Sylvia's office was one that didn't see much action, largely because she was a freshman partner with a small law firm in Las Vegas that generally did a lot of corporate law work with the hotels, casinos, and other businesses that operated in the city. Most of their cases were generally some pushback over regulations from the State government or the Federal government, or corporate issues over deals and other agreements, though being only just out of law school had largely kept Sylvia away from most of the cases the firm took on. Likely because they didn't want to risk losing a case on a major issue to freshman member of a relatively minor firm.
"And my own path to this point wasn't exactly easy, either," Sylvia thought to herself as she looked over her desk to the computer screen where she was going over some of the briefs that the other partners in the firm.
She then proceeded to think back over the path she'd taken to her present point. Her parent's driving obsession with making her the next great figure skating star, and while she'd initially liked skating recreationally, she didn't want to compete at it. It was only after the accident that had cost her leg that she was able to get away with that. Her parents eased off and let her be, and that let her go through High School and College with a BA degree in history on the way to getting into law school. And she actually passed all the required tests with flying colors, and to most parents that would be more than enough to be pleased, as the law was generally a good career and could earn just as much prestige as figure skating would, just in a different way.
However, then came Animalia. She'd just finished her second year William S. Boyd School of Law when the first Animalia outbreak happened. Once Project Phoenix got started, her parents got right back on their figure skating trick, pulled her out and had her sent to Lyre to participate in Project Phoenix to restore their plans for her being a famous figure skater. Sylvia had to do a lot of talking with the William S. Boyd School of Law dean to keep her credits and classes in order while dealing with these issues and the fact that her parents weren't giving her any room to say she'd rather be a lawyer. She got lucky that the dean was accepting, but she still had her third year pushed back a year. By that point she was a Rattlesnake Animalian and couldn't ice skate at all. Her parents then pretty much disowned her after that, though thankfully good grades and loans helped her along. She finished her last two years and passed the Nevada Bar exam.
Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on her door. She looked up to see one of the senior partner's looking in.
"Yes, sir?" Sylvia asked as she looked to him. She also looked down to see a four year old standing in the senior partner's shadow.
"You've seen the news on the Andrew Weary case, right?" the senior partner asked.
"I have," Sylvia answered with a slight tone of puzzlement in her voice. She'd seen the news reports on a wealthy Las Vegas resident killed in a car wreck with his wife. When the police investigated the scene they found the driver, and elderly Roosevelt Weary crushed against the steering wheel, and his wife, Paulina Weary, also dead of crushing injuries in the backseat. Fingerprints found at the scene seemed to indicate that Roosevelt's son Andrew had tampered with the car's breaks and thus caused the accident. She guessed that that case was soon going to trial, though that would be a criminal case, which the firm she'd joined didn't specialize in.
"Well... we've done some work for Roosevelt in the past and Andrew has apparently offered us to be his attorney in the case," the senior partner spoke.
"But your firm focus's on corporate and business law... not criminal law," Sylvia commented.
"True..." the senior partner agreed, "but the Wearys have been clients and Andrew has requested us... And generally law school will include some elements related to criminal law. Since you've just gotten out... a lot of that should be fresh in your memory, and the firm will honor its client."
"Okay," Sylvia gave a slow sigh and sat back in her chair and then looked down to the four year old who looked at her with some curiosity, "and who is your shadow, sir, if I may ask?"
"This would be Andrew's cousin, Tommy," the senior partner spoke, "his parents are out of town and with Andrew being held on a double murder charge... there was no where else for Tommy to go."
Sylvia very much got the sensation that she would be stuck with someone that would likely impede any sort of defense case she could make for Andrew Weary.
"Andy didn't do it," Tommy spoke up from beside the firm's senior partner.
"So... we'll need you to look after him until his parents can get here to take care of him," the senior partner then spoke firmly.
"Understood, sir," Sylvia commented.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The first place Sylvia went was the Las Vegas jail to talk with Andrew Weary. She knew some of the facts of the case from the news, but they didn't say everything and in pure theory it made good sense to talk with the client before going to trial and getting his side of the story. Tommy rode along with her in the taxi, and seemed to be what Sylvia expected, a noisy youngster that was sure his cousin was innocent, and seemed to go on about a journal that Paulina owned. It struck her as odd that Tommy seemed so focused on Paulina, but then that could be a variety of things. Maybe Paulina wasn't Roosevelt Weary's first wife and thus Tommy didn't like Paulina as a result. That sort of thing happened, and in pure theory if Tommy was older than four and could be considered a "credible witness" that might help... but with Tommy being four, Sylvia didn't expect much.
