove it. She pointed to some papers. “This
police report states he was found in the shower.”
“That’s what I just said.”
“I know you just said it, yet that detail
wasn’t in the newspaper.”
“Someone must have mentioned it to me.”
“Who have you been talking to about the
murder?”
“No one.”
Sandy glanced around the room. As frustrated
as she was, she liked this routine, and she liked this atmosphere.
She liked being at the jail, the police station, and the
courthouse. She liked thinking and talking about important
things—things that had life and death consequences. She liked law
enforcement men and woman who knew what they wanted and would be
self-assured even if they didn’t carry a deadly weapon on their
hip. Men and women who knew they could go through a thirty-year
career and never draw their weapon, and then be shot dead the day
before they retire. People who would put their life on the line to
protect a citizen, and who thought a good day was one in which no
one, including the bad people, got hurt. Each office location was
like a busy little community with officers running around trying to
help citizens who were in trouble.
She also loved the law. She
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