Frank Kraunauer

Frank Kraunauer is a character in the Dexter Novels.

He’s a famous, high-priced criminal attorney who is reputed to always win cases.

Description
Frank radiates “calm assurance, power, and money.” His smile seems friendly, but Dexter realizes that it’s as every bit as cold and phony as his own. He wears a suit fit for royalty and carries an Italian-leather folder filled with neatly aligned papers.

Summary

 * Dexter Is Dead

Dexter, having been arrested for three murders, is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Two and a half weeks pass and he finally has a visitor -- Bernie Feldman, a court-appointed attorney. Bernie is harried and seems confused so Dexter has little faith in him.

A few days later, Dexter learns that Bernie has been replaced by a different attorney. As Dexter sits across from him (a window between them), the attorney picks up the phone. He introduces himself as Frank Kraunauer and tells Dexter that he’s been retained to represent him. Dexter recognizes the name and wonders why he’s meeting with the most brilliant and expensive lawyer in Miami.

Kraunauer says that he was hired by Mr. Herman O. Atwater, but the name means nothing to Dexter. He thinks it must be someone he knows. His only friend is Vince, but he’s not wealthy. Deb isn’t either; anyway, she wants him to stay locked up. He considers the name itself. If he connects the O. with Herman, it spells hermano which is Spanish for brother. Atwater means “at the water,” as in a shipping container. Dexter realizes that his brother, Brian, has hired the best lawyer in town for him.

As Kraunauer looks through Dexter’s file, he says there are “irregularities” and none of it is good. However, he tells Dexter that if he is still in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center by this time tomorrow, it means he’s dead. Kraunauer smiles broadly and leaves.

The next day, Dexter is indeed released, pending his trial. Brian, dressed in resort clothing, baseball cap, and wraparound sunglasses, is waiting to pick him up with a green Jeep. He explains that he had a “windfall” and that’s why he could afford Kraunauer. (It’s revealed that Brian and his friend, Octavio, stole a large amount of cash from Raul, a drug lord.)

Brian drops Dexter off near his house so that he can pick up some clothes. However, because it’s a crime scene, the two cops guarding it won’t let Dexter enter. The cop with brown eyes calls Dexter a “psycho” and frisks him. He then begins to bully and provoke Dexter, hoping to arrest him. The blue-eyed cop is more restrained and he mentions the name of the brown-eyed cop -- Julio Ramirez. Dexter repeats the name and threatens to tell his lawyer, Frank Kraunauer. Ramirez turns pale, immediately backs off, and claims he didn’t do anything. Dexter smiles and walks up the street to a strip mall where Brian is waiting.

Dexter and Kraunauer arrange to meet in the attorney’s office, which is the penthouse of a high-rise on South Beach. After Dexter works his way through three security guards, he is greeted by a gray-haired woman with unflinching eyes at a large desk. She leads Dexter down a hall and waves him through a massive door where he finds Kraunauer standing by a floor-to-ceiling window. He turns and gives Dexter a “polite-shark smile.” Dexter notes his expensive suit and the high-priced furniture.

They discuss the case, and Kraunauer says that someone really wants the murders pinned on Dexter. He says they’ve played fast and loose with legal procedure, and are going for the pedophile angle. Dexter protests that he’s not a pedophile, but Kraunauer dismissively waves him off. He warns Dexter that he is in real danger and advises him to keep a low profile. Kraunauer actually looks happy when he states that he is filing a countersuit for millions of dollars. Dexter leaves the meeting feeling that it was a waste of time. He heads back to his hotel, first stopping to eat.

To his surprise, Dexter finds two dead men in his hotel room, having killed each other, and he enlists Brian’s help in disposing of the bodies. Brian knows one of them -- Octavio, his friend. Brian assumes that Dexter told someone about the hotel room, but Dexter says that Brian’s credit card (which paid for the room) was likely traced.

Vince Masuoka smuggles a folder of documents out of the department that prove Detective Anderson is trying to frame Dexter by forging signatures and altering evidence. Dexter calls Kraunauer and arranges to drop it off at his office.

To be cont'd...

Related Pages

 * Bernie Feldman
 * Octavio
 * Raul