Chapter 19

Deena’s turn:

I’m really thinking that Mister Andre’s the best possible choice for legal advice on my side.

“You’re not the defendant, Deena,” he said. “You’re the victim. Theoretically, the district Attorney is supposed to have your interests in mind in the application of the laws violated in your attack.”

“But the defendant’s...”

“Yeah, his family’s in bed with the DA and a lot of the big wheels in the area. We’re gonna see how well those wheels spin if we put some sand in the bearings.”

“How?” Bill asked the question before I could. That’s better. Inside me is a glowing little ball of rage over the whole incident. If I start talking about it, I get a bit too emotional. I’m trying to get over that. The bruises don’t show any more. My nose only hurts if I deliberately push it too hard. But that little ember of anger...

“I know a new federal attorney,” Andre’ said. “Young. Hotshot. Wants to build a reputation. Clearing up a little pocket of corruption might be just the thing to turn him loose on.”

“Why are YOU doing this?” I had to ask. “You could be making a lot of money as a trial lawyer,” I asked him.

“Hon,” he said, “Daddy did that. I got the benefit. I don’t NEED the money, but I like bein’ a lawyer, Daddy raised me in the marsh, and me, I do like a good hunt. We, you ‘n’ me, we’re hunting.”

“Oh.”

“I play defense attorney, you know. Somebody gets charged with a crime, I get ‘im off.”

“So, like, this guy ... You’d work to get ‘im off?”

“‘Nother thing Daddy gave me was a conscience. This guy wouldn’t be one I’d work for. It’s usually somebody who’s being set up for a fall, somebody who’s being used to clear a lot of little crimes. I can fix that. This, I can fix, too, because I know what’s going on before it happens.”

A week and a half later, he’s telling us that having a federal prosecutor asking about a case that shouldn’t be receiving that kind of attention is causing some questions to float around.

“Some people I know are seeing things get some attention, folks,” he said. “Like just maybe there’re charges being worked up.”

“I want him charged. I want him tried. I want him in jail,” I said with as resolute a tone as I could muster without breaking over into angry tears.

“I do too,” André said. “but what about this? You know the term ‘plea bargain’?”

I shuddered. “Yessir.” Cautious tone.

“Just thinking. We get him in for lesser charges than full-blown rape. Maybe carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Assault and battery.”

“That ‘carnal knowledge’ thing – that’s usually a sex crime, right?”

“You see where I’m heading, then. Yeah. For him, tried as an adult, he’s signed onto a life as a violent sexual predator – registering and advertising where he lives. Other restrictions.”

“As long as there’s prison sentence...”

“It gets more fun,” Andre said. “You know that weekly tabloid?” We have a little newspaper that comes out a couple of times a month, so, ‘weekly’ is close enough. We know what he’s talking about.

“Yeah,” Bill said. “They did an article on Haley and Deena and the Stearman.”

“That’s the one,” Andre’ affirmed. “You probably talked with the guy who runs it, right?”

“Yes,” Bill said, “When they wanted to do the article...”

“Good. Well, he fancies himself as an investigative reporter of sorts, and I’m considering dumping him a few things to investigate. Things that surround our case and the lack of action. Maybe a little bit of information about deals and coverups.”

“That’d get the pot stirred, no doubt,” Bill replied.

“It’s a tool in our box,” Andre’ said. “Like the difference between the police report on file and the one written up by the investigating officer. Finding out that those files are radically different in favor of a protected son, well ... Add to that the facts of a juvenile record of sexual assault ... I’m thinking that by the time we start showing a few cards, there will be rifts in the community.”

I’m thinking that his dad’s political aspirations will suffer a hit, and Mom’s gonna be pissed because she thought her husband was riding on those coat-tails, but I said nothing.

Behind all this, life returned to normal.

Normal. Just like the neat arrangement of deck furniture on the Titanic.

You see, we were thinking that everybody knew the rules and would play by them.

Transcript of Interview (from recording):

Subject witness: Dvorah Silverman

Interviewing officer: Ezekiel Cartwright, Supervising Detective

EC: Miss Dvorah...

DS: Sir, you can call me Deb. ‘Dvorah’ is a bit much.

EC: Thank you, Deb. So we already know date and time. Let’s start from the beginning. Just try to relax. We’re just getting different viewpoints. You were on the steps...

