James Sheehan - The Law of Second Chances

“No, Judge,” they both answered.

The lawyers returned to their tables and the judge addressed the spectators. “Ladies and gentlemen, some new matters of evidence have come up, as they often do during trials of this nature. We are going to have to recess for the day. We will resume promptly on Monday morning. Please leave the courtroom now in an orderly manner.”

He called the jury in next and gave them the same speech. The judge then left the courtroom.

Spencer walked over to Jack, who was huddled with Luis and Benny. “Call me at three o’clock this afternoon,” Spencer said, cutting in. “We can probably set up a meeting with the firearms guy at that time.” Jack nodded curtly, and Spencer turned and left.

Only Jack, Benny, Luis, and Benny’s guards now remained in the courtroom. The guards gave them room to talk.

“What happened?” Luis asked.

Jack looked at Benny. “I don’t want you to say anything during this conversation. Just listen.” He turned back to Luis. “They think they found the murder weapon.”

“They think?”

“They have to test it. That’s the reason for the delay.”

“This is bullshit. They’ve had this all along. They just waited to spring it on us.”

“Hold on there, Luis. We don’t even know if it’s the gun.”

“Do you think their expert, a police officer, is going to say it’s not the gun, Jack? Come on.”

“But he has to give reasons, and we can attack his reasons.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jack.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?”

“Look me in the eye and tell me that if they have the gun Benny has any chance of getting off.”

“Luis, the gun doesn’t really put them in a better position. They had the bullet. Now they have the bullet and the gun. Who shot the gun is the issue.”

“I don’t trust these people, Jack. There’s more to this, you watch. The dandy has something else up his sleeve.”

Jack felt it too. Spencer was holding something back. They would have to wait until Monday to find out what it was. “You may be right, Luis. We’ll just have to deal with it as it comes-make our objections for the record and keep fighting.”

Benny sat silently through the whole exchange, but his expression spoke volumes.

Henry and Valentine set out early Friday morning for Castle Hill Lake, stopping first at the local Wal-Mart to buy winter coats. It was freezing cold, and the roads were icy. Valentine turned out to be very good at directions and they found Milton Jeffries’s cabin without too much trouble; it was right on the lake. Unfortunately, the door was locked and nobody was home.

While Henry tried the windows, Valentine walked around to the back porch that faced the lake and did some investigating of his own. Henry caught up with him out on the dock. The lake was frozen, and there were some fresh snowmobile tracks leading from the dock.

“It snowed here last night, so those tracks have to be fresh,” Valentine told Henry. “Which means he left this morning. Who knows where the hell he went?”

“Damn!” Henry exclaimed. “We should have come last night.”

“We never would have found this place last night, Henry, you know that. We’ll just wait.”

“That’s a big lake out there, Valentine. He might be gone for days.”

“Unless he’s got a cabin out there on the ice or a honey on the other side of the lake, he’ll be back today. He’d freeze out there overnight.”

“We’re going to freeze here,” Henry replied.

“Let’s just go find a place to eat and we’ll come back from time to time and check on the place.”

At four o’clock that afternoon Jack met at a downtown office with Pete Ingram, the firearms expert who had analyzed the newfound gun. Jack had anticipated that Spencer Taylor would be present during the conversation. He never expected to be able to question the prosecution’s expert alone. Spencer had to be extremely confident.

Pete Ingram got right to it. “They told me to tell you everything, so here it is. The gun they found is a Glock 17 semiautomatic. All the serial numbers were filed off, so we couldn’t tell where it was purchased or who purchased it. You probably know how we test a gun to see if it was used in a crime, but I’ll tell you anyway.” Jack smiled and nodded encouragement for him to continue. “It’s very simple. We load the gun with a cartridge or bullet of the same make and type as the one found at the scene. We then fire the gun into a soft material, retrieve the slug, and compare it under a microscope with the slug found at the scene to see if the lands and grooves match. I assume you’re familiar with those terms?”

Jack nodded again and said, “Yes, thanks. So what did you find?”

“I could show you the slides, but it’s easier if I describe it. I can tell that the slug from the crime scene is from a Glock. Their grooves are unique, and there’s enough there for me to determine that. But I can’t compare the slugs. The one found at the crime scene is too distorted. Thus, I can’t match that slug to the gun that was found.”

Jack couldn’t believe his ears. The system actually did work. He started to smile but caught himself. Now was not the time to relax. Spencer Taylor might have other surprises up his sleeve.

Henry called Jack that night.

“How’s it going?” Henry asked.

“Not well. They supposedly found the murder weapon yesterday.”

“You’re kidding me! A year later, in the middle of trial, they find the gun? That’s a little convenient, isn’t it?”

“It sure is, but I think we can deal with it. Have you got anything?”

“Are you sure we should do this over the phone?”

“Stick to the ground rules we talked about and we’ll take the chance. I really need some good news.”

“Well, the good news is we found our man. The bad news is, he won’t talk to us. We waited for him to come home all day, and when he finally arrived, he wouldn’t talk to us. This guy is really spooked. He knows something, and I’m not sure what it is. I think we’re dealing with something that’s way over our heads, Jack.”

“We can’t think about that, Henry. Listen, you’ve got until Tuesday. Stay there and keep trying to get him to talk. If you find out anything, get here as fast as you can. At that point, don’t call me or tell me when you’re coming or what you’ve got-the risk would be too great that they’d try to stop you. And keep an eye on that Busby guy. He may be our only hope if nothing else comes up. See you Tuesday morning.”

“I’ll be there.”

Jack called Charlie right away. “Got anything yet?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, we’ve got an extra day. Don’t call me before you come. I don’t want to know when you’re coming or where you’re staying. We can’t trust the phones anymore. I’ll see you in the courtroom on Tuesday morning at the latest, and you can give me anything you’ve got then. It’s the criminal courts building, 10 °Centre Street, eleventh floor. And have Dick and Joaquin escort you-I don’t care what the cost is. All right?”

“We’ll be there.”

It had warmed up a little, and by Monday morning the temperature was into the low thirties. But that wasn’t the reason the sidewalks were jammed again. Spencer had leaked the discovery of the gun to the press over the weekend, and it had made front-page news in all the papers.

Jack could tell from his first sight of Spencer Taylor in the courtroom that the prosecutor still had a few surprises in store for him.

“Mr. Taylor, as I stated on Friday, you can call your next witness outside of the presence of the jury,” Judge Middleton told Spencer after he had entered the courtroom and the proceedings had begun for the day.