A Tale of Two Carnies

31 - A Gut Punch

Alvin Armstrong looked hideous. His ear lobes had stretched, and he increased the diameter of his gauges. The holes in his ear lobes were now the size of a quarter. I couldn't stop staring.

"There's her stuff," he said while pointing into a corner. Cozbi's new dresses and other personal effects were piled together on the floor beside a stack of file folders.

I scolded him. "You could've at least put them in a box."

Sitting in his bean bag chair, he shrugged and wouldn't look up from the document he was reading.

I picked up the pile.

Out of the blue, he asked, "Do you think she did it?"

Was he serious? I set down the pile and gawked at him.

He met my gaze. "Attorneys don't usually ask their clients if they are guilty. I didn't ask Cozbi. I was only interested in making sure she had a fair trial. Now that it's over, my curiosity is getting the best of me."

I couldn't believe he asked the question. "She didn't do it. She couldn't have been strong enough."

"Maybe not," he said, "but how do you explain the bloody sleepshirt found in her trailer?"

"Cozbi didn't lock her trailer. Obviously, the real killer planted it there."

He raised an eyebrow. "Who would that be?"

I had given the matter a lot of thought. He wasn't going to like my theory. "Deputy Sheriff Slannery seemed hell bent on a quick arrest. Maybe he found that shirt somewhere else and planted it. I mean, he admitted to entering her trailer without a warrant. Maybe he saw it as a way to gain some notoriety. Maybe he has ambition to run for sheriff. Cozbi being a carnie, a stranger, not from around these parts, he figured nobody would care."

Alvin leaned back in his bean bag chair with his hands cradling the back of his head. "You don't think anyone from the carnival could've planted it?"

"No. Everyone liked Cozbi."

He leaned forward. "From what I understand everyone liked Marlin Cleveland too, yet someone murdered him."

The attorney had a point. "Where are you going with this?"

"Cozbi walks free because I got her off on a technicality at the expense of Deputy Sheriff Slannery's reputation. He has egg all over his face for botching what everyone suspected would be a slam dunk conviction."

"Too bad for him."

Alvin got off his bean bag and stood. He looked at me. "Let me explain something to you. The judge declared a mistrial. It's not the same as a not guilty verdict. At the district attorney's discretion, he can have her arrested and retry her. Double jeopardy doesn't apply in this situation."

A sinking feeling filled me. "Is he likely to do that?"

"No clue. As it stands, there isn't enough evidence, but you can be sure Slannery is still poking around desperate to save face. You better hope he doesn't find anything else. If he does, don't make it easy for him to find you. Get out of this county. Get out of Pennsylvania. The two of you have legal residence in Florida. I would advise you to go there."

I was starting my new job on Monday. I wouldn't be able to leave. "He won't find anything else. Cozbi didn't do it."

"Are you sure?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, she's not physically strong enough to have done it."

"Okay, you're convinced, but since you're taking responsibility for her, I would strongly urge you to take my advice and convince her to scram."