DS: Yessir. I’d had a session with one of the TAs over an assignment. I was waiting on my friend to finish talking with him. It was a pretty day, so I got a nice spot next to the handrail, out of traffic. I was looking at some notes, watching people, you know...

EC: And at the beginning of the incident-

DS: These two pretty big, hunky guys – nice-looking, if you’re into the ‘jock’ type, they were sort of waiting off the sidewalk. Like they were waiting on somebody. Then Deena walked out...”

EC: You know Deena Simon?

DS: Everybody knows Deena. First, she’s pretty. Second, she’s nice. Third, if you’re having academic problems, she’s a good person to ask. So yes, I know Deena. Not close. Like, we don’t hang out. But we’ve talked.

EC: So she came out of the building...

CS: Yessir. Like a normal student. Backpack over one shoulder.

EC: Did she look like she was expecting trouble?

DS: You mean, like, wary? No, sir.

EC: Go on...

DS: So I guess she got to the bottom step and one of the guys sort of yelled, “Hey! I need to talk to you.” She stopped, saw who it was, and said, “Ethan Basler. There’s a restraining order against you. Just go away and leave me alone!”

EC: You heard her say his name. Distinctly?

DS: Yessir. Like she wanted to make sure it was out there, that there was no mistake about who she was speaking to.

EC: Then what?

DS: He stepped toward her. She pulled out her cellphone like she was going to make a call. He kept coming, grabbed the front of her jacket and slapped the cellphone away from her face. Out of her hand. She screamed for help.

EC: At this time, what was the other man doing?

DS: Watching. Had his arms folded. Kinda smirking.

EC: Thank you. Continue.

DS: I think she was kinda stunned. He told her that she was messing up his whole life and she needed to cut that shit out. That’s what he said. “Cut that shit out.” Anyway, he practically had her lifted off the ground, was sort of screaming at her. He had his arm back, like he was gonna slap ‘er again. That’s when the other girl...

EC: You mean Carlita Johnson?

DS: Yessir. Carlita’s another one. Like Deena. Sweet. Got that cool accent. She’s helped me with writing for English courses, which is soooo cool because English is her second language. Anyway, sometimes you see her and Deena together on campus. She was coming down the steps, I guess to meet Deena, and she saw what was happening.

EC: Would you say it was an obvious altercation – Deena and Ethan Basler?

DS: Talk about! The dude had Deena by the front of her jacket, her feet off the ground, and was about to slap the crap out of her.

EC: They weren’t talking at this point?

DS: No. He was yelling a bunch of stuff, callin’ ‘er names, about how she should keep her mouth shut.

EC: So you had no doubt Deena was being assaulted.

DS: No doubt. A couple of people had phones out, like they were recording it. I was getting mine out to call the cops. And I saw Carlita drop her backpack...

EC: When did you see her with a knife?

DS: Right after that.

EC: Did you see where she got it?

DS: No, sir. But she was about two steps above them and they’d kinda turned around so his back was towards Carlita. He didn’t see her coming. She just LAUNCHED, like in one of the John Wick movies, and then there was blood all over...

EC: When did the other man get involved?

DS: When Deena and the guy hit the ground. I mean, he was on top of Deena and Carlita was on top of HIM, stabbing...

EC: And the other guy?

DS: He jumped in like he was gonna take care of getting Carlita off.

EC: How did he do that?

DS: He put his arm around her neck from behind, like in a choke hold. Peeled her off, then pulled his arm back to swat ‘er or something. He didn’t get a chance. She stuck that knife right in the middle of him. He sat down fast, holding his belly...

EC: And at this time, what was going on with Deena and Ethan?

DS: She was trying to get away from him. He was on top of her still, but I don’t think he was fighting her by then. Man, there was sooooo much blood. They don’t show that in the movies, y’know.

EC: I do know.

DS: She finally got out from under him, kinda stood up with her hands over her face, crying. She had blood all over her, too, but I didn’t think it was hers.

EC: Did anyone else get involved?

DS: Not at first. I mean, it’s a college CAMPUS, right? Peaceful, sane, all that. You don’t expect this kind of stuff. Most of it was over before anybody made a move, then people started trying to do first aid. There was one guy, I think they said he was a veteran, he kinda took charge, got somebody to put something over the second guy’s belly, then he went to the first guy, Ethan, and checked for a pulse. I mean, the blood sorta stopped comin’ out ... Then he went back to the second guy. And that’s when the campus police showed up.