Burch was not privy to the grand jury testimony but would try like hell to get it. Normally it was not discoverable, and Rudy would fight to keep it private. It was not unusual in a criminal case to have little more than the names of opposing witnesses before the trial started. Undermining their testimony was left to the skill of the defense lawyer, and Burch considered himself a master at cross-examination.
In the preliminary court hearings, he maintained his air of confidence in his clients’ innocence as he scoffed at the indictments. He said little to the press but let it be known that, at least in his opinion, the State’s case was based on the shaky testimony of a bunch of washed-up call girls who hung around the nightclubs causing trouble. Privately, though, he confided to his associates that Jesse Rudy had them on the ropes. Was there any real doubt that Mr. Malco had built his empire on the backs of prostitutes? Wasn’t it common knowledge that he was a wealthy man because of illegal booze, gambling, and hookers? How could the defense possibly pick a fair and impartial jury?
The jury would be the key, as always, and the defense only needed one vote.
* * *
As the shock of the arrests began to wane, and fewer state troopers roamed the Coast, the night life slowly returned. Stofer reported to Jesse that some of the girls drifted in, but they flirted only with the men they knew. They were far less aggressive and ignored strangers. When they sneaked away to the rooms it was with someone they had serviced before. Mr. Malco himself was seen around the clubs at night, making sure all rules were being followed. He worked the floor, shaking hands, slapping backs, cracking jokes, as if he had no worries.
Hugh stayed close to his father and was always armed, though they did not feel threatened at the moment. The gangsters had a new and more serious problem—Mr. Rudy—and gave little thought to another senseless turf battle among themselves. Lance’s rivals hunkered down in their caves and hiding places, fearful that more indictments might be coming. The nightclubs had a new appreciation of the law and were following it to the letter.
Hugh was twenty-six years old and finally growing out of his rebellious years. He had stopped fighting and given up hard liquor and jacked-up sports cars, and was dating a young divorcée who once worked as a waitress at Foxy’s. He got her away from the nightclubs before she could advance to the more lucrative specialties. She worked in a downtown bank where proper attire was required and strict hours kept. The longer they dated, the more she nagged Hugh about getting away from the Strip and finding honest work. The life of an outlaw might be exciting and prosperous for a while, but it was also unstable, even dangerous. His father was facing prison. His parents were separating. Was a life of crime really worth it?
But Hugh saw little future on the right side of the law. He’d been hanging around the clubs since he was fifteen, knew the business well, and had a general idea of how much money his father had made. It was a lot, far more than anyone else knew, and far more than any doctor or lawyer could earn.
The more they quibbled, the less Hugh liked her.
He was worried about his father and was angry that Jesse Rudy had actually indicted him. He could not comprehend his dad going to prison, though he had gradually accepted that possibility. If it happened, how would it affect their business? He had broached the subject a few times, but Lance was too bitter to talk about it. He was consumed with the likelihood of going to trial and facing a jury. The nightmare they faced was driven by the haunting reality that the charges were based on the truth, and everybody knew it.
* * *
Jesse was not pushing for a speedy trial. Joshua Burch was already clogging the docket with motions and requests that would take time to fight through. He was demanding the grand jury transcript; he wanted the indictment quashed for a number of technical reasons; he wanted separate trials for each of his clients; he wanted Judge Oliphant to recuse himself and asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to appoint a special judge. It was another impressive lesson in the endless ways to confuse the issues and delay a day in court.
Jesse fought back with his own lengthy briefs, but as the months passed it became obvious that a trial was far away. And that was fine with him. He needed time to work in the shadows and explore deals with the three managers and the girls.