Page 176 - Labelle Gramercy, On the Case

Jury-rigged

the Department of Social Services, standing in line for
unemployment benefits. He was still angry, and refused to give up his
place in the queue to go outside and talk. So you interviewed him
right there. He, too, reported sleeping uninterruptedly through the
night. But then a woman in line behind him announced loudly that
Rea Rainger had been killed and that he was one of the Simulian
jurors. Bowan immediately clammed up and quickly left the
building.”
I wish you would do the same, I thought. “Right,” I said. “It
suddenly struck him how vulnerable he was out in public if he
couldn’t remain anonymous.” As my interrogator had gone quickly
through the jurors this time, perhaps she was beginning to realize that
it was a pointless formality, unworthy of as anywhere near as much
attention as the alibis of the Simulians.

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It was getting toward nine o’clock and I itched to get up and take a
look at the departmental fax machine. Please, please send that last
piece of evidence through the wires now, I silently prayed. Labelle
Gramercy had to stop this irrelevant ramble through my notes sooner
or later, and then I would triumph: of that I was convinced. It was
not to be sooner, however.
“Now let’s move on to Easter Sunday, April 20. Despite the
difficulty of keeping tabs on the Simulians, you increased the
coverage on them but did not provide any new protection for the
remaining ten jurors.”
“We warned the jurors to be very cautious, particularly at night. I
told Captain Nimeau that I was putting together a case against one of
the Simulians, and it would be more effective to keep them under
close surveillance. They have a history of flight to evade prosecution,
and we wanted them within reach when we decided to make an
arrest.”
“Again with the consequence of murder.”
Had I not just explained to her my strategy? Was she trying to goad
me into some expression of false regret? Not a chance!

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