"Is there anything I should know? Any indiscretions on your part? Problems with the marriage? Sexual ... well, 'exoticisms,' shall we say, orgies you may have gone to, whatever?"
She shook her head again, looking annoyed.
"I'm sorry I have to ask but it'll all come out anyway. It's best to be candid now. And of course we'll want our own investigation of the girl. I have a very good man. Mrs. Clarke, we're going to do our damnedest for Ian."
He smiled at her again, and for a moment she felt as though she were living a dream. This man was not real, he wasn't asking her if she'd ever gone to orgies, or been into drugs ... Ian wasn't really in jail ... this man was a friend of her father's and it was all a big game. She felt him staring at her then, and she had to return to the pretense that this was reality. Worse yet, to the reality that Ian was in jail.
"Can we get Ian out of jail before the trial?"
"I hope so. But that will most likely depend on you. If the charges were a little less severe, we might have been able to get him released on his own recognizance--in other words, with no bail to pay. But on charges of this nature, I'm almost certain the judge will insist on bail being posted, despite the fact that Ian has no previous record. And his getting out will depend on whether or not you can put up the bail. They're talking about setting it at twenty-five thousand dollars. That's pretty steep, and it means you'd either have to put twenty-five thousand dollars in cash in the keeping of the court until the trial is over, or pay twenty-five hundred to a bail-bondsman and give him collateral to cover his bond. Either way, it's a stiff fee. But we'll see about getting it down to something more reasonable."
Jessica heaved a deep sigh and absentmindedly took off her dark glasses. What he saw then shocked him. Two deep purple trenches lay beneath her eyes, which were bloodshot and swollen and filled with terror. He was looking at a woman with the eyes of a child. The poise was all a front. He had been so sure she was the balls in the outfit, but maybe not, maybe not. Maybe she was only the bucks, and Ian was her lifeline. It made him feel better, somehow, about Ian. He was in better shape than she was, that was for sure.
Schwartz forced his mind back to the question of bail as Jessica's eyes continued to watch him. She seemed unaware of how much she had just shown him.
"Do you think you'll be able to meet the bail, Mrs. Clarke?" She looked tiredly into his eyes and shrugged slightly.
"I suppose I can put up my business." But she knew that she couldn't pay the bailbondsman's fee if she handed Schwartz the two-thousand-dollar check in her bag. And she had no choice. They needed a lawyer before they could even begin to worry about a bailbondsman. She'd have to get a loan on the car. Or on ... something. What the hell. It didn't matter now. Nothing did. She'd even put up the house if she had to. But what if ... she had to know. "What if we can't quite meet the bail right away?"
"There's no credit there, Mrs. Clarke. You pay the full bailbondsman's fee and put up satisfactory collateral or they simply don't let Ian out of jail."
"Until when?"
"After the trial."
"God. Then I don't have much choice, do I?"
"In what sense?"
"We'll just put up whatever we have to."
He nodded, sorry for her. It was rare that he felt anything stir in his heart for a client, and had she ranted and whined and cried, she would have annoyed him. Instead she had won his respect--and his pity. Neither of them deserved this kind of trouble. It made him wonder again what the real story was with the rape charges. He felt in his gut that it had not been a rape. But the question was, could that be proven?
He spent another ten minutes explaining the arraignment procedures: a simple appearance in court to put the charges on record, establish the bail, and set a date for Ian's next appearance in court, at a preliminary hearing. The victim would not be at
She shook her head again, looking annoyed.
"I'm sorry I have to ask but it'll all come out anyway. It's best to be candid now. And of course we'll want our own investigation of the girl. I have a very good man. Mrs. Clarke, we're going to do our damnedest for Ian."
He smiled at her again, and for a moment she felt as though she were living a dream. This man was not real, he wasn't asking her if she'd ever gone to orgies, or been into drugs ... Ian wasn't really in jail ... this man was a friend of her father's and it was all a big game. She felt him staring at her then, and she had to return to the pretense that this was reality. Worse yet, to the reality that Ian was in jail.
"Can we get Ian out of jail before the trial?"
"I hope so. But that will most likely depend on you. If the charges were a little less severe, we might have been able to get him released on his own recognizance--in other words, with no bail to pay. But on charges of this nature, I'm almost certain the judge will insist on bail being posted, despite the fact that Ian has no previous record. And his getting out will depend on whether or not you can put up the bail. They're talking about setting it at twenty-five thousand dollars. That's pretty steep, and it means you'd either have to put twenty-five thousand dollars in cash in the keeping of the court until the trial is over, or pay twenty-five hundred to a bail-bondsman and give him collateral to cover his bond. Either way, it's a stiff fee. But we'll see about getting it down to something more reasonable."
Jessica heaved a deep sigh and absentmindedly took off her dark glasses. What he saw then shocked him. Two deep purple trenches lay beneath her eyes, which were bloodshot and swollen and filled with terror. He was looking at a woman with the eyes of a child. The poise was all a front. He had been so sure she was the balls in the outfit, but maybe not, maybe not. Maybe she was only the bucks, and Ian was her lifeline. It made him feel better, somehow, about Ian. He was in better shape than she was, that was for sure.
Schwartz forced his mind back to the question of bail as Jessica's eyes continued to watch him. She seemed unaware of how much she had just shown him.
"Do you think you'll be able to meet the bail, Mrs. Clarke?" She looked tiredly into his eyes and shrugged slightly.
"I suppose I can put up my business." But she knew that she couldn't pay the bailbondsman's fee if she handed Schwartz the two-thousand-dollar check in her bag. And she had no choice. They needed a lawyer before they could even begin to worry about a bailbondsman. She'd have to get a loan on the car. Or on ... something. What the hell. It didn't matter now. Nothing did. She'd even put up the house if she had to. But what if ... she had to know. "What if we can't quite meet the bail right away?"
"There's no credit there, Mrs. Clarke. You pay the full bailbondsman's fee and put up satisfactory collateral or they simply don't let Ian out of jail."
"Until when?"
"After the trial."
"God. Then I don't have much choice, do I?"
"In what sense?"
"We'll just put up whatever we have to."
He nodded, sorry for her. It was rare that he felt anything stir in his heart for a client, and had she ranted and whined and cried, she would have annoyed him. Instead she had won his respect--and his pity. Neither of them deserved this kind of trouble. It made him wonder again what the real story was with the rape charges. He felt in his gut that it had not been a rape. But the question was, could that be proven?
He spent another ten minutes explaining the arraignment procedures: a simple appearance in court to put the charges on record, establish the bail, and set a date for Ian's next appearance in court, at a preliminary hearing. The victim would not be at
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