"I'm afraid you can't take the kid into the interrogation room," the jail officer commented, "not with a double murderer."
"Accused," Sylvia corrected, "and according to the LVPD's reports the method used in the killing was in tampering with the breaks, not a physical altercation."
"Maybe not... but you can't take a four your old into the interrogation room," the jail officer answered, "we don't want anything smuggled in that may hurt other prisoners or the prisoner himself."
"I wanna see my cousin!" Tommy declared and actually clutched at Sylvia's hand, which surprised her. Most little kids that she'd met since converting generally tended to shy away from her as a Great Basin Rattlesnake Animalian. It was just one of those things that she'd accepted, that people would have a fear of snakes. Tommy seemed to be quite comfortable with her.
"Perhaps later when your escorting attorney has gotten everything and we can be sure that both you and your cousin are safe," the jail officer promised, "until then, I'll need you to stay out here, with me."
Tommy pouted with his lower lip protruding forward. He then looked up to Sylvia who waved him down, "this won't take long." Tommy pouted again, muttered fine and moved to stand by the jail officer who gave a frustrated groan at first but backed off when Sylvia rattled her tail at him. The jail officer then opened the door he was in front of and let Sylvia in. She came in slowly and made sure tail was completely through the door before moving to settle in across the table from the man before her. He was about her age, maybe a little older and looked at her with worried brown eyes as she slid a chair aside and then coiled up where the chair had been.
"Hello, Andrew Weary..." Sylvia spoke, "I'm Sylvia Rattlerton, one of the attorneys at the Spear and Boothe Law Firm, and I've been assigned to your case."
"I didn't know they had an Animalian on staff," Andrew Weary spoke slowly, "I..."
"I only just passed the Bar this past Summer and joined the practice here more recently," Sylvia answered, "so that's to be expected."
"Wouldn't you prefer to be in Lyre or Animalia?" Andrew asked nervously.
Sylvia scowled, "right now, while winter is coming... it is warmer down here in Las Vegas than it is in Lyre/Animalia, which is in the northwest corner of the state.... but that is NOT why I'm here."
"Yeah..." Andrew nodded, again looking sad and nervous.
"Now, perhaps you'd like to tell me what happened... from your point of view?" Sylvia spoke, "start with the day of the accident that claimed your parents."
"Father and step-mother," Andrew corrected, "Paulina was not my biological mother."
Sylvia nodded and pulled out a tape recorder from her purse so that she could keep all the facts straight. As she pressed record, Andrew started.
"Well it started with Paulina wanting me to change the oil in my dad's car," Andrew answered, "which was odd... as dad generally had that done professionally and I think he'd already had that done... but maybe I missed something on the dates or maybe he'd driven it a bit more than normal. Regardless as to why... I agreed and went through all the process of changing the oil. Setting down the pan and opening the cap to remove the old oil and so on. That would take a little while and then I went to go get a beer while I waited. When I came back, the pan was full and the oil was emptied, so I put the cap back on and put new oil in... nothing much to really say. After that I'd gone out with some friends... and it was only later that night when the police arrived that I learned that dad and step mom were killed in a car crash."
"The police reports say that the breaks were tampered with," Sylvia spoke, "Did you knowingly or unknowingly cut them?"
"All I was doing was changing the oil," Andrew answered, "I don't need wire cutters for that and the oil cap was nowhere near the break wires. And I know what the police said... they said they found my fingerprints around where the oil cap was... and that was because I was changing the oil, as Paulina asked me to. Nothing more."
"Can anyone vouch for this?" Sylvia asked, "was anyone there?"
"My dad was asleep at the time and Tommy was watching television in another room," Andrew answered, "the only other one who would have been there was Paulina."
"And as one of the two victims... she can't say anything," Sylvia said slowly, "did you notice any natural damage to the breaks? Like the wires for them were naturally fraying, that sort of thing?"
"No... so far as I can tell, everything looked fine," Andrew answered, "I don't understand how they could have been cut. Nothing I did went near them and I didn't need wire cutters to change the oil."
"But you say this was something your father normally had done professionally, as in he went to a professional garage for it... did he have a preferred one? Or..." Sylvia began.
"He did have it professionally done, largely to keep our garage clean as it were," Andrew answered, "and normally he's taken it to the closest repair garage to our home. Always said it was something important about feeding the local economy and all that. But Paulina was insistent about changing the oil quickly... and dad was sweet on her, so she kind of had her run of the house."
"Did you and her get along?" Sylvia asked.
