“Where am I going?”
“You agreed to waive extradition to Philadelphia, right?”
Daniels nodded.
“That’s where you’re going.”
Daniels relieved his bladder.
Sergeant Kenny and Officer Andrew Terry put the belts on Daniels. Then each put a hand on his arms and led him, shuffling, out of the detention area, down a corridor, and through another door.
They were now outside.
There was a line of police patrol cars, two with Daphne police department insignia on their doors, two with STATE TROOPER lettered largely on their trunks, and two black sedans-a Ford and a Mercury-with several antennae on their trunks and roofs but without police insignia. There were also, incongruously, both a red Ford Mustang convertible and a Lincoln Town Car in the line of cars.
A flash went off and Daniels saw that a redheaded man in a loud sports coat had taken his picture with a digital camera.
The rear door of the Daphne police department car nearest to the door was open, and Sergeant Kenny led him to it, taking care that he didn’t bump his head, and then got in beside him, pulled the seat belt over Daniels’s lap and then closed the door. The big white cop got behind the wheel.
When he looked out the window, Daniels saw the young homicide sergeant from Philadelphia, the homicide detective who’d shown up a couple of days before, the assistant district attorney, and four other men in civilian clothing who could have been detectives or lawyers.
As he watched, they distributed themselves among the other cars.
There was another flash, and Daniels saw that the redheaded man had taken his picture again.
Sergeant Kenny spoke to the microphone pinned to his shirt.
“We’re ready here.”
“Where are we going?” Daniels asked.
“You have to sign the waiver before a judge,” Kenny said.
The line of cars began to move, in a sweeping circle, through the parking lot. Daniels saw that the lights on the roof of the state trooper car leading the procession were flashing red and blue, but only on that car.
They came out of the Joseph Hall Criminal Justice Center onto a four-lane highway. Two more Daphne police cars blocked traffic in both directions to permit the convoy to enter the highway.
The convoy turned left and moved at just under the speed limit out of Daphne and toward Fairhope. Several times, cars ahead of the convoy spotted the warning lights and, thinking it was a funeral procession, respectfully pulled left and slowed-or stopped-and looked in vain for the hearse and flower car.
In Fairhope, at a shopping mall, the convoy turned left off U.S. Highway 98, and then, a half-mile down a two-lane macadam road, turned left again into a complex of one-story brick buildings.
Daniels saw a sign: “Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse. ”
The car with Daniels in it stopped about halfway down the building. As Kenny got out of the backseat, bright lights came on, and when Daniels got out, he saw that he was being videotaped by cameras bearing the logotypes of three different television stations.
With Kenny holding one arm and a state trooper the other, Daniels shuffled into the building and was led to a small courtroom. The courtroom, to judge by the signs on the walls, was often used as the place where driver’s license tests were administered.
Roswell Bernhardt, Esq., was sitting at one of two tables facing the judge’s bench. He stood up, gave his hand to Daniels, and then watched as Kenny removed the prisoner restraint system, and then motioned for him to sit beside Bernhardt.
The Philadelphia assistant district attorney, and another man who looked like a lawyer, sat down at the other table facing the judge’s bench, laid briefcases on it, and then checked their contents. The young homicide sergeant and others took seats in the first couple of rows of benches.
A large man in a two-tone brown police-type uniform-he had both a badge and a large-caliber revolver-looked into the room, pulled his head back, and then, a moment later, stepped inside.
“All rise!” he ordered.
Everybody stood up.
A pleasant-looking man wearing a judge’s robe-who looked as if he was no stranger to heavily laden tables- entered the room and sat down in a high-backed leather chair.