Dark Justice Read Online Free PDF Page B

please explain?”
    Pickens didn’t look up. “No.”
    “But I think I could clear—”
    Pickens cut him off. “You will remain silent until such time as I ask you to plead, got it?”
    Ben complied.
    Judge Pickens returned his attention to the prosecutor. “So, Granny, this guy got any priors?”
    She nodded. “I ran some checks this morning. Turns out he was arrested once before in Arkansas for brawling in a bar.”
    Pickens scrutinized Ben’s thin frame. “This guy?”
    “It’s on his record. Tell you what else I found out. He really is a lawyer. And he often works for something called the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Our Other-Than-Human Neighbors. Some kind of animal rights terrorist group.”
    Ben couldn’t remain silent. “ Terrorist group?”
    “The accused is believed to have participated in any number of break-ins and underground activities, many of them masterminded by this animal rights group.”
    The judge’s teeth clenched up. “Go on.”
    “According to the court records, the accused represented this group in twenty-seven different cases in one year alone.”
    Ben pressed forward. “They were my only client!”
    Pickens ignored him. “Recommendations, Granny?”
    “I think we’ve got enough trouble right now from political extremists without letting another one loose on the streets.”
    “I agree.” Judge Pickens pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “The court hereby finds sufficient cause to bind the defendant over on the charge of breaking and entering. Bail is set for fifty thousand dollars.”
    Ben jumped out of his chair. “Fifty thousand dollars? For a catnapping?”
    “If you can make bail,” the judge explained, “you may pay it to the clerk of the court on your way out.”
    “Are you kidding? I can’t even come close!”
    “In which case I hope you like prison food, because you’re going to be getting a lot of it.” He pounded his gavel. “Court is out of session.”
    “But wait! I haven’t even—”
    The sheriff laid his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Don’t bother. It’s over.”
    Ben saw that the judge was already off the bench. A second later, he was out of the courtroom. And a second after that, Ben presumed, he was stepping into his fishing waders.
    Ben peered pleadingly at the sheriff. “It was just a cat!”
    The sheriff nodded as he tugged on Ben’s cuffs and led him toward the back of the courtroom. “That’s what they all say.”

Chapter 3
    S HERIFF DOUGLAS ALLEN walked Ben back to the county jail cell where he had spent part of the night and morning between arrest and arraignment. “Sorry the accommodations aren’t nicer. I’ve been trying to get the town to appropriate money for a new jail, but it’s no go. People just aren’t interested in spending money to make life comfier for the criminal element.” He cleared his throat. “No offense intended.”
    “None taken.” Ben resituated himself on the edge of the metal cot that passed for a bed. There was nowhere else to sit. “Mind if I ask you a question?”
    Sheriff Allen grinned. “Let me save you the trouble. It’s short for Granville.”
    “Granville?”
    “Right. Usually a boy’s name, but that didn’t stop her pappy from passing it on to her. Actually, it’s her middle name. Her first name’s Rebecca, not that it matters. Everybody calls her Granny. Always has. Even when she was just a scrawny little thing.”
    “She’s not just a scrawny little thing anymore.”
    “You noticed that, did ya?” Allen laughed again, and Ben found himself liking this man who kept locking him up in an eight-square-foot cell. “I saw the way your eyes peeled back when she strolled across the courtroom. Not that you’re the first.”
    “I don’t suppose she’s …”
    “Available? She is, although she doesn’t normally consort with the criminal element.” He stepped out of the cell and locked the door. “Let me give you a piece of advice about our stunning young