One Step Ahead

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August 4th, 8:40 AM:

      "I wonder how they're gonna handle things today," Briar remarked to Ashley, as they exited the parking garage and began the now-familiar walk toward the courthouse. "I can't imagine that Fraulein Rottenmeier would still be willing to represent him after he tried to crush her larynx."

      "No idea, babe," he replied, taking her hand as she stepped off the curb and they made their way across the street. "I just hope they don't end up having to declare a mistrial and making everybody have to go through this crap all over again." They continued walking down the block, and then, as they rounded the corner, he paused, a puzzled expression crossing his face. "Well, something's definitely going on," he observed. "Take a look at that, Tink."

      Stopping beside him, Briar looked in the direction of the courthouse, and noted that the street in front of the building was lined with patrol cars, and a number of uniformed officers had stationed themselves on the steps leading up to the building. Several of the reporters who customarily stood in the back of the courtroom were clustered together mid-way up the stairway, engaged in what appeared to be a rather heated exchange with two of the patrolmen, gesticulating wildly and pointing to their press passes. The officers simply stood with their arms crossed, shaking their heads, and after a few seconds the majority of the group turned and started making their way back to the sidewalk.

      As they continued walking, Briar nudged Ashley with her elbow and inclined her head, drawing his attention to the fact that the representative from a national tabloid who hadn't been allowed access to the proceedings had decided to use the argument to his advantage, and was attempting to slip past the officers and make his way into the building. The attempt was unsuccessful, though, and they snickered as the reporter was immediately stopped and handcuffed by Danny Belmont's new partner, a large, muscular patrolman of Tongan descent named Pasilio Taumalolo.

      Another group of people were turned away as they approached the steps, so they were somewhat surprised when Danny broke away from the cluster of cops and trotted down to meet them. "Hey there, we've been looking for you two," he informed them. "Chief Bledsoe and the Lieutenant want to see you, they told us to bring you in as soon as you got here. C'mon, I'll take you to them."

      He hesitated for a moment, glancing back at his partner and questioning, "Hey, Pasi, are you okay to deal with this guy while I take them in to the Chief?"

      "No problem, bro. Go ahead and get 'em in there, before somebody blows a gasket."

      Danny ushered them toward the entrance, drawing howls of protest from the newspeople still gathered at the bottom of the staircase. He opened the door, allowing them to enter, and once they were inside, Ashley turned to look at Danny, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "What the hell is going on here, dude?"

      Their friend shook his head briefly and replied, "I'm not sure of that myself, but it's got to be something major. A bunch of us got called to come in early, and all they told us was that court was canceled for today, and that we were to keep out everyone except certain people they specified, especially the media types, until we heard otherwise," He reached for the elevator panel, then paused momentarily as he acknowledged, "Now I know I'm still fairly low on the food chain in the department, and that the uniforms aren't always kept up on some of the details when it comes to major cases, but this is just weird, and it kind of worries me a bit, to be honest."

      "Considering what happened yesterday, we were kind of surprised that nobody called or emailed us not to come today," Briar said as they stepped into the lift. "Since he's probably gonna have to find a new lawyer and all. But this seems a bit over the top, unless..." She paused, her eyes flickering between the two men, before continuing, "You don't suppose she actually died, do you?"