Simba didn\u2019t say a word and my mind raced.\u00a0 What evidence could Grimes have put together since yesterday?\u00a0 No judge would grant a search warrant based on a partial match of a license plate.\u00a0 He must have come up with additional evidence, some sort of relationship between Penny and Henry, and I didn\u2019t even have that nailed down yet, it was still conjecture on my part.\u00a0 Grimes wasn\u2019t due to talk with Penny\u2019s mom Carla Piccinini until tomorrow, so that left Sam, Johnny Knox, or maybe Dessa or Sylvia.\u00a0 Sam was the most likely candidate given his hatred of Henry, but he claimed he didn\u2019t know anything about Penny during his last interview with Grimes.\u00a0 But of course he could have been lying; maybe Simba\u2019s interest in getting custody of Chloe prompted him to rat out Henry.\u00a0 Johnny Knox was also a possibility, either on his own initiative, or based on Sam\u2019s orders.\u00a0 And it just didn\u2019t make any sense for Dessa or Sylvia to be involved if they were still laying low.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see the search warrant, please, Detective?\u201d I said to Grimes.\u00a0 I then turned to Simba, \u201cDo you know where your brother went?\u00a0 You\u2019d better go get him.\u201d\u00a0 She turned without a word and walked out the same door as Henry.<\/p>\n
Grimes handed me the search warrant, which was limited to his car looking for evidence of a crime.\u00a0 Not much help there.\u00a0 Henry and Simba reentered the room.\u00a0 \u201cHow can I help you officer?\u201d Henry said mildly.<\/p>\n
I have a warrant here to search your car.\u00a0 We’ll have to impound it.\u00a0 Can you please direct me to the car?\u00a0 Is your garage out back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I ask what for? You can certainly search it, I don\u2019t really care, I have nothing to hide.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t driven the car in over several years now.\u00a0 In fact I let my driver\u2019s license lapse.\u00a0 But what is this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the warrant,\u201d said Grimes<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat crime could I possibly have committed?\u201d said Henry.\u00a0 \u201cThis must be a mistake.\u00a0 Let me show you back to the garage, and you can see for yourself that the car hasn’t been driven for months.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started to lead Grimes out the side door towards the large four car garage in the back and Simba and I trailed along.\u00a0 \u201cIs this about Penny?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to tell us exactly, just that they think that there is probable cause that there is evidence of a crime in the car, but it must be about Penny.\u00a0 But I just can\u2019t figure out how they got probable cause,\u201d I said, suddenly a wave of nausea that I had done half of Grimes\u2019 work for him by giving him the tip about checking Henry\u2019s license plate.<\/p>\n
Grimes turned to Henry with his hand out asking for the key.\u00a0 Henry said, \u201cThere is no need for a key, detective.\u00a0 I live in a gated community and therefore have never locked the garage.\u201d\u00a0 Henry\u2019s calm demeanor was in sharp contrast to Simba, whose fingers were now digging into my elbow.\u00a0 One of the policemen moved forward to grab the door and yanked it, and it smoothly opened.\u00a0 The garage was empty.<\/p>\n
Grimes put his hands on his hips and turned slowly toward Henry, \u201cMr. Murphy, let me clearly understand you.\u00a0 You say that you have not driven this car in two years?\u00a0 Where do you think it is then?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was surprised and impressed by Henry\u2019s defiance.\u00a0 He placed his hands on his hips in a perfect imitation of Grimes and said very deliberately, \u201cYou are correct detective.\u00a0 I did indeed say that I had not driven the car in several years.\u00a0 Perhaps I should be more explicit about the term \u201cseveral.\u201d\u00a0 By several I meant more than one, but for the exact number I would have to check with my insurance company, but I am sure that you can check with the DMV to see when my license lapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grimes did not move.\u00a0 \u201cIs it your contention, Mr. Murphy, that your car has been stolen, and if so, did you report this to the police?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry stood firm, and the two other cops, Simba and I were transfixed by this performance.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t contend anything.\u00a0 All I can say is that I did not authorize anyone else to use it.\u00a0 And as I was unaware that the car was no longer in the garage, there would be no way that I could report it as stolen.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that I have anything further to add, and I am sorry that I cannot help you further.\u00a0 If you want to question me further, I will refer you to my lawyer.\u201d\u00a0 Henry turned and walked away.\u00a0 Grimes looked at me, and I just shrugged my shoulders.\u00a0 Grimes had no choice at this point but to walk back down the driveway to where his car was parked on the other side of the gate and leave.<\/p>\n
