Murder at Ford's Theatre - Margaret Truman [86]
“I’m sure that will be appreciated,” Mac said.
“We’ll give you and your client the opportunity to surrender voluntarily at First District headquarters, Mr. Smith, rather than send officers to make the arrest at the senator’s home.”
Smith heard the words, but was thinking of other things, namely how to finesse the fact that Jeremiah wasn’t available to turn himself in. He wouldn’t blatantly lie to LeCour, but he needed to buy some time, any amount of time, in the hope Jeremiah would return to his father’s house of his own volition within the next few hours.
“You understand,” Smith said, “that I’ll have to confer with my client.”
“There’s not much to confer about,” LeCour said. “Either you bring him in, or we go get him.” This didn’t sound scripted.
“I’m an attorney, Mr. LeCour. I don’t make decisions for my client. My assumption is that he’ll agree to what it is you’re suggesting. But I’ll need time to”—he almost said “locate him,” but caught himself in time—“I’ll need time to explain your offer, which I might add is generous. He’ll need time to put some things in order before surrendering. Nine o’clock tomorrow morning?”
There was silence on the other end, and Smith heard LeCour speak with another person, the words not clear. Obviously, that someone else was superior to the U.S. Attorney and would be the one to agree to Smith’s suggestion.
LeCour came back on the line. “Nine o’clock sharp,” he said.
Smith added, “Give me until six this evening. How can I reach you to confirm that my client agrees to this?”
LeCour started to respond, but Smith said, “And if he doesn’t agree, you can come and arrest him.”
“I’ll be here at six, Mr. Smith.” He recited the number. “Let me just say that if, at six, you call and tell me your client does not agree to voluntarily surrender, officers will immediately be dispatched to Senator Lerner’s house.”
“I understand. You’ll hear from me at six. And thank you for your courtesy.”
Smith’s priority was to attempt to reach Clarise and Bruce Lerner in a last-ditch effort to find Jeremiah. His call to Lerner’s home was again answered by the housekeeper. The senator was away on official business and wasn’t expected home until the next day. He tried two numbers at Lerner’s senate office, finally reaching a staff member who was reluctant to give out a way to contact her boss.
“Look, Miss,” Smith said, “this is extremely important. It has to do with the senator’s son. I assure you that the senator will thank you for putting me in touch with him—and will be very unhappy if you don’t.”
She absented herself from the phone for what seemed a long time. When she returned, she asked Smith for a number at which he could be reached. “The senator will call you there,” she said.
“Thank you. And please tell him to do it fast.”
Lerner called within a minute of Smith hanging up.
“Sorry to disturb you, Senator,” Smith said, “but this is urgent. The police are about to arrest Jeremiah for Nadia Zarinski’s murder.”
“That’s absurd.”
“Maybe it is, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they have a sufficient case to indict. But they’ve offered to have me surrender Jeremiah voluntarily to avoid having cops swarming all over your house. I have until six to get back to them. Have you any idea, any notion, where he might be?”
“Not a goddamn one, Mac. Not a one. Have you tried Clarise?”
“Yes, earlier. She came up blank, too.”
“So, Counselor, what do we do now?”
Smith found the use of “we” to be inappropriate. As far as he could see, the only person doing anything was himself.
“Senator,” Smith said, “I’m way out on a limb here. As an attorney, I have a code of conduct that doesn’t include lying to the authorities about the whereabouts of my client. I asked to have until six in the hope Jeremiah would return. Obviously, that’s not about to happen. I have no choice but to call the U.S. Attorney handling the case and tell him Jeremiah has violated the court order, and is not available to be surrendered. That’s my obligation as an officer of the court.”
“I know all about that,” Lerner