Steve Martini - The Jury

“Have you checked the gardeners, the groundskeepers at the museum?” I ask.

De Angelo looks at me, not certain what I’m talking about.

“They probably drive the service roads in the park all the time. Have you checked their tires?”

“Not yet,” he says. “I’ll make a note.” He doesn’t write it down.

Coats wants to know if they have another witness for their offer of proof, somebody to verify Tanya Jordan’s testimony.

Tannery tells him he doesn’t.

Coats can give them a day, maybe two. My guess is Epperson was their case. Without a witness to verify the racial evidence, they have no motive for the killing. They have already given up on the twisted-romance theory, and now they are faced with a suicide note-cum-confession from Epperson.

“Your Honor.” De Angelo wades in. “This is screwy,” he says. “That this man would take his life like this.”

“Maybe he was afraid he couldn’t hold up under questioning,” I tell Coats. “He had an appointment in court, day of reckoning. Nothing strange about that.”

Coats considers his options. A long sigh.

“We have a problem,” he says. “I don’t like it, but if you can’t come up with another witness, evidence to corroborate, I’ll have to strike the woman’s testimony.”

Tannery starts to say something, but the judge holds up his hand. “No other choice,” he says. “It’s all hearsay. And I’m not sure it makes a lot of difference at this point.”

“What do you mean?” asks Tannery.

“I mean you’re holding a confession there. Unless you have some basis to show that it’s not what it purports to be, I can’t keep it out.” By this time Epperson’s suicide note has made the rounds back into Tannery’s hands. He holds it like some burning ember.

“I want a copy of that,” I tell him. “And I would like an order from the court that the state keep us informed of their investigation as it progresses. I’d like to know what other evidence they found at the scene. For example, fingerprints on the van? I saw them dusting it at the scene.”

The judge looks at de Angelo.

“We found the victim’s prints, and two other employees’ from the center where he worked. We’re checking them out,” he says.

“Names?” I pull out a pen, holding a yellow legal pad.

De Angelo doesn’t want to give them up, but the judge tells him to disclose. He pulls out a little notebook from his inside coat pocket, then flips a few pages.

“A Cynthia Gamin, and Harold Michaels. Said they used the van last week. It checks out, but we’re checking their personal vehicles anyway,” he says, “to see if the extra tire impressions at the scene match up.”

“And you will keep us informed?” I say.

De Angelo gives me a pain-in-the-ass look. It’s nice when you have the cops working for you.

“Your Honor, you’re telling me the note is coming in, is that right?” Tannery had expected it, but he wants to make sure there’s no chance of turning Coats around on this before he leaves. “I’m going to have to take it up the line.” He’s talking about his boss, D.A. Jim Tate, and his number two, Edelstein, who is about to retire, and whose job Tannery is in line to take.

“You take it where you have to,” says Coats. “That’s what I’m telling you. You can argue all the fine points. That it wasn’t signed. You can argue the physical evidence found in the apartment and at the scene, so long as you disclose it to opposing counsel in advance. I’ll give you all the latitude I can on that,” he says. “But unless you have something more than what I’ve heard here today, there’s more than a good chance that statement is going to come in. And so that you all know, I sequestered the jury this morning, as soon as the news broke on Mr. Epperson.”

“You didn’t tell us. .” Harry starts to get into it with him.

I nudge him with an elbow. When things are going your way, you don’t complain. Harry is worried that the jury will blame the defendant for the fact that they are now locked up.

“There wasn’t time. I didn’t think you would object, especially with all the speculation,” says Coats. “I thought it best that they not be reading the papers and looking at the tube.”

“But I can’t keep the jury out of the box much longer. You’ve got two days.” He looks at his calendar. “We meet back here eight o’clock Wednesday morning. I’ll expect a full report on everything you have in the Epperson thing at that time. Do you understand?”

Tannery nods, but he’s not happy about it.

The judge starts to hand the manila evidence envelope back to the prosecutor. “I know,” he says. “These things happen. It’s a tough way to lose a case.

“And you, Mr. Madriani. I hope for your client’s sake when we get back together there’s no evidence that he was involved in this thing.”

Every shred of evidence they have found so far is consistent with a suicide, including the bruise on the back of Epperson’s neck that formed a deep Y. This we have learned from the coroner’s report, a copy of which was given to us this morning.

“What a rope does with the force of gravity,” says Harry. “But he didn’t die painlessly. Spinal cord wasn’t snapped. The coroner confirms that he strangled, probably hung from the rope for several minutes before he went unconscious.”

“Tannery is not going to be able to do much with that,” I tell him. “It would defy the norm if Epperson snapped his neck on the first try. A good hanging is an art form. Most suicide victims strangle themselves walking on air having second thoughts and trying to get back to where they started.”

“Either that or they jump from such heights that they lose their heads,” says Harry. He’s talking about decapitation. “Any way you take it, it’s a messy way to go,” he says. “All in all, pills are much better.”

He flips through the final few pages of the report, which I have already read. “I agree,” he says. “There isn’t much in here that’s gonna help the prosecution.”

“Let’s hope they didn’t find anything more at the scene, or in Epperson’s apartment,” I say.

“You really think he did himself?”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t know. Could be somebody suicided him.”

I look at Harry, waiting for his list of candidates. It is short.

“Tash. Who else? He’s close to Crone. The two are joined at the hip on this project. And it keeps comin’ back to that,” says Harry. “Maybe it had to do with the racial thing. Maybe it had to do with something else. But if you want my opinion, somebody wanted to shut Epperson up.”

“So you think Tannery has the better argument?”

“I didn’t say that. It’s one thing to think Crone may have had a hand in it. Trying to prove it is another. On the Kalista Jordan thing, I think we may have been delivered by the gods. We should consider ourselves fortunate,” says Harry. “Cut our losses and keep our distance.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean we shouldn’t be giving Crone blank checks on further defense commitments. There’s no statute of limitations, and no double jeopardy on Epperson. We rub Tannery’s nose in it on Jordan, force him to dismiss, and one thing is certain, he’s not likely to stop turning over rocks trying to put it to Crone on Epperson. And maybe, just maybe, he can make a case.”

“So you think Crone did it?”

“I don’t think we should be blind to the possibility,” says Harry. “Think about it. What were he and Tash doing with all those numbers? The meetings at the jail?”

“Genetic codes,” I tell him.

“I agree they were codes. Maybe genetic, maybe not. Were you able to understand them?”