This one is a little longer in case my Internet goes down before payday. Hopefully this will hold you if it does. But I'll still be writing and have more ready to post once it's back up. Read and review, please!
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At the front desk of the station, he asked the secretary for Lt. Harper.
"Let me check his office." She said. "He's not in his office."
Dammit. thought Hardcastle, "Could you try the interview rooms?"
She nodded, made another call and replied, "Interview room 10. Are you familiar?"
"Yes. Thank you." he said in a bit of a hurry.
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Getting off the elevator, Hardcastle saw Frank Harper at the outer desk drinking a cup of coffee. "Well?"
"Well, he's listening to the advice you gave him." Frank said a bit annoyed.
Looking puzzled, Hardcastle said, "What?"
"Unlike McCormick he's being very polite. I haven't heard one smart remark from him today as a matter of fact and he refused to answer anything until you got here." Harper said tossing his cup in the trash. "Milt are you gonna let him say anything to us?"
Hardcastle had been friend with Frank Harper for a lot of years, "Frank, like he told you, you can ask him anything and he has been answering you. Due to the fact that I was only bought in on this myself today, I feel that I need adiquate time to discuss this entire case with my client and check into his story before I'll be able to give him any legal advice."
"Dammit, Milt. You could have just said no. It's Friday night and Claudia has made plans for us. I don't intend to set here all night to here the same lack of information I've already got from him. But, that doesn't mean our friends from the Bureau feel that way." He pointed toward the two agents approaching them. "Agent Mason, Agent Knight, this is Retired Superior Court Justice, Milton C. Hardcastle. He will be representing Mr. McCormick."
With the pleasantries exchanged, Lt. Harper said, "Shall we?"
McCormick jumped when he heard the door unlock. He turned to see the FBI agents, Lt. Harper and Hardcastle enter the room.
Agent Mason turned on the tape again, "Okay, Mr. McCormick. Your attorney is here. Can we proceed?"
Very unlike his normal self, McCormick answered, "Yes, Sir." Instead of the smart reply he would have normally given.
Hardcastle stepped in, "Agent Mason as Mr. McCormick's counsel I have advised him to plead the fifth amendment to any question that he feels may incriminate him in this matter until such time as we can discuss this entire matter."
"You have advised Mr. McCormick to not co-operate in this investigation?" Mason asked.
"Of course not, you can ask my client anything you'd like and he will answer you." Hardcastle replied confidently, giving McCormick a 'keep you cool' look.
Harper groaned slightly. He saw the next few hours. It wasn't pretty.
Agent Mason began, "Your name?"
Mark replied, "Mark McCormick."
"Your address." Mason asked.
"101 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu." Mark said automatically.
"You are currently on parole?" Mason asked.
"Yes." Mark said, trying not to sigh.
Agent Mason thought he might be getting somewhere, although Mark was only confirming information he already had. "What was the charge you were in on?"
"Grand Theft Auto." McCormick replied, as his jaw tightened.
Mason asked, "Who's car did you steal?"
McCormick answered matter of factly, "Mine."
Harper and Hardcastle groaned loud enough it got the agents attention. They could be here all night on this subject.
McCormick seen Hardcastle check the time and could tell he wanted this wrapped up quicker than what looked like it would be going. "Okay, it was my car but it was registered to my girlfriend who turned me in for taking it after a fight."
McCormick had given Mason a false since of achievement with his provided information.
"Have you ever been in the warehouse at 10327 Fredrick Street?" Mason asked as he hoped to get to the heart of his questions.
"Yes." McCormick answered without batting an eye.
"When?" Mason asked eagerly. He hoped he'd get a quick confession.
"Last year." McCormick replied.
"Why?" Baffled, Mason inquired.
McCormick stated, "Judge Hardcastle was checking some records in a case he was working on. I was with him."
"Is that the only time that you have been inside the warehouse?" After his moment of confusion, Mason asked confidently.
McCormick watched as he ran head first into a brick wall, "I'd like to plead the fifth on that."
A deflated agent asked, "How did you hurt your hand?"
"I'd like to plead the fifth, Sir." McCormick said in a very controlled voice."
"What kind of a car do you own?" Mason asked.
McCormick knew he had the information or it wouldn't take much to get it, but he decided to be stubborn, "Again, I'd like to plead the fifth."
Harper shot Hardcastle daggers.
Mason decided to push McCormick's buttons a bit, "Who's you parole officer?"
McCormick debated how to answer this, then replied with what he knew would be a cuve ball for the agent, "I was paroled into Judge Hardcastle's custody."
Mason's eyes opened a bit wider, "Judge?"
Hardcastle explained, "It's all a part of expanding the discretionary power of Judges."
"Is Judge Hardcastle the parole officer of record?" Mason asked.
McCormick didn't want to answer this, but it had nothing to do with incriminating himself. So he sighed and answered, "No."
"Who is?" Mason asked.
McCormick could see Dalem keeping his office open late tonight. Just to pull his ticket. "Mr. Dalem."
Mason wasn't familiar with the building they were in, "Where is his office?"
