“Get an independent appraisal of the necklace you took. They list the value as twenty-five thousand and that bumps you up to a felony theft category. But it doesn’t look like anybody ever challenged that.”
“You mean like if the diamonds are bogus there’s no felony?”
“It could work out like that. But I was thinking of something else, too.”
“What?”
I pulled his file out of my bag so I could check a name.
“Let me ask you a few questions first, Patrick,” I said. “What were you doing in that house where you took the necklace?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“I was dating the old lady’s youngest daughter. I met her on the beach and was sort of teaching her to surf. We went out a few times and hung out. One time there was a birthday party at the house and I was invited and the mother was given the necklace as a gift.”
“That’s when you learned its value.”
“Yeah, the father said they were diamonds when he gave it to her. He was real proud of ’em.”
“So then, the next time you were there at the house, you stole the necklace.”
He didn’t respond.
“It wasn’t a question, Patrick. It’s a fact. I’m your lawyer now and we need to discuss the facts of the case. Just don’t ever lie to me or I won’t be your lawyer anymore.”
“Okay.”
“So the next time you were in the house, you stole the necklace.”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me about it.”
“We were there alone using the pool and I said I had to go to the can, only I really just wanted to check the medicine cabinet for pills. I was hurting. There weren’t any in the bathroom downstairs so I went upstairs and looked around. I looked in the old lady’s jewelry box and saw the necklace. I just took it.”
He shook his head and I knew why. He was thoroughly embarrassed and defeated by the actions his addiction had made him take. I had been there myself and knew that looking back from sobriety was almost as scary as looking forward.
“It’s all right, Patrick. Thank you for being honest. What did the guy say when you pawned it?”
“He said he’d only give me four bills because the chain was gold but he didn’t think the diamonds were legit. I told him he was full of shit but what could I do? I took the money and went down to TJ. I needed the tabs and so I took what he was giving. I was so messed up on the stuff, I didn’t care.”
“What’s the name of the girl? It’s not in the file.”
“Mandolin, like the instrument. Her parents call her Mandy.”
“Have you talked to her since you were arrested?”
“No, man. We’re done.”
Now the eyes in the mirror looked sad and humiliated.
“Stupid,” Henson said. “The whole thing was stupid.”
I thought about things for a moment and then reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a Polaroid photograph. I handed it over the seat and tapped Patrick on the shoulder with it.
“Take a look at that.”
He took the photo and held it on top of the steering wheel while he looked at it.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked.
“I tripped over a curb and did a nice face plant in front of my house. Broke a tooth and my nose, opened up my forehead pretty good, too. They took that picture for me in the ER. To carry around as a reminder.”
“Of what?”
“I had just gotten out of my car after driving my eleven-year-old daughter home to her mother. By then I was up to three hundred twenty milligrams of OxyContin a day. Crushing and snorting first thing in the morning, except for me, the mornings were the afternoon.”
I let him register that for a few moments before continuing.
“So, Patrick, you think what you did was stupid? I was driving my little girl around on three hundred twenty migs of hillbilly heroin.”
Now I shook my head.
“There’s nothing you can do about the past, Patrick. Except keep it there.”
He was staring directly at me in the mirror.
“I’m going to help you get through the legal stuff,” I said. “It’s up to you to do the rest. And the rest is the hard part. But you already know that.”
He nodded.
“Anyway, I see a ray of light here, Patrick. Something Jerry Vincent didn’t see.”
“What is it?”
“The victim’s husband gave her that necklace. His name is Roger Vogler and he’s a big supporter of lots of elected people in the county.”
“Yeah, he’s big into politics. Mandolin told me that. They hold fund-raisers and stuff at the house.”
“Well, if the diamonds on that necklace are phony, he’s not going to want that coming up in court. Especially if his wife doesn’t know.”
“But how’s he gonna stop it?”
“He’s a contributor, Patrick. His contributions helped elect at least four members of the county board of supervisors. The county supervisors control the budget of the District Attorney’s Office. The DA is prosecuting you. It’s a food chain. If Dr. Vogler wants to send a message, believe me, it will be sent.”
Henson nodded. He was beginning to see the light.
“The motion I’m going to file requests that we be allowed to independently examine and appraise the evidence, to wit, the diamond necklace. You never know, that word ‘appraise’ may stir things up. We’ll just have to sit back and see what happens.”
“Do we go to court to file it?”
