The Mayor of Lexington Avenue (24 page)

“I guess it’s settled then. We now have a chief cook and bottle washer. Welcome aboard, Pat,” he said as he stood up and came around the desk to give her a hug. “And may I introduce my executive secretary, Ms. Nancy Shea?” and they all started laughing.

“All right, let’s get started,” he said, once they’d all taken their places again. “Let me tell you what we’re up against. Two appeals have already been filed and denied in this case. The only way we will have even a remote chance of success is if we come up with some new evidence—something that was missed, something that creates a reasonable doubt about Rudy’s guilt.

“My initial plan is to gather all the documentation that exists on this case. I’ve already made a public records request with the state and the public defender’s office for a copy of their files—they should be here soon. I need to read and reread that information until I’m thoroughly familiar with everything that has been done in the past. Then we need to look for the holes. What evidence was missed? What lead wasn’t followed up on? If there are holes in this case we have to find them. That’s our only chance on appeal.”

“What about solving the murder?” Nancy asked. “Isn’t that better than an appeal?”

“Absolutely!” Jack replied. “But we’re ten years down the road. Solving the murder is the remotest of possibilities. Finding a winning issue for an appeal is still possible. Let me give you the timetable: Two weeks from now I have to file my brief with the Florida Supreme Court. Because this is a death case the court will immediately set a schedule, probably giving the state five or six days to file a response and setting oral argument five or six days after that. They’ll have a decision a couple of days before the execution date because, if they rule against us, we’ll have one last shot with the United States Supreme Court.

“Any investigation—any new information—has to be uncovered in the next two weeks.

“Pat, you and Nancy start setting up to receive all this information,” Jack continued. “Make sure we have all the equipment we need so this operation is completely computerized and that we have a system in place where we can retrieve information instantly. You know what I mean.”

Pat nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. But it’s going to be expensive.”

“That’s not important. Let’s just do what we have to and give it everything we’ve got. Any other questions?”

“Yes,” said Pat, with a twinkle. “What are you going to do before these documents arrive while we’re working our tails off?” It was a question Jack had never been asked at Tobin, Gleason and Gardner. He looked at Nancy, who had that big smile again. She obviously liked Pat’s style.

“I’m going to do something I’ve never done before,” Jack replied. “I’m going to go solicit a client. I have an appointment to see Rudy tomorrow morning at Raiford Prison.”

Before he left that afternoon on his trip to the Florida State Prison, commonly known as Raiford, which was just outside the town of Starke, in the northeast section of the state, Jack called Pat into his office.

“How long are you staying?”

“For the duration, Jack. I decided that I need a worthwhile cause to complete my resumé.”

“Where are you staying?”

“At the Bass Creek Hotel.”

“Why don’t you stay with me? I’ve got a big house right on the river five minutes from here. There’s plenty of room.”

“You sure I won’t cramp your style?”

“Pat, I don’t have a style to cramp.” They both laughed.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?”

“Positive. Besides, you’ve already offered that you could cook and wash dishes,” he smiled at her. Pat smiled back.

“All right,” she said with a little nod. “I accept the invitation.”

“Good. Here’s a set of keys. Nancy will show you where the house is and help you move your bags. We’ll get to know each other again. It’ll be fun.”

Twenty–four

Jack was a little apprehensive about his meeting with Rudy and he rolled the reasons over in his mind during the long trip to the prison. Perhaps it was because Rudy was Mikey’s son and seeing him might stir up all those conflicted emotions again. Maybe he was afraid Rudy was guilty and he would sense it right away. Or worst of all, maybe he would just know Rudy was innocent but wouldn’t be able to help him. Whatever the cause, Jack was nervous and he dealt with it by arriving early at the motel in Starke and spending the rest of the evening meticulously making notes in preparation for the interview. The nervousness was new. The note-taking was a habit he had formed many years ago to make sure he covered all the bases when meeting with a client or a witness.

He also spent some time thinking over the call he’d received just before leaving the office from his old friend the governor. It was a call he had expected, though not quite this soon.

