Randy Boggs was sitting forward in a chair in Megler's office, his hands pressed tightly together as if they'd been manacled. He wore blue jeans and a blue denim work shirt, clothing he'd worn when he'd entered the prison three years before. Rune, sitting nearby, smelled mothballs.
"Little girl, yessir." Boggs was nodding a lot, agreeing w
ith what everybody said. But at the little girl part he looked questioningly at Rune, who launched Courtney toward him. Boggs's hands reached out and she gave him a shy hug.
"Daddy," she said and looked at Rune to see if she'd gotten the line right. Rune nodded at her, smiling, then said to Boggs, "Mr. Megler didn't know that you had a little girl. That was one of the reasons he was so nice to help you even though the program hasn't run yet."
"Yeah," Boggs said, squinting to see if that helped him understand things any better. It didn't seem to. "Sure appreciate it."
Megler paced. His polyester tie with the Bic repair job flopped up and down on the baggy shirt where his belly would have been if he weighed forty pounds more. His hair jutted out behind his thin skull as if he were facing into a gale. He said, "So, here's the deal: The young lady here found some pretty good evidence that would've gotten you out but it seems some asshole ..." He looked at Courtney but she was playing with daddy's shoelaces and missed the word. "... some person got into the studio and stole it. That was strike one. Then--"
"Oh, you should've seen it!" Rune interrupted. "It was a really great story, Randy. It would've gotten you out in a minute. I did the fades just perfect. The sound was mixed like a symphony. And I had a really, really super shot of your mother--"
"Mom? You did?" He grinned. "What kind of stuff'd she say?"
"Didn't make a lot of sense, I have to tell you. But she looked real motherish."
"Yeah, that's one thing she does good."
Megler said, "You guys mind?" Courtney pointed her tiny index finger at him like a pistol and fired. It was a game she'd decided they should play. He smiled grudgingly at her and shot back. She clutched her chest and fell to the floor. Megler seemed to hope she'd play dead for a long time.
Rune preempted the lawyer. "You know who did it? You know who the killer was?"
"Uhm. If I knew that ..." Boggs shrugged.
"It was the guy who picked you up who did it. Jimmy."
Boggs was shaking his head. "I don't know about that."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rune's legs bounced in the chair. "I'll tell you why I know in a minute. But, see, everything got stolen by Jimmy--he somehow found out about the story. I kind of told a reporter about it and there was this newspaper story so I think he read it and came to town to stop the program...."
Courtney revived and climbed up into her lap.
"Anyway, I came here to tell Fred that the evidence had been stolen. We felt awful, didn't we, Court?"
"Awful, yeah," the little girl said.
Megler said, "And I told this young lady that not having the tape or the second witness--"
Rune interrupted to explain about Bennett Frost's death.
Boggs was frowning. "Got himself killed?"
"Medical examiner says it was an accident, but who knows?" Megler said, wanting to take the stage again. "Anyway, with him dead, it wasn't looking too good. But what with you having a cute little girl you have to support--"
Megler missed the glance Boggs shot Rune and the sweep of her eyes across the grimed ceiling.
"--I thought we could make a good case in court. I got a deposition from the first witness, Ms. Breckman, who admitted that most of her ID was based on seeing you on TV after you'd been arrested. Then ..." He paused dramatically. "I got a special ex parte hearing and presented my new secret witness."
Boggs cocked his head. "You found yourself another witness?"
Rune bowed. "Me!"
"I put Rune on the stand for Frost's testimony. Frost told her what he saw, about this other guy killing Hopper. Normally, that's hearsay and wouldn't be admissible but since Frost is dead she can testify about what Frost said."
She said, "Oh, I was great. 'Do you solemnly swear ...'"
Megler said, "I also let slip the fact that she was a reporter for Current Events. I mean, justice is one thing but media? Forget about it.... The judge practically made sure she had the correct spelling of his name."