Bear Bones

by Charles Cutter

  The sheriff said something to Lauren and Karen, then got in the passenger seat of the patrol car, Deputy Holcomb behind the wheel. He started the car, turned on the flashers and off they went.

  * * *

  Helen’s sisters and their families stayed where they were. No one moved. No one said a word. The air was still, and the sun bore down on them.

  Burr, still standing off by himself, put his hands in his pockets. He rocked back and forth, heel to toe. He thought he should ask Lauren and Karen how he might help, but then again, he had been fired. But that was the condemnation case.

  Burr wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and started over to the sisters, but he really couldn’t leave Zeke in the Jeep any longer. He changed direction and walked to the Jeep. Zeke didn’t seem any worse for wear, but Burr rolled down the windows, started the engine and turned on the air conditioner. The dog licked Burr’s cheek. “I’ll be right back, Zeke.”

  He looked over at the family, still not moving or talking. A baby cried and, as if on cue, they all came to life. Karen and Lauren got in a car and drove off. So did everyone else.

  By the time Burr pulled out, the funeral posse was nowhere in sight. “Zeke, there’s only one place they can be going.” Burr raced across the little finger to Suttons Bay. He passed the probate court where he had failed to get a death certificate and then pulled into the parking lot of the 86th District Court. He saw Lauren and Karen’s car parked near the entrance. He parked under yet another maple tree, cracked the windows and ran to the courthouse. Which was locked.

  “Damn it all.” He pounded on the door. No answer. He pounded again. Still no answer. Burr ran around behind the building. The patrol car was parked near the back door next to a shiny, black BMW sedan and a red Ford pickup with rust on the rocker panels. He ran up to the door and pulled. It was open.

  He ran past offices, conference rooms and closets. When he reached the front door, he turned around. “It must be this way.” Burr took off down a hallway to his right. He skidded to a stop in front of a brass plaque that read 86th District Court. Judge Irwin Conway. Burr opened the door, slipped in and stood in the back of the courtroom. He didn’t think anyone had seen him come in.

  Tommy, still in handcuffs, stood in front of a judge with a double chin and a hairline racing to the back of his head. There was a bailiff standing off to the side of the courtroom and a court reporter sitting to the judge’s right. Deputy Holcomb and the other deputy stood on each side of Tommy. Lauren and Karen sat in the gallery. There was no one else in the courtroom.

  “This had better be good,” the judge said.

  “Yes, your Honor.” A tall, slender man sitting at the prosecutor’s table stood. He had jet-black hair swept back behind his ears, and a tan that showed off his brilliant white teeth. He had on a summer-weight khaki suit, white shirt and a striped tie in pastels of blue, green, orange and pink.

  “Mr. Brooks, you better have a damn good reason for pulling me out of my roses on a Saturday.”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “If the aphids get my Abraham Lincolns, there will be hell to pay.” The judge looked at his fingernails. He picked up a paper clip and cleared dirt out from under one of them. Then another. And another.

  The prosecutor cleared his throat. The judge kept working on his nails.

  “Excuse me, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said.

  The judge looked up. “Where were we?”

  “We were just about to get started.”

  “Right.” The judge looked back down at the forefinger of his left hand and worked some dirt loose. “There,” he said. “All right, Peter. Tell me why you dragged me away from my roses on Saturday afternoon, and why I had to throw this robe over my jeans. And why you’ve got Tommy in handcuffs.”

  “Your Honor…”

  The judge cut him off. “First, take those cuffs off. We’re all friends here.” Judge Conway looked at Tommy, then the prosecutor. “Well, maybe you two aren’t.”

  “Your Honor,” the prosecutor said. “Mr. Lockwood is being arraigned on an open murder charge. We’re going to prove first-degree murder. He is a dangerous and desperate man. I’d like to leave the handcuffs on.”

  Judge Conway looked at the top of the paperclip. He rubbed off a little dirt, then blew on it. “That’s the silliest thing I ever heard. Tommy, did you kill Helen?”

  Tommy looked up at the judge but didn’t say anything. Burr thought his former client must be in shock.

  “Tommy?”

  Lockwood shook his head no.

  “All right, then. Deputy Holcomb, take those handcuffs off. Tommy, you go sit there.” The judge pointed at a chair behind the defense table.

  “Your Honor, I insist that the handcuffs be left on.”

  “All right. Tommy, stay right there for a minute.” The judge looked back at the prosecutor. “Peter, have those handcuffs taken off. Tommy can stand between the two deputies. This better be good.”

  The prosecutor walked up to the judge. “Your Honor…”

  This is as good a time as any.

  Burr stood. “Your Honor…”

  “Now what?” the judge said.

  Burr hurried to the front of the courtroom and stood beside Tommy.

  “Who the devil are you?”

  “Burr Lafayette, Your Honor. Counsel for the defense.”

  “Tommy, is this your lawyer?”

  Lockwood looked at the judge, then at Burr, then back to the judge. He shook his head no.

  “Tommy, this man says he is, in fact, your lawyer. Is he?”

  Tommy shook his head again. His hair fell in his face. He tried to brush it off but couldn’t with his hands cuffed behind his back.

