Chapter 5

"All right, Doc, what was the urgency?" Brian asked when he walked into Paul's office.

"For one, guess you heard by now Krenn has been on my ass already," Paul answered. "She actually had the balls to tell me she wants the autopsy 'yesterday' and the victim here is barely been dead three hours. I don't know what she's looking for, but I have a feeling from what I've found so far, it isn't looking good for your client."

"What do you mean?"

"No doubt our lady here was indeed stabbed," Paul said. "The fatal wound punctured her lung, causing exsanguination, the fatal process of total hypovolemia."

"In English, Doc," Brian replied.

"She bled out," Paul clarified. "Profound blood loss. She'd been dead within a short period of time without medical intervention. I'd say by the time we arrived at the scene, Ms. Schaad was dead at least forty five minutes to an hour."

"Wait a minute," Brian said, remembering something. "The last time Ryan saw Lily alive had been forty five minutes before he discovered her body."

"Could anyone account for where he was when this happened?" Paul asked.

Brian shook his head. "That's just it. No one can. The only other person that could vouch for seeing him was Arthur Anders, and that was after it was noticed the victim was missing."

"Looks like you definitely have your work cut out for you, Counselor."

"Yeah, and hopefully when you're finished there, I can have some gaps filled. Meanwhile, I have an arraignment to get to. And unlike Helen, you can leave your report with Lori whenever you're finished, not 'yesterday'. Wish me luck on this one."

A short time later:

Brian had just barely pulled up to the courthouse parking lot when his phone rang. It had been Cinder.

"You want the bad news or worse news first?" she asked.

"This day can't get any more strange," he replied. "Let's start with the bad."

"The knife they found in the room where Lily Schaad was killed did indeed have her blood on it," Cinder informed him. "Now for the worse news; the fingerprints on the handle match Ryan's."

"On that note, he did say he picked it up when he found the victim," Brian responded.

"You may see it that way, and it could be the case, but the State might not see it that way," Cinder said. "Has Doctor Paul done the autopsy yet?"

"He's working on her as we speak. Listen, see what else you find on that weapon. I don't care how good or bad it is, if you come up with something else, let me know, will you?"

Brian sighed and hung up, wondering what the hell was going to save this guy. Between what Paul had found so far and the result from the apparent weapon, it wasn't looking good for Ryan so far. He hoped the bail hearing would go better.

In Courtroom 103:

"I see we meet yet again, Brian," Helen Krenn said when he had come in before taking his place beside Ryan.

"Always a pleasure, Helen," he nodded curtly. "I hear you've already been on this one like white on rice."

"Case Number 174921," the clerk announced. "State vs. Ryan Charles Buckingham, charge of Murder in the Second Degree."

"How do you plead, young man?" the judge asked.

"Not guilty," Ryan replied firmly.

"Your Honor, given the charges and the case being a high profile matter, the State asks that the defendant be remanded without bail," Helen stated.

"Your Honor, my client has no history of violence, no prior criminal record, excellent ties to the community and is not a flight risk," Brian countered. "He has several people here today willing to assist in posting bond."

"And do what? Risk the chance of someone else being harmed because they annoyed the defendant? Granted the victim may not have been well-liked, but–"

The judge shook his head. "This isn't a popularity contest or your chance to be a glory hound for the media, Ms. Krenn. I see no reason to remand the defendant without bail. Bail is set at $250,000," he said, slamming down the gavel. "Next case."

"You should be out by this evening," Brian informed his client.

Ryan nodded gratefully. "Thank you, sir."

"We've won the battle," Brian replied. "Now we have to prepare to fight a war."

A short time later:

"Did you make any progress?" Lori asked when Shelly came back to the office.

"I will say this much," Shelly answered. "If the State is looking to barbecue Ryan on its personal spit based on character testimony, they won't get far. No one had a bad word to say about him. On the other hand, the reports on the victim weren't very glowing."

"Well, she had a reputation for being difficult, so that is understandable. Unfortunately, not many murder defendants are acquitted on character witnesses. It's what the evidence will show, as all of us well know."

"Difficult would be an understatement. Have you heard from the boss yet?"

Lori nodded. "He just checked in and on his way back. Ryan was granted bail and should be out by tonight."

"Nice to see at least one thing is going his way."

"Yes," Lori answered. "I'm guessing you saw Cindy's report too."

"I did. And we still have to go over the autopsy report from Doctor Paul once he finishes it, whenever that may be."

"Considering this is a high profile case, I'd like to guess he's making this priority number one. Still, I can't help but feel bad for the guy, especially since Cindy knows him and all."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Shell," Lori said. "We also all know by now that Brian manages to tap into something other people have never considered. I have a gut feeling things could make a sharp turn sometime in the near future. Let's just hope for Ryan's sake that it's in his favor."