The Last Innocent Man

THE GUARD OPENEDthe steel door of the holding tank and told Larry it was time to go to court. He was polite and more deferential than he had been with the other prisoners. It made Larry feel uncomfortable. Another guard opened the door that connected the holding area to the courtroom. Larry hesitated at the threshold. He wanted to crawl inside himself and disappear. David had arranged for him to have the dignity of his own clothes, so that he did not have to parade in the uniform of a prisoner before all these people he knew, but the clothes did not prevent him from feeling shame and that nauseated feeling in the pit of his stomach that had grown worse since his arrest.

There was an embarrassed quiet when Stafford was led into the courtroom. Other lawyers looked away. The judge, a man he had appeared before only last week, occupied himself with a loose stack of papers. The bailiff, a young night student with whom he had sometimes chatted during court recess, would not look at him.

David hurried to Stafford’s side and began telling him what would happen. Larry wanted to see Jennifer, but he could not bring himself to look at the packed courtroom. He felt he could hold himself together if he stared forward. He wanted to numb all feeling, freeze his heart, and melt away.

They were through the bar of the court now and standing in front of Judge Sturgis. An attractive woman was reading the charge against him, but he could not associate the words she was saying with himself. It was some other Larry Stafford she was talking about. And all the time, he concentrated on a spot just above the judge’s head and tried to stand erect.

“Your Honor, I am David Nash, and I will be representing Mr. Stafford in this matter.”

“Very good, Mr. Nash.”

“Your Honor, I would like to raise the matter of bail. Mr. Stafford was arrested last night. As the Court knows, he is a member of the bar, he is married, and he is practicing with a well-respected firm…”

“Yes, Mr. Nash,” the judge interrupted. He turned toward Monica Powers.

“Is there any opposition to the setting of bail at this time, Ms. Powers?”

“Yes, Your Honor. The State would be opposed to the setting of bail at this time.”

David started to say something, then thought better of it. Instead, he addressed the Court. “We would like to have a bail hearing scheduled as quickly as possible then, Your Honor.”

Monica turned toward him.

“I should tell counsel that we are taking this case directly to the grand jury this afternoon, and we expect to arraign Mr. Stafford in circuit court in one to two days.”

“We’ll set a hearing date anyway, Ms. Powers,” Judge Sturgis said. “You can reset the hearing in circuit court if an indictment is handed down, Mr. Nash.”

“Do I have to stay in jail?” Stafford whispered.

“Yes,” David said. He looked at Monica, but she seemed uncomfortable and looked away from him, he thought, intentionally.

“But I thought-”

“I know. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll find out as soon as this is over.”

The clerk set a hearing date and David marked it on his folder. The next case was called and Monica started to leave. David touched her elbow.

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

She looked undecided, then nodded.

“I’ll wait for you in the hall,” she said, then hurried out.

“Larry, I’ll be in touch soon. I want to find out why there was opposition to your bail.”

“You’ve got to get me out of here,” Stafford said. The guard was gesturing Stafford back toward the holding area, and a new prisoner was being led into the courtroom. “You don’t know what it’s like in that place.”

“We’ll have a hearing on the bail in a few days and get this cleared up. I-”

“I don’t know if I can take it in that stinking hole for two more days. I want out now, dammit. That’s why I hired you.”

David stopped and looked directly at Stafford. His voice was quiet, but firm.

“Larry, you have to start adjusting to the fact that, guilty or innocent, you are accused of a crime. You may not be able to get out of jail. The DA may convince the judge that bail is inappropriate. You have to get hold of yourself or you are going to be a mess by the time we get to trial.”

Stafford was breathing heavily, and David could see the rapid beating of a pulse near his temple. Suddenly, he sagged and his breathing quieted.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I should know enough about the courts to know that nothing is going to happen right away. There’s no reason it should be any different because I’m the one in trouble.”

“Good. I’m glad you understand that. I’ll see you soon, Larry.”

MONICA WAS STANDINGin the hall near the elevators.

“What was that all about?” David asked.

“Our office is opposed to your client’s release on bail.”

“You made that quite obvious in there,” he said, pointing over his shoulder. “I want to know why. Stafford’s no junkie who’s going to split the minute the jail door opens. He’s married, with a job-”

“I know all that. It makes no difference.”

“Why? What have you got on him?”