Ed McBain - Vespers

So was hers.

She didn't realize at first that she'd been hit.

And then she saw the blood, saw her white turning red with blood, saw the blood spurting up of the hole in her blouse, the hole in her spreading into the fabric, turning the entire bh red, and knew that she'd truly been hit badly, and the pain all at once, came down all at once off excitement of all the shooting, felt the pain like elephant stepping on her chest and thought, oh he's really done me, and thought oddly and that she had not yet returned Eileen Burke's call almost a week ago. And then she fell to the floor her mouth open and her chest still spurting blood.

Willis stood over the big one, the gun still in hands, the gun leveled at his fucking head, ready blow his head off if he so much as blinked eyelash, but nobody was blinking, they were down, he turned immediately to Marilyn.

And saw her on the Persian carpet, all covered with blood.

Saw blood spurting up from her chest.

Her heart pumping out blood.

And thought Oh Jesus no.

And ran to her.

And fell on his knees beside her.

And said, "Marilyn?”

A whisper.

"Marilyn?”

And realized all at once that he was still holding the bouquet of lavender roses in his left hand.

In the city and state for which these men and women worked, Section 30 of the Criminal Law Statutes was titled INFANCY, and Subdivision 1 of this statute read: A person less than 16 years old is not criminally responsible for conduct.

Gloria Keely had turned thirteen in February.

Her parents insisted on an attorney. The attorney said he woulc apply at once for removal of the action to the Children's Court. They reminded him that the crime was murder. He reminded them that she was scarcely thirteen years old, and that children (he punched home the word children) of thirteen, fourteen and fifteen years of age were juvenile offenders under the laws of this state. They, in turn, reminded him that the moment she hit her thirteenth birthday, she lost. infancy under the laws of this state if the crime was Murder, Subdivision One or Two.

Ergo, she could no longer be considered a juvenile offender, and they were charging her as an adult.

Gloria's attorney told them that the laws of this city and this state specifically forbade the questioning of a juvenile offender in a police station.

They reminded him again that the crime was and that she was no longer a juvenile offender. also mentioned that the intent of that restriction was to keep juveniles separate and from hardened criminals, and besides she was longer a juvenile for the third time. The said the questioning was academic, anyway, since would not allow his young client to answer questions put to her by the police.

They were all walking on eggs here.

The girl was only thirteen years old.

They were saying she'd killed a priest by or slashing him seventeen times.

The police were in possession of what they certain was the murder weapon, a knife with handle and blade caked with dried blood certainly the priest's. Presumably, there were fingerprints on that knife. And presumably, fingerprints would match Gloria's. But her argued that taking her fingerprints here in a station would be tantamount to questioning her which would be in violation of not only her fights under Miranda-Escobedo, but also in of the statute specifically forbidding the que of a person under the age of fifteen in a station.

They told him yet another time that she had infancy when she'd turned thirteen, and that Miranda-Escobedo they would not be takin incriminating testimony without permission if fingerprinted or photographed Gloria, or asked her to submit to a blood or breathalyzer test, or examined her body, or put her in a lineup, because the difference between these actions and a statement in response to interrogation was simply the difference between non-testimonial and testimonial responses on the part of the prisoner. There was no question that Gloria was a prisoner. She was in custody. They were going to charge her with the crime of Murder, Subdivision One: With intent to cause the death of another, causing the death of such person.

But this was a tough one.

Nellie Brand, who'd been called in because of her familiarity with the case, couldn't do a Q and A because Gloria's attorney said he would not permit her to answer any questions. The attorney was now saying they'd had no cause to bring her in here in the first place, were they perchance familiar with the expression "false arrest"? Carella had already briefed Nellie on his reason for bringing in Gloria, and whereas she considered his deduction sound enough, she also recognized that absent a fingerprint match, they were treading shaky ground. Carella was using the girl's possession of the last check written by Father Michael as proof that she'd been to the church on the day of his murder. If her fingerprints were on that knife, all well and good. If not... A fingerprint match was essential to their case.

And even though Nellie felt positive that they were permitted to take Gloria's fingerwints (and the Police Department's Legal Bureau concurred on point) she didn't want to risk what appeared to good case by giving anybody reason to about a rights violation later on; these w trigger-happy times. Anyway, once they charged girl and booked her and they would do downtown at Central Booking, as soon as they tap-dancing here fingerprints and photol would be taken as a matter of course, juvenile or So why push Miranda-Escobedo now?

The attorney would not let go of it. So they it back and forth, Mr. and Mrs. Keely putting in two cents every now and then with comments about what a good girl and student their daughter was, espousing Byrnes's "Class Valedictorian" line of the lawyers and detectives quoting chapter and of the various applicable laws, and in the midst this, as the shouting and gesticulating reached heated climax, Gloria suddenly said, "I killed Her attorney immediately said, "Gloria, I advise you..." but she rolled over him like steamroller flattening a fly. And since neither police nor the district attorney were required Miranda-Escobedo or any other law in the land warn a person of her rights if she was volunteering statement, they stood by silently and let her to it.

I didn't mean to do it, she said.

I only went there to pick up the check. This was around six o'clock or so, I went in through the garden, the gate was open, I left it open because I figured maybe they wanted it that way, whoever'd left it open.

The rectory door was open, too, the wooden one, not the screen door, that was closed. I opened the screen door and went right in. I'd promised Kenny the check, Kenny Walsh, he's leader of The Wanderers, he plays lead guitar and writes most of the he said he needed the songs, deposit check right away if we expected him to play the job. So I only went there to get the check.

I went into the rectory, and... There's like this little bend before you come to the office, this sort of little turn after you come out of the entry, and I heard the.., the voices.., before... before I made the turn.., the moaning.., the woman moaning.., and Faiher Michael saying, Oh God oh God oh God, and the woman saying Give it to me, give it to me, Michael!

And... I'm not a child, you know. I know about such things. A lot of the girls at Graham do these things, they talk about these things, I'm not a child, I knew what they were doing even before I... I should have turned back, I guess.

I should have left the minute I heard them.

But I... I went around the.., the turn there.., the little bend there where the.., the bench is... that you sit when you're waiting to see the priest, and I... I looked.

And he was.., they were.., her back was to m her skirt was up, she was holding her skirt up, sh was naked under the skirt, her panties down around her ankles, her legs apart, his hands were up unde her skirt, they were kissing, oh dear God, and sh kept moaning and moving against him, they were you know, they were, they were making love there his office, her long blonde hair trailing down her back, twisting her head, moaning, and him saying| love you, Ab, oh God how I love you, a priest!