The Hate Crime Read online

  Beck immediately affected a defensive posture. He stood up. “Guess you’re gonna judge me too, aren’t you? Don’t give me this bullshit about wanting to represent me because I threatened Heather. Number one, I didn’t threaten her, or should I say him? I didn’t threaten nobody. And I certainly didn’t threaten that tranny bitch. I don’t know what she told you, but whatever it is, she’s lying. That bitch is always lying. Her lips move, she lies. So let’s just get that out of the way.”

  I didn’t know what to believe. Who to believe. I did know that this guy Beck was a character, and I wasn’t sure at all if I wanted to still be there in that jail talking to him. “Okay, so you say that Heather’s lying about you threatening her to get me to take your case. Do you mind telling me, then, why it is that Heather’s so desperate for me to take you on as a client? She’s willing to pay my fee out of the money that she has saved up for college. She’s willing to work for me for free, for as long as it takes to work off my $400 an hour fee. I’d like to know your story, starting with why it is that Heather wants me to take this case so badly.”

  “$400 an hour? Are you fucking kidding me?” He shook his head. “Goddammit, where can I get a job like that? If I could make that much money, no fucking way would I be working doing shit work. Literally.” Then he laughed. “Literally. You know I fucking work at a sanitation plant don’t you? Talk about a shitty job.” Then he laughed again. “I’m cracking myself up here.”

  I sat there with my pen in my hand and my pad of paper at the ready. I didn’t smile. I had to show this guy that I was there for business, not to be one of his glad-handing buddies behind bars. “Yes, that’s my fee. Now you have to answer my question. Why would Heather be willing to pay that fee, going so far as giving me her college money, and working for me for free, just so that you can get your sorry ass out of jail? There’s something that you’re not telling me, or something that she’s not telling me. Either way, I’m not getting the whole story. Now, why don’t you tell me the whole story? Starting with why it is that Heather wants you out of prison so badly.”

  “Eh, I don’t know why Heather wants me out of jail right now. I hardly know that tranny bitch.”

  “How do you know her?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “She knows my homey, Charlie. Charlie’s a good dude.”

  “I understand that.” I wondered what his game was. Why was he being so evasive about how he knew Heather? “Listen, when I first talked to her about this case, she told me that you were her boyfriend. Did you and Heather have a relationship like that?”

  “No, man. What kind of a person do you think I am? Do I look like somebody who would be messing with a chick with a dick?” He shook his head. “No, man. That’s not my game. I like chicks that don’t have dicks.”

  “What about Adele? She was a chick with a dick, wasn’t she?”

  “Yeah. I guess it turned out she was. She didn’t tell me that though when I was talking to her at the bar. That was something that she didn’t say.” Then he put his finger in his mouth like he was gagging himself. “Thank God I didn’t end up going home with her. That would’ve been sick, man. Disgusting.”

  “So you didn’t go home with her, then? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Fuck no. Listen, I thought that she was a hot bitch. She looked like a chick. If you saw her, you wouldn’t have known either.”

  I had seen the picture of Adele. Beck was right about that. She very much looked like a woman. From the photos, I had to agree that I probably wouldn’t have known that she was biologically a man if I saw her in the bar. “Okay, at what point did you find out that she was a man? Biologically, at least?”

  “Shit. We went out to my car, we started to mess around, I put my hand on her junk, and I felt a lump there.”

  “Did you not notice that there was an Adam’s Apple?”

  “No, man. Bitch was wearing a scarf around her neck. So I didn’t know until we got out to the car that she had guy’s parts down there.”

  “And what happened when you found out that she had a penis?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing, man. I told her to get out of the car. I told her that I don’t play that. I don’t get with men, even if they look just like a chick.”

  I leaned back in my chair. I examined his tattoos a little bit further. In addition to the Swastika, there were other symbols that were associated with white supremacy, such as a tattoo of a WWII German soldier, and a skull and cross-bones with the letters WAR above it, which was the initials for “White Aryan Resistance.”

