A Private Sorcery Read Online Free PDF Page B

that’s not how the clock ticks and I wouldn’t be able to get anything done for my clients if I couldn’t share any information with relevant parties like you folks. I’m going to tell you some of what Saul told me this morning, but it has to be with the understanding that, as far as you’re concerned, information has flowed in only one direction—from you to me. Whatever you know about Saul, you figured out yourselves. Agreed?”
    Rena nods.
    â€œAgreed,” Leonard says.
    â€œOkay. First of all, he’s strung out. Barbiturates and cocaine. He says he’s physically dependent on the barbiturates and if he doesn’t get some into his system by tomorrow, he could have a seizure.”
    Rena’s cheeks burn—not so much surprise at Morton’s confirmation that Saul has been using again as humiliated anger that Saul had again hidden it from her. A hundred lies. Twice as many times she’d let herself be fooled.
    â€œHe’s right,” Leonard says. “Absolutely. Neuronal firing is slowed by barbiturates, and too rapid a withdrawal can lead to too rapid firing and a seizure.”
    â€œI’ve already called Medical. They’ll be on top of it because they’re all scared shitless about malpractice suits. So don’t sweat over that. Detox is their bread-and-butter. That’s the easy part.”
    â€œWhere is he exactly?” Leonard asks.
    â€œHe’s in a cell with three other guys at the MCC. It’s a federal holding facility. It ain’t the Plaza, but it’s not as bad as what you see on TV. He’s lucky this is a federal offense, because otherwise he’d be at Rikers and that can be ugly. Right now, though, the accommodations are irrelevant to him. His mind is on those pills.”
    Morton rotates a pencil between his fingers. “The biggest problem is his mea culpa syndrome. I’ve seen it before, especially with the white-collars. They just keep repeating, I deserve whatever I get. You’re the shrink,” he says, looking at Leonard. “You explain it to me. They want to plead guilty to everything. I had to struggle with Saul about entering an NG, a not-guilty plea. If I’d arrived fifteen minutes later, he would have already given them a signed confession. We don’t want that. We’ve got to start with an NG. Otherwise we’ve got nowhere to go.”
    Leonard closes his eyes, all of this, she realizes, even more of a shock to him than to her.
    â€œCan we see him?” she asks.
    â€œThat’s the other thing. He doesn’t want to see anyone. It’s common, and in my experience you’re better off, for now, staying away. They get into these tearful reconciliations with the family and they lose their focus for the arraignment. The most important thing these next twentyfour hours is keeping him focused for that arraignment. We pass that hurdle and we could have him out on bail by tomorrow night.”
    â€œTomorrow night?” Leonard repeats.
    â€œUnless there’s some bullshit I don’t know about, this should be a light lift. First offense. An accused with strong contacts in the community. Perfect bail-release candidate. So what you folks need to do is get yourselves organized to post bail. I’m guessing a hundred K, which means you need to put up ten. Is that going to be a problem?”
    â€œI can handle it,” Leonard says. “How about the arraignment? Can we come to that?”
    Morton drops the pencil. He turns his hands palms up like a judge’s balance. “I can’t tell you not to come, it’s open to the public. But the fewer distractions, the better, and you’re going to be a big distraction. We’re on the nine o’clock docket with Dunney, who’s a pretty straight shooter. She goes fast. Still, there will probably be eight, nine other cases up, it being a Monday morning. So let’s say two. I’ll meet you here