When it finally came down to it, Hutch hadn't listened to his friends. Call it a massive character flaw, but he always wanted to think the best of people, even when he was bitching and moaning about them.
Even when they'd been arrested for killing the woman he loved.
Matt, Andy and Monica hadn't heard the conversation with Nadine and Tom, and Hutch didn't bother sharing it with them. Andy looked completely stunned and Matt kept shaking his head over and over, saying, "This can't be right. Ronnie wouldn't hurt a fly."
"If we don't get her a lawyer," Andy said, "they'll stick her with a public defender. And if that happens, you might as well throw away the key right now."
Hutch had agreed. "I'll take care of it."
So he had called his lawyer right there from the station house lobby, got a referral for a top flight criminal defense firm, and asked them to send someone over.
The associate who showed up was a tall, athletic blonde named Karen Waverly, who seemed slightly annoyed that her evening had been interrupted.
"Which one of you is Ethan Hutchinson?" she asked.
Nadine laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
"Why would I be kidding?" Waverly was all business.
"You don't watch TV? Go to the movies?"
"I prefer books," she said, then scanned their faces. "Is this supposed to be top secret or are you going to tell me which one of you-"
"I called you," Hutch said, stepping forward, his hand outstretched. "Ethan Hutchinson."
She shook the hand. "All right, Mr. Hutchinson, just so you know, there's not a whole lot I can do tonight. I'm going to go in there, and with any luck they'll let me sit in on the interview."
"Luck?" Andy said. "Don't they have to let you? You're her lawyer."
"Not officially, not yet. If she doesn't outright ask for representation, they may play games to keep me out of there. And if that happens, we can only hope she keeps her mouth shut. They'll use every trick they have to pull a confession out of her."
"Unless she didn't do it," Hutch said.
Waverly paused, giving him a tight smile. "There's always that possibility, but that doesn't mean they won't try anyway. I've seen more than one innocent person confess to a crime they didn't commit."
"That's nuts," Andy said. "Why would anyone do that?"
"Some people don't hold up well under the strain of interrogation. After a while they'll say pretty much anything just to get the cops to leave them alone."
"Just tell us this," Nadine said. "Would the police have arrested Ronnie if they didn't have some kind of evidence against her?"
Matt swiveled his head and shot Nadine a look.
"If all they had was a potential suspect," Waverly told her, "they might call her in for an informal interview. But the fact that they arrested her usually indicates that they feel they have a pretty strong case. And if they can secure that confession, your friend's future doesn't look promising."
Hutch studied her a moment. "You think she's guilty."
"Doesn't matter what I think. My job is to represent a defendant to the best of my ability and that's what I intend to do."
"I get that," Hutch said, "but you do think she's guilty."
"I can't make a determination of guilt or innocence without the facts in front of me, and it's a question I never ask a criminal defendant. But if you want my gut feeling about this or any other case that goes to trial, let's just say the police don't usually get it wrong."
Hutch glanced at Nadine and Tom, and for the first time, wondered if they were right about Ronnie.
Could she really have done this?