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Lucinda Daly, prosecutor, wants to talk to her plaintiff. He's a little hard to find, but a few phone calls get her on the phone with Charlie, who suggests that Laney might be at his house, as he's friends with his daughter. Lucinda offers to come by when Charlie's home, but Charlie says she can go over now if she likes; a friend of the family she might want to talk to anyway is an adult presence there.
Lucinda pulls into the driveway and rings the doorbell.
self_composed
self_composed
[No, but she's wearing lawyer clothes. I think the standard way to find out who she is is "can I help you?"]
"Hello!" says Lucinda. "Is this the Swan residence?"
"Hello!" says Lucinda. "Is this the Swan residence?"
edgeofyourseat
"Yep," says Alice. "Why, did you want a Swan?"
It's... kind of close! A little!
He's not very good at standards.
It's... kind of close! A little!
He's not very good at standards.
self_composed
"Actually, I'm looking for Delaney Hammond, Jr.," says Lucinda. "And Chief Swan said I could look here."
[Ask her flat out if she's Delaney Hammond Jr.'s lawyer, before you even identify yourself,] Bella advises. [Even if Charlie sent her, and she could be lying.]
[Ask her flat out if she's Delaney Hammond Jr.'s lawyer, before you even identify yourself,] Bella advises. [Even if Charlie sent her, and she could be lying.]
edgeofyourseat
[I love you,] he says. Because she is full of useful advice, even when he doesn't follow it.
"And what do you want Delaney Hammond, Jr. for?" he inquires. (And even manages not to suggest any options. She doesn't look like she'd bite, anyway.)
"And what do you want Delaney Hammond, Jr. for?" he inquires. (And even manages not to suggest any options. She doesn't look like she'd bite, anyway.)
self_composed
"I'm his lawyer," Lucinda. "My name is Lucinda Daly. Assistant State's Attorney. Is he here?"
[Okay, swell. Let 'er in.]
[Okay, swell. Let 'er in.]
edgeofyourseat
"You're lookin' at him," he says, and steps back out of the doorway. "C'mon in."
self_composed
"Thank you. Chief Swan referred to you as Laney; is that what you prefer to be called?" asks Lucinda. "And are you comfortable talking here?"
self_composed
"All right. Now, I've read over my copy of the notebook that was submitted as evidence, and the medical reports that the police retrieved, but is there anything else I should know?"
self_composed
[It's not in your interest to lie to her. She doesn't have any reason to report anything you've done to anyone who'd get you in trouble for it.]
edgeofyourseat
"Well," he says. "The reason we moved here is 'cause I got raped in New York and Dad decided I'd been hooking. So he might try to throw that at me and see if it sticks."
It's not actually a lie as such. But he wants to see how she reacts, and whether she wants to hear the rest, before he tells it.
It's not actually a lie as such. But he wants to see how she reacts, and whether she wants to hear the rest, before he tells it.
self_composed
Lucinda does blink, but only just. "Is the incident in any kind of official record?"
edgeofyourseat
"Fucked if I know, but I doubt it. Official records and my dad don't get along."
self_composed
"Okay. I can probably get out about half a sentence about that before the defense lawyer objects, then, and it's anyone's guess if the judge will let me carry on from there." She produces some notes and consults them briefly. "The notebooks of documentation were submitted with a note saying that you have an eidetic memory, which is how you were able to remember all those events for your friend to write down; is that right?"
self_composed
"We might want to prove that in court. Some simple feat of memory that almost no one could do. That will go a long way to indicating that the documentation wasn't pure fabrication. I'm sure we can think of something, but if you have a stock party trick to show it off, that's liable to work too."
self_composed
[Ask everyone in the jury to write down some random numbers and letters, you get exactly a second to look at each paper, the jury get their papers back, you read off the strings,] Bella says.
edgeofyourseat
...he loves her. So much.
Alice repeats this suggestion almost word for word, pausing periodically as though he is thinking it up on the spot.
Alice repeats this suggestion almost word for word, pausing periodically as though he is thinking it up on the spot.
self_composed
"That'll do," Lucinda says. "The notebooks also included several mentions of injuries serious enough to leave marks. This is the sort of thing we want to be able to provide more evidence of, but we don't want you getting half-naked in the courtroom either; photographs in advance are the best choice. I can take them, or if you have someone you're more comfortable with available, that will work too."
self_composed
Lucinda nods and produces a camera. There is a pretty much silent photo shoot.
edgeofyourseat
Alice indicates the provenance of various marks—this one from the time his dad broke his ribs in November, that one from a ruler, those ones from a cane. A nasty-looking knife scar across his left hip gets "not Dad, don't bother". As previously indicated, he exhibits no strong feelings about the process.