Simba and I followed Henry into the house.\u00a0 He was leaning over the sink supported by his hands and his whole body was shaking.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is happening to me, why is this happening?\u00a0 I haven\u2019t done anything.\u00a0 This is about that Penny girl isn\u2019t it, that nosy friend of Dessa\u2019s isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 He turned and looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have brought this all down on this family and you too,\u201d as he first stared at me and then at Simba.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe point is that we are a family, and we will solve this as a family,\u201d said Simba.\u00a0 She put her arm around Henry and then turned to me.\u00a0 \u201cTell us what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should\u2019ve known when that little tramp showed up with all those tattoos for God\u2019s sake,\u201d said Henry.\u00a0 \u201cI should\u2019ve kicked her out of this house immediately, instead for Dessa\u2019s sake, I asked her in.\u00a0 Should\u2019ve kicked her out,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop talking Henry,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to hear another word out of you, because you need to talk with a lawyer and I can give you a recommendation, because I have worked with some excellent criminal lawyers, but I don\u2019t want you to say another world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like your tone, and besides I haven\u2019t done anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I\u2019m not trying to be rude here, but evidently the police think that there\u2019s at least enough evidence to search your car, I don\u2019t know what that evidence is, but now your car is missing, so you have to understand that doesn\u2019t look good.\u00a0 They are certainly going to want to talk with you again, and you need a lawyer to advise you about what you have to answer and what you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, why do I care, I didn\u2019t do anything, so why do I need a lawyer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry, do you remember that you told me the other day that you had never heard or seen of a Penny Knox, and I even showed you a picture? And now you tell me that you invited her into your house.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m sure that you had your reasons not to tell me the whole truth, and that was your right, but that type of inconsistency can get you into real trouble with the police.\u00a0 So please don\u2019t say anything else, not to me, not to Simba, not to anybody until you talk with a lawyer.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even want to know who you think may have taken your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry, listen to her, please,\u201d said Simba.\u00a0 I know that you didn\u2019t do anything, you couldn\u2019t have, but let\u2019s let a lawyer handle it.\u00a0 We\u2019re family and we\u2019ll find a way.\u00a0 Liza, who do you recommend?\u201d<\/p>\n
“There are two people that I\u2019ve worked with in the past and both are excellent, and it is just a matter of who might be available on a Sunday to talk with you. I\u2019ll give them a call right know if you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry, listen to what she\u2019s saying, please.\u00a0 I\u2019m on your side here.\u00a0 It is you, me, Dessa and Goddard, and it\u2019s not Sam.\u00a0 This is me trying to be strong, trying to stand up to Sam and I need you to be strong here too.\u201d\u00a0 Simba was now facing him directly and had grabbed both of his forearms with her hands.\u00a0 I am sure that we were all simultaneously thinking who could\u2019ve taken Henry\u2019s car, and no one wanted to say out loud that it was most likely Dessa.<\/p>\n