  He noticed me looking at his tattoos. “Dog, I see you looking at me like that. I see you looking at my tattoos.”

  I nodded my head. “Do you mind explaining them to me?”

  “Yeah, man. I was in the joint when I was 21 years old. Rob One. 5 fucking years I was in there. It was join a goddamn white supremacist gang in there, or die. Man, I had black dudes jumping my ass every fucking day in there. Every fucking day. My old man’s reputation preceded me, and he was in that joint, too, stirring shit with every black guy in there, so the black dudes be coming after me, too. I met this dude in there, name’s Clinton Todd, he was a skinhead. He became my cellmate, and he told me that if I join with the white supremacist dudes that they would protect me. So I did. That’s what I did. I got these tattoos, and now I wish I didn’t. Because here I am on the outside, and nobody wants to hire me, and I get black dudes jumping me out here all the time. Not to mention the Jews.” And then he laughed. “Some of the little guys can beat your ass.”

  “So you’re not a white supremacist? You only joined that gang in prison to protect yourself?” I didn’t really believe him. Sure, maybe he did join the white supremacists in prison for protection, but there was no way that he would be able to hang out with those guys and not be influenced by them. If I were to guess, he probably did harbor white supremacist feelings. And if he had hate for other ethnicities and races, he probably had hate for transgendered people, such as Adele. To me, hate was hate.

  At any rate, his white supremacist past was something that the prosecutor could definitely use against him. They could use it to give him motive for killing Adele.

  “Yeah, man. That’s right. Listen, I ain’t got no hate in my heart for nobody. I went to a school that was almost all black. Black, Mexicans, and boat people. I had better black friends growing up than white friends. Anyhow, what does any of that have to do with my being accused of killing a tranny?”

  “I’ll tell you what that has to do with you killing a tranny. Because of your background, the prosecutors were able to enhance the charges and claim that this is a hate crime. Which means little in the State of Missouri. More importantly, the prosecutors can use your hateful past to give you motive to kill Adele. In the process, that prosecutor can use your prejudices to make the jury hate you. You have to understand one thing here, the atmosphere of today’s society is that people are becoming more aware of hate crimes. Our society is gradually moving in the direction of protections for people like Adele. It’s a bad atmosphere right now for doing something like this. I can try to keep your white supremacist past out of court. I can try to claim that it’s not relevant, because there’s nothing in your past that shows that you’re prejudiced against transgendered people. But I have a feeling that the prosecutor can make a creative argument to bring your white supremacist past into the court, which means that we’re going to be starting at a disadvantage.”

  “They’re not going to be able to bring that in. I didn’t do it. Why is it gonna be brought in if I didn’t do it?”

  “I’ll tell you why it can be brought in. The prosecutors are going to use it to show that you did this. Right now, we have circumstantial evidence that points to you as being Adele’s killer. We have an eyewitness, a bartender, who saw the two of you leave the bar that night together. And, somehow, we also have a confession. I need to ask you about that, too. Why was it that you confessed to killing Adele?”

  Beck
shook his head. “Dog, that was bullshit right there. They had me in that goddamn interrogation room for hours. They have me drink a bunch of pops and didn’t let me go to the bathroom. They had that fucking room so cold my nuts were freezing off. That didn’t matter much to them, those pigs were wearing their uniforms, and I had on a short sleeve shirt.”

  “Okay, so they made you feel uncomfortable. What else did they do to make you confess to killing her?”

  “Goddammit. Listen, I got a little brother. His name’s Matt. He’s only 15. He thinks I walk on water. Wants to be just like me. I keep telling him that he don’t want to be like me. He don’t need to be going to the joint.”

  “Okay. Go on.”

