A/N: I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season.
A/N2: A shout out to SVUSHIPPER4EVER! So glad you liked the EO last chapter. More is on the way soon.
Chapter 26
"All right Casey, what are you offering?" Jesse Müller's lawyer, Stephen Pepper, wanted to know. Jesse was chained to the table, despite the lawyer's objections.
"Well I was going to offer a plea to the drugs, but we have a little problem. You see Rikers records those phone calls that inmates make," Casey pulled out a tape recorder from her coat pocket and placed it on the table.
"What does that have to do with anything? He only called me and that you can't use against him," Pepper pointed out.
"Yeah, he had more than one phone call and he didn't just call you," Casey pressed the "play" button and the recording came on,
"Manny, I need you to do something for me,"
"Why can't you do it yourself?" Manny was feeling bold for a moment or two.
"I need you to take care of Vernon Peterson,"
"Take care of?" Manny asked.
"Make sure he meets Eddie Sullivan. You got a pen and paper? Write down the address. No screw ups. You know what happens when people screw up," Casey hit stop on the recorder.
"I'm not sure what you heard on there, but I don't hear anything that can't be explained away," Pepper spoke up.
"Well when the jury hears that Eddie Sullivan is dead, I think that they will put two and two together. Worse still when I mention that the reason Jesse wanted Vernon to meet Eddie was because Vernon knows that Jesse killed a little girl called Mary Schmidt, well then…" Casey just let the thought hang there.
"You have proof that my client killed Eddie Sullivan? Because if not, it's just knowledge that he knew someone was dead," Pepper wasn't biting.
"See he contracted Manny out to kill Vernon Peterson. Doesn't matter if Jesse killed Eddie Sullivan or not. That's a charge of conspiracy to commit murder. Then we add the murder of Mary Schmidt and your client is looking at life behind bars. He cops to the murder of Mary and the conspiracy to commit murder of Vernon, I drop the weed charges and maybe we let the murder of Eddie Sullivan drop by the wayside. That's only twenty-five to life instead of life without parole. A pretty sweet deal," Casey tried to see if an offer would fly. Pepper had a look on his face, unsure why Casey was feeling so generous.
"Look, you want to spend the next three years in court? I can only try the conspiracy and the murder of Mary Schmidt together. Three separate trials are a lot of time and fees that your client would have to pay to you – the money might sound nice up until Jesse can't pay anymore. Course that sword cuts both ways. Once Jesse is out of money, he'll get some poor overworked, underpaid court appointed attorney, who hasn't had the time to go through the mountains of evidence we have. You'll get convicted and then spend time in jail trying to prove your innocence," she laid it on thick. There was a knock on the door and Casey bade the person to enter.
"Sorry to interrupt but I have something you're going to want to see Miss Novak," Kenny said.
"Want to share with the class?" Casey wanted to know, confident whatever it was, wouldn't be damaging to their current meeting.
"A letter from the DEA. They have picked up Jesse's supplier. Seems that they want to handle Jesse's drug case now as part of a drug trafficking ring," Kenny said. He handed the letter over to the ADA who looked at it.
"Well that means I can't touch the drug charge. Deal still stands. Jesse can serve his twenty-five to life and then the Feds can sink their teeth into him after we make a deal," the redhead said, handing the letter over to Stephen Pepper. Throughout the entire exchange, Jesse had been quiet which had surprised everyone, but no one wanted to question it.
"I need to talk to my client," Pepper said. Casey nodded and she and Kenny scooted out of the room. Once the door closed, the ADA turned to Kenny.
"Where did you get that letter?" She wanted to know.
"Dr. Huang has a friend in the DEA. He promised to help us out. Though they weren't kidding. Worst comes to worst; Jesse is going down for the drug charges. Narcotics is talking a joint operation to take down a ring that starts in Texas and the product lands in New York," Kenny explained.
"Ah an honest to goodness door number two. Well done Kenny," Elliot clapped him on the back.
"You think that he bought it?" Olivia wondered looking through the window.
"I think that no matter what he does, he's staring down the barrel of a long sentence. That letter in on legit letterhead. Even if he isn't sure that I can nail him on Mary's murder, we have him dead to rights on the conspiracy. We've got him backed into a corner, thanks to Manny having a conscience and Kenny's bright idea," Casey said.
"What are we going to do with Manny?" Munch asked.
"Nothing. Vernon came along with him willingly. No harm came to Vernon. Manny is a hero, as far as I can figure," Casey said. Olivia nudged her friend as Stephen Pepper was coming to the door.
"Moment of truth," the redhead said.
To Be Continued…