Chapter 6
Enter Elijah Deville
Entering the lobby of his 21st Floor Toronto Law Office on University Avenue between King St. and Pearl, Elijah Deville was soaked! It seems that being a law professor at the University of Toronto and a defense attorney in his own firm gives Elijah little time to do much else, like watch the weather report.
"Becca!" shouted Elijah to his law partner (who also happened to be his sister).
"You rang Elijah?" she said stepping into the lobby.
"Becca, look at me, I mean look at me! This stupid September rain made me ruin my brand new pin-striped suit walking from the subway to the office," he said in disgust.
"That's why they invented coats...and umbrellas," she retorted back with a grin.
"You think this is funny don't you? You don't know how hard it is to find a suit at my age."
"Men have trouble finding suits at 42 now do they? What ever will they do?" she replied mocking him.
"Ha-ha. You know very well what I meant. Being 42 has not been terribly kind to my physique. That combined with the fact that I'm only 5'6", makes it an absolute nightmare when purchasing a new suit."
"Now you know how I feel Elijah. Try going into a woman's clothing store at 5'10", with a body that can't decide if it wants to be a short, or a tall. I'm lucky if I can find a pair of pants that doesn't accentuate certain undesirable physical features. So as you can see, it isn't just you," she said, pausing for the usual retort back from her brother.
Since he chose not to respond she piped in saying, "Besides, you wouldn't wear your suits out so fast if you didn't insist on wearing them almost everywhere you go. For instance, last week I caught you grocery shopping in it."
"A man has always got to look his best doesn't he? I mean you never know when you'll meet a prospective client," Elijah replied quietly shrugging his shoulders. He got no response.
Going into the closet in Elijah's office, Becca found a spare suit and told him to get changed so that he wouldn't embarrass her in front of their new client. When questioned further as to the identity of this client, Becca would only tell him, that this case was a high profile one, and that the client seemed like they could more than afford the $150,000 fee. This began to ease the mind of Elijah as he went to change suits.
Coming back into his office, brown hair combed nicely, wearing a black blazer with grey pants, Elijah sat down in his chair as Becca looked out the window at the picturesque view of Toronto.
"So?" asked Elijah.
"So, what?" Becca responded.
"Where's this new client of ours?"
"Oh, she'll be here in a few minutes. She called and said that she might be running a little late," Becca said.
"Well she better be here soon, because I have a busy schedule coming up," Elijah said as he finished tying his tie. "After all, not only did school start this week with lessons needing preparation, but the Donovan murder trial starts in a month as well. Seeing as how I have no clue as to who the murderer is, that case is going to monopolize a significant portion of my time. But, if that wasn't bad enough, I also just learned that the Attorney General himself is going to be the crown attorney for that case."
"Well what did you expect Elijah? This was no flunky that was murdered here; it was the Chief Justice of Ontario," Becca replied.
"Yeah I know, but I can't remember the last time the Attorney General actually took on a criminal case. It's going to politicize the whole thing. I guess the one good thing about it is that it will give me something to discuss in my criminal law course," Elijah said.
"Oh that reminds me, with all the commotion that happened when you came in, how was the first day of that class last night? You know the one with the name I can't remember."
"It's Criminal Procedure. It's also a course you should have paid more attention to in school in my opinion," Elijah said snidely. "Well, I guess it went as expected. As I do with all my first year students, the opening question that I ask them is 'What legal rights do we enjoy in Canada?'. Do you want to know what the first response was?" asked Elijah.
"What?" inquired Becca.
"'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.' I mean the student quoted it verbatim," Elijah said as both of them laughed.
"So what did you say?" asked Becca.
"I ask what I always ask: 'What are these rights called and where do they originate from?' Now unlike past students who stare at me blank faced, unsure of their answer, this kid quickly responded 'They are called Miranda Rights and they come from the Constitution'. I then stood there with a large grin on my face and said 'What constitution?' to which he responded 'The U.S. Constitution'. By this time, I wanted to test the intellect of the kid, to you know; see if he was all there, so I asked 'In what year did Canada become the 51st state of the U.S.?'. Now I don't know what I would have done if the kid had given me a year, but thankfully he told me that we weren't a state, to which I responded 'Well good then, I thought I had missed the memo'. I then quickly explained that if we were a sovereign country, then we are not governed by the laws of some other place, so although we have similar rights, we don't have Miranda rights.' The boy took it well and all, though I could tell that he was a little embarrassed. But that isn't the end of the story," exclaimed Elijah with a smile.
"So what happened next?"
"Well, me and my stupid self thought I would give the students a chance to redeem themselves by re-asking my original question, 'What legal rights do we have as a Canadian?' I thought for sure that having had our talk about Canadians producing our own laws and thus having our own rights would spur someone to quote from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Sadly though, I was wrong," Elijah said shrugging his shoulders.
"So, what did he say?" Becca said, anticipating another silly response.
"She, it was a she this time, told me that we had the 5th Amendment right not to incriminate ourselves," Elijah said throwing up his arms in disgust. "Kids entering law school in Canada I'm convinced have no idea about what their rights are as Canadian citizens. In fact, I'll bet they know more about American's rights than Americans do."
"What can I say Elijah, American television is filled with cop shows and legal shows, all of which are shown from the American Legal System's point of view," explained Becca.
"I know, but these kids are not supposed to be bums off the street, they want to practice law here in Canada! I just think they ought to come to law school with some semblance of knowledge about the Canadian Justice System, you know."
