TRIALS OF THE HEART - PART FOUR

PREVIOUSLY

The commissioner pulled Nora's portrait toward him and sat down slowly in his chair. He sighed deeply as he took out a key, unlocked a drawer and threw the Georgie Phillips file on his desk. He glanced again at the picture.

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The Palace Bar was crowded that night, and Tea Delgado Manning glanced bleakly around the place as she sat alone at the bar nursing her second martini. She admitted to herself she'd picked an awful night to attempt a little artificial relaxation. The place was lousy with Buchanans. Asa and Clint sat in a corner booth, for once keeping their voices too low to hear. But their patronizing glances and low chuckles when they looked her way made no secret of their topic of conversation. Tea sipped the martini. She could handle the old boy posturing, but the arrival of her ex-lover Kevin Buchanan and his fiancée, Cassie Carpenter, really threw her for a loop. Ignoring her, they took seats far down the bar and were now doing kissy-face and apparently trying to suck each other's tonsils out. Tea snorted in disgust and took a big gulp of the cocktail.

Tea glared down the bar, doing her best to look menacing, but she just couldn't even come close to Todd's patented performance. Kevin, more than anyone, had contributed to Todd's troubles by publishing half-truths and lies in the Banner against his mother's wishes, and twisting the circumstantial evidence to make Todd look guilty. Sure, Todd was known for using the Sun to stick it to his enemies, but at least he didn't try to cloak himself in self-righteous indignation like Kevin did. It made Tea want to puke. She popped the olive into her mouth and toyed with the idea of ordering another martini. She decided against it, since the ethics of conferring with a client while plastered were nebulous at best. But she had to admit she was terribly nervous about meeting with Todd tonight. He had finally given her the tiniest opening and she was frightened something would blow her one chance. This was just too important for their future, and she had taken the coward's way out and called in reinforcements.

Tea glanced at her watch and got to her feet. She smoothed her short, cream-colored sleeveless sheath and adjusted the multicolored silk scarf that crossed her neck and trailed down each side of her back. On the next barstool rested her olive green silk jacket and custom leather briefcase. She was ridiculously over-dressed for a jailhouse visit, but somehow it was extraordinarily important for her to look her best tonight. Tea sensed that she needed every weapon at her disposal to get through to Todd.

Only now could she admit how frightened for him she had been the last few weeks, convinced that his self-destructive streak had finally caused his doom at last. To run from the Buchanan's lies had been stupid, but to hide what he knew about the crime from her and Sam, and then that dynamite scene...Tea felt she finally knew what it was like to see Todd Manning come completely off the rails.

When he had refused to talk to her during earlier visits, Tea had been tempted to chuck it all and tell him to go to hell, but she just couldn't find a way to abandon him when he needed her, no matter how angry she was. When push came to shove, he had asked her to help him today, and that's all she needed now. Getting sentimental about Todd wouldn't help anything. First she had to free him, then they'd talk about the future.

She reached for her things, then turned around quickly and ran right into Kevin, who had moved up behind her while she was distracted. As usual, Cassie hovered just over his right shoulder. "Whoa, Tea, where are you headed in such a hurry?" he smirked. "Does my jailbird uncle know his wife is out on the town looking this fine?" He eyed her up and down in an insulting manor.

Tea narrowed her eyes. "Get out of my way."

"My, but we're touchy tonight, Tea. And here I was going to offer the latest news about the murder case that my sweetheart dug up." He leaned over and kissed Cassie deeply on the mouth.

Tea felt her stomach lurch. "Well, if you're so willing to share it...Gee, it wouldn't be more bad news for Todd, by any chance?"

"Only that there is an eyewitness who can place Todd at the murder scene," volunteered Cassie.

Tea laughed through her nose. "That's supposed to be news? Todd placed himself at the murder scene when he admitted to stopping by the lodge that night."

"We're not talking about after the crime. This witness can place him there before the murder." Kevin smiled triumphantly.

Tea's blood ran cold, but she succeeded in hiding her distress from her tormentors. "And just who might this oh so convenient witness be?" she asked with a glare.

Cassie looked like the cat that swallowed the cream. "A woman who lives about a quarter mile away from the lodge in a cabin. The police haven't questioned her yet because she's been out of town, but she remembers noticing a strange car half-hidden in the woods the night of the murder." Cassie paused for effect. "Today she identified it as a black Porsche." Cassie and Kevin both looked at Tea triumphantly.

Tea laughed out loud. "That's it? A black Porsche? Let me give you two a little lesson in law: even if it can be proved that that was Todd's car, it still doesn't place him at the lodge at the time of the murder. I'm sure you plan to make a big deal of this in your formerly respectable newspaper, but Sam and I can make mincemeat out of this woman's story on the stand. Now if you'll excuse me...." Tea pushed past the obnoxious twosome and walked out of the bar. As soon as she knew they couldn't see her anymore, she leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths.

