Parnell Hall: The Underground Man

Harry Dirkson could hardly contain himself. He was puffing furiously and his face was bright red. ‘Your Honor, Your Honor,” he cried. “This is why I didn’t want to stipulate. This is exactly what I was talking about. This comes as a complete surprise. I demand a continuance.”

Steve Winslow raised his voice. “Now, Your Honor,” he said, “this is the very thing I sought to avoid. The prosecutor stipulated he wouldn’t ask for a continuance, and here he is asking for one.”

“Mr. Dirkson,” Judge Grimes said. “I thought you agreed to stipulate.”

“I was tricked into stipulating, Your Honor,” Dirkson said. “It was a trick on the part of Counsel. It has taken me completely by surprise, and the interests of the People demand a continuance. Mr. Winslow himself stated that I could have one if I was taken by surprise.”

“Not so, Your Honor,” Steve said. “My stipulation was if Mr. Dirkson could point to one fact that I have brought out for which he was unprepared I would not object to a continuance. Since I have brought out no facts at all, he obviously cannot do that. The interests of my client demand that the trial proceed. I ask that Mr. Dirkson be bound by his stipulation.”

“Mr. Dirkson,” Judge Grimes said. “I must consider the stipulation binding. Are you prepared to proceed?”

“As I said, I have several rebuttal witnesses, Your Honor.”

Judge Grimes smiled slightly. “But as the defense has put on no case, there is nothing to rebut.”

“But, Your Honor-”

Judge Grimes held up his hand. “That is a moot point, Mr. Dirkson. The evidentiary part of the case is over. We have come to the closing arguments. Are you prepared to proceed with yours?”

Dirkson paused, took a breath. It had finally occurred to him that he was losing on all fronts, and all he was accomplishing was making himself look bad.

“I had not expected to argue the case so soon, Your Honor, but I am certainly prepared to do so.”

“I will of course grant you a brief recess to prepare your summation. In fact, since that will run us close to the lunch hour, I am going to break now, and we will come back after lunch. Court is adjourned until two o’clock.”

Judge Grimes’s gavel had barely sounded when newspaper reporters were already tripping over each other in their haste to get out the door.

Mark Taylor and Tracy Garvin pushed their way through the crowd.

“What the hell are you doing?” Taylor said.

“Relax,” Steve said. “Just act like everything was going according to plan. Try not to look like you think I’m a moron until we get out the door.”

Steve took Mark and Tracy by the shoulders and turned and piloted them out of the courtroom. On the way he kept smiling and mouthing ‘No comment,’ to the few reporters foolish enough to think they might actually get a quote. Outside, they broke away from the crowd and headed for the coffee shop for lunch.

“All right,” Taylor said. “We’re out of earshot. What the hell is going on?”

“There’s nothing going on,” Steve said. “I rested my case.”

“Damnit,” Tracy said, grabbing him by the arm. “Now stop right there. I know you get some perverse pleasure out of being mysterious and enigmatic, but I’m on an emotional roller coaster here. Why did you rest your case? Why aren’t you putting on a defense?”

Steve shrugged and shook his head. “Because frankly I don’t have one.”

Tracy stared at him. “I thought you were going to try every trick in the book to get Jeremy Dawson off.”

“I am.” Steve put his hands on their shoulders. “Come on, guys, let’s have lunch.”

Tracy shrugged his hand off. “I couldn’t eat a thing. I’m still waiting for your explanation. Why didn’t you put on a defense?”

“O.K.,” Steve said. “Try to understand. Dirkson has put on his case. Nothing I could do is gonna weaken that case. I got no witness to call, no trick to play. And the way I see it, it hurts me more to do something ineffective than to do nothing at all.”

“Hurts you? What about your client?”

“When I say me, I mean my client. And what’s with you? I thought you didn’t like him.”

“I don’t like him. But he’s still entitled to a defense.”

Steve smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear you say it. I may quote you on that after I get him off.”

Tracy frowned. “How the hell are you gonna get him off now?”

“I’m taking my best shot. It happens I got nothin’, so my best shot is to do nothin’ and proceed with the argument. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Taylor looked at him. “You knew this last night?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then why did you have me subpoena all those witnesses?”

“Because I didn’t want Dirkson to know what I was planning.”

“My men wouldn’t talk.”

“I know that, Mark. But the people they subpoenaed would. That’s why I had you subpoena the relatives. It’s a sure thing at least one and maybe all of them went straight to Dirkson.

“Which is what I wanted. So he’d have no idea what I was doing.”

“That’s for sure,” Taylor said. “I’ve got no idea what you’re doing.”

“I’m gambling, Mark. I’m taking my best shot at getting the kid off.”

Taylor shook his head. “Well, maybe you know what you’re doing, but I sure as hell don’t. All I know is Dirkson’s put on a convincing case. Hell, he’s put on a damn near perfect case. He’s got motive, method, opportunity. He’s got the murder weapon and the will. I mean, Christ, Steve. At this point, there isn’t a thing you could do that would get Jeremy Dawson off.”

Steve sighed, and shook his head. “You could be right.”

Harry Dirkson was in top form for his closing argument. The anger and frustration he’d felt at being outmaneuvered by Steve Winslow had evaporated over the lunch hour, as it gradually dawned on him that though Steve had tricked him on procedure, by doing so Steve had virtually conceded the case. The evidence was uncontested, it was enough to convict, and Dirkson was sitting pretty. So he was confident and assured as he rose to argue the case.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he began. “I’m not going to make any lengthy argument here, because frankly I don’t have to. You’ve heard the evidence in this case, and it is straightforward and convincing. And that evidence leads to one inescapable conclusion. And that is, that Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh.

“I will review the evidence for you briefly. I don’t think I really need to, but I will do so because I am the prosecutor and that’s my job.”

Dirkson smiled as he said that, and several of the jurors smiled back. He struck a pose and began lining out his points.

“You’ve heard evidence that on the afternoon of February 26th, a man answering the description of Jack Walsh was spotted in the corridors of Jeremy Dawson’s high school. There is evidence that Jeremy Dawson left with this man. There is further evidence that Jeremy Dawson cut the rest of his afternoon classes. You have heard the evidence of the witness, Joseph Bissel, that Jack Walsh was seen with Jeremy Dawson in the very subway station in which he was found murdered. You have also the evidence from Joseph Bissel that Jack Walsh was writing something at the time.

“And what was he writing?” Dirkson strode to the court reporter’s table and picked up the will. “I have in evidence People’s Exhibit Seven, a handwritten will entirely in the handwriting of the decedent, Jack Walsh, leaving his entire fortune to Jeremy Dawson. And where was this will recovered? It was found in Jeremy Dawson’s possession on the day after the murder.”