Two of the beefy patrol officers who’d been following the trial stepped through the door and headed for their spots at the front of the gallery. They both stiffened when they saw the Homicide lieutenant standing there.
Brady said, “Relax, boys. Just like you, I’m here to get a look at the defense attorney.”
Just then, a door at the side of the courtroom opened. Bailiffs uncuffed the defendants and led them into the courtroom. Elio Huerta was the first. He was dressed in his usual charcoal-gray suit.
Yuki looked at Brady and said, “It’s almost showtime.”
CHAPTER106
TOWARD THE ENDof almost any trial, Yuki Castellano started to feel the stress. Most prosecutors did. It was a tough job and this was the most stressful part of it.
There were a few quick housekeeping matters to handle with Judge Cousins. He asked Yuki if she was ready.
Yuki said in a clear and firm voice, “The State calls Roberto Paz.” A moment later, a bailiff stepped to the main courtroom door. He held it open for someone to push Roberto Paz into the courtroom. All eyes were on the man in the wheelchair.
Yuki was already going through the initial questions in her head.
The bailiff walked in front of the wheelchair to open up the gallery’s low, swinging gate.
Yuki glanced behind her just as they came through the gate. She didn’t recognize the tattooed young woman pushing Roberto Paz.
Yuki looked down at her witness and said, “Where’s your son today, Roberto?”
One look at her witness’s face told her something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He was dead silent and kept looking at the floor.
Yuki dropped to one knee to look him in the face. “Roberto, is everything okay?”
That’s when she got her answer. Not from Roberto Paz but from the woman pushing his wheelchair, who leaned down and came back up holding an automatic pistol. She pointed the pistol at the two bailiffs.
The woman said in accented English, “Drop your guns!”
The bailiffs complied. Elio was already out of his chair, cackling as he raced across the courtroom and scooped up the two pistols from the floor. He hustled back to the defense’s table and offered one of the guns to another defendant.
The young woman who’d pushed Roberto into the courtroom called to Elio. Yuki’s limited Spanish told her the woman had said something like “We gotta move.”
Elio spun in the middle of the courtroom with his index finger on his lips to make sure everyone remained silent. To reinforce his order, his other hand held the gun at eye level.
Yuki was still kneeling next to Roberto Paz’s wheelchair. She was trembling so badly, she didn’t know if she could stand up. She glanced over at the defense’s table. Angela Torres looked terrified.
Both of her hands were on the table. It looked like she was trying to keep herself from shaking right off her chair. She was staring straight ahead.
Then Elio grabbed Torres by the arm. “You’re going to walk out of here casually with me. Anita’s going to stay here to make sure everyone keeps quiet until we’re out of the building.”
He jerked the attorney out of her chair, then dragged her toward the gallery.
Yuki just hoped he left without shooting anyone. It was a pretty big hope.
CHAPTER107
RICH CONKLIN ANDI had to act fast on the information Kyle Anderson had given us. That’s why this morning we were at a busy café on Brannan Street in Bayside Village.
I’d picked the east side of the city in the hopes it would lure Gina Scrittori from San Julio more easily. It would save the youth worker twenty minutes of drive time. As soon as Kyle had called her, Gina agreed to meet with him. He told her he had a three-thousand-dollar bonus for her. That was enough for her to call in sick to the youth center.
Now I sat in one corner of the café with Conklin in the other. Four other detectives were in strategic spots around the building and outside. Sitting in a booth by himself was Kyle Anderson. He’d been told not to leave his seat under any circumstances. He had two different recording devices on him, plus one hidden on the table.
Kyle was aware that his only chance at a deal was to get Gina on tape corroborating everything he’d told them. I had faith in the detectives I’d gathered, but it was still a risky endeavor. Kyle couldtry to escape. Gina could be caught in cross fire. Only God knew what could go wrong. And he wasn’t giving me any hints.
Gina strutted into the café at 10:05 a.m. Pretty close to on time. She slipped into the long booth and greeted Kyle casually. It validated everything Kyle had said about the relationship. She was friendly, not cautious.