  “Those pigs told me that they had picked up Matt for drug dealing. They told me that if I signed this confession that they would let Matt go. I didn’t believe them. I told them I wanted an attorney. They told me that they would let me get an attorney, and then they started to talk me out of it. They tell me I could just trust them. Trust them that they would go ahead and drop the charges against Matt if I sign a confession. So I did.”

  I made some notes. “Okay, so you’re telling me that after you asked for an attorney, they kept talking to you and tried to talk you out of getting an attorney? And that they promised you that you would be able to help your little brother if you signed this confession?” I shook my head. “I guess I don’t really understand. This confession is going to be something that could nail you. Was it really worth it to you, to sign a confession like that?”

  “Shit. It sure as hell was. Listen, I know the game. I know that because I signed this confession after I asked for an attorney that this confession ain’t worth the paper it’s signed on. I don’t even have to talk about how those pigs bribed me into doing it. Held my brother’s life over my head. I figured it was worth a shot.”

  “And what happened with Matt?”

  Beck shook his head. “Turns out those fucking pigs were lying to me anyways. Matt hadn’t been arrested for drug dealing.”

  “Has he been drug dealing?” It was possible that the cops were looking at Beck’s brother for drug dealing, and maybe they were going to drop the investigation against him if he signed this confession.

  “Matt be dealing.” Beck shook his head in disgust. “I told him not to be dealing. I told him not to be hanging around with dudes who’ll get him into trouble. No way did I want him going to the joint like I did. So yeah, he’s been dealing, but he’s not been arrested for it.”

  “Is it possible that the reason why he has not been arrested for it is because you signed a confession, and the cops were as good as their word?”

  “No, man. I don’t think so, man. I think those pigs tricked me. But I know that you can get me out of that confession, right?”

  I sighed. “Yeah. I guess I can. I can try to show the court that you signed the confession after you asked for an attorney, and weren’t given one. And that the cops tricked you into signing it. But, I have to tell you, your confession makes your case that much more of an uphill battle. It’s bad enough that you were apparently the last person to see her alive. It’s bad enough that Adele’s body was found outside your apartment building, in the alleyway. Add in the fact that there’s a signed confession, and you can see my problem here. I just don’t think that this case is winnable at this point.”

  I knew that wasn’t the truth. It was winnable. Every case was winnable, until it wasn’t. I hadn’t yet done any investigation on this case. It was entirely possible that once Garrett, Nick, and Jack started to investigate this case, they could find something that could exonerate him. At the moment, however, this case was as much of a dog as any case I had seen in a while.

  “Are you telling me that you’re not going to take my case?”

  “I think so. I don’t think this case is worth my time. Nothing that you have told me makes me think that this is a case that’s going to be successful. I have a feeling that I’m going to end up pleading you out, and I also have a feeling that you’re going to be blaming me for your going to prison. So, at the moment, it’s looking like I’m not going to go ahead with taking you on as a client.”

  Beck looked at me and shook his head. “You’re gonna have to take my case. If you don’t take my case, then you’ll see what happens. I can almost guarantee you that it’s not going to be pretty for Heather.”

  I crossed my arms in front of me. “Okay, what is it that you have on Heather?”

  “That bitch’s life ain’t gonna be worth nothing if I go down for this bullshit. She told me she was going to get me a real attorney, and that attorney is you. If I have to get myself a Public Defender, I ain’t gonna be happy. And if I ain’t happy, then, trust me, Heather the tranny bitch is going down.”

  “Okay, you’re going to have to come clean with me. You’re going to tell me the truth about Heather and your relationship to her. She told me that she burglarized a jewelry store and got some money for her sick mother. And that you were the one who gave her that job. You’re the one who planned it all. And she said that you were going to roll on her if I didn’t take this job. Is that the truth?”

  “Shit, no.” Then he snorted. “You hear anything about a jewelry store getting knocked off? You read anything about that in the paper?”

  “No. I admit that I haven’t read a thing about that. I’m just going by her story. I haven’t checked it out yet. I wanted to ask you about it first.”

