For the People Chapter 35

"So, Shapiro is finally letting you loose for a couple of days?" Rick asks.

Kate takes a swig of root beer from a glass mug. "I had to assure him that Kari Lautner and Denny Liebowitz would be going full speed with prep on the Mertree trial, but yes. And I checked with Dr. Goodman. She said I could make the trip. But she wants us to stop every hour so I can walk around and keep my circulation going. And while I'm at it, I can pee if I need to."

"I will map out our potential rest stops post-haste," Rick declares, leaving his seat near the fireplace and striding toward his office. "And I'll find us some cozy places to stay overnight going both directions. I figure that if we leave Sunday and stop along the way, we can finish our journey to Sugar Creek and shop on Monday. Then we can take a leisurely trip back with another stopover and arrive home on Tuesday. You'll be suitably rested to toil in the fields of justice on Wednesday."

Kate takes another drink of her soda. "That should work. But don't pick any fancy hotels. I know you love availing yourself of the perks of the concierge network, but I don't want our trip to be any more public than necessary."

"Got it. No concierges. Anything else?"

"Find me some decent pie."

Rick grins. "Somehow, in Amish Country, I don't think that will be a problem."


Grunting, Rick shoves luggage into the trunk of the Mercedes Benz E Class Sedan he bought in anticipation of giving maximum protection to a child in the back seat. It's not as exciting as a Ferrari, but it will go a lot farther in assuring his family's safety. "I think you'll like the inn where I booked us in DuBois Pennsylvania, about halfway to Sugar Creek. It's a refurbished mansion, so there aren't that many rooms, and the staff is minimal. We'll have a king-sized four-poster bed, too."

"I don't care how many posters it has as long as we have a comfortable place to sleep."

"The Yelp reviews were first class. I think we'll be fine. Oh, And I found pie shops, too. You can have the regular kind or the Amish do a thing called fry pies. Not exactly the healthiest of foods, but supposedly tourists come from miles around to eat them. Both are available in Sugar Creek. Aside from being a mecca for furniture buyers, it seems to be a considerable draw for gourmets and gourmands as well. We may be having quite the little adventure."

"As long as the adventure includes getting what I want for the nursery, I'll be happy. But those fry pies do sound good."

Rick slides behind the wheel. "Then onward we go on a double quest."


Kari Lautner gazes at Denny Liebowitz across a table stacked with files. He scowls. "Do you believe how much Mertree got away with before the NYPD finally pulled him in?"

Kari's thick red hair remains unmoved as she shakes her head. "It's not really that bad. I've been stuck researching a couple of cases that went on for years before the DA finally gave the go-ahead to seek an indictment. Six months was pretty fast. Most of this stuff is transcripts. And some of it is Pulco trying to hit on Angela Racine. We can skip over that part. We just want actual criminal conspiracy evidence between Mertree and Pulco."

"It's still a lot to go through," Denny complains. "How come Beckett gets to skip out for two days while we draw the short stick?"

"Because Beckett just won two major trials. And she did it while pregnant with the press crawling all over her. If we help her win this one, Shapiro may cut us some slack too. But you're not going to get anywhere by griping about it. And Shapiro did say that while we're sifting through this stuff, we could have lunch sent in on the office's tab. I'm still paying off my school loans, and every little bit helps."

"Yeah, I hear that," Denny grudgingly agrees. "Mm, here's something. Mertree is agreeing to bury any complaints from merchants about Pulco's protection racket on Canal Street."

"That's a start. We should tag any connected police reports and see what happened to them. The officers involved could make good witnesses."

Denny groans. "More digging."

"Sure," Kari responds, "but it's the only way to find buried treasure. And if you want to get any notice from Shapiro, you're not going to do it by negotiating plea deals for petty crimes all day."

"Yeah, uh-huh, but at least I'd get to grab a beer and watch a game."

Kari sighs, returning to her own files. She wishes Kate Beckett could have picked anyone but Denny for third chair, but he was the one with the smallest workload. Well if he tries to cut corners on this case, Beckett will hang him up by his balls.


Rick points to what looks like a large house at the end of a narrow road. "That must be it, the Manse. I'll grab the bags, and we can check in."

"Rick, I can take a bag," Kate protests. "I'm pregnant, not helpless."

"No one is more aware than I of your lack of helplessness, but you are already carrying the most precious of cargoes. Allow me to at least assume the appearance of protecting my mate."

Kate rolls her eyes. "Fine. But does this place serve dinner? I'm starved."

"The description says it's sit down family style at six pm. That still gives us over an hour. But we can settle in, and you can attack the snack sack until the bell rings. Apparently, that's how the dinner hour is announced in these quaint environs."

"As long as they serve it."

"Kate, as accustomed as I am to your single-mindedness, you seem unusually grouchy," Rick notes, handing Kate a small tote full of energy bars as he puts their suitcases on the folding luggage racks in their room. "Something going on with you besides falling blood sugar levels?"

"I left Kari Lauter and Denny Liebowitz with a lot of transcripts to go over. I've worked with Kari before. I trust her to do a good job. But Denny? He could be the kind of half-assed ADA that used to set my teeth on edge when I was a cop. My collars would end up back on the street because that type was too lazy or careless to pay enough attention to the job. Denny hasn't been at the office long, but he's already got a rep for letting things slide.

"So why'd you pick him?"

"No choice. He was the only staff member who wasn't already snowed under. I'll have to go over his work. I'm not about to give Mertree any loopholes to squeeze through."

"OK. I get that you're uptight about Denny the Slacker. But we both know how scrupulously you'll check his output when we get back. So there's no reason to obsess about it now. And I'm sure there is a selection or two in that bag with a dark chocolate drizzle over the peanut butter. Until the dining room opens, the sweet and savory should lift your spirits. But if the tongue-ticklers won't do it, I noticed that the shower here is quite roomy. We could scrub off the remains of the day's journey – or whatever – together."

Glints of green flicker in Kate's eyes. "Now, you're talking."