Dirty Work Read Online Free PDF Page A

Nobody hired you. Got that?”
    “Yeah.”
    “When bail is set and you get out, go home and get some sleep. I’m going to be looking into this, and I’ll call you when I find out something.”
    “Okay.”
    “Herbie, have you ever been arrested?”
    “No, not until tonight.”
    “Never? Drunk driving? Burglary? Disturbing the peace? Anything? They’ll find out if you have been, and it will make a difference.”
    “Never. I’m clean.”
    “Do you have a job?”
    “Yeah, I run a one-hour photo processing machine at a drugstore in Brooklyn.”
    “How old are you?”
    “Twenty-two.”
    “Do you live with anybody?”
    “I got a little place near the drugstore.”
    “Tell all this to your lawyer.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “I haven’t picked him out yet. I’m going to go and do that now.”
    “When will I get out of here?”
    “When they call your case. It could be two or three hours, there’s no way to tell right now. Your lawyer may be able to find out.” Stone pressed the button to call the guard. “Now go back to your cell and keep your mouth shut. Don’t talk to anybody about why you’re here, and don’t form any friendships with your cellmates. Any one of them will sell you out for a pack of cigarettes.”
    “Okay.”
    The guard came and took Herbie away, and Stone went upstairs to the courtroom.

7
    Stone walked into the courtroom and looked around. He saw Carpenter sitting in the second row, apparently rapt, and he kept looking until he found his man, waiting with a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit who was about to be arraigned.
    Tony Levy was short, stocky, and crafty. He earned his living as a lawyer by hanging around the courts, picking up cases on the fly. Stone had met him half a dozen times in the courthouse, and he was perfect for tonight’s purpose. He reached across the railing and tapped Levy on the shoulder.
    “Hey, Stone,” Levy said, smiling and offering his hand. “I haven’t seen you down here for a while.”
    “I try to stay uptown,” Stone said. “I’ve got a case for you. Can you talk?”
    Levy turned back to his client, who was sporting a full set of restraints. “Don’t go anywhere for a minute,” he said, then he waved Stone to the side of the courtroom and led him through a door into a small conference room. “What’s up?” he asked.
    “Nephew of a friend of mine—you know Bob Cantor?”
    “Ex-cop? Yeah, I had him on the witness stand a few times.”
    “His nephew, name of Herbert Fisher, is downstairs awaiting arraignment on charges of man two, B and E, and attempted burglary.”
    “Nice,” Levy said.
    “He was apparently taking some bedroom shots for a divorce case, and he fell through a skylight and onto a guy who was getting a very thorough massage from a young lady.”
    “Jesus!”
    “Right. Trouble is, when Herbie came to, the guy was dead.”
    “And that’s the man two?”
    “Right, and it sounds wrong because Herbie fell on his legs. The cops came and took him away. I can work on reducing the charges later, but right now I just want him bailed. I’ll call Irving Newman and arrange that, so his man in the court will be ready for you.”
    “Okay.”
    “Herbie is twenty-two, no priors, has a job and an apartment. I figure twenty-five grand for bail, but I’ll be prepared for more, if necessary.”
    “Okay, seems straightforward. A grand will buy me.”
    “I’ll send you cash by messenger tomorrow,” Stone said. “I don’t want my name on any paper connected with this. In fact, I don’t want to be associated with it in any way. Understand?”
    “I read you loud and clear, Stone. I guess the partners at Woodman and Weld would frown on Herbie’s sort of activity.”
    “They like me to stay out of night court, unless it’s their client,” Stone replied. “So I’m getting out of here now. Call me on my cell if there are any problems you can’t deal with. The kid is scared silly, and he needs to sleep in his bed