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Todd paced back and forth in his cell, stopping once every minute to stare at the outer barred gate expectantly. Outside, the heat of the day had faded, leaving a warm, pleasant evening behind. But the enclosed nature of the jail tended to hold all the heat in, and the prisoner was suffering. "Where are you, Delgado?" he wondered. "Did you stand me up?" Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard footsteps in the corridor, low voices, and the scrape as the guard put the key in the lock. Todd could feel his heart begin to beat a little faster as the door to his cell opened. Sam Rappaport stepped in. "What are you doing here?" asked Todd with open hostility.

"It's nice to see you too, Pal," returned Sam good-naturedly. "I'm here to work on your case. Tea said you were ready." Todd said nothing, but reading the expression on his face Sam said, "Oh, I get it. You were hoping to spend a little quality time with your wife. Believe me, Todd, I understand. But we really need to get our ducks in a row for the defense. Tell you what, we'll get this done as quickly as possible, then I'll leave you two alone for a while." Sam removed his jacket and loosened his tie against the heat. "My God, it's hot in here!" he said, sitting on the lower bunk and opening his briefcase. He eyed his client closely. "So, how have you been, Boomer?" he asked with concern. Todd shrugged and walked to the cell door. He rested one bare foot on a low crossbar and leaned his folded arms on a higher one. He sighed heavily. "I'm getting tired of all the games, Sam. I want this to be over."

"What games, Todd? Tell me," prodded Sam.

"All the mind games Bo has been playing with me to get me to break. The heat is just the most obvious in his bag of tricks. I can't have a newspaper, even my own, because I'll get "agitated", whatever that means. Until today, they took every reminder of Starr away from me. And the commissioner and his goons don't miss an opportunity to come in here and mess with my head whenever it suits them."

"Hold on. Are you saying the commissioner has been in here questioning you without legal counsel present?" Sam started to his feet angrily. "You see, Boomer, this is why the silent treatment you've been using to punish me and your wife the past weeks has turned out to be another one of your self-destructive fits? If I'd known about this, I could have gone to the judge and asked her to intervene."

"It wouldn't have done any good. Judge Fitzwater and I go way back. She hates me," added Todd.

"So I understand. But she's a stickler for the law and she wouldn't stand by and see your rights violated." Todd turned around and leaned back against the bars.

"Maybe I should plead guilty," he mused.

"Are you trying to tell me you did it?" asked Sam in a low voice.

"No!" cried Todd. "But they're going to convict me anyway."

"Well, thanks so much for the vote of confidence," said Sam. "If you didn't kill Georgie, why do you want to brand yourself a murderer? Why do that to Starr? To Tea?"

"Starr will be better off without me," said Todd.

"Yeah, right. And you don't really believe that, and apparently neither does Blair, since she let you see Starr today," said Sam. He returned to his briefcase, pulled out a copy of the Sun, and shoved it at Todd. "Now sit down, read your paper, and try to relax until Tea gets here."

Todd considered shoving it back at him, but the urge to look at the paper was almost physical. He sat on the bunk next to Sam and began to flip through it. The two men remained in companionable silence until Tea was shown in. The guard spotted Todd with the paper, and entered the cell purposefully. "The commissioner says he can't have no papers," he said, grabbing for it. Sam quickly stepped between Todd and the guard.

"You can tell the commissioner from me that he'd better stop this harassment of my client now, or he'll face sanctions from the judge. And tell him to get some fans set up down here ASAP, or he'll be reading about physical abuse of prisoners in tomorrow's paper." The intimidated guard backed off and Tea entered the cell and was locked in. Todd closed his paper.

"You're late," he said, looking her up and down. He made an effort to remain impassive, but he had a hard time, given that Tea looked absolutely stunning. She held out a white paper bag and gave Todd a shy smile.

"I know. I'm sorry. I stopped and got you a little something." Todd took the bag and pulled out a large styrofoam cup with a plastic lid. "It's a smoothie," she said. "I can tell you haven't been eating the jail food, and I thought you might like something cool." Todd looked warily at the cup, but poked a straw through the lid and took a sip.

"It's good," he said, half surprised. Tea smiled and sat down on the built-in bench. She opened her briefcase and began to organize her notes. While she was occupied, Todd took the opportunity to take in everything about her, from the cream-colored kid pumps on her feet, to her shiny brown hair, done up in a french twist. Tea looked up and their eyes locked.

"Let's get to work," suggested Sam.

The next half hour was taken up with going over the various depositions given by witnesses and looking for weaknesses that could be exploited on the stand during the trial. With Tea taking notes, Sam moved on to the timeline the night of the murder. "The coroner places the time of death within half an hour of 10 PM," said the attorney. "And you're sure you didn't get there until after 10:30?" Todd nodded and Sam went on. "OK, so your story is that you overheard Bo tell Asa he was headed for the lodge, and having already opened the photo from Georgie, you figured you could dig up more dirt on the commissioner, so you headed up the mountain."

"But when I got to Asa's lodge, there was no sign of the commissioner, and my sister Viki pulls in...."

"The power was out and it was very dark...." prompted Tea.

