Blind Justice by William Bernhardt Read Free Book Online

his desk drawer. “Frankly, Ben, most of the guys in this office couldn’t be less interested in convicting Christina; we consider this a community service homicide. But the feds are going forward gung-ho, and we’ve been told to assist whenever possible and otherwise stay out of the way. And I intend to do just that.”
    There was a long silence, as if they had forgotten their lines. Both men avoided eye contact.
    “Can you at least tell me what happened?” Ben asked.
    “I can tell you what I know. You could get that through pretrial discovery anyway.” He pressed the tamper deep into the bowl of his pipe. “The FBI, in association with our office, has been stalking Tony Lombardi for some time. They believe he’s a smuggler for Albert DeCarlo.”
    Ben whistled. Yet more bad news. DeCarlo had been the subject of more investigations than the Loch Ness monster, but no one had ever made anything stick. If Tulsa had a crime boss, he was it.
    “The feds think DeCarlo is big with the Cali cartel, running drugs up from Colombia. Since the Medellin cartel bit the bullet with Noriega and got out of the business, the Cali goons are the feds’ number-one target. They say DeCarlo’s involved in every aspect of the drug pipeline—handling, warehousing, airstrips, planes, boats, bribery—the whole works. And having successfully put the alleged number-four man in the Medellin cartel away a few years ago—”
    “José Abello.” Ben remembered the trial well. It was probably the biggest criminal trial Tulsa had ever had.
    “Right. Having done that, the feds now hope to snag someone even bigger. You know, to exemplify the escalating war on drugs. And they hope to shut down the Tulsa connection in the process.”
    “The Tulsa connection? Sounds like a TV movie.”
    Mike thumped his pipe against his desk and searched for a match. “It’s serious stuff, believe me. Sickening as it may be, our little town has become a distribution center for South American drugs. Getting them into Mexico is easy, and from there, it’s just a short hop over the border to us. Texas has been cracking down, making life miserable for drug runners, so they’ve been skipping the Lone Star State and coming straight to Oklahoma. And from Tulsa, it’s just a drive down the interstate to anywhere else in the country.”
    What the hell had Christina gotten herself into? “That explains why the feds are involved,” Ben said, “but what’s all this drug business got to do with the murder?”
    “A major shipment of cocaine was delivered last night, or so the feds believe. Anyway, four federal agents with a warrant burst into Lombardi’s apartment, around two o’clock this morning, hoping to find the drugs. Instead, they found Tony Lombardi lying on the floor with four bullet holes in his head.” He paused. “And Christina hovering over the body.”
    “That hardly proves she killed him.”
    “Her prints are all over the place.”
    “So? We know she was at the apartment. There could be a million explanations for that.”
    “We’re only interested in one.”
    “Can you get me in to see the scene of the crime?”
    Mike shrugged. “You have that right under the law. I don’t see any reason to make you file a lot of paperwork.”
    “I assume you’ll have access to the forensic tests.”
    “True.”
    “Will you copy me on all the test results?”
    “You mean, will I allow you to inspect any clearly exculpatory evidence we obtain?”
    “No. I want to see everything, Mike.”
    “The toxicology and microscopy reports won’t be completed for days,” Mike hedged.
    “The autopsy is probably already finished.”
    “Ben, you know goddamn well we’re not required to produce every shred of evidence we turn up!”
    Ben waited until Mike’s eyes met his. “I’m not asking you as a police officer, Mike.”
    Mike looked away. He swiveled his chair around and stared at the back wall of his cubicle. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said