The Dreamer by Sheldon Siegel

Author:Sheldon Siegel [Siegel, Sheldon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

30: “NO”

Mercy’s answer was succinct. “No.”

“Do you want to sleep on it?” Rosie asked.

“No. I’m not going to plead guilty to a crime that I didn’t commit.”

“We’ll inform the D.A.”

At one-forty-five the same afternoon, Mercy, Rosie, and I were in the consultation room in the Glamour Slammer. Mercy’s eyes were red, her manner withdrawn. It appeared that she had accepted the reality that she was going on trial for murder and there was a reasonable possibility that she might be convicted.

Rosie kept her tone even. “Are you taking your insulin?”

“Yes.”

“It looks like you’ve lost weight.”

“I haven’t been hungry.”

“Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No.”

Rosie explained that we would submit pre-trial motions on Monday morning. “Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

“We’ll need you to be ready to start trial a week from Monday.”

“I will.”

Rosie reached over and took her hand. “We haven’t made any final decisions, but we may need you to testify.”

Mercy clutched her tissue. “I don’t know.”

“We would ask you just a few questions. We’ll need a forceful denial, and then we would get you off the stand.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Anything else?”

“I want to see Mama.”

“We talked about it, Mercy. This isn’t a good time.”

“I want her to be at the trial.”

“It’s risky for her to be out in public.”

“Nobody knows who she is.”

“Yes, they do. Her picture has been on the news. It’s been reported that she’s undocumented. If she shows up in court, there’s a good chance that ICE will be waiting for her.”

Mercy didn’t respond.

Rosie squeezed her hand. “We’ll come see you over the weekend.”

* * *

“She’s coming apart,” Rosie said. “One of us needs to check on her every day.”

“Agreed.”

We were walking through the sheriff’s department parking lot between the Hall of Justice and the Glamour Slammer. The fog was rolling in, and the wind was whipping down the freeway off-ramp, causing my eyes to water.

“I’m not sure that it’s a good idea to have her testify,” I said.

“Let’s see how she’s doing as we get closer to trial.”

“It would be nice if she could see her mother.”

“That’s an unnecessary risk.”

True.

“Have you heard from Pete?” she asked.

“He’s in the Mission looking for Carmen Dominguez’s cousin.”

“What about Maria Garcia and her brother?”

“Still detained by ICE. My sources tell me that there is no timetable for processing their cases.”

“Not good.”

“You got a campaign event tonight?”

“Yes, but first I want to talk to Nady.”

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