Chapter 5:

When Brenda returned to the office she finished writing her report and attached it to an email to Steve.

Two hours later, as she was eating a late lunch at her desk, her phone rang. It was DA Corning. "Chief Johnson, I just finished reading your report and I would like to discuss it with DDA Kleinmann and DDA Zahn so I've forwarded it to them. Are you available to meet with us tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, sir. Just let me know the time."

"I'll have Miriam set it up."

Mark Kleinmann was in Madeline Zahn's office going over Brenda's report. She asked, "Does this report contain any information you didn't have?"

"I didn't know about the appointment card, and I didn't know that Byers inherited the property from his mother," he replied.

"I suppose it might explain why the lock box appears to be so old," Madeline mused. "Actually, both of those are going to be points the defense will use to their advantage."

Mark agreed, "I'm sure that they won't go unnoticed by Wendall Morgan."

"Chief Johnson's report also mentions a video of the search and arrest. Who made that video?"

"Robbery Homicide was called to assist Parole. They filmed it."

"I'm concerned about Douglas Byers. Have you ever met him?"

"Not met. But he's been in court at each hearing."

"Have you been able to form an opinion of him as a potential witness?"

"He's never said much in those hearings, but he reads young and has an innocent and sincere demeanor that could influence a jury. And Marshall describes him as an expert con man so I have to think he would be an effective witness if he takes the stand."

DDA Zahn sighed and took off her reading glasses before speaking. "I think we have to drop the third strike from our case. All we would need would be for the jury to feel that this guy is being railroaded and we could lose the whole thing."

"Marshall is adamant that Byers is a clever con man, a real badass, so he insisted on the third strike."

"And do you believe him?"

"As I said, I've never spoken to Byers but Marshall is a good PO and I tend to trust his judgment."

"Even if he's right, are you willing to risk the jury feeling sympathy for Byers and losing the entire case?"

"No. If it would place the whole case at risk, I'm willing to drop the third strike."

"Good. Maybe you can work out a deal that would keep Byers in prison and would satisfy PO Kearney."

DDA Kleinmann nodded and said, "A deal would keep the case away from a sympathetic jury. Byers and his wife are not wealthy people, and Morgan's services are expensive. So they might go for a deal. I'll call Marshall and see what we can work out."

The following afternoon, Linda stopped Brenda as she was going to the conference room for her meeting. "Chief Johnson, I have Father O'Rourke on hold for you."

"Please tell him I'm in a meetin' and I'll call him later."

Brenda was the first person to arrive. As she helped herself to a cup of coffee, DA Corning entered so she turned and greeted him.

He returned the greeting and poured himself some coffee. "I want to compliment you on your report. It was very thorough."

"Thank you, sir. I'm glad you're satisfied with it."

"You didn't draw a conclusion, but I was able to draw one. We cannot allege a third strike on a technicality."

Just then DDA Zahn entered and sat down and placed a marked up copy of Brenda's report on the table in front of her. "Mark just called. He had an unscheduled court hearing, but he said he is on his way."

A few minutes later, DDA Kleinmann entered. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had an allocution."

When everyone was seated Steve opened the meeting by asking, "Why are we alleging a third strike when the first offense is a sealed juvenile offense and the third is only the technicality of the property's title?"

"The third strike was requested by PO Kearney," Madeline explained.

"I gathered that from Chief Johnson's interview of him. But we're not bound by Parole's request. And the third strike law was intended to be for violent repeat offenders. Douglas Byers doesn't appear to be a candidate for a third strike."

"I believe PO Kearney's recommendation was based on his attempt to murder two police officers," Mark offered.

Madeline spoke up. "But Mark and I met yesterday, and after reviewing Chief Johnson's report, we agreed that we should drop the third strike."

"Actually, the case is over," Mark added.

"Over? Why is it over?" Brenda asked.

"I offered Byers a deal and he accepted it. I just came from his allocution."

"What was the deal?" Steve asked.

"I offered him fifteen years. And with credit for time served, as well as time off for good behavior, he'll be out in seven."

"And he took it?" Brenda was incredulous.

"Yes. And we found a judge who was free and he accepted the deal. Douglas Byers will be on his way to prison shortly."

Steve's eyes narrowed and he looked at Kleinmann. "Are you convinced that this deal serves justice?"

"I accept Marshall Kearney's assessment of him. He's convinced that DB knew about the thefts, and that he might even have been involved in planning them. He's upset that I dropped the third strike. But that's the same deal we're going to offer Baker and Olinsky. So, yes, I believe that the deal serves justice."

"Nevertheless," Steve said, "I want it made clear that from now on, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office will not seek a third strike for non-violent offenders. And sealed juvenile offenses will not be counted." There was a hard edge to his voice.

"Yes, sir," Madeline replied. "I have no problem with that policy."

"Neither do I," Mark added.

"I will put that policy in writing and issue it to all staff today. And, Madeline, if any of your staff have any more third strike cases, I expect you to review them and determine if they follow the new policy guidelines. Chief Johnson, I expect you to tell your supervisory staff to do the same thing."

"Yes, sir," Madeline and Brenda replied together.

And with that the meeting was over.

When Brenda entered her office she saw a pink phone message slip reminding her that Father Jack had called. I know exactly why he's callin'. She dialed his number. When he answered she said, "I just heard about the deal they made with DB."

She knew Father Jack would be mad, and she was right. He was screaming. "That was no deal. He was railroaded. How could this happen, Chief Johnson? There's no justice here. He's innocent! And now he has to spend at least another seven years in prison!"

