The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime by Today's Top Authors by Jonathan Santlofer, S.J. Rozan

to call. Multiple witnesses pointed her out. R/D told suspect to come out of the water and suspect refused several times. R/D finally enlisted help of lifeguards Kennedy and Valdez and suspect was physically removed from the ocean where she was confirmed as completely naked. Suspect willingly dressed at this time and was arrested and transported. Suspect was verbally abusive toward R/D at the time of her arrest and during transport.’”
    That was all I had highlighted but it was enough.
    â€œI’ve got the same thing right here, Haller. Looks like slam-dunk material to me. By the way, did you see that under occupation on the arrest sheet she put down ‘exotic dancer?’ She’s a stripper and she was out there getting rid of her tan lines and she broke the law.”
    â€œHer occupation isn’t germane to the filing and you might want to look again at the report there, Einstein. The crime of indecent exposure was created by your own deputy sheriff.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter if multiple witnesses pointed her out to him or that they saw her frolicking naked in the surf. Under the statute, the deputy can’t make the arrest based on witness testimony. The arresting officer must observe the actual infraction to make the arrest. Pull down the book and check it out.”
    â€œI don’t need the book. The deputy clearly met the threshold.”
    â€œUh-uh. He clearly didn’t observe the infraction until he had those two brave lifeguards pull her out of the water. He clearly created the crime and then arrested her.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about, an entrapment defense? Is this a joke?”
    â€œIt’s not entrapment but it’s not a valid arrest. The deputy created the crime and that makes it an illegal arrest. He also humiliated her by having her dragged out of the water and put on public display. I think she’s probably got cause for civil action against the county.”
    â€œIs that a negotiating ploy? Public display? She’s a stripper, for God’s sake. This is ridic—”
    He stopped midsentence as he realized I was right about the deputy creating the trespass upon the law. His head dropped down out of sight, but I don’t think it was to take another bite of his sandwich. He was reading the arrest report for himself and seeing what I was explaining to him. I waited him out and finally he spoke.
    â€œShe’s a stripper, what’s she care? Maybe if you take the conviction and then ran an appeal on it you would get some media and it would be good for business. Have her plead nolo pending the appeal, and meantime I’ll make sure she only gets a slap on the wrist. But no civil action. That’s the deal.”
    I shook my head but he couldn’t see it.
    â€œCan’t do it, Deano. She’s a stripper but she’s also second-year law at USC. So she can’t take the hit on her record and gamble on an appeal. Every law firm runs background checks. She can’t go in with a ding on her record. In some states she’d never be allowed to take the bar or practice. In some states she’d even have to register as a sex offender because of this.”
    â€œThen what’s she doing stripping? She should be clerking somewhere.”
    â€œUSC’s goddamn expensive and she’s paying her own way. Works the pole four nights a week. You’d have to see her to believe this, but she makes about ten times more stripping than she would clerking.”
    I momentarily thought about Linda Sandoval and the perfect triangle moving in rhythm on the stage. I had regretted not taking her up on her offer. I was sure I always would.
    â€œThen she’s going to make more stripping than she will practicing law,” Seiver said, snapping me back to reality.
    â€œYou’re stalling, Dean. What are you going to do?”
    â€œYou just want the whole thing to go away,