Mickey Haller 4 - The Fifth Witness

the defense.”
    Gotler was the Hollywood agent who represented me. I used him whenever Hollywood came calling. This time we were going to go calling on Hollywood and proactively try to get a deal.
    “Sell him on it,” I told Lorna. “I’ve got a business card in the car from a producer at Sixty Minutes. That’s how big this is getting.”
    “I’ll call Joel,” she said. “I know what to say.”
    I stopped pacing to consider what was left and what my role was going to be. I looked at Cisco.
    “You want me on the witness?” he asked.
    “That’s right. And the victim, too. I want the full picture on both of them.”
    My order was punctuated by a sharp buzzing sound from an intercom speaker on the wall next to the kitchen door.
    “Sorry, that’s the front gate,” Lorna said.
    She made no move to go to the intercom.
    “You want to answer it?” I asked.
    “No, I’m not expecting anyone and all the delivery guys know the combination. It’s probably a solicitor. They walk this neighborhood like zombies.”
    “Okay,” I said, “then let’s move on. The next thing we need to be thinking about is the alternate killer.”
    That drew everyone’s undivided attention.
    “We need a setup man,” I said. “If we take this thing to trial it’s not going to be good enough to just potshot the state’s case. We are going to need an aggressive defense. We have to point the jury in a direction away from Lisa. To do that, we need an alternate theory.”
    I was aware of Aronson watching me as I spoke. I felt like a teacher in law school.
    “What we need is a hypothesis of innocence. If we build that, we win the case.”
    The gate buzzer went off again. It was then followed by two more long and insistent buzzes.
    “What the hell?” Lorna said.
    Annoyed, she got up and walked to the intercom. She pushed the communication button.
    “Yes, who is it?”
    “Is this the law offices of Mickey Haller?”
    It was a woman’s voice and it sounded familiar but I couldn’t immediately place it. The speaker was tinny and the volume turned low. Lorna looked back at us and shook her head as though she was confused. Her address was not on any of our advertising. How did this person get to the front gate?
    “Yes, but it is by appointment only,” Lorna responded. “I can give you the number to call if you want to set up a consultation with Mr. Haller.”
    “Please! I need to speak to him now. This is Lisa Trammel and I’m already a client. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”
    I stared at the intercom speaker as though I believed it to be a direct pipeline to the Van Nuys women’s jail—where Lisa was supposed to be. Then I looked at Lorna.
    “I guess you’d better open the gate.”

Six
    Lisa Trammel was not alone. When Lorna answered her front door my client walked through in the company of a man I recognized as having been in court during Lisa’s first appearance. He had been in the front row of the gallery and stood out to me because he didn’t look like a lawyer or journalist. He looked Hollywood. And not the glitzy, confident Hollywood. The other one. The Hollywood on the make. Either a toupee or amateur dye job on the hair, requisite matching fringe on the chin, wattled throat… he looked like a sixty-year-old trying without a lot of success to pass for forty. He wore a black leather sport coat over a maroon turtleneck. A gold chain with a peace sign on it hung from his neck. Whoever he was, I had to suspect he was the reason Lisa was walking free.
    “Well, you either escaped from Van Nuys jail or you made bail,” I said. “I’m thinking that somehow, someway, it’s the latter.”
    “Smart man,” Lisa said. “Everyone, this is Herbert Dahl, my friend and benefactor.”
    “That’s D-A-H-L,” said the smiling benefactor.
    “Benefactor?” I asked. “Does that mean you put up Lisa’s bail?”
    “A bond, actually,” Dahl said.
    “Who did you use?”
    “A guy named Valenzuela. His place is right by the jail. Very convenient and he said he knew you.”
    “Right.”
    I paused for a moment, wondering how to proceed, and Lisa filled in the space.
    “Herb is a true hero, rescuing me from that horrible place,” she said. “Now I’m out and free to help our team fight these false charges.”
    Lisa had worked previously with Aronson but not directly with Lorna or Cisco. She stepped over and put her hand out to them, introducing herself and shaking hands as if this was all part of a