"Generally... though we really didn't interact all that much," Andrew answered, "as I'm grown up and have largely had the family business to look out for. Dad was still the nominal CEO, but I'd been handling more of the day to day work that went along with it. About the only one that probably didn't like Paulina was Tommy... though being four, I think he was more into the whole "needing attention" sort of thing, and THAT was something that Paulina didn't like."
"Yes... I've gotten the sense that Tommy doesn't like Paulina in return," Sylvia commented, "friendly... but has seemed fixated on his dislike of your stepmother and some journal she kept... And as such... I need to be able to confirm whether or not you had any issue with her."
"Well... I didn't," Andrew answered, "I mean... if the DA's claim is about inheritance... Paulina actually stood to get more if my dad passed away than I did and I was doing well enough with my own job that I didn't NEED to do anything for inheritance. If my dad left more to Paulina, that was fine with me."
Sylvia nodded, "Okay... and one thing... and maybe this is something you can't clarify, but maybe you can... but when it came to Paulina's injuries, the reports stay that they looked like crush injuries. As though something large and heavy went over her first. The backseat of your father's car, where she was found, was relatively undamaged when compared to the front seat. The examiner's report gives some wonder as to how that happened. Would you know anything about that? Or did you leave before then?"
"I'd left my father's house before any of that could have happened," Andrew spoke, "in this, I didn't know anything had happened until the police arrived at my house and arrested me for murdering my father and his wife. Maybe someone else hit her and when my dad found her, he tried to rush her to the hospital and that's where the brakes failed. I really don't know... Our garage doesn't have any security cameras or anything, so it's not like the police could check them for anything."
"Could you think of anyone that might have access to your father's garage aside from your or Paulina?" Sylvia asked, "someone that might have had an axe to grind?"
"No..." Andrew said slowly.
Sylvia sighed at that. From the point of insistence that he'd made, Sylvia actually tended to believe Andrew's point about only changing the oil, but there were a lot of things that wouldn't raise any credible doubt in a jury. There were no camera images, which meant that the only person they could prove was there was Andrew, based on fingerprints, and while Tommy might be able to argue on Paulina's behavior toward him, Tommy's age and argument wouldn't help in the case at hand. There were things that were odd, certainly, but nothing that would even provide any doubt that Andrew couldn't have cut the breaks on his father's car, and the DA was certain to play to that advantage.
"Well... I think that is about all that I have for questions for now," Sylvia said slowly, "I would advise that if you truly feel innocent... don't fold under pressure and stick to what you've told me as a point of emphasis with changing the oil and your opinion regarding your inheritance."
"I intend to," Andrew spoke.
"Tommy is here and I believe he would like to visit you... so if you could talk with the guard to move to the visitation area is, I can then escort Tommy over," Sylvia commented, "other than that... the trial will be in a few days and I will see you then."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The visit at the jail went okay and Tommy was glad to see that Andrew was being treated relatively well, or at least as well as could be expected. Though, Tommy remained convinced that Andrew was completely innocent in the matter and that this journal of Paulina's was the most important part of the puzzle, as it were. The plan was to return to finish her briefs on what she'd heard from Andrew and then look over what briefs had been provided that the city DA's office would send. However, Tommy kept insisting on this journal, and finally Sylvia relented and redirected the taxi to Las Vegas's DA's office.
"Why are we here?" Tommy asked as he kept pace with Sylvia's slithering of her tail.
"Because I'm only a defense attorney in this case... and my primary specialty was in corporate law," Sylvia answered, "not criminal law... and much of what I know is mostly based on just coming out of law school, so the classes there that dealt with criminal law are a bit fresher than they are for the other members of the firm that I joined. And in this, if we are to find this journal... we need legal permission to do so, and that requires going through proper channels. And that will mean going through with the DA to make sure that we aren't planting anything that frames anyone."
"The only one framin' anyone was Pauline," Tommy answered, "she didn't like Andy or Uncle Rosey."
Sylvia chuckled at that, remembering that the deceased father's first name was Roosevelt. They went in and were eventually ushered up to the second floor where they were met by a well dressed woman, who actually wore a suit that wasn't too different from Sylvia's. The only real difference was that Sylvia's shirt and suit jacket had to be specially tailored to accommodate her larger chest and her skirt had to be cut to handle her wider hips. The woman wasn't super thin by normal Human standards, but when compared to Animalians, even those that didn't spend all day at the gym, like Sylvia, there was a pretty clear difference.
"Ms. Rattlerton, I take it?" the woman from the DA's office asked.
"Yes, I appreciate you talking with me... you're the one they assigned to the case? Not the DA?" Sylvia wondered.
