"That doesn't change a thing, Harry," Mason said. "They just didn't see the scratches. I'll bet none of them told you that they looked at Blues's hands afterward and didn't see any scratches. Because you didn't ask them that question. Did you? Your case sucks without something that puts Blues in Cullan's house Friday night. Tell me what you've got, Harry!"
Harry listened as Mason turned up the volume, his blank expression giving no clue whether Mason's suddenly antagonistic tone bothered him, whether he had the evidence Mason was demanding, or whether he'd even heard a word Mason had said. Harry waited until the silence pressed down as heavily as unspoken bad news.
"I've got enough that the prosecuting attorney was happy to sign the arrest warrant. He says he might ask for the death penalty. Your client's first court appearance is tomorrow morning at nine in Associate Circuit Court."
Mason said, "This isn't a death-penalty case. It's barely a murder-one case. Even if your take on Blues is right- and it's not-you've got him killing Cullan because Cullan pissed him off. That's murder two on a good day. Where are the aggravating circumstances that would make it a death-penalty case?"
"The prosecutor doesn't have to disclose that until he decides whether to ask for the death penalty."
Mason knew that Harry was right, and decided to change subjects. Harry was true to his word. He wasn't going to tell Mason anything he didn't have to tell him. "So who drew the short straw in the prosecutor's office?"
Leonard Campbell, the prosecuting attorney, limited his court appearances to accepting high-profile plea bargains and trying cases with dead-certain guilty verdicts. He was more of a politician and bureaucrat than he was a trial lawyer. Mason assumed that he would assign one of his senior deputies to Blues's case.
"When Campbell signed the arrest warrant, he told me that he would try the case. Nobody here believes that. Campbell may decide to sit at the counsel table, but the lead guy will be Patrick Ortiz."
Mason had dealt with Ortiz several times since he had opened his own practice. Ortiz had a plodding, understated style that often lulled the defense attorney into careless mistakes. Juries responded to him, seeing him as one of them. He was a regular guy who just talked to the jury, making the complex simple, explaining why the alibi was just a lie. He had the highest conviction rate of anyone in the prosecutor's office. Most importantly from Mason's perspective, Patrick Ortiz was always the lead prosecutor in death-penalty cases.
Mason was done visiting. "I've got some other things to go over with Blues. Let me know when I can get a set of the investigative reports."
"I'll have them for you tomorrow morning," Harry said. "In the meantime, I'd like to get a blood and tissue sample from your client so we can do a DNA match with the scrapings the coroner took from Cullan's fingernails."
"Let's see how things go in the morning, Harry."
Harry said, "Today or tomorrow. It doesn't matter to me. We won't have any trouble finding your client. Just tell him that when the judge imposes a sentence, he'll ask us if Bluestone cooperated or made life difficult."
Mason was already tired of Harry's pinprick comments. "Harry, I know you've had a hard-on for Blues since the two of you were partners. Don't use this case to get even. Blues's life is on the line and you're too good of a cop to make it personal."
Harry fired back. "Is that what you think? That this is personal? Well, let me tell you something, Lou. It's damn personal! Your client killed an innocent woman six years ago and walked away. He killed Jack Cullan last Friday, and if he thinks he's walking away this time, he's wrong. Murder is about as personal as crimes get. I take it real personal that I didn't nail the son of a bitch the first time."
Harry's rant attracted the stares of the handful of detectives working at the other desks jammed onto the floor. Mason looked around the room. They all knew about Blues and Harry. Though cops never liked it when one of their own was busted, Blues was an exception. He'd crossed the line six years ago, and none of them thought of Blues as a brother behind the shield any longer. Mason suspected that they had high-fived Harry when he brought Blues in, gleefully reminding one another that paybacks are hell.
"You won't nail him this time either, Harry. I won't let you," Mason said. а
Mason returned to the interrogation room, trying not to be obvious when he saw Blues rubbing the scratches on the backs of his hands. Still, the image caught Mason in mid-step.
"You don't look like a lawyer who just convinced the cops to let his client go home," Blues told him.
Mason said, "The case Harry told me he has against you doesn't worry me. It's the one he wouldn't tell me about that should worry both of us."