“Jack, Jack, good to hear your voice,” Bob Richards said after Jack answered the phone. “Congratulations on your retirement. Already set up shop in Bass Creek, I hear. Don’t you believe in vacations?”

“This is a vacation, Bob. It truly is. I’m sitting at my desk in a pair of jeans thinking about the one case I have.” He knew that would get the ball rolling.

“That’s what I want to talk to you about, Jack, the one case you have. I just received a call from Bill Sampson, the state attorney—the guy you’re replacing. Bill says you’re looking into the Rudy Kelly case. Says you made a public records request for the case file. Says you asked for the public defender’s file as well.”
That’s a little unusual
, Jack thought.
The public defender informed the state attorney of my request to him?

Bob finally got to the point. “Bill is a little concerned that the man I’m appointing as the next state attorney is asking questions about a convicted felon on death row.”

The call presented another opportunity for Jack to tell the governor to find somebody else to fill the position. But it was an opportunity Jack did not take. Again, he wasn’t sure why.

“Rudy Kelly is the son of an old friend of mine, Bob. I’m just doing him a favor, making sure all the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed in his son’s prosecution—you know, making sure
justice
was done. You and Bill don’t have any problem with me making sure
justice
was done, do you, Bob? I mean, isn’t that a state attorney’s job?”

“Sure, sure—that’s exactly what it is. I think Bill is just a little mistrustful of defense lawyers. It comes with the territory. I’ll call him and tell him that you’re just making sure things were done properly—kind of keeping yourself busy until you take over. He’ll be okay with that.”

“Thanks, Bob. Tell Bill it’s an exercise for me. I need to learn criminal law and this is as good a way as any.” Old Bob laughed on the other end of the line.

“That’s a good one, Jack. I’ll tell Bill that one. He’ll get a kick out of it. Listen, sorry I bothered you. I’ll talk to you soon. So long.”

“So long, Bob.”

Jack had sugarcoated it a little bit but what he had said was essentially true. He simply didn’t tell Bob what was going to happen if he found out justice had not been served.

Raiford was nine miles outside Starke, an isolated complex of rectangular concrete buildings, some white, some blue, some shaped like airplane hangars. There were parking lots, recreational areas and some open fields, all enclosed behind shiny steel chain-link fences topped with razor wire. Guard towers with spotlights were strategically placed along the fence line. If some ambitious prisoner somehow made it over the fence, he would find himself in an open meadow where the spotlight could easily pick him up and the guards could just as quickly mow him down.

Jack was there early the next morning and stopped at the front gate, where the guard gave him directions to the main building. From there another guard, this one with an automatic rifle, escorted him to one of the three-story concrete buildings. Jack signed in and was handed off to yet a third guard, who escorted him through a gate of thick yellow steel bars that led to a second gate of thick gray steel bars. When the first gate closed, the second gate opened.

From the moment he walked through the first gate and it clanged shut behind him, Jack was in an alien world, surrounded by concrete and steel, where every sound reverberated. As he followed the guard down a long corridor, he was overwhelmed by the chaos of noise—shouting, screaming, even crying, and the clanging of prison bars opening and closing—the background music of Raiford.

He was taken to a small room equipped with a gray table and four gray chairs, all bolted to the ground. He was told to wait there and sat down in one of the chairs.

Rudy was escorted into the room by two prison guards. His ankles and wrists were cuffed and chained. It was a major project to shuffle him into the room and get him seated. The noise of the chains clinking against the metal chair was unnerving even to an old pro like Jack. He’d been to prisons before to interview witnesses but he’d never been to a maximum-security facility like Raiford and he’d never interviewed someone on death row.

One of the security guards remained in the room standing at the door. Jack’s first inclination was to protest the lack of privacy but he decided against it. He knew the only other choice would put a barrier between him and Rudy and he didn’t want that. They could whisper if necessary.

Rudy looked across the table directly into Jack’s eyes, smiled and extended his cuffed hands as far as they could go.

“Hi, Mr. Tobin.” Jack saw the resemblance right away. Rudy certainly didn’t look Irish with his shiny, thick black hair and olive skin. It was the smile and the eyes—not the color but the way they lit up when he smiled. There was no doubt this was Mikey’s son.