"The case is pretty open and shut," the woman answered, "Andrew Weary's prints were the only ones on the car in any area near where the brake wires were and by his own testimony to the police, he HAD been working underneath the car and that no one else that he knew of could have had access to it... outside of maybe one of the two victims... but the Wearys have gotten along well. So it's not like there was any real reason... but after Roosevelt and Pauline hooked up... Andrew lost a good portion of his inheritance to her. That case is pretty clear. He tampered with the brakes and the car ran her over. Roosevelt comes out and finds her injured and decides to take her to the hospital and put her in the back seat and raced to the hospital, not knowing his son had tampered with the brakes."
"Pauly didn't Rosey nor Andy! She said she wanted his money!" Tommy spoke up from Sylvia's side.
"And I see Spear and Boothe have passed this one on to you too," the woman commented.
"That is part of it... though from what Andrew Weary told me... is that he'd only worked to change the oil," Sylvia commented and had no desire for inheritance and never touched the brake wires."
"And we never found any wire cutters with prints on them... BUT Andrew was the only one that was there and had the motive to do so," the woman answered, "I know that Spear and Boothe's firm primarily handles corporate law... but you should know that anyone is capable of lying and in situations where it's pretty clear... like this... it's quite likely that Andrew Weary was lying to you. Most of the criminal defense attorney's I've worked with... or rather worked against in cases like this have generally advised their client to either plead guilty or take a plea deal for a reduced sentence. There is no relevant evidence that provides any sort of doubt."
"Pauly's journal would show it!" Tommy protested, "she didn't like Andy or Uncle Rosey and made it clear in there!"
Sylvia looked down to him and then looked back to the woman that she'd met with. She nodded, "he was on about that when this first came down too. But a private journal is hardly relevant evidence... lots of people keep journals and they're mostly a record of things done. It's rare that someone is stupid enough to flat admit to a crime or write down the plan."
"Well... that journal seems important to find," Sylvia spoke, "I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job... to a great extent... I'm really only learning mine... as you said... I handle corporate law... but Tommy, here, feels this journal is important to him or that it might hold something that he feels would be important. Do you think it would be possible to look for it? One of your officers or investigators could take the lead in it or you could run it... If it helps him... wouldn't you think it'd make things easier for everyone."
"Well..." the woman said slowly, "I don't suppose it could hurt... and trust me, I can understand wanting to help him... It has to be rough considering his situation. Give me a few moments and we'll be right with you."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And in the end, the search did find the journal that Tommy had repeatedly commented on was found in the master bedroom that Roosevelt and Paulina had shared, under the mattress, and presumably Paulina's side. Looking through it they found the actual admission to framing Andrew by waiting for him to go get his beer to cut the brake cables while wearing gloves. Both Sylvia, the woman from the DA's office, and her investigative officer were surprised at this. It was written down in plain English, and while it would need to go through the crime lab to confirm the handwriting, it would prove Andrew innocent of what happened. They also found several instances of entries in which Paulina had complained about Roosevelt leaving anything to Andrew. All of this was a surprise to them, though not necessarily to Tommy, who took it all in with a great deal of satisfaction in being right.
"How did you know all this...?" Sylvia asked to Tommy, as while she knew kids could be smart, they generally didn't get hunches that grown detectives didn't have.
"I found it a couple of days ago... I was looking for someone to play, and I thought it was for drawing," Tommy answered, "but it had writing in it and Pauly caught me and said I was in big trouble for snooping where I didn't belong."
"Why didn't you tell us this when it all first started?" the woman from the DA's office asked, "that the information written in the journal WAS relevant to what happened?"
"I can't really read all that well..." Tommy said slowly, "but Pauly was mad and that seemed like she was wanting it hidden... then all this happened shortly after... and well... I... they had to be connected."
"That makes sense... I suppose," Sylvia said slowly.
"Did she threaten you, kid? Paulina, I mean?" the DA's investigating detective asked.
"She said no ice cream for snooping and threatened to spank me if I told," Tommy answered.
"I'll have to present this to the DA and inform the police on the nature of the investigation," the woman from the DA's office said to Sylvia, "but once we can get confirmation on who's handwriting this is... we can drop all charges on Andrew Weary."
"He'll be pleased to hear that... do you know how long that'll take?" Sylvia asked.
"It might take a little while," the woman from the DA's office admitted, "I'll give Spear and Boothe a call once all of that is completed and confirmed... and congratulate them on finding a very good investigator."
"I think I'll stick with corporate law," Sylvia answered.