I acknowledged Henry\u2019s slow nod of assent and went into the next room to make the calls, leaving Simba and Henry alone.\u00a0 I first called Jake Boyd and left him a message.\u00a0 My second call was to Jimmy Earle, who answered on the first ring. \u201cHey Blue, what\u2019s up?\u00a0 Haven\u2019t heard from you in a long time, since that messy Castellano case out in the desert.\u201d\u00a0 I gave him a quick sketch of the case, including the strained family dynamics.\u00a0 He let out a long whistle, \u201cSounds like you have a live one there Blue, but the one thing I don\u2019t understand is how the cops got onto to Henry Murphy in the first place.\u00a0 What was the probable cause for the warrant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy, I\u2019m feeling bad about this, but it might have originally come from me, back at the beginning of the case when I was just looking for the daughter.\u00a0 I indirectly mentioned to Grimes that he might want to check out Murphy\u2019s license plates.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why and I should\u2019ve known better.\u00a0 But Grimes must have more information, and I don\u2019t know what it is, because I don\u2019t know how he would know that Penny, the dead girl had met Henry Murphy. \u00a0I just don\u2019t know, but I do know that Henry Murphy needs good representation, he is kind of a lost soul right now.\u00a0 Do you have time to see him today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am at my son\u2019s soccer game right now, but there are only 10 minutes left in the second half.\u00a0 Can he meet me at my office in about 45 minutes?\u00a0 Tell Murphy not to talk to anyone else until we talk first, not even to his sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang again as I was walking back into the living room to give Henry the good news about Jimmy Earle.\u00a0 \u201cHey Liza, this is Jake.\u00a0 Could we be talking about the same case here.\u00a0 I just got a call from Sam Todd \u2013 something to do with his daughter and her friend Penny?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, who are you representing?\u00a0 I am here with Sam\u2019s brother-in-law Henry who\u2019s just been served a search warrant for his car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am representing Sam, though he says he\u2019s not in any trouble.\u00a0 Maybe we can consolidate the cases, if this is one big family mess.\u00a0 I\u2019d love to work with you, you have always been my best investigator.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, you just happened to answer my call second, and Jimmy Earle has agreed to represent Henry for the moment.\u00a0 Maybe when we figure out exactly what is going on, we can consider consolidating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds good Liza, you can\u2019t go wrong with Jimmy, and I\u2019ve got a great relationship with him.\u00a0 Well, here I am just pulling into Sam\u2019s driveway.\u00a0 Beautiful day up here in the canyon.\u00a0 Talk to you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked into the living room and Henry and Simba were sitting side by side on the sofa and vacantly staring out the window.\u00a0 \u201cGood news, Henry, my colleague Jimmy Earle is able to take your case.\u00a0 He said he could meet us at his office in about 45 minutes, so we better get going now, you can follow me in my car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForty five minutes,\u201d said Henry, \u201cwhere in Santa Teresa is he located?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that anything is that far away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis office is in Cutter City, so it will take us a bit to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait a minute, what kind of lawyer this Earle guy, a lawyer from \u00a0Cutter City?\u00a0 Is that the best you can do?\u201d\u00a0 Simba moved to grab his forearm and hushed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s face it Henry,\u201d I said, \u201cSanta Teresa has plenty of corporate lawyers and estate lawyers, but there\u2019re just not that many criminal lawyers in this town, particularly ones that have handled murder cases.\u00a0 Jimmy Earle is one of the best, and it just happens that his office is in Cutter City.\u00a0 I have worked with him on several cases, and I think that you will be impressed.\u00a0 You may remember that case last year of those kids that robbed the Chinese restaurant.\u00a0 He represented the kids, and the case was thrown out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHold on,\u201d said Henry, \u00a0He suddenly stood up and spoke with his back facing us as he stared out the window.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you talking about? \u00a0I\u2019m not involved in any murder.\u00a0 And I remember that Chinese restaurant case \u2013 it was obvious that those kids were guilty.\u00a0 I\u2019m not guilty, so I don\u2019t need some sort of sleazy Cutter Cityl awyer who can get me off on some technicality since I didn\u2019t do anything in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry, stop it, stop it right now,\u201d said Simba.\u00a0 No matter how innocent you are, you need a lawyer, and if Liza has found you a good one, I think that you should go and talk to him.\u00a0 What\u2019s the harm?\u00a0 You just have to get over your very unattractive bias against Cutter City. \u00a0Now is no time to be a snob.\u201d\u00a0 Simba stood up, took Henry by the hand and lead him over to the door.\u00a0 I had no qualms about Jimmy Earle.\u00a0 He was a great lawyer, and the only thing that Jake Boyd had over Jimmy was that his office was just two blocks further south than Jimmy, which put him just barely in Santa Teresa.<\/p>\n