Todd continued. "The next thing I know, I see Viki, or someone I thought was Viki, dragging something out the back of the lodge and through the woods." Todd stood up and moved to the side wall of bars. He spoke to his attorneys over his shoulder. "I know. You can say it--curiosity killed the cat. I couldn't help it. I followed."

"And you saw this person covering up the body with some bushes?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, and she was in a real hurry, too. The next thing I know, she was gone. When I moved closer, I saw the dead chick and recognized her from the photo. Viki, or whoever, had left the gloves and bat with the body." Todd turned around. "I guess I kind of panicked. I figured Viki was covering for that no-good Bo, since the Buchanans all stick together, and I didn't want him to take my sister down with him. On the other hand, I knew if Bo and his henchmen discovered I'd been anywhere near the place, I'd be their first choice for a patsy." He let his eyes roam over the bleak cell. "Right on the money, huh?"

Sam continued the story. "And so you took the gloves and bat, concealed the body further and split....stopping along the way to hide the bat in the commissioner's jeep."

"Well, when I saw it parked by the road it seemed too good an opportunity to waste," grinned Todd.

"So why keep the gloves, Todd?" asked Tea.

"I couldn't leave those behind because I'd touched them," said Todd. I planned to keep them as a little insurance policy with Viki. Then the Buchanans started to frame me and I decided to get rid of them, but I never got the chance," he said with a long glare at Tea.

"They've got him cold for obstruction of justice, Sam," said Tea in a businesslike manner.

"Don't worry about that now," mused Sam. "We've got to concentrate on the murder charge. Trust me, we get rid of that and the lesser charges will disappear."

"So basically the case comes down to the jury believing Todd's description of events instead of the prosecution's," said Tea. She cleared her throat. "I'm afraid they may have a witness that could blow our version out of the water." Both men fixed her with their rapt attention. "According to Kevin and Cassie, they have a woman who can place your sports car near the lodge at 9:30pm." She waited for their reaction.

"She's lying," shouted Todd, stomping across the cell and banging his fists on the upper bunk. "Another Buchanan minion in on the frame! I swear I didn't get there until 10:30!"

"But no one saw you during the previous hour?" asked Sam.

"I told you. I was lost on the country roads. I'd only been by the lodge on the way to Viki's cabin, and everything looked different in the dark." Todd sat down next to Sam on the hard mattress. He rested his chin on his hand. "They're going to nail me with more manufactured evidence, aren't they?" he asked. "I told you. I'm convicted before we start."

Tea stood up and moved closer to Todd, leaning against the upper bunk. She put out a hand to caress his head, but withdrew it with a little sigh. "Todd, don't give up!" she encouraged. "Just because this woman is claiming to have seen your Porsche at 9:30, it doesn't make their case. We can look into her past, ruin her credibility somehow...."

Todd started. "What did you say, Delgado?" he asked, twisting to look up at her.

"I said we can find a way to destroy the witness's credibility...."

"No, not that. Before. Something about a Porsche," prodded Todd.

"Yeah. A black Porsche like yours. She says it was hidden in the..."

Todd shot off the bunk like a rocket and banged his open palms against the cell bars. "We've got them!" he cried triumphantly, as Sam and Tea looked at him like a mental case. "They screwed up! Didn't do their homework.." He looked back and forth at the expressions of confusion on the faces of his attorneys. "The Porsche," he said placidly. "The black Porsche," he added when there was no response. He flung back across the cell and plopped down between his helpers. "C'mon people!" He snapped his fingers in front of their faces. "I didn't have the Porsche that night. I was driving the Ferrari!" Sam and Tea exchanged surprised glances.

"Boomer, are you saying you weren't using your Porsche the night of the murder?" asked Sam.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying," answered Todd. "Fred, my chauffeur was waxing it when I got to the garage, so I took out the Ferrari instead."

"Oh, this is even better! There's a witness!" cried Sam in jubilation, riffling through his briefcase.

"Yeah, and don't forget the old man at the Gas 'N Sip," added Todd. "He filled it up."

"Wait a minute!" cried Tea, waving her arms and stepping to the center of the cell. "You're both missing the point. If Todd had the Ferrari, then who belonged to the Porsche the witness saw hidden?" Dead silence reigned for 10 seconds. "It has to be the real killer's, of course," prompted Tea.

Sam bolted to his feet. "You're right, Tea! We've got our first big break. I'll get our investigators looking for every black Porsche within 100 miles. Somehow we'll place someone with a motive for killing Georgie in that car, and it will be enough for reasonable doubt." He slammed his briefcase shut, grabbed his coat and called for the guard. "Remember, Todd, not a word to anyone about this. We need the element of surprise." When the guard appeared and unlocked the door, Tea made to gather her things and leave as well, but Todd shyly asked if she could stay for a few minutes. She shrugged and sat down on the bench again, but her heart had started to beat a little faster. Todd waited until the guard was gone, then moved closer and sat on the opposite end of the bench from his wife.

TO BE CONTINUED