Tribal Court Read Online Free PDF

Your Honor," Brunelle interjected. "I'm still waiting on some lab results."
    "Do you mean to tell me, Mr. Brunelle," Judge LeClair raised an eyebrow at him, "that you are holding a member of my tribe without enough evidence to charge him?"
    Brunelle offered a polite smile. "Of course not, Your Honor. Tomorrow morning will be fine. Thank you."
    "Good," the judge replied sharply. "We will conduct a bail hearing as well and schedule the trial date. The trial will commence within sixty days, no longer."
    LeClair looked at Brunelle to see if he would protest. Murder trials were routinely scheduled a year or more after arraignment. But Brunelle had learned not to argue with this judge. Not right then, anyway. If there were a legitimate basis to delay the trial—and there almost always was—he could raise it later.
    "Motions to suppress," LeClair went on, "must be filed by the pre-trial conference, which will be in one month."
    "I've already filed mine, Your Honor," Talon chirped. She leaned forward to tap once on the judge's pile.
    The judge smiled at her, a truly warm smile. He then turned to Brunelle as if to make sure he'd seen it. He had.
    "Also by pre-trial," Judge LeClair continued, "the prosecution will hand over all evidence in its possession which it intends to use at trial, and the defendant will disclose the nature of his defense."
    Brunelle was about to point out that homicide investigations routinely turned up additional evidence even after the arrest and arraignment of the defendant, but Talon spoke up first.
    "I've already filed notice of our defense," she practically sang. She looked at Brunelle. For the first time, she smiled at him. The kind of smile a tiger might give its prey before killing it.
    "You have?" Judge LeClair asked. He started to look through his stack of papers.
    "She sure did." Freddy stepped forward, one hand gripping a crumpled pleading, the other stuffed into his hair. "And it's brilliant!"

Chapter 6
     
     
    Brunelle snatched the paper out of Freddy's hand and scanned the page.
    "'Blood revenge'?" he read aloud. "What the hell type of defense is that?"
    "It's a type justifiable homicide," Freddy answered. He pointed at Talon's pleading. "It says so right there."
    Brunelle squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, he stared right at Talon. "Blood revenge?"
    "Blood revenge," she grinned.
    "Blood revenge," the judge repeated slowly, obviously trying the idea on for size. And obviously liking it.
    Brunelle shook his head.
    "Sometimes," Talon beamed, "being several steps ahead means you've reached the other side when the bridge collapses under your opponent's feet."
    ~*~
    "Revenge?" Chen asked across his desk. "How is that a defense? It's a reason—maybe a good one—but it's not a defense."
    "Well, not just revenge," Brunelle answered, leaning back in the chair opposite the detective. "Blood revenge. It's an old Indian tradition, I guess. Kind of an honor killing."
    "Honor killing?" It was Kat. She'd suddenly appeared in Chen's doorway, bearing reports. "Isn't that when they stone some girl to death because her uncle molested her?"
    Brunelle stood up awkwardly, shaken by Kat's unexpected appearance. Then he was irritated at himself for being so obvious about his surprise. "Er, I don't know. Maybe. But here, they killed the molester."
    Kat raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?" She threw the reports on Chen's desk without comment.
    Chen glanced at them and offered a nod of thanks.
    "Um. Yeah," Brunelle went on. He wished he weren't so uncomfortable around her. She seemed to feed off it somehow. She leveled a glance at him both inviting and ice cold. "That murder in Pioneer Square, remember? Our victim was a child molester."
    "Oh, right," Kat smiled. "The suicide."
    "Blood revenge," Chen corrected. "Apparently that's a defense."
    Kat glanced sideways at Brunelle. "Oh, really?" she practically threatened. "That's good to know."
    Brunelle shook his head. "No, sorry, it's only available to