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I stood. “I’ll give you a minute.”
Following Dexter outside into the hallway, I asked, “What do you think?”
“He’s skirting the issue, giving excuses, but we don’t have a clear I did it.”
I shook my head. “I’m used to being more direct.”
Dexter smirked. “This is good practice for you.”
“So you keep saying.”
Avery closed the door to the conference room. “I thought I’d let those two talk for a minute. Can we have a word?”
“Sure.” I took her into a nearby office. “What’s up?”
“Listen, this kid’s crying out for help. He’s not your usual suspect. I promise you.”
“What do you want us to do about it?” I asked, easily falling into my bad cop role.
“It’s clear that he needs help. He can work at the garage to pay restitution.”
“You know we don’t make these decisions. We give what we have to the state’s attorney’s office; they decide on what charges will stick.”
“Will you recommend going light? He didn’t hurt anyone.”
“He could have. He literally ran into Hailey Stockton.” He could have hurt Remi.
“You can only go on the facts you have. You can place him at the Spice & Tea Shoppe, but unless he admits it, not anywhere else.”
It would be hard to wrestle a confession out of him as a minor. Bluster and manipulation would only void anything we got.
“We have video on the juice shop.”
Avery crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve seen the video. You can’t identify who it is.”
“You might be right, but we’re not done here.”
She sighed. “Listen, he’s in a shitty situation. I’m just asking you to think of a way we could help him instead of pushing him further down the destructive path he’s on.”
“Instead of working off the restitution at his father’s garage, he should work at Hailey’s. Seems fitting,” Dexter said.
Avery nodded. “I can get him to agree to that.”
“He won’t be happy about it,” Dexter said.
Normally, I’d resist any posturing by defense counsel at this stage, but this was a kid. I could say Corey was polite and cooperative. As the liaison to the community and shop owners, it was my job to recommend what would benefit the community. If Corey cleaned up the shop and worked off the damage, the judge would probably be lenient with him.
“What if he does it now? We both know it will look good in front of the judge once his case goes to court.”
“I have no problem with that if Hailey’s on board.”
“I appreciate it. I think you both know my husband’s nephew came to live with him when his brother died. I know a thing or two about kids being torn from what they’ve known and forced to live in a new situation.”
I remembered something about Avery’s husband, Griffin, the owner of a million-dollar start-up company who’d moved back to town before his brother died in a boating accident. He’d taken in his nephew.
“Kids don’t think rationally,” Dexter agreed.
“Let me talk to the chief.” I turned on my heel, knocking on his office door, and at his terse, “Come in,” I followed suit.