Just as Elijah had finished his sentence, the intercom rang, and his secretary told him that Pamela Ravenwood had arrived and wished to meet with him. Elijah, now smiling heavily with interest, told his secretary to send Mrs. Ravenwood in immediately.
"Good morning Mrs. Ravenwood, come in and sit down," Becca said, pointing to the chair in front of Elijah's desk. After she sat down, Becca sat in the chair beside her.
"So Mrs. Ravenwood, what can we do for you this morning?" asked Elijah.
"Well, Mr. Deville, as you already might know, I am the wife of Elliot Ravenwood, the man accused of murdering Scott Taylor at the amusement park on Canada Day," she said shaking and fumbling with her fingers.
"Oh yes, I remember, that's the case where the victim was killed when the rollercoaster came off of the tracks, killing him instantly upon impact."
"Yes that's the one."
"Well, Mrs. Ravenwood, perhaps I'm missing something, but the case has already gone through the pre-trial consultations and is now ready for the preliminary hearing. What happened to your husband's lawyer?" inquired Elijah.
"Who, Gerard Bachenbaum?" Pamela said. "Mr. Bachenbaum is a great lawyer, if you have the goal of spending considerable time in jail. He was going to make a plea bargain with the prosecutor in which m
y husband would plead guilty to 2nd degree murder with a sentence of 15 years to life. Elliot said that was completely unacceptable, because he didn't kill Scott Taylor. I mean from the bail hearing on, it seems to me that Mr. Bachenbaum was content watching Elliot go to jail," Mrs. Ravenwood said, as she started to cry.
"Well I'm sure that was not the case. Gerry and I go way back, and he's, you know, a fairly good lawyer," Elijah said scratching his chin. "If you want to change lawyers mid-stream, you're well within your rights. But there are a few things you must understand before we begin. First, I don't come cheap. Second, you and your husband must be completely truthful with me from the word go, or I'll walk off this case right now. Third, you must do everything I ask of both of you, no matter what. Fourth, I make no guarantees. I mean I'll try my best and work as hard as I can to acquit your husband, but coming in at this stage of the ballgame, puts me behind the eight ball. Do you still want me to represent your husband?"
"Absolutely Mr. Deville, you're the last hope we've got," said Pamela, breathing a sigh of relief that Elijah had agreed to take the case.
"Good then," Elijah said. "Now Mrs. Ravenwood, when is the next scheduled appearance in court for your husband?"
"Two weeks from Thursday, September 30th, is Elliot's automatic bail review in Superior court. As for the preliminary hearing, that is scheduled for October 4th."
"OK. To begin, unless I see evidence to the contrary, I will send notice to the crown attorney that we wish to waive the need for the preliminary hearing. Although sometimes beneficial, in this situation, with the crown's case so strong, I think it will serve only to cement the witness testimony even further against your husband. It would also give the crown a sneak peek at our defense strategy, something I rarely like to give them a chance to do.
On the issue of bail, I will, in two weeks, contend vigourously for your husband's release. There is no reason why he should have been held without bail and I seriously doubt, that given the circumstances, the judge could find justifiable cause to hold him any longer. Do you understand?"
"Of course," Pamela replied.
"OK, let's talk. First off, your husband worked for the amusement park, correct."
"Yes, that's right."
Elijah then turned to Becca and said, "So, Becca, after the meeting I would like you to find all of the names and addresses of Elliot's co-workers so that we can question them. I would also like you to find out where Mrs. Taylor lives so we can pay her a visit as well. After that, meet with the crown attorney to gather all evidence made available in the discovery portion of the trial."
He then turned back to Mrs. Ravenwood and asked, "Was your husband happy with his job?"
"Well no, not exactly. Don't get me wrong, he loved being a CFO, but Elliot always had dreams of owning his own business someday," she said.
"Was Elliot close to having the money to purchase this business?"
"No. I mean we are fairly well off, but we don't have nearly enough capital required to open our own business. We've also have had a few financial set backs in the stock market. Last year we lost over $500,000 in investments that we were going to use as a down payment on a loan to get us started. Obviously, we didn't take out the loan," Pamela said.
"So is that the reason the authorities suspect that your husband embezzled over $1 million of park funds: to help recoup some of his losses on the stock market?" asked Becca.
"But he didn't do that! I mean he doesn't know who set him up, and there is no way that he could have taken that money. Elliot may have his faults, but one of the things that I admire him for is his integrity. He told me that he did not do any of the things that he is accused of, and that's good enough for me," Pamela said.
"I also assume that Elliot told you that he didn't kill Scott Taylor in order to cover up this alleged theft," Elijah said.
"He said that he did not kill Scott and I know in my heart that he is telling the truth," Pamela replied.
"Well unfortunately," Elijah responded, "your gut feeling won't hold up in a court of law, but you've given us a place to start. I assume your husband is being kept at the Toronto Municipal Jail in the Valley?" Mrs. Ravenwood nodded.
"So I'll go visit your husband, re-assure him that he's got good representation now, and tell him how I will proceed with the case. As for you, go home, get some rest, and if we need you, we'll call."
The three of them then got up from their chairs, and Mrs. Ravenwood was shown out. As Elijah was heading for the door to go out to the jail, Becca stopped him to give him her pink jacket and green umbrella. She told him that unless he took them, he would have to go down to the jail in his underwear, because she wasn't going to let him ruin another suit. Grudgingly, Elijah took both the umbrella and jacket and went out to see Elliot Ravenwood.
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