Parnell Hall - The Wrong Gun

Steve frowned. “Well, that’s a ‘maybe’ there, Mark. You gotta remember the barrel of that gun was tampered with.”

“Right,” Taylor said.

“Yeah, but after the murder,” Tracy said. “The fatal bullet itself wasn’t affected.”

“That’s true,” Steve said.

“So if the fatal bullet doesn’t match the test bullet from the gun Mark bought, it proves his gun wasn’t the fatal gun.”

“That’s right,” Taylor said.

“That’s true,” Steve said. “If we ever get that far. But hang on a minute. Can you seriously imagine me explaining all this to Vaulding? Let alone the jury?”

Taylor frowned. “I see your point.”

“Exactly, Mark,” Steve said. “It’s not like we want to prove the gun you bought had nothing to do with the murder. We’re not at the point here where we want to concede you bought a gun.”

Taylor nodded. “I’m with you there.” He scratched his head. “So what the fuck does this mean? I mean, Jesus Christ. You’re sayin’ the gun they claim Timberlaine bought he admits he bought and claims he substituted for mine. Is that right?”

“That’s it in a nutshell.”

“Then where’s mine? Pardon me for asking, but where the hell’s my fucking gun?”

“Well, Mark, right now there are two possibilities.”

“I don’t want to hear this, do I?”

“One, Timberlaine’s telling the truth and your gun is in a safe-deposit box Timberlaine rented and we can produce it at any time.”

“That’s not so bad. What’s the one I don’t wanna hear?”

“Two, Timberlaine is lying. In which case there never was any other gun. The gun he bought from that witness is it. He bought it, filed the numbers off it, carved the initial R in the handle and brought it to my office to have you fire test bullets through it. If that is true, then that gun is not in a safe-deposit box, it’s in my safe right here in the office. Which means Timberlaine didn’t switch guns after he left here. And the gun in court is the gun you bought. And not only does the fatal bullet match up with test bullets fired through it, but the fatal bullet will match up with our test bullets. Which incidentally, Mark, would elevate our test bullets to the position of prime evidentiary value, since they would have been fired from the fatal gun before the barrel was altered and therefore would match up with the fatal bullet absolutely, thereby clinching the identification of the gun.”

Mark Taylor looked sick. “Oh, Jesus Christ.”

“Exactly,” Steve said. “And that’s not the half of it. Right now, the worst of it is Timberlaine doesn’t know I switched guns. I’m sure as hell not gonna tell him. It’s not that I don’t want him to know-well, actually it is-but more than that, the son of a bitch just can’t keep his mouth shut, and I sure as hell don’t want Vaulding to know. Anyway, Timberlaine doesn’t know I switched guns. So he thinks-assuming he’s telling the truth-he thinks that the gun he gave me, that I fired the test bullets through, is the gun in his safe-deposit box, and will therefore match the test bullets. So all we have to do is give all of that to the cops. He’s not bright enough to figure out why, even from his perspective, that wouldn’t be that smooth a move, and he’s already pushing me to do exactly that. I’m resisting to the best of my power without actually telling him why.”

Mark Taylor ran his hand through his hair. “Good lord.”

“Yeah. So I’m stalling the issue as long as I can. Vaulding can force it by subpoenaing the gun.”

“Shit. Will he do that?”

“I’m hoping not. There’s a good chance he won’t, since he thinks he already has it. If he does, then I gotta deal with it. Right now, I don’t. This is becoming one of those cases where stalling is the best tactic.”

“You gonna ask for a continuance?”

Steve grimaced. “Well, there’s stalling and then there’s stalling. I’m stalling on specific points. The gun, for instance. But the case, no. I want to rush the case along before they start finding all these fucking guns.”

“Yeah, right.”

“And there’s another thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Right now Vaulding’s just happy to be hitting us with the shit. The file, the gun Timberlaine bought, the whole bit. Shock after shock, embarrassment after embarrassment. He’s so happy springing the witnesses and piling on the evidence, I’m not sure he’s stopped to figure out what it all means.”

Taylor frowned. “I don’t get you.”

“I do,” Tracy said. “You mean he hasn’t explained any of it.”

“Exactly,” Steve said. “None of this stuff was in his opening statement. The jury’s getting it fresh, just like we are. They don’t know what it means any more than we know what it means. Even less, because they don’t know what we know. Vaulding hasn’t explained any of it, and he’s got to ’cause it’s his case.” Steve spread his hands. “I mean, look at this shit. There’s another gun just came down the pike. Now, Vaulding doesn’t know it’s another gun. He’s gonna claim Timberlaine bought it and used it in the murder. If that’s true, Jesus Christ. Timberlaine buys a gun, substitutes it for his own gun and claims somebody else did. He gets pissed off over Burdett’s bid at the auction, so he kills Jack Potter thinking Potter tipped him off. Kills him with a gun that he bought and substituted for his own gun, the genuine Pistol Pete gun. And he leaves that genuine gun that he’s claimed was stolen next to the body. Then he takes the murder weapon, roughs it up with a file and leaves it on his bedside table. He leaves the file somewhere in his apartment for the police to find it.”

“Right,” Taylor said. “It’s the moron factor. It’s the how-could-he-be-that-stupid.”

Steve held up his hand and shook his head. “No. No, that’s true, but besides that. There’s a huge problem with all that. A huge glaring flaw in the theory that Vaulding’s gonna have to deal with.”

Tracy’s eyes widened. “Son of a bitch.”

“What?” Taylor said.

Tracy snapped her fingers. “Motivation. That’s it, isn’t it? Vaulding’s laid out the motivation that Timberlaine killed Potter for giving Burdett the tip. That doesn’t jibe with this new gun.”

“Why not?” Taylor said.

“Premeditation,” Tracy said. “Timberlaine bought this gun days before the auction. How was he to know he was going to get pissed off at Potter and shoot him?”

“Exactly,” Steve said. “The way Vaulding’s laid out the case, when Timberlaine bought the gun there was no way in hell he knew he was going to use it to kill Potter. The question is, why did he buy it? We know he bought it to switch with the other gun, the one he found substituted for the real one. Vaulding doesn’t concede the existence of the other gun, so his theory can’t be Timberlaine bought it for that. His theory has to be Timberlaine bought it to switch with the original gun. And why in the name of God would Timberlaine want to do that?”

“You got me,” Taylor said. “I can’t explain it.”

“Yeah, well you don’t have to, Mark. At least until Vaulding finds out you bought that gun.”

“Shit.” Taylor heaved himself out of the chair. “Can I get back to the office now?”

“I suppose so. What are you working on?”

“That’s embarrassing.”

“Oh?”

“My operative isn’t back yet. I’m trying to find out who sold her the gun.”

Steve grinned. “Are you telling me I’m paying you to investigate your own actions?”

“I told you it was embarrassing.”

“Any luck yet?”

Taylor shook his head. “Not a thing.”