Bark of Night
Page 21
I turn the floor over to Brookshier, saying that I will finish after she has her say. And boy, does she have her say.
“You know all the details of what happened here,” she says. “We are still learning about the conspiracy and about the new drug, all of which has been confiscated. But I am here to say that James Haley was a hero, and that is how he died. He was not a victim of a robbery/homicide by Joey Gamble.
“It is the official position of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and of the Federal Bureau of Investigation”—she glances at a nodding Cindy as she says this—“and of the United States Government that Joseph Gamble is innocent of the crime for which he is being tried.
“Should he somehow be convicted of this crime, the Justice Department will file an immediate brief in support of his appeal. Thank you.”
I thank Brookshier; there’s a woman who knows the meaning of “quid pro quo.” Then I try to close the sale.
“Your Honor, Dylan, this is not a case that should go to the jury. I am not worried that my client will be convicted; we all know that with these developments, that is not going to happen. But if so much as one of the jurors can’t see the big picture here and hangs the jury, it will damage Joey Gamble’s life and reputation forever.
“They only picked Joey to frame because Chico Simmons had been told that Joey was going to be at Haley’s that night. It made him the perfect candidate to set up.
“Please do the right thing and end this now.”
Judge Matthews thinks about this for a few moments, then says, “I am inclined to order a directed verdict of acquittal. But that requires the evidentiary reasons for my decision to be submitted into the record.”
Brookshier shakes her head. “We would be opposed to that, Your Honor. Some of this material is very sensitive; it may even wind up classified.”
The judge turns to Dylan. “Mr. Campbell?”
Dylan doesn’t hesitate. He says, “We will move to dismiss the charges.”
“Can we make it clear publicly that this is not a question of reasonable doubt, but in fact an affirmation of Joey’s innocence?” I ask.
“I’m on it,” Dylan says.
So we go into court and Judge Matthews calls the jury in. The first thing she does is call on Dylan, who stands and says, “Your Honor, as you are aware, some major new developments have come to light, and I would therefore like to announce on behalf of the State of New Jersey that all charges against Mr. Joseph Gamble are hereby dismissed.”
Pretty much everyone sits in stunned silence, and the jurors all look at one another not knowing what the hell is going on. Joey turns to me and asks, “What does that mean?”
“It means that sitting behind you is one happy grandmother.”
So I stand up and turn back to Cynthia Gamble. She’s in the process of hugging Laurie, but finally breaks it off and moves toward me. Then I am the recipient of my first-ever grandmother high five, followed by a hell of a hug.
Who said I’m not good with grandmothers?
We wait in court for Joey to get his papers processed, and then Joey, Cynthia, Hike, Laurie, and I leave the courtroom and go outside. I’m surprised to see that microphones have been brought onto the courthouse steps, and Dylan is giving a brief talk to the assembled press and onlookers.
“I don’t want there to be any confusion about this,” Dylan says. “And I want what I am saying to be on every TV station and in every newspaper.” He pauses, then says, “This was no technicality. This young man, Joey Gamble, is completely, totally, and absolutely innocent. If we knew then what we know now, he never would have been charged. He has my sincere apology for the nightmare he has been through.”
I make my way to Dylan and he leans over to me when I get close. “Dylan, you know that scene at the end of Karate Kid, where the guy who lost the match comes over and hands the winner the trophy and says, ‘You’re okay, LaRusso’?”
He shakes his head. “No, never saw it.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “The point is, you’re okay, Campbell.”
And we shake hands.
As always, we have our victory party at Charlie’s Sports Bar.
It’s slightly different in that this time, our victorious client is not old enough to drink, but some traditions are too important to change.
Laurie and I are the hosts, and the guests are Willie, Sondra, Hike, Edna, Sam, Marcus, Cindy Spodek, Joey Gamble, and his grandmother Cynthia. Ricky’s here as well, which is why the party is starting at six o’clock.
