Presumption of Innocence: David Brunelle Legal Thriller #1 by Stephen Penner Read Free Book Online

in the morning."
    Brunelle sighed. "Great, Michelle. Great."

Chapter 9
     
    "Dismissal?" Brunelle was incredulous. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"
    "No joke, Dave." Edwards leaned back in the chair across Brunelle's desk. She had stopped by after court on another matter. Nothing like face-to-face negotiations. "I heard what happened this morning. The whole courthouse is talking about it. Welles kicked your ass."
    "Welles' client is in on ten million dollars bail," replied Brunelle. "That's not exactly an ass-kicking."
    "He should be in on no bail," observed Edwards.
    "He will be."
    "Not without my client." Edwards crossed her arms and grinned. "Dismissal."
    Brunelle appreciated the hardball tactics, but he wasn't about to dismiss one case outright to maybe get a conviction on another.
    "Well, here's what I know." Brunelle folded his hands on his desk. "I have two defendants. One of them gave a full confession. So I'm going to get at least one conviction. It's up to you and your client to decide whether it will be her or him."
    Edwards' smile faded just a bit. Just enough for Brunelle to know she understood.
    "Don't get me wrong, Jess. I would much rather convict Arpad Karpati. I believe Holly when she says it was all his idea and he did it while she puked in the bathroom. But Welles has a point. It's a very self-serving statement. She really minimizes. I cut her a dismissal and the jury may well believe I jumped to conclusions and cut the wrong person a deal. But if she pleads to something less, like maybe burglary, she'll do less than a year in juvi prison, and when I put her on the stand, that very conviction supports one of the aggravators I'll be trying to prove. Fits nicely with my case theory."
    "Case theory?" Edwards laughed bitterly. "Listen to you. I'm talking about a young girl's life and you're worrying about your case theory."
    Brunelle raised an eyebrow. "It's not like her hands are totally clean in this, Jess. She knew exactly what that bastard was gonna do, and she still knocked on that girl's door."
    Edwards didn't have a response ready for that.
    "Don't try to hardball me, Jess. I'll cut her a fair deal, but I'm not desperate. Michelle Yamata is already working on the brief that'll get Karpati in on a no-bail hold, regardless of whether Holly is smart enough to save her skin."
    "Michelle Yamata?" Jess practically choked. "Yamata's your second chair?" She started to laugh. "That cheerleader's gonna file a sexual harassment claim on you the second the case is over."
    Brunelle forced a smile. "You think she'll wait that long?" he joked darkly.
    "Well, of course, Dave. She'll want to notch a capital case in her belt before she gets your ass fired."
    Brunelle nodded. "Great."
    "All right, no dismissal," Jess changed the subject back to their negotiations. "But I don't like burglary. How about rendering criminal assistance? Burglary is a level eight offense. With her history that means mandatory time in juvi. You cut her a rendering and at least I can argue for credit for time served and probation."
    Brunelle pursed his lips. He drummed his fingers on his desk. He pushed himself back into his chair.
    "I have to think about it, Jess. That's a huge reduction. From aggravated murder one all the way down to rendering criminal assistance? I'll have a lot of explaining to do."
    That reminded him. Brunelle slapped the desk. "Damn it. I gotta talk to the family before I can offer anything. I almost forgot."
    "What if they say no?" Jess furrowed her brow. "You're not going to let them have the final say, are you?"
    "Of course not," replied Brunelle. "They don't have any say. It's my call. But they need to think they had a say. I have to at least pretend to listen to them, explain the options, and tell them why they should agree with what I'm going to do anyway."
    Edwards looked at her watch. "Well, you better hurry, Dave. That bail hearing is gonna be here before you know it."
    Brunelle nodded. "Yeah, I know. And I have to