Killer Ambition - [61]

Dorian had no more surprises for me, so I called Bailey and gave her the update. “I know it’s iffy, but I don’t think we can afford to wait for more results. We’ve got to go for it. If Ian’s our guy, he’ll be dumping evidence the minute Averly gets his hands on a phone.”

Bailey was silent for a few moments. “You’re right. Let’s go to J.D. for the warrant.”

Being a former cop, Judge J. D. Morgan, Toni’s boyfriend, understood situations like this better than most.

“I’ll bang out the affidavit right now,” I said.

“I’ll pick you up in fifteen.”

She was there in ten, but I’d already made a list of the evidence, so I was waiting downstairs in the lobby, affidavit in hand, by the time Bailey got there. Feeling the pressure with every second that passed, I found myself gulping for air as I jumped into the car.

J.D.’s clerk, Siobhan Flanagan, said he was in a conference with some lawyers in chambers.

“Siobhan, it’s an emergency,” I said. “You know I never cry wolf.”

“Sorry, Rachel. It’s a seven-defendant gang murder and it’s been hell getting all those lawyers in one room. He said no interruptions for any reason. Why don’t you try Lavinia? I know she’s in chambers.”

Lavinia Moss was the youngest and also the first black female judge to be assigned to handle the high-profile cases. That meant at the very least that she was smart. It probably also meant she was politically savvy. The political part was what worried me. Judges who’re focused on getting elevated to the appellate bench don’t take chances on dicey warrants.

I thanked Siobhan and we trotted down the hall toward her courtroom, Department 125. I had a vague memory of hearing something about Judge Moss…where?

“You know her?” Bailey asked.

“I think I remember Toni saying she was tough but sharp.”

The clerk, a young guy I’d never met, got the okay and let us into chambers. Judge Moss hadn’t done much to spruce up the place other than the usual diplomas-Boalt Hall for law school, which meant s-m-a-r-t, and UCLA for undergrad, which meant smart and local. But I didn’t see any glad-handing photo ops with governors. Hoping that was a good omen, I introduced myself and Bailey.

“Welcome to Department 125,” she said. “So what’ve you got for me?”

I gave her a thumbnail sketch of the overall case, then explained the situation with a possible accomplice in custody in New York, the need for urgency, and the evidence we had so far.

“May I see the affidavit?”

I handed it to her and tried not to bounce my knee or bite my nails while she read. When she’d finished, she put the pages down on her desk, leaned back in her chair, and frowned. Little stars of anxiety burst under my skin as I thought about the time and evidence we could lose if we didn’t get this warrant. It wasn’t an option to hit up another judge. If the defense found out, they’d scream about it, and not only would we look like crap, we’d probably lose the suppression motion. Everything we’d seized would be thrown out.

“Now the warrant, please.”

I handed her the search warrant.

“So you want to search his house and vehicles and you want to surreptitiously place a GPS tracker on his cars?”

I nodded.

Judge Moss reviewed the affidavit again, then put down the pages and drummed her fingers on her desk as she stared out her chambers window. “If Ian Powers is your guy, you know he’s going to get himself a heavy hitter,” she said. Bailey and I nodded. “And that lawyer is going to put this search warrant through a meat grinder.” We nodded again.

Judge Moss looked down at the warrant again. Was she going to turn us down? I calculated the waiting time to get the results on the blood smear on Brian’s trunk, on the hair comparison, and even the fingerprint comparison. Even a best case scenario of a couple of days would give Averly plenty of time to tip off Ian, and give Ian plenty of time to dump evidence. Judge Moss sat up and looked me in the eye. “You don’t have enough.”

My stomach lurched. We were hosed. But the judge continued. “At least not for the GPS. As for the search…” She leaned back and stared out the window with narrowed eyes. “Well, I never dodged a tough call before and I’m not about to start now.” Judge Moss picked up the warrant. “Detective Keller, raise your right hand.” I quietly let go of the breath I’d been holding. We had our warrant.

37

Bailey’d had a team standing by, so the minute Judge Moss signed, she called to give them the go-ahead and we flew out of the courthouse. Graden had said he’d meet us there. When you toss a pad belonging to a whale like Powers, it’s good to have the brass on hand. Not only can they deal with the inevitable outraged threats of retaliation, but by watching the search, they can swear to whomever-be it judge, jury, or management-that everything was done by the book. The thought of getting to put Graden on the witness stand made me smile.

Powers lived in Bel Air, not far from Russell, but their manses were a study in contrasts: whereas Russell’s was an ivy-covered Tudor that had a traditional feeling, Ian’s was ultramodern, concrete gray, all straight lines and right angles with varied rooftops and slanted skylights and lots and lots of glass.