Steve Martini - Double Tap

“Wouldn’t that indicate that it had been used?”

“Yes. But there was no way to tell when it was used. It’s possible that it was used the day of the murder. It’s also possible that it was used on some prior occasion and put back in the bag without being cleaned. There was no way to determine how much residue was present or how long it had been there.”

The witness takes back a sizable portion of what he has given.

“Was there any rust in the bore?”

“No. Not that I could see.”

“Wouldn’t there be some signs of rust inside the bore if the gunshot residue had been left inside the bore for any length of time?”

“Not necessarily. It would depend on the conditions of storage.”

“One final question. If the handgun, that handgun, was used with the silencer attached during the commission of this crime, would anyone outside of the Chapman residence, in your opinion, have been able to hear the two shots that killed her?”

He swallows a little, then looks up at me. “No.”

“Where did you learn about recoil and suppressors as a muzzle brake?” Ruiz chews on a sandwich from the vending machine, the plastic wrapper on the table under his hand as we talk across the small stainless-steel table in the holding cell.

“I read a lot,” I tell him. “I’ve been educated by other lawyers who have laid waste to me because they knew more than I did. And on occasion I’ve learned the hard way: by clients who have lied to me. Just as you have.”

He stops chewing and looks up at me directly in the eyes.

“What are you saying?”

“That you didn’t tell us the truth about the rounds in the case. You knew they were frangible, didn’t you?”

“I told you this morning: I forgot they were there.”

“No, you knew they were there. Where did they come from? Tell me. It’s too late to play games. Who gave them to you?”

“Like I said, they were issued in the Army.”

“Not to just anybody, they weren’t. Where did you get them? Why were they issued to you?”

“For training,” he says. “I told you it’s what I did. I trained other soldiers. We did a lot of shooting in shooting houses.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Situational stuff,” he says. “Listen, trust me, you don’t need to know. It doesn’t have anything to do with this, with Chapman or Isotenics or any of this.”

“It does now. Templeton is bearing down on you. He’s established that the rounds were purchased by the Army.”

“That’s true.”

“He’s going to prove that you were in the Army and that the gun in question was issued to you.”

“So it would make sense that the bullets would be in the bag with the gun, right? You made the point,” he says. “Answered my question, the one I asked this morning. I think the jury is starting to understand what’s happening here.”

“Good. Then they’re a leg up on me,” I tell him.

“Listen, you gotta believe me. I didn’t kill her. I had no reason to kill her.”

“Templeton hasn’t gotten to that yet, but you can believe that he’s working his way there.”

“The reason the killer used the solid round,” he says, “is because he needed to tie that bullet to my gun. It’s the frame-up. You made the point in court. Crystal clear,” he says. “The jury is getting the picture. I know they are.”

“Listen, if you start trying to mind-meld with a jury, guessing what’s going on behind twelve sets of eyes, you’re likely to get the shock of your life when they come back with a verdict. What they heard today is that that bullet, the one that exploded inside Chapman’s head, was purchased for use by the Army. Before he’s finished, Larry Templeton is going to take that fractured bullet and sprinkle bread crumbs all the way from the tiniest piece right to your doorstep unless you tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing,” he says. “Nothing’s going on. I’ve told you everything I know about Chapman. I don’t know who killed her or why. All I know is she was scared.”

With Sims holding us at bay at Isotenics, Templeton would like to wrap up the case before damaging evidence has a chance to erupt from that quarter. Harry may be gloomy concerning a decision from the court of appeal, but at this point Templeton is in the dark as much as we are. If there is anything explosive sitting in Chapman’s files or on her computer, that dam could burst at any moment.

Templeton doesn’t waste any time. In the afternoon he does what I have expected: he keeps it linear and goes for the jugular.

Major Hammon Ellis is an officer assigned to the Pentagon in Washington. Part of his duties involve custody of military records for small arms as well as firearms training at several military posts. One of these is Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Emiliano’s last assigned duty post.

Ellis sits bolt upright in the witness chair. He is decked out in his dress uniform, gold oak leaves on the epaulets of his jacket. He is working from a manila folder in his lap, shuffling papers and identifying forms maintained by DOD to keep track of government small arms, pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons and to identify the soldiers to whom they are assigned.

Templeton makes quick work of the chain of possession on the murder weapon.

“Heckler and Koch Mark Twenty-three forty-five-caliber semiautomatic.” The witness is looking at a folder with several sheets of paper. “Yes, our records show that model with the serial number as stated shipped to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on the date indicated on the form.”

Copies of this have been handed to us, and Templeton moves the form into evidence. Without objection he nods toward his computer tech and suddenly the form in question appears on the screen for the jury to view.

“Your Honor, I would ask the court to take notice that the serial number on the weapon as set forth on this form is the same as that serial number on the handgun identified and marked as People’s exhibit six. The Heckler and Koch Mark Twenty-three forty-five-caliber semiautomatic pistol. In order to save time and avoid confusion, with the court’s permission we will refer to the exhibit number with regard to the other forms rather than the serial number.” Templeton wants no mistake in the minds of jurors on this point. The firearm the witness is talking about is the murder weapon.

“Any objection, Mr. Madriani?”

“No, Your Honor.”

Templeton turns back to the witness. “Then let me ask you, is that an accurate copy of the original form in your file?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Can you tell the jury what that form represents? What it shows?”

“That the firearm in question, what you have identified as People’s exhibit six, was shipped from Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey to Fort Bragg on the date set forth on the form.”

He directs the tech to leave the form on the visualizer while he has the witness identify another piece of paper from DOD, this one with a date and signature clearly visible. He moves it into evidence and it goes up on the visualizer next to the first form.

“Can you tell the jury what this form represents?”

“This is the document used by the Department of Defense for military standard requisitioning and issue procedures for small arms. When a weapon owned by the government, in this case the Department of Defense, is issued to anyone in the military, they are required to sign the form evidencing their receipt and possession of the weapon.”

“And does the firearm in question become their personal weapon, so to speak, for military purposes at that point?”

“It does.”

“So they don’t have to check it in and out every day?”