Guilt By Degrees - страница 19

We’d turned and gone just five steps when Charlie called out to us. “Hey, wait! If that dude Yamashiro gets out, can I get some protection or something?”

“What for?” Bailey asked. “He’s going to know you’re the one who told us you never saw him do it. He’ll probably send you roses. Besides, he’s no gangbanger, Charlie. If he skates, the only one he’s liable to go after is the city of Los Angeles. Make himself some money,” Bailey said flatly.

Charlie stroked his chin. “Yeah. Guess you’re right.”

He waved, we waved, and he walked back inside the sandwich shop.

“If this case gets any thinner it’ll fly away,” I remarked. “I’d like to get ahold of the arresting officer. Find out how the defendant reacted when they popped him.”

A defendant’s reaction to the news of his arrest could tell you a lot. I’d had a case where a drug dealer had tied up his four rivals, put pillowcases over their heads, and then stabbed them all repeatedly. When the cops went to arrest him, he’d earnestly stated, “It was self-defense.” Granted, it doesn’t usually get that good, but inspirational tales like those keep the fires of hope burning.

I’d checked the paperwork before I left the office. “Arresting cop is Hank Aronofsky.”

Bailey pulled out her phone.

“He’s on patrol,” she said as she ended the call. “He’ll meet us at the Wells Fargo building at Second and Grand.”

“You want to get your car?” I asked hopefully. It was an uphill hike for some long blocks, and I was wearing three-inch heels.

“No,” Bailey said. “I don’t want the hassle of parking.”

“Since when did you start worrying about parking?” Cops do not have the cares and woes the rest of us mere mortals do when it comes to tickets and towing.

Bailey glanced at my shoes and sighed. “Fine, let’s go.”

We threaded our way through the briskly moving horde of office workers who were heading for their cars and trains, and finally arrived at the Police Administration Building, where we picked up Bailey’s car. Minutes later, we pulled up behind a patrol car that was parked in front of the Wells Fargo building. Officer Aronofsky, whose uniform hung loosely on his wiry frame, met us on the sidewalk, and we all shook hands. I got down to business quickly.

“What’d you say when you first approached him?” I asked.

“Just that I wanted to talk to him about what he might’ve seen,” the officer replied.

Smart move. Aronofsky hadn’t given the suspect any hints. He’d just given him rope.

“You already knew the vic had a box cutter?” Bailey asked.

“Yeah. So I figured he might claim self-defense or defense of someone else. And if he did…” The officer shrugged.

Bailey and I nodded. The case would have ended with a manslaughter-at most.

“But he never said a word about the box cutter,” Aronofsky continued. “Just said he saw the vic grab that lady’s arm, so he pushed the vic off her and walked away-”

“Which didn’t jibe with what your eyewit said,” I remarked.

“Correct. So I told him he needed to come clean about what happened. But he just kept saying he’d told me the truth, he never stabbed anyone, yadda yadda. That’s when I noticed the blood on his sleeve.”

“And you busted him?” I asked.

“Told him he was under arrest for murder,” the officer said, “and he went apeshit. Started yelling and screaming. That’s when he got into a rant about how the homeless were ruining the city, destroying everything, they were a menace, and on and on. Looked to me like the guy was wrapped a little tight about the homeless, so when he saw this homeless vic grab the lady, he snapped. So I hooked him up and put him in the car and ran him. He’s got a prior for ADW.”

Assault with a deadly weapon. Interesting. “Was the assault victim a homeless person?” I asked.

“Don’t think so,” Aronofsky said, shaking his head. “Victim was listed as Robert Yamaguchi. So I’d guess it was-”

“A cousin or something?”

Aronofsky nodded.

Not as significant as if it had been a homeless person, but it was better than nothing.

“He ever change his tune, make any admissions?” Bailey asked.

“Not to me,” the officer replied. “You talk to the eyewit?”