  “Go ahead and see if a jewelry store has recently been knocked off. Go ahead. Go ahead and do a Google search on it. I can guarantee you that you won’t find nothing about no jewelry store getting knocked off.”

  I got out my cell phone and looked at it. A quick Google search confirmed that there was not a report of a jewelry store being burglarized at any time in the past two years. At least, no jewelry store in the area.

  “So, what did you find out?” Beck was waiting for my answer with a death stare on his face.

  “Doesn’t look like there was a jewelry store that has been burglarized within the past few years. So what is it that you have over Heather?”

  “Well, let’s just say that there’s a bad dude who was alive a couple weeks ago, and he ain’t alive no more. That’s all I’m going to say right now.”

  I stood up. “Listen, you’re going to tell me what she did. You tell me what she did, or I walk right now.” I pointed to the door. “I swear to God, I’ll walk, and then you’ll have to find your own attorney.”

  “Easy, easy now. Listen, I can’t tell you shit. I don’t really care if you find out, but it ain’t coming from me. That’s all I’m saying.” He leaned back in the chair and gave me a smirk. It was a smirk that I wanted to smack off of his arrogant face.

  “Okay, then, I’m not playing your games,” I said. At that, I took his file and put it back into my briefcase. I stood up and looked at the guards, who were behind a window. The guards were looking at me and I gave a motion that I wanted to leave. I looked behind me at Beck, who was still looking at me with the same smug look on his face. Talk to Heather and you’ll be back, his expression said.

  “You want to come clean with me, and I’ll come back,” I said. “You still want to play your stupid games, then find your own attorney. You’re due back in court in a couple of days. After all, you told the judge to continue your case while you looked for a private attorney. You better tell the judge that you’re going with the Public Defender’s Office.”

  The guard behind the window buzzed me out. As I walked away from the door, I smiled as I thought about Beck getting an attorney who was Jewish or black or Mexican. He or she would take one look at his tattoos, and hate him.

  I don’t know why that thought made me smile, but it did.

  Chapter 5

  After I left the jail, I decided I was going to go in and meet with Tina. Tina was out on bail, but she was staying at a halfway house. Actually, she was back in the sober living facility that she was in when Connor met her. As with B
eck, I had no clue if I could take her case or not. Then again, it was Connor who was asking me to take her on. Connor was always a sensitive sort. That’s what made it so ironic that he was the one who actually pulled the trigger on the security guard in that robbery. That’s what made it so ironic that, up until my blackmailing the governor, Connor was the one who was going to serve the rest of his life in prison.

  After I met with Tina, I was going to have to go ahead and meet with Tom Garrett. He called me to tell me he had some news about Beck. There was obviously something that Beck was hiding from me about Heather, or that Heather was hiding from me about herself. Once I found out what was going on, I could make up my mind to decide if I was going to represent the guy.

  I got to Tina’s sober living house, which was a large house on the east side of Kansas City. It was at least three stories tall, with a large porch, and heavy wooden door. I rang the doorbell, and a tall lady with short brown hair greeted me.

  “Who are you here to see?” she asked me.

  I showed her my Bar Card. That was important, because this was a private place, and not just anybody could come in and visit the people who were living there. “I’m here to see Tina Phillips.”

  The lady nodded her head. “I think that Tina is expecting you, actually. She’s been talking about you coming to visit her. But if you have a seat, she’ll be here in a second.” The lady motioned to the couch that was in a waiting room, which was right next to the hallway.

  In a matter of minutes, Tina appeared. She was tiny. She couldn’t have been more than 5 foot 2 and 110 pounds. She had jet black hair that was shaved on the side, and long on the other side. She was wearing a concert T-shirt and tight jeans, with bare feet. She was wearing a lot of makeup, including a lot of lipstick that made her extremely large lips look even bigger. Her eyes were as big as her lips, and she had a broad face and high cheekbones. She almost looked like she could be Eastern European, just by looking at her features.