  “Peter, for the last time, take those damn cuffs off. Now.”

  “Your Honor...”

  “Tommy Lockwood is not dangerous.”

  The prosecutor looked up at Judge Conway. “He murdered Helen, Your Honor.”

  “The hell he did. Take those cuffs off. We’ll be safe. There’s two armed deputies here.”

  The prosecutor looked down at his shoes.

  They’re nicely polished.

  Burr looked down at his shoes, which weren’t. Brooks nodded at Deputy Holcomb. The deputy unlocked the cuffs. Tommy rubbed his wrists, then brushed the hair out of his eyes.

  “That’s better,” Judge Conway said. “Now, is this man your lawyer?”

  “He was but I fired him.”

  “That seems clear. Mr. whatever-your-name-is … you are excused.”

  “Your Honor, Mr. Lockwood needs a lawyer.”

  “He certainly does, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be you.”

  “Your Honor…”

  “You are excused.” Conway pointed to the door. “Out.”

  Burr stood his ground.

  “Out. Now. Or do I have the deputies put the handcuffs to a better use.”

  Burr turned to go. “Here we go again.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, Your Honor.” Burr started up the aisle.

  “Tommy, you can stand there or you can go sit at that table.” Conway pointed at the defense table.

  “Your Honor,” Brooks said. “It is customary for the accused to stand during an arraignment.”

  “Mr. Brooks, it is also customary for a lawyer to show deference to a judge.”

  Brooks looked down at his shoes again. “Yes, Your Honor,” he said to his shoes.

  “Look at me when you’re talking,” Conway said.

  Peter Brooks looked up at the judge but didn’t say anything.

  Burr walked by Lauren and Karen. They looked like they were in shock, just like Tommy. Burr took advantage of the legal sparring and took a seat near the back of the gallery. He hoped Conway wouldn’t see him.

/>   Judge Conway looked at his fingernails again. “Peter, let’s have it.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor. This is what I will prove at the trial. Thomas Morgan Lockwood shot his wife, Helen Lockwood, between the eyes on or about June 9th of last year.”

  The judge cringed.

  I thought Helen was shot in the forehead. Between the eyes is better theater.

  “And how do you know this?”

  “Your Honor, this is what we have pieced together so far.”

  “I hope you’ve done more than pieced something together.”

  Brooks ignored the judge. “Your Honor, on the morning of June 9th Helen Lockwood took her boat from Leland to South Manitou.”

  “Achilles.”

  “Yes, Your Honor. She anchored in the harbor. That evening, Mr. Lockwood shot her between the eyes with his handgun. Then he took the boat around to the south side of the island. He buried her in a shallow grave. Then he set Achilles adrift in the lake. The boat was found drifting off Sleeping Bear two days later by a charter boat. At the time, the sheriff and the Coast Guard determined that Mrs. Lockwood fell overboard and drowned. Her body was never found until….” Brooks paused and turned to Tommy. “Until three weeks ago, when two campers discovered a body in a shallow grave on South Manitou. It was Helen Lockwood.”

  Karen burst into tears. Lauren put her head in her hands.

  The judge chewed on his cheek. “You’re going to have to walk me through this step-by-step.”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Did anyone see Helen leave Leland?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Did anyone see her in the harbor? At South Manitou?”

  Brooks nodded. “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Did anyone see Tommy shoot Helen?”

  “No.”

  That’s is a big problem for Brooks. Burr craned his neck so he could see the prosecutor’s face. He doesn’t look worried.

  “How do you know it was Tommy?”

  “We found the murder weapon, Your Honor. It was Lockwood’s gun.”

  The judge scratched his nose. Burr saw a black smudge where he had scratched. “Keep going.”

  “After Lockwood killed his wife, he was seen taking the ferry to South Manitou on the day Helen was killed.”

  Judge Conway’s jaw dropped.

  Burr swept his hands through his hair.

  The two sisters sat straight up.

  Brooks put his hands in his pockets. He rocked back and forth, heel to toe and back again, just as Burr had done after the funeral.

  The judge shut his mouth. He chewed on his lower lip, then said, “This is all well and good, Peter, but why in the world would Tommy want to kill Helen?”

  Brooks stopped rocking and pointed at Tommy. “Helen Lockwood and her sisters have been fighting with the federal government for the last seven years about their orchards.”

  “I am aware of that.”

  “As you know, they have refused to sell. Mr. Lockwood has been trying to get his wife declared dead for some time. As soon as Dr. Murray issued the death certificate, Lockwood began negotiating to sell the orchards.”

  Tommy never told me that.

  Judge Conway chewed on his cheek again. “And your point is?”

  “Mr. Lockwood murdered his wife so he could sell the orchard and pocket the proceeds. He tried to make it look like she drowned.” Brooks ran a finger through his hair and tucked a stray lock behind his ear. “When the body was found, I became suspicious and pieced this together.”

  This isn’t good.

  Conway sighed. He looked at Tommy. Burr couldn’t see Tommy’s face, but he was sure Lockwood must be in shock.

  “This is serious, Tommy,” Conway said. “Peter, what would you have me do?”