Vince Sanders and Pete Stanton are also here, because the food and beer are free, and like every night, they are thirsty and hungry and cheap.
Cindy has stayed in the area for a few days to wrap up the FBI’s part in this, and she has updated us on law enforcement’s progress.
The developments have been considerable. Marcus did not kill Rojas at the warehouse, fortunately, and between recovered documentation and Rojas’s willingness to talk, arrests of the potential recipients of the drugs are being made around the country. According to Cindy, the DEA is also making efforts to destroy the production source, which is out of the country, though she does not know where or how they are planning to do that.
It turns out that Mike Morrison, the cop in Wilton Keys who I’d thought was corrupt, was not. However, his maritime officer, the one who helped fake Silvio’s death on the boat, was dirty as hell.
Edna approaches me and says that she wants to rescind her retirement threat. “I was under stress,” she says. “You had just taken on a client, which was upsetting. But I’ve rethought it, and I want to stay on the team.”
“Edna,” I say, “I’m glad to hear this. I had no idea how we were going replace you.”
Marcus, for his part, spends the night showing everyone photos of his new daughter, all the while grinning like a happy new father. That is probably because he’s a happy, new father.
As the party is nearing a conclusion, Laurie taps her glass with a spoon to get everyone’s attention. “Andy has something to say,” she says.
I shake my head. “It was your idea, so you should make the announcement.”
She nods. “Okay. Lost in all of this is the fact that James Haley was a real journalist and a real hero. He uncovered a terrible conspiracy, and he was going to expose it. And he lost his life in the effort.”
Total silence in the room; this is so far not really upbeat party talk.
“So Andy and I would like to announce that we are creating the James Haley Award, which is a four-year college scholarship in his honor. Tuition, room, and board. The first recipient, we are delighted to say, is Joey Gamble.”
Everyone cheers and raises their glasses in a toast to Joey, who is stunned into silence. Cynthia Gamble sits off to the side, softly sobbing.
I go over to her and sit next to her. “Are you okay?”
She nods and composes herself. “This is the greatest night of my life. Thank you.”
I start to formulate some joking response, but I hold on to it. This is just not the time to joke, even for me.
“I want to ask you a question,” she finally says.
“Anything.”
“Joey’s going to be off to college—I can’t even believe I’m saying those words. But he will be, and for the first time, really in my life, I’ll be all alone. So I was thinking, I’d like to get a dog.”
I smile. “I can take care of that. What kind of dog are you looking for?”
She shakes her head slightly. “I want Truman. I want to take care of Mr. Haley’s dog and give him a great life.”
I smile again, wider this time. “I can take care of that too.”
Also by DAVID ROSENFELT
ANDY CARPENTER NOVELS
Deck the Hounds
Rescued
Collared
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Outfoxed
Who Let the Dog Out?
Hounded
Unleashed
Leader of the P
ack
One Dog Night
Dog Tags
New Tricks
Play Dead
Dead Center
Sudden Death
Bury the Lead
First Degree
Open and Shut
THRILLERS
Black and Blue
Fade to Black
Blackout
Without Warning
Airtight
Heart of a Killer
On Borrowed Time
Down to the Wire
Don’t Tell a Soul
NONFICTION
Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog
Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure
DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award–winning author of eleven stand-alones and eighteen Andy Carpenter novels, most recently Deck the Hounds. After years of living in California, he and his wife moved to Maine with twenty-five of the four thousand dogs they have rescued. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Begin Reading
Also by David Rosenfelt
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
BARK OF NIGHT. Copyright © 2019 by Tara Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photograph © Patryk Kosmider / Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Rosenfelt, David, author.
Title: Bark of night / David Rosenfelt.
Description: First edition. | New York : Minotaur Books, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2019018214 | ISBN 9781250133090 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250133113 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Carpenter, Andy (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Dogs—Fiction. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3618.O838 B37 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019018214
eISBN 9781250133113
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First Edition: July 2019