Our two cars arrived at the office, just as Jimmy was pulling in, so I made awkward introductions in the parking lot.\u00a0 I had actually never been to Jimmy\u2019s office before, we mostly communicated by phone, and when we met it was usually at a coffee shop, and one time we had even met at the Clean Plate Caf\u00e9.\u00a0 I actually would have liked to meet and talk with Jimmy before he met Simba and Henry, and certainly I now wanted to give him the heads up that Sam had retained a lawyer and that there was something big and complicated going on.\u00a0 Jimmy pulled out his key and as we walked in, I prayed that his office would not consist of an old chipped steelcase desk and a linoleum floor that was rubbed raw.\u00a0 That might be more than Henry could take.\u00a0 But his office was decent, not like a lush, plush downtown Santa Teresa office, but clean, nice carpeting and entirely serviceable.\u00a0 Jimmy turned to Simba and Henry, \u201cplease take a seat here for a moment while I go into the back office to get some paperwork.\u00a0 And perhaps you could come with me Liza and help me print off some forms.\u00a0 I will be right back.\u00a0 Would you like some coffee?\u00a0 My assistant Madge isn\u2019t here, but please help yourself.\u00a0 The office kitchen is just through that door.\u201d\u00a0 Both Simba and Henry murmured no, probably because neither of them knew how to use a coffee machine.<\/p>\n
As soon as we got out of sight, Jimmy asked me what else he should know.\u00a0 I quickly told him that Sam had retained Jake for unknown reasons, and described the acrimony between the three parties, and that probably Dessa and Goddard were probably caught in the middle of a situation that was rapidly moving out of control.\u00a0 \u201cWhere does Simba fit into all of this?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cShould she be part of the interview?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last day, I think that she has learned that her husband is not a very nice man, and may be capable of anything.\u00a0 She desperately wants to reconnect with Henry, but at the end of the day, she will probably drive back up that canyon to her husband, who can be very manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I will interview Henry by himself, and my only real job at this point is to straighten out the warrant.\u00a0 So who are you working for now anyway?\u00a0 Can you do some investigating for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am technically working for Simba, serving as a family mediator, to try and get her back in touch with both Henry and her daughter Dessa, but that part of the job may be over now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me if you were going to investigate one thing, what would it be?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, two things, first I would want to find out what additional information the police have on Henry, and next I would like to further investigate a whorehouse in Cutter City, since I think that is where Sam and Henry first crossed paths.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, I remember that case, they nabbed the mayor of Santa Rosa there.\u00a0 Go ahead, take that on as your assignment and put it on my tab, and maybe you could get Simba out of here while I interview Henry.\u201d<\/p>\n
We grabbed the forms that we needed, and when we went back into the waiting room, Simba had fallen asleep on the couch, while Henry had taken his toenail clippers out of his front pocket and was again trimming his nails.\u00a0 Jimmy motioned Henry into his office and closed the door.\u00a0 I gently woke Simba up and suggested that I drive her back in her car to the Murphy house where she could get some much needed sleep.\u00a0 I would then take the bus back here and pick up my car.\u00a0 She mutely agreed.\u00a0 As we walked out to the car, she routinely checked her cell phone for message.\u00a0 \u201cOh my God,\u201d she said, \u201cIt looks like Dessa returned my call.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nFollow Liza Blue on: Simba didn\u2019t say a word and my mind raced.\u00a0 What evidence could Grimes have put together since yesterday?\u00a0 No judge would grant a search warrant based on a partial match of a license plate.\u00a0 He must have come up with … Continue reading ![\"Facebook\"](\"https:\/\/www.fanagrams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" "\\"Follow")
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