  Brooks stood up straight. “Arraign Lockwood on open murder, Your Honor.”

  The judge looked Brooks up and down. “How much of this has to do with what Tommy may have done and how much has to do with your family’s property being tied up in the lawsuit with the Park Service?”

  “Your Honor…”

  “You know exactly what I mean.” Conway paused and itched his nose again. His smudge was getting bigger..

  “This has nothing to do with my family’s property,” Brooks said.

  “Of course not.” The judge bent the paperclip like a pretzel. “Do you have the names and addresses of your witnesses?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “And the autopsy and ballistics?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “All right then.” The judge looked at the accused. “Tommy, I’m not sure what’s going on here, but Mr. Brooks has enough evidence to arraign you on murder. If what he says is true, you have committed a horrible crime.”

  Lockwood didn’t say anything.

  “How do you plead?”

  Burr jumped up. “Your Honor, Mr. Lockwood pleads not guilty.”

  “What the Sam Hill are you still doing here?”

  Burr rushed up to the front of the courtroom. He stood in front of Judge Conway. “Burr Lafayette, Your Honor. Counsel for the defense.”

  “Tommy fired you,” Brooks said.

  Burr walked over to Tommy. “You can fire me again as soon as this is over. Right now, you need a lawyer.”

  “Get out, Lafayette,” Brooks said. “You were fired.”

  “I’m in charge here, Peter.” Conway looked at Tommy. “Is he or is he not your lawyer?”

  Lockwood nodded at the judge.

  “Very well. Mr. Lockwood, you are charged with the murder of your wife, Helen Lockwood. How do you plead?”

  Burr leaned down and said something to Tommy.

  “Not guilty.” Tommy said, barely above a whisper.

  “Enter a plea of not guilty.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.” Burr walked up to the judge. “Your Honor, the defense requests a personal recognizance bond in lieu of bail.”

  “Bail?” Brooks said. “He’s accused of murder.”

  “Your Honor, the prosecution’s story is nothing but gossamer blowing in the breeze.”

  “Gossamer?” Judge Conway said.

  “It’s so much speculation and whimsy.”

  “Whimsy?”

  “Your Honor, Mr. Lockwood murdered his wife. There is no bail in a murder charge.”

  “Your Honor…” Burr said.

  Conway cut him off. “Stop it, both of you. Bail is set at one hundred thousand dollars. We’ll see what’s what at the preliminary exam.” Judge Conway crashed his gavel. “We are adjourned.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Bail?” Jacob said.

  “Yes, bail,” Burr said. He studied a piece of paper on his desk and didn’t look up.

  “That was a bit nervy. After the gruesome story the prosecutor told.”

  Burr didn’t look up.

  “You are a silver-tongued devil.” Jacob smiled and twirled a finger in his curly hair, his own personal tic.

  “And now we’re back on the payroll.” This from Eve.

  “There is the small matter of getting a check,” Burr said.

  “There is always something with you.”

  They were all sitting in their assigned seats, Burr leaning over his car-size desk, Jacob and Eve facing him. Eve always sat to the left of Jacob, except the one time that Burr had them switch. They both squirmed and fidgeted and nothing got done. That ended Burr’s experiment, not that he wasn’t a creature of habit. Zeke napped on the couch, as was his habit.

  “Since you asked us in here, would you please look at us?”

  Burr nodded but didn’t look up.

  “Burr,” Eve said.

  “It’s all right, Eve. We’re getting paid again,” Jacob said.

  “We’ll
see how long that lasts.” Eve tugged at her earring.

  Burr looked up. “We’re in this one for the long haul. It’s going to be a full-blown murder trial.”

  Jacob stopped twirling and Eve stopped tugging.

  “You can’t say you don’t do criminal law anymore. This is your fourth murder trial,” Eve said.

  “And your point is?” Burr said. He stood and turned away from them. A light summer rain was falling. He opened the window.

  “It’s going to get wet in here,” Eve said.

  “There’s no wind.” Burr took a deep breath. The air smelled of earthworms, car exhaust, and wet. Zeke trotted over and sniffed out the window, too.

  “So, we can have the murder trial and the condemnation. All at once,” Eve said.

  Burr turned back to Eve. “When the trial is over, we’ll negotiate with the feds.”

  “Why not now?” Eve said.

  “If Tommy is acquitted, he, Karen and Lauren can do whatever they want to with the farm,” Burr said.

  “If he’s convicted, he can’t profit from murder.” This from Jacob.

  “Really?” Eve tugged again.

  “State law prohibits murder for economic gain.” Jacob ran his thumb and forefinger along the crease on his other pant leg.

  “So, nothing is going to happen with the condemnation case?” Eve said.

  “Judge Cooper issued a stay pending the outcome of the trial,” Jacob said.

  “This will keep you in mulch and perennials for some time,” Burr said.

  “We’re profiting from someone else’s misfortune,” Eve said.

  “That’s what lawyers do,” Burr said.

  Jacob rubbed his hands together. “The sun is shining on us. For once.”

  “Not entirely.” Burr picked up the piece of paper he had been studying.