Mark tried not to sigh as he replied, "Second floor."
"Of this building?" Mason asked.
McCormick nodded as he replied, "Yeah."
Hardcastle liked this line of questioning no more than McCormick did. He wanted a chance to figure this out before Dalem was notified. He checked his watch again, 4:45 on a Friday afternoon. Maybe he left early.
Mason waved his hand toward Agent Knight to go call Dalem. The junior agent had been bored with the questioning and eagerly took the chance to do anything else.
While waiting on Knight to return, Mason sat on the corner of the desk, trying his best to give the impression that he was in control of this situation. "Mr. McCormick, it's a Friday night and I'm sure a young man like yourself has better things to do than to set in a cell all weekend, which is what is going to have to happen if we cannot get our questions answered."
McCormick almost laughed, except this wasn't funny. But, had he not have been facing Federal charges, he might have laughed at the agents 'threat' of a weekend in County jail. He also knew that answering the agent's questions truthfully would not only get him a weekend in County but a lot more weekends in places he'd just as soon not think about. He crossed his arms and leaned back slightly in the hard chair, attempting to give the appearance of being relaxed and unworried.
McCormick was saved from any reply that he might have voiced, when the other agent returned, "Mr. Dalem's secretary said that he left early today and won't be back in the office until Monday."
McCormick almost cheered at the news, but tried to keep his expression neutral. If I get out of this, I'm calling Mr. Dalem's office to see if Melinda still works there. If that was her who took that call, I'm treating her to a steak dinner!
Hardcastle could tell that McCormick had been sweating the call to Dalem's office. If the truth were known, so was he. Years of being a cop told Hardcastle that the agent was running out of questions unless he wanted to start over from the top. Frankly, Hardcastle could do without that right now. "Agent Mason if you have no more questions for my client, I'd appreciate him being released in my custody until Monday. I can assure you that he will be here first thing Monday morning to continue this."
McCormick wasn't sure who was more shocked at Hardcastle's boldness; Harper, the agents or himself. He had to give Hardcastle an 'A' for effort, but didn't expect it to work.
Mason replied, "Judge Hardcastle I'm sure you can appreciate the seriousness of the charges that are pending in this case and the fact that Mr. McCormick was in your custody when the incident happened. Therefore, I can see no way to release Mr. McCormick from custody until we've either gotten some proof of his innocence or some answers to our questions."
McCormick tried not to sigh.
"Lt. Harper have you made arrangements for Mr. McCormick?" asked Agent Mason.
Harper sighed as he picked up the phone and turned away from McCormick, "This is Lt. Harper. I need a holding cell. The suspect will be booked in and held for questioning."
McCormick had heard most of Harper's request. He would have almost preferred to have been put in a population cell instead of the holding cell. In the holding cell he'd be totally alone with nothing to do but wait for the next round of questions. At least in population he would have had someone to talk to. Time in the holding cells was definitely hard time.
Hardcastle rubbed his temples. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to pull McCormick out of this one.
Harper replied in the phone, "Thanks." then to the agent, "Receiving is expecting him."
Hardcastle saw the 'wall' around McCormick suddenly get higher. "Frank when can I talk to McCormick?"
"Receiving is pretty flexible with attorneys. Must don't show up at 4 am." Harper cautioned. Frank reached for his cuffs.
"Lt. you really don't need those. I've been expecting this for the last couple of hours." McCormick said very calmly.
"Procedure." was all Harper trusted himself to say at the moment.
McCormick nodded. Before holding his hands out for Harper to cuff him, he said, "Sorry to mess up your weekend Judge. When should I expect you tomorrow?" This had been McCormick's subtle hint for Hardcastle to leave before this got worse for him.
Hardcastle didn't bite. "I'm going down with you."
Before McCormick could argue, Frank jumped in sounding official, "Judge Hardcastle I'll be escorting Mr. McCormick to receiving. It really will serve no purpose for you to accompany him at this time. Being a Friday night, it could be some time before he is processed in." Frank still had not cuffed McCormick. "As a matter of fact, I'm sure that the agents would appreciate you showing them the way out. It's not often that we have such distinguished guests and I'm sure an old war horse like yourself knows this place blindfolded and in the dark."
Being far less tactful, Hardcastle grumbled, "Okay, I'm going now Frank." He opened the door with far more effort than necessary.
The agents followed with only a raised eyebrow toward Frank.
As the door closed, McCormick said, "Thanks, Lt. he didn't need this."
Frank barked, "He sure as hell didn't! So how about telling me why you are putting him through it."
"You know what I mean." said McCormick.
"And, you know what the hell I mean!" Harper said in utter frustration, "You and you alone, have been his reason for holding himself together since he retired. What is he supposed to do if you 'plead the fifth' right back into Quentin or worse?"
Softening for only a second, McCormick looked Frank in the eyes, "Frank I told you that you wouldn't understand."
"You are right about that. Let's go, Claudia is going to string me up by my toes already." He placed the cuffs on McCormick's wrists. He had to purposely stop himself from clamping them too tight. He managed to stop at uncomfortable rather than painful.
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