The evening sped by as she read it, and she was about a third through the book when she finally put it down and went to bed, only because she had to get up in the morning. It was one of those books that she would have read straight through the night if she didn’t have work and kids to get to school in the morning. She sent him a text before she went to bed, telling him how much she was loving it.
Predictably, when Hailey got to the agency in the morning, the atmosphere was somber and subdued. She heard from Merriwether that Dan’s arraignment was set for ten o’clock that morning. Jane didn’t have to be there, only the attorneys and the defendant. But Bob had gone to lend him moral support anyway. Jane was still wondering if she was going to be fired for bringing charges against him. There was a terrible, awkward moment in the courtroom when Martha had turned around, as though sensing Bob in the room, and her eyes met her husband’s several rows behind her. Martha was sitting at the prosecutor’s table with the assistant district attorney, who was a friend of hers and had been assigned to the case, and Steve Franklin, her associate who was Jane’s attorney. They would be filing a civil case too, for damages. She wanted to observe the proceedings, even though she couldn’t be Jane’s attorney. She also knew the defense attorney, the man whom Bob had managed to hire for Dan. And she knew from Bob over the weekend that Dan’s wife, Rita, had said that if he was allowed out on bail, she did not want him back at their home on Long Island. He would have to find somewhere else to stay. Their marriage had been bad for years, and this was the last straw for her. She said that he had slept with half of the women on Long Island, and all of New York. They lived under the same roof but barely spoke to each other. It had been that way for years. Their daughters didn’t get along with him either. He was persona non grata in his own home now. It made Martha wonder if he had ever sexually molested any of his daughters’ friends. It was possible, given how he behaved.
Bob had let the defense attorney know that he was in the courtroom, in case they needed someone to vouch for Dan in order to get the judge to set bail. Dan’s lawyer thanked him and said he didn’t think it would be necessary.
Dan’s was the first case the judge heard that morning, and the purpose of the arraignment was to record how Dan pled to the charges: guilty or not guilty. It was mostly a formality. And after this, the assistant district attorney would prepare the case to submit to the grand jury, to decide if it would go to trial. And the judge was going to decide on bail. Dan’s lawyer stood up next to him when his name was called, and Dan pled not guilty, which didn’t surprise Bob. He had expected it. Then both attorneys approached the bench to discuss bail. The assistant district attorney wanted Dan to remain in custody until trial. Dan’s attorney strenuously objected.
“My client is sixty-four years old, Your Honor. He has a heart condition and is on medication,” which was news to Bob, but didn’t surprise him. “He’s not a flight risk. He has a home, a wife, and a business. He’s not going anywhere. He’s very involved in the community, and a respected citizen. I would ask that he be released on his own recognizance, but he’s willing to post bail.” The assistant district attorney looked furious, and gave powerful arguments against it, saying that Dan was a menace to society and particularly to young women. The judge looked unhappy as he considered it, and agreed to set bail at three hundred thousand dollars, which wasn’t a problem for Dan. The judge then spoke so that the defendant could hear him clearly.
“You are not to leave the city, Mr. Fletcher, is that clear?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Dan said in a subdued tone. It meant that he couldn’t go to their summer and weekend home in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, or their home on Long Island. His wife didn’t want him there anyway. So he’d have to stay in the city. He could afford to stay at a hotel, or he could stay at his friend’s apartment on Central Park West.
Jane’s attorney requested a restraining order to keep him away from her, which the judge explained to him. “You are not to approach, go near, have any form of exchange or communicate with the victim,” the judge told Dan. “If I find out that you have, or have broken any other condition of your being released on bail, I will put you back in jail until trial. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” The judge rapped his gavel then, confirming the three-hundred-thousand-dollar bail, and moved on to the next case. Dan had to go back to the jail to wait for the paperwork to be handled. Bob took care of it for him, and posted the bail. He knew that Dan would reimburse him, and it sped up the process since he was there.
Twenty minutes later, Dan was back on the street with Bob, looking like himself again.
“Thanks, Bob. I’ll write you a check. I don’t have my checkbook with me.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Bob said calmly, but still seemed upset by the situation. Martha hadn’t looked at him again before he left the courtroom, and she was conferring with the prosecutor when he did. He was sure that she wasn’t happy they had let him out on bail, and Jane wouldn’t be either.
“Where are you going to stay?” Bob asked him.
“I have a place I can stay in the city,” Dan said confidently. He looked cocky as he said it, and definitely not remorseful, which Bob found very disturbing.
“Have you spoken to Rita?” Bob asked him, concerned about his wife. Dan shrugged and didn’t answer the question.
“I’m going to the place where I’ll be staying, to clean up. The jail was filthy,” he said, as though it was an accident that he had been there.
“Take it easy,” Bob said, then left him outside the courthouse and took a cab to the agency. Merriwether came to see him in his office as soon as he returned.
“How was it?” she asked, with sympathy for Bob in her eyes.
“Incredibly depressing to watch someone you know go through that process. They let him out on three hundred thousand dollars bail. The judge means business. Rita won’t let him come home, which has been a long time coming, and he can’t leave the city anyway. I just hope he doesn’t drink himself to death while he waits for trial, or get into more trouble. Apparently, he’s got a heart condition.” Merriwether nodded. It all sounded grim to her too.
Bob then took a folded-up newspaper out of his briefcase and said he had a matter to discuss with Allie, and Merriwether went back to her own office to work.
Martha had already called Jane by then to tell her the results of the arraignment, and that Dan was out on bail but had been strictly forbidden to have any contact with her. She told Jane to call her on her cell if she had any problem with him. Jane promised she would, but didn’t expect to. He’d have to be insane to approach her again. He wasn’t crazy, just a disgusting old man.
Bob Benson walked into Allie’s office with a serious expression and the newspaper in his hand. Allie looked up from her computer.
“How’d it go?” she asked him.
“As expected. He’s out on bail. But that’s not why I’m here.” He unfolded the tabloid and laid it on her desk. It was the one with the photo of her and Eric on the cover. “This isn’t going to fly,” he said simply.
“What does that mean?” Allie asked him, frowning.