Page 44 of The Devil's Advocate

‘You’re a clever man, Governor. Much smarter than some in the party give you credit for, and you will survive the fallout from this very easily. If anything, I’d say your approval rating will skyrocket with your base. But let’s be clear, today I don’t want you to be smart. Today I’d like you to say something really stupid.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

EDDIE

Law is a slow game most of the time. Occasionally, you just have to haul ass.

Harry recorded an affidavit from the gas station clerk, Damien Green. He was honest, and that’s a rarer quality these days than it used to be.

Kate worked the paper. She filed emergency motions for bail, change of venue to take the trial out of Buckstown, a motion to suppress Andy’s forced confession and a motion for discovery – we wanted that gas station footage.

Harry and I read over the paperwork prepared by Kate, but there was no more to add and nothing to change. She did it better than I could. Kate had a clear, even tone when writing motion briefs. She used the incontrovertible facts as the basis of her arguments, and there’s very little anyone can do to counter facts – in a courtroom at least.

The motions were emailed to the court, and the prosecutor, and while we were headed back to the hotel in the car, Kate got a call to say the judge would hear all the motions today at three o’clock.

We had time, but very little.

A shower and a change of clothes for me. Kate was still good from that morning. We drove to the courthouse in the SUV.

As we reached the courthouse, I noticed a crowd outside. Men in combat fatigues, thick black vests over their torsos, ball caps and either AR-15s slung on their shoulders or handguns strapped to their belts. A few had American flags, and there were two, maybe three of them holding placards. Around a dozen of them in total, standing at the bottom of the courthouse steps.

‘Don’t stop outside the court,’ I said to Bloch. ‘Park around back and we’ll see if there’s another entrance.’

Bloch sped up, past the crowd and took the long way round, to the lot at the back of the courthouse. We got out of the car, into the sun and the heat rising off the asphalt as if it were hot coals. There was no rear entrance to the building, other than a fire door that hadn’t been opened in a long time.

‘How did they know about the hearing? You think Korn tipped them off?’ asked Harry.

‘Maybe he told Skylar’s father and he organized this,’ I said.

‘Are they allowed to carry assault rifles in public?’ asked Kate.

‘Welcome to the South,’ said Harry. ‘You can carry a fully loaded machine gun, but you can’t carry an open can of beer.’

We walked around front. I led, Bloch at the rear. Harry and Kate in the middle. Single file. It didn’t take long for the crowd to spot us.

They recognized me straight away. I saw two in the front pointing at us.

I looked around.

No court security outside.

The leader separated from the group, stood right in our path. No way to get around him and into the court building. He had a grey goatee beard, a combat vest stretched over his American Eagle tee-shirt and a red ball cap with a political slogan, now worn away, covered his bald head. An AR-15 cradled in his hands. His index finger stretched above the trigger. He didn’t say anything. He just stood there with his small, bright eyes fixed on mine.

A young man came forward, through the crowd, and stood beside him. He was in his early twenties, blond hair, blue eyes. Good-looking kid, built like a quarterback. He wore blue jeans and a Nike shirt, and unlike the others he wasn’t armed.

‘Tell him who you are, Gary,’ said a voice from the back.

The young man turned at the sound of his name. I guessed this was Gary Stroud, Skylar Edwards’s boyfriend.

‘Don’t let these bastards through,’ said Gary to the guy in front of me with the goatee and the rifle.

I turned sideways, trying to slide past him, but he moved to his right, Gary stepping with him, in unison, to block my way. I kept walking. I got right into the man’s face, and he used the rifle, held across his stomach, to push me back.

Bloch came around beside me, her right arm bent, fingers open. She had a cannon strapped to her waist. A Magnum 500 that could blow a hole big enough in the guy for me to walk through.

The men behind him moved closer. They were beginning to focus their attention on Harry.

‘I’ll make you a deal,’ I said to the man with the goatee.