“Hi, Rudy. Please call me Jack.” Jack had to extend his hand almost across the full length of the table.

“Okay, Jack, thanks. You know, when they first told me a Jack Tobin was coming to visit me, I had no idea who you were. Then I remembered my dad’s stories about being a kid in New York and hanging out with his best friend Johnny—Johnny Tobin.”

“He actually talked about me?”

“Oh yeah. He told me how you guys climbed through the alleys, hitchhiked on the back of buses, snuck out down the fire escape—you guys had some life. And I feel honored to finally meet the Mayor of Lexington Avenue.”

Jack smiled. “He told you about that?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Did he tell you that it was actually his nickname?”

“He told me that Father Burke came up with the name but it fit you better. He told me the whole story.” He said it in a way that told Jack Rudy knew about his father’s prediction.

They were nice memories and it was even nicer that Mikey had told them to his son. They were five minutes into the interview and Rudy had already won him over with his charm and his warmth. He knew instinctively that he was not talking to a murderer. He would have enjoyed reminiscing more with Rudy—but there was so little time.

“Rudy, do you know why I’m here?”

“Yeah. I figure you want to help me in some way. Maybe file another appeal or something.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Well, I’ll tell you, Mr. Tobin—I mean, Jack. One of those groups that are against the death penalty tried to help a couple of times, but, um, I guess you can tell, it didn’t work. When you’re in here, you don’t get your hopes up.”

“Well, I’d like to try, Rudy. It certainly can’t hurt.”

“I don’t know about that, Jack.”

Rudy’s answer surprised Jack. He had expected a little ambivalence at first, but this was more than that, more definite sounding. Jack didn’t get it—where was the harm? Hell, he was so sure Rudy would say yes to his representation that he’d opened his office, hired Nancy and started discovery. Who wouldn’t want another chance?

“I don’t understand, Rudy.”

Rudy smiled. “I didn’t think you would. But here’s the thing, Jack. A lot of good came out of all this bad that happened to me. My mom and dad got together again. I know seeing me in prison and all was hard on them, don’t get me wrong. But I also know I saw something in my mom’s eyes that I hadn’t ever seen before, when I saw them together. They were truly in love, you know.

“And I got to meet my dad. We didn’t spend a lot of time together. I mean we only met here in prison. But almost every time was a real good time, and over ten years it can add up. And I learned all about you.”

Jack started to speak but Rudy held his hand up.

“Let me finish. Maybe those things would have happened anyway, I can’t say. The other thing is—I never really had any friends other than my mother. You probably read all about me being slow and everything. If there’s anything I miss it’s her and being out on my boat riding up and down the canals. The way I figure it, Jack, when this is all over that’s where I’m gonna be. I don’t understand it all—but I’m happy to think I’m gonna be a part of nature and I’m going where my mother and father are. I’m not praying for any delays.

“So you can do this thing and if it works, I guess there’s a reason for me to be part of the world again. But if it doesn’t, I don’t want you to feel bad about it. Okay?”

Jack didn’t say anything for a moment. He just drank in Rudy’s words. Maybe Rudy lacked book-learning smarts and a respectable IQ, but he had a deeper understanding of his place in the world than most people would ever have. He had no fear about taking the next step. At that moment, Jack took his own next step.

“Rudy, I don’t know for sure why I’m doing this myself. All I know is that your father and I loved each other and we let things get between us. I’ve been planning on retiring in Bass Creek for about five years. When I went to your dad’s funeral and found out about your situation and where it all happened, I just knew I was supposed to do something.”

Rudy nodded but didn’t say anything for a long while.

“Then let’s do it, Jack.” And then Rudy took a breath, like he was really thinking hard about what he was about to say, trying to find the right words. “Jack, maybe you have to do this just to do it, I guess I understand that. But where it leads you may not be what you want or what you expect. Okay?”

Jack wasn’t quite sure what Rudy meant but the guard signaled that time was up. He just nodded to Rudy and stood to leave.