Reggie'd told him he could change his mind anytime he got tired of jail.
"Did Mr. Clifford mention the name Barry Mul-danno to you?" "Take the Fifth." "Did Mr. Clifford mention the name Boyd Boy-ette to you?" "Take the Fifth." "Did Mr. Clifford say anything about the murder of Boyd Boyette?" "Take the fifth." "Did Mr. Clifford say anything about the present location of the body of Boyd Boyette?" "Take the Fifth." Harry removed his reading glasses for the tenth time, and rubbed his face. "You can't take the Fifth, Mark." "I just did." "I'm ordering you to answer these questions." "Yes sir. I'm sorry." Harry took a pen and began writing.
"Your Honor," Mark said. "I respect you and •what you're trying to do. But I cannot answer these questions because I'm afraid of what might happen to me or my family." "I understand, Mark, but the law does not allow private citizens to withhold information that might be crucial to a criminal investigation. I'm following the law, not picking on you. I'm holding you in contempt. I'm not angry with you, but you leave me no choice. I'm ordering you to return to the Juvenile Detention Center, where you will remain as long as you're in contempt." "How long will that be?" "It's up to you, Mark." "What if I decide never to answer the questions?" "I don't know. Right now we'll take it one day at a time." Harry flipped through his calendar, found a spot, and made a note. "We'll meet again at noon tomorrow, if that's agreeable with everyone." Fink was crushed. He stood, and was about to speak when Ord grabbed his arm and pulled him down. "Your Honor, I don't think I can be here tomorrow," he said. "As you know, my office is in New Orleans, and-" "Oh, you'll be here tomorrow, Mr. Fink. You and Mr. Foltrigg together. You chose to file your petition here in Memphis, in my court, and now I have jurisdiction over you. As soon as you leave here, I suggest you call Mr. Foltrigg and tell him to be here at noon tomorrow. I want both petitioners, Fink and Foltrigg, right here at twelve o'clock sharp tomorrow. And if you're not here, I'll hold you in contempt, and tomorrow it'll be you and your boss being hauled off to jail." Fink's mouth was open but nothing came out. Ord spoke for the first time. "Your Honor, I believe Mr. Foltrigg has a hearing in federal court in the morning. Mr. Muldanno has a new lawyer who's asking for a continuance, and the judge down there has set the hearing for tomorrow morning." "Is that true, Mr. Fink?" "Yes sir." "Then tell Mr. Foltrigg to fax me a copy of the judge's order setting the hearing for tomorrow. I'll excuse him. But as long as Mark is in jail for contempt, I intend to bring him back here every other day to see if he wants to talk. I'll expect both petitioners to be here." "That's quite a hardship on us, Your Honor." "Not as hard as it's gonna be if you don't show up. You picked this forum, Mr. Fink. Now you gotta live with it." Fink had flown to Memphis six hours earlier without a toothbrush or change of underwear. Now it appeared as though he might be forced to lease an apartment with bedrooms for himself and Foltrigg.
me Damn nau eabeu ms] way IAJ uic Reggie and Mark, and was watching his honor and waiting for a signal.
"Mark, I'm going to excuse you now," Harry said, scribbling on a form, "and I'll see you again tomorrow. If you have any problems in the detention center, you inform me tomorrow and I'll take care of it. Okay?" Mark nodded. Reggie squeezed his arm, and said, "I'll talk to your mother, and I'll come see you in the morning." "Tell Mom I'm fine," he whispered in her ear. "I'll try and call her tonight." He stood and left with the bailiff.
"Send in those FBI people," Harry said to the bailiff as he was closing the door.
"Are we excused, Your Honor?" Fink asked. There was sweat on his forehead. He was eager to leave this room and call Foltrigg with the horrible news.
"What's the hurry, Mr. Fink?" "Uh, no hurry, Your Honor." "Then relax. I want to talk, off the record, with you boys and the FBI people. Just take a minute." Harry excused the court reporter and the old woman. McThune and Lewis entered and took their seats behind the lawyers.
Harry unzipped his robe, but did not remove it. He wiped his face with a tissue and sipped the last of the tea. They watched and waited.
"I do not intend to keep this child in jail," he said, looking at Reggie. "Maybe for a few days, but not long. It's apparent to me that he has some critical information, and he's duty bound to divulge it." Fink started nodding. ' "He's scared, and we can all certainly understand that. Perhaps we can convince him to talk if we can guarantee his safety, and that of his mother and brother. I'd like Mr. Lewis to help us on this. I'm open to suggestions." K. O. Lewis was ready. "Your Honor, we have taken preliminary sfeps to place him in our witness protection program." "I've heard of it, Mr. Lewis, but I'm not familiar with the details." "It's quite simple. We move the family to another city. We provide new identities. We find a good job for the mother, and get them a nice place to live. Not a trailer or an apartment, but a house. We make sure the boys are in a good school. There's some cash up front. And we stay close by." "Sounds tempting, Ms. Love," Harry said.
It certainly did. At the moment, the Sways had no home. Dianne worked in a sweatshop. There were no relatives in Memphis.
"They're not mobile right now," she said. "Ricky is confined to the hospital." "We've already located a children's psychiatric hospital in Portland that can take him right away," Lewis explained. "It's a private one, not a charity outfit like St. Peter's, and it's one of the best in the country. They'll take him whenever we ask, and, of course, we'll pay for it. After he's released, we'll move the family to another city." "How long will it take to place the entire family into the program?" Harry asked.
"Less than a week," Lewis answered. "Director Voyles has given it top priority. The paperwork takes a few days, new driver's license, social security numbers, ILK. C urn. i lie iam-ily has to make the decision to do it, and the mother must tell us where she wants to go. We'll take over from there." "What do you think, Ms. Love?" Harry asked. "Will Ms. Sway go for it?" "I'll talk to her. She's under enormous stress right now. One kid in a coma, the other in jail, and she lost everything in the fire last night. The idea of running away in the middle of the night could be a hard sell, at least for now." "But you'll try?" "I'll see." "Do you think she could be in court tomorrow? I'd like to talk to her." "I'll ask the doctor." "Good. This meeting is adjourned. I'll see you folks at noon tomorrow."
THE BAILIFF HANDED MARK TO TWO MEMPHIS POLICEMEN IN plain clothes, and they took him through a side door into the parking lot. When they were gone, the bailiff climbed the stairs to the second floor and darted into an empty rest room. Empty, except for Slick Moeller.
They stood before the urinals, side by side, and stared at the graffiti.
"Are we alone?" asked the bailiff.
"Yep. What happened?" Slick had unzipped his pants and had both hands on his waist. "Be quick." "Kid wouldn't talk, so he's going back to jail. Contempt." "What does he know?" "I'd say he knows everything. It's rather obvious.
He said he was in the car with Clifford, they talked about this and that, and when Harry pressed him on the New Orleans stuff the kid took the Fifth Amendment. Tough little bastard." "But he knows?" "Oh sure. But he's not telling. Judge wants him back tomorrow at noon to see if a night in the slammer changes his mind." Slick zipped his pants and stepped away from the urinal. He took a folded one-hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to the bailiff.