Mercy(White Collared Part 1)(11)
“The police won’t arrest Jaxon Deveroux because he’s not guilty and has an alibi to prove it,” she argued. “I’m sure they’ll find evidence that will lead them to the perpetrator and justice will prevail. I mean, there’s no such thing as a perfect crime.”
Logan shook his head. “Kate, you’ve watched too many crime procedurals. Do you know how many homicides go unsolved in Detroit? Something like seventy-five percent. Trust me, if you want to commit a murder, do it here.”
In high school, she’d obsessed over grisly homicides, but she’d never come across that statistic. “Alyssa Deveroux was killed in the suburbs.”
“Still,” Logan began, animatedly using his hands as he spoke, “even if the perp left behind evidence, the police have to find it and process it. Budgets are tight and people are incompetent. If they don’t find the killer in the next two weeks, the chances of them solving the case go way down, and you know the media is going to scare everyone into thinking they’re the next victim. They’re going to go hard after your client whether he’s guilty or not. Remember the JonBenet Ramsey case? Case went cold, so everyone assumed it was the mom, the dad, the brother. Ruined their fucking lives.”
It was difficult enough on a local level, but at least she hadn’t been in the international spotlight like the Ramseys. “You’re telling me if they don’t find another suspect in two weeks they’re going to arrest my client?”
“David was right about one thing,” said Logan. “You’ve got until the first week of November.”
“Elections.” She peered at the table and realized she’d already finished her first drink and had started on her second.
“Yeah,” Logan said, nodding. “High-profile case like this, every official up for reelection within a twenty-mile radius of the crime is going to use this case to their advantage. But the real battle’s gonna come from the district attorney’s office. Mason Ford’s campaigning on county prosecutor Savage’s soft position on domestic violence and sex crimes. He fucked up a couple years back, decided not to prosecute a guy suspected of hitting his wife because the wife refused to testify. Guy got released and shot his wife dead that night before turning the gun on himself.”
The pressure of public scrutiny always weighed heavy on elected legal professions such as judges and prosecutors, especially on the county level. One wrong decision could ruin a career. This meant not only did they have to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, they had to worry about their next campaign and whether their choices would result in the unseating of their position come election time.
Logan had a pleasant demeanor despite his grim warning. She immediately liked the man. “You intern for Reaver, don’t you?” She finished off her second drink, feeling the subtle buzz of its effects. Hannah and David were laughing and, from Kate’s point of view, looked a bit cozier than typical co-workers. Although she had hoped to spend this time catching up with her friend, she was glad to have the opportunity to talk with someone knowledgeable in criminal law.
Trying to get the waitress’s attention, Logan lifted his empty beer bottle into the air. “Gotta say, I’m surprised Trenton doesn’t want Reaver on this case.”
“I wouldn’t say Nick doesn’t want him. It’s the client’s choice.”
“You got lucky. Here I’m working for one of the top defense attorneys in the state, and you get the case of the decade,” he said with a glint in his eye that told her he was teasing. “But seriously, if you need any help or have any questions, I’m your guy.”
“Thanks. I may take you up on it.” Although she’d prepared for a fictitious criminal trial in the National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy contest, she didn’t have experience practicing the skills on a real case. It would be great if she could turn to Logan with a question now and then. So long as Nick didn’t find her incompetent.
“So, it’s Nick now?” Hannah asked, leaning forward from David’s embrace with a smile Kate had come to know as Hannah’s display of sweet before she went in for the kill. Very effective in both picking up men and crucifying a witness on the stand.
She tried to play dumb. “What are you talking about?”
“Twice you’ve referred to Mr. Trenton as Nick.”
Normally Kate would confide in Hannah and tell her all about how Nick had treated her as an equal, complimenting her on her abilities, and how he’d almost seemed as though he was flirting with her. But she didn’t want to hurt Hannah’s feelings since, technically, they were competing for a spot as associate attorney at the firm next year. Not to mention she didn’t want to embarrass herself by misconstruing Nick’s personal intentions toward her. For now she’d keep it to herself. “He said I could call him that out of the office, and it slipped out. If it bothers you—”