Chapter 49
The Superior Court in Brassville was heavily guarded by the time the Centerville police chief’s cruiser pulled into the ramp garage. A state cop waived him in; the chief drove down two levels and parked. Six officers and a Special Weapons and Tactics team surrounded the cruiser and escorted Evan McGowan to a holding cell.
McGowan’s attorney ran in to the courthouse, and after waiting to be cleared through the metal detector, made his way up to the second-floor courtroom. He showed his credentials to a marshal and was admitted to a conference room where the prosecuting attorney was seated at a small table. She stood and introduced herself, and said that the judge would be meeting with them soon.
“What charges are you bringing against my client?” McGowan’s attorney wanted to know.
“Several, the first being…”
The judge entered the room before she could get any further.
“I’m setting bail at $100,000.”
“Your honor, Mr. McGowan has been arrested for some serious crimes. The state believes…”
Once again, she was cut off. “One hundred thousand.” Looking at McGowan’s lawyer, the judge said, “I don’t think your client will have trouble raising that amount. Once it’s posted, he can leave.”
“I protest.”
The judge cut her off with a backwards wave of his hand, dismissing her as though she was an unwelcome fly at a picnic. He stood and left.
McGowan’s attorney shrugged and asked,
“What did you expect?”
“That the right thing would be done,” she replied, picking up her briefcase and walking dejectedly out of the room.
McGowan’s attorney wished it had. He detested how McGowan got away with things that only the wealthy can. He was still too much in love with his stipend, though, to quit his job. That would take courage he didn’t have today.
Will I, some day?
In several minutes McGowan was escorted upstairs, his handcuffs were removed, his belongings returned. His mouth began to flap again, saying his arrest was embarrassing, wondering aloud how many hundreds of millions he’d lost because of the negative publicity, and how he’d sue everyone involved in his arrest. His attorney advised him to calm down and shut up. For once, McGowan did what he was told. He stopped talking. His attorney led him outside to his waiting vehicle. As he climbed in, McGowan turned to his attorney and told him it’s nice to have friends in high places.
Yeah, like you weren’t going to own or find a judge to free you on bail. Knowing you, this won’t even make it to court. I bet you can kill someone in cold blood and get away with it.
If McGowan still had the eyeglasses, he would have been amused, for what his attorney thought was true, including being willing to kill someone.
“Yes, Mr. McGowan, it is nice to have friends in high places, someone like you,” answered the cowardly attorney.
“You’re going to start working for a living,” McGowan said. “I was on the right track in Centerville—closing in on Stone. I need you to find someone who can get you into his garage and look around. There may be clues there that will help us find where he’s gone or other contacts he has that we can force to work with us.”
“Breaking and entering with intent to steal isn’t something an officer of the court can do and continue working. It’s a felony.”
“You won’t have intent to steal something tangible, just get information. That’s only burglary. You won’t get caught; with my connections, it doesn’t matter anyway. Should any charges be filed against you, I’ll have them dropped.”
The attorney didn’t respond to that obvious lie, but said, “Why me? You have people who know who Stone’s friends are. I don’t. And I don’t want to commit a crime.”
“Because I need you to prove your loyalty. Unless you want to end our relationship now?”
“Who can get me into the garage?”
Loyalty, shmoyalty. Everything mattered to McGowan. Nothing mattered to McGowan. Like any boss, he expected loyalty from his staff. At the same time, even if he got loyalty, he’d get rid of an employee on a whim, because everyone is replaceable. Except, of course, for Stone and Danders. They were the only people in the world that McGowan could not do without, and he couldn’t have them. What a source of frustration for poor Evan McGowan.