"Father Jack, the third strike was dropped. If he was innocent, he didn't have to accept the deal. He could have refused it and defended himself in court. I've met his attorney and there's no doubt in my mind that Wendall Morgan is more than capable of defending Mr. Byers."

"Your office didn't give him a choice. They told him that he had to either accept that deal or they would proceed with the third strike."

"Who told him that?"

"DDA Kleinmann."

"Are you sure?"

"That's what Wendall Morgan told me."

"Wasn't Mr. Morgan there, advisin' him?"

"Yes, but they didn't give them any time to talk it over. DB had to accept it on the spot."

"I know that they aren't required to give defendants a specific time to consider a deal…"

"They didn't give him any time at all. And DB and Gayla were out of money so they felt they had no choice. Their backs were to the wall, and Kleinmann knew it."

"I'm so sorry, Father Jack. I know it sounds lame, but I really am sorry."

"Well, that's not going to help DB or Gayla and their kids, now, is it?" and with that parting shot, Father Jack abruptly hung up the phone.

After the call, Brenda sat there for a few minutes. She was stunned. Then she called Steve and told him what Father Jack had reported. She continued to sit for a few more minutes. Is this justice? It sure doesn't feel like it's justice for the Byers family. Is this the way we want these cases to be decided? Is this what I want to spend the rest of my life workin' for?

When Fritz came home he found Brenda sitting on the couch eating a Ding Dong and drinking a glass of Merlot. He took one look at her melancholy expression and asked, "Bad day?"

"No, not a bad day. A horrible day." Then she told Fritz about the meeting and Father Jack's call.

"I'm so sorry." He sat beside her and put his arm around her. And she rested her head on his shoulder. "Can you say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that DB did not know about the stolen goods and that he did not have any part in planning the robberies?"

"No. But everythin' led me to that conclusion." Then after a few minutes of silence, "You know, I used to use someone's connection to a crime to get a conviction for murder, even though that person wasn't a part of the actual crime, and maybe didn't know anythin' about it. Remember the Dear Jane Gang? I charged Jed Bailey with murder because his gang killed those men, even though he had no part in that bank robbery, didn't know about the murders, and he would never have condoned usin' guns. He had kids too." And she had to admit that he wasn't the only one. "I'm no different than DDA Kleinmann. I got so wound up in wantin' to close my cases that nothin' else mattered. I lost all perspective."

"It's a professional hazard." Fritz kissed her forehead. "But you're a different person now." He continued to hold her.

Her body relaxed and they sat there without speaking for several minutes. "I'm not really in the mood for dinner. Can you go to class without me?" she asked.

"No. We both need to go," Fritz replied softly.

That was followed by another period of silence. Finally, Brenda sighed, "Then we'd better get ready to go."

When they entered they saw a large round table in the corner which was set for nine diners. All four couples found the equipment and ingredients necessary to prepare their dishes at their work station and began working. Chef Rossi circulated between the work stations observing their progress and offering encouragement and suggestions when necessary. Finally, everything was finished and they sat down to eat.

They talked as they ate and one of the men turned to Fritz and asked, "What do you do for a living, Fritz?"

"I'm a Special Agent for the FBI."

"No kidding! I think you're the first real live G-Man I've ever met." Everyone chuckled.

"I'm afraid that makes it sound more dangerous and exciting than it really is," Fritz replied modestly.

Then Marilyn Morrison seized her opportunity, leaned across the table, and asked in a syrupy tone, "And Brenda, you've been very quiet tonight. Tell us, do you have a job?"

Fritz recognized that her question was an attempt to belittle his wife and knew that Brenda also picked up on it. But she simply replied, "I work for the District Attorney's office."

"How wonderful," Marilyn cooed in a saccharine voice.

Fritz had finally had enough of her constant stream of condescension directed toward Brenda so he spoke up. "Actually, Brenda is the Chief of the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigations. She supervises a staff of more than three hundred people. Isn't that right, honey?" Brenda had her mouth full so she just nodded, but her expression told Fritz to stop.

Just then he heard someone say, "Wow!" So even though Brenda's eyes told him that he was riding into the Valley of Death, he continued.

"And before going to work for the District Attorney, she headed up the most elite division of homicide detectives at the LAPD called Major Crimes. In fact, she holds the record for obtaining the most murder confessions leading to convictions in the state, maybe in the country."

"Really?" Marilyn looked stunned.

"That is very impressive. It's obvious you're from the south, Brenda, but where in the south?" Chef Rossi asked.

She converted her glare directed toward Fritz to a smile and replied, "Atlanta."

"Is that where you got your start in law enforcement?"

"No. I started out workin' at Washington DC's Metro Police Department."

"But before that, she was recruited right out of college to work for the State Department," Fritz interjected. "She helped the Eastern European countries get on their feet after the Soviet Union crumbled. She is fluent in Czech, German and Russian."

Brenda's body language told him that she wanted to dive under the table, strangling him on her way down, but Fritz was on a roll. "She's a genius and I'm so proud of her. I love talking about her achievements. But," he winced, "I can tell I've said enough because I just took a brutal incoming kick to the ankle."

They all laughed and Brenda blushed. "Well, I'm definitely not a genius when it comes to cookin', which is why my husband pressured me to take this course. He was desperate."

Everyone laughed again and Fritz saw Marilyn Morrison visibly shrink back from the table. He smiled even more broadly. If she shrinks back any more she's going to need a phone book to sit on.

Fritz knew that Brenda would give him a blistering tongue lashing in the car going home but, as he watched Marilyn Morrison's reaction, he decided it was worth it. As a matter of fact, he thought, This meal is the best I've ever had.

The End

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