Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [717]
She loved their new house, although it was far from new, a century-old Victorian with plenty of character and enough space for them to convert part of it into a mother-in-law suite—or in this case a grandmother suite—for Grandma Wenny. The renovations were a pain in the neck—yes, maybe even a partial cause for the very real pain in her neck. There’d been workers tramping in and out of their house, leaving mud and sawdust and holes where walls once were. Still, Grace knew all of this was the easy part. The real work, the real challenge, would be in convincing Grandma Wenny to leave her South Omaha home, the small drafty two-bedroom, mouse-infested bungalow where she had lived for over sixty years, where she had raised three children and one granddaughter, a granddaughter who had pledged—actually pinkie-swore—to take care of the stubborn old woman.
“Ms. Wenninghoff,” Judge Fielding bellowed, grabbing her attention.
“Yes, Your Honor.” She stood up casually, resisting the urge to wipe her damp forehead.
“Please continue,” he told her as if they’d been waiting only a few minutes and as if she had been the one holding them up.
“As I was saying and as you can see from the arrest warrant, Mr. Richey was arrested at Eppley Airport. Mr. Richey is a flight risk and, therefore, should be denied bail.”
“Judge, this is preposterous.” Warren Penn drew the word out so slowly it sounded like four words instead of one. He also took his time standing up, then moved out from behind the defense table as if he required additional room to make his statement. Grace guessed it was more for the benefit of towering over her.
“Mr. Richey,” he continued in the same drawn-out manner, “is a businessman. He was simply making a business trip. This trip has been on his calendar for months. I have his appointment calendar and phone logs available for Your Honor.” He waved a hand at the pile on the defense table but made no effort to get them. “Jonathon Richey,” he went on, “not only owns a local business here in Omaha, but he’s a city councilman. He’s a deacon at his church and president of the downtown Rotary Club. His wife, two of his three children and all five of his grandchildren live within this community. Mr. Richey certainly does not pose a flight risk. Taking all this into consideration, Your Honor, I’m sure you’ll agree that Mr. Richey should be released on his own recognizance.”
Grace watched Judge Fielding nod and start flipping through the papers again. This was ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly be buying any of this crap. Not unless he was looking for an excuse. She glanced over at Richey. Was there some under-the-table deal already set up? He still looked too calm, too cool for this sauna. Grace rubbed her neck again and was disappointed to find it damp.
“Your Honor.” She waited until she had his attention, then she pulled out an envelope from her file folders and stepped out from behind the prosecution table. “If I understand correctly, Mr. Richey owns a business that specializes in commercial and residential computerized heating units.” She looked over at Warren Penn, waiting for his nod of confirmation. “I have his United airline ticket that was confiscated at the time of his arrest.” She made her way forward to hand over the envelope with the ticket inside. “I’m just wondering, Your Honor, what kind of heating business Mr. Richey might have in the Cayman Islands.”
She heard the crowd behind her hum and whisper and shift in their seats.
“Mr. Penn?” Judge Fielding was now looking over his glasses and down his nose at the defense attorney. To Grace’s disappointment, Warren Penn didn’t flinch.
“Mr. Richey meets with his clients, often in a designated place that the client requests.”
Grace wanted to roll her eyes. That Fielding was even considering this was crazy. But here he was again, flipping over papers as if he had missed something in the documents he had already examined.
She turned back to her table and noticed Detective Tommy