James Sheehan - The Mayor of Lexington Avenue

Jack followed Wesley Brume’s performance with live testimony from Principal Bill Yates.

Yates told the jury he was now retired but that he remembered talking to Wesley Brume about Rudy ten years before. Rudy’s death had obviously had an effect on him. There were tears in his eyes as he testified. He and Jack had spent some time preparing for this moment. As they’d discussed and, indeed, practiced, Jack asked almost exactly the same questions Tracey James had asked ten years before, and the principal gave almost exactly the same answers.

“Mr. Yates, you were Rudy’s high school principal for all four years he was at Bass Creek high school, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And did Officer Wesley Brume come to see you ten years ago to interview you about Rudy?”

“Yes.”

“And could you tell the court the reason for the visit?”

“He wanted to find out about Rudy, how he had been as a student.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him that Rudy was a very nice, motivated young man but that he was slow. Not retarded but slow. If I recall correctly, I think his IQ was somewhere around seventy-five. Bass Creek was a small school. We didn’t have special programs for children like Rudy, so we did the best we could. After two years we put Rudy in a vocational program. He never received a high school diploma, just an attendance certificate.”

“Did Detective Brume tell you why he was inquiring about Rudy?”

“Yes. He said Rudy might be a suspect in the murder of Lucy Ochoa.”

“And how did you respond?”

“I believe I told him he must have been mistaken. I knew Rudy very well back then, and I never believed he was capable of anything like that.”

“Did Detective Brume tell you that he was going to bring Rudy in for questioning?”

“Yes.”

“How did you respond to that?”

“I remember telling him that Rudy’s mother should be with him for that, or that he should have a lawyer in there. I told him how friendly Rudy was, and how naive he could be. I told him Rudy wouldn’t know how to protect himself. He would respond to every question he was asked even if it wasn’t in his best interests.”

“Did you have a reason why you told him that?”

“Yes, I did. I just naturally assumed he wanted to conduct a fair investigation and I thought it was something he needed to know.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

“All right,” Judge Stanton said. “Mr. DiCarlo, do you wish to cross-examine the witness?”

Jimmy and Clay Evans had discussed the principal’s appearance beforehand and had decided that they had nothing to gain from a cross.

“No questions, Your Honor.”

Benny Dragone was next, and Jack had prepared him for a repeat performance just as he had Principal Yates.

“Do you remember the day Detective Brume took Rudy Kelly in for questioning?” Jack asked after a few preliminary questions were out of the way.

“Yes.”

“Where were you at the time?”

“At my store. Rudy worked for me. He worked the counter. I gave him a job because I knew his mother, Elena. It was a favor to her.”

“What do you recall about that day?”

“Detective Brume wanted to take Rudy over to the station for questioning. I told him that I wouldn’t let him speak to Rudy until I talked with his mother.”

“Why did you tell him that?”

“I knew he was looking at Rudy as a suspect in Lucy Ochoa’s murder and I didn’t trust him. I never trusted Brume, and I knew Rudy wouldn’t be able to deal with him by himself.”

“And how did Mr. Brume respond?”

“Well, like I told Rudy’s lawyer back then in that hearing, Brume threatened me. He said he’d get the health department over to my store for an inspection. And I knew exactly what he meant.”

“And what did he mean?”

“He meant that he’d make trouble for me if I didn’t cooperate.”

“So you did?”

“Yeah. And I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“No further questions, Your Honor,” Jack said, returning to his table.

“Mr. DiCarlo, cross-examination?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Good. We’re going to wrap up for the day. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I admonish you again not to talk to anyone about this case. Do not read the newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio. Do not discuss it with your spouses. Do you understand?” Everyone nodded. “Court is adjourned.” The judge rapped his gavel. “I’ll see you all at nine a.m. sharp. I want the lawyers to be here at 8:30 just in case you think of anything overnight that you wish to discuss with me before we get started.” It was just how he’d wrapped up jury selection. Judge Stanton was nothing if not consistent, Jack thought as he gathered up his papers.

Jack was very pleased at how things had gone on the first day of trial, especially after the opening statements. He had succeeded in surprising Jimmy DiCarlo by putting Wesley Brume on the stand and had established through Bill Yates and Benny Dragone that Brume had manipulated Rudy into talking to him alone and had lied about the circumstances under oath. Maria would testify about further lies and manipulations tomorrow and then the trial would shift to the rape file and Clay Evans’s involvement. It would heat up at that point, he was sure. After the first day, however, he became convinced that DiCarlo and Evans were content to feed Wesley Brume to the wolves. Poor Brume, he didn’t even see it coming.

He hadn’t seen Maria since Joaquin had been shot. She spent her days and nights at the hospital. They’d set up a cot for her in Joaquin’s room. Dick had been up that afternoon to check on Joaquin’s progress.

“How’s he doing?” Jack asked on the ride home.

“Still the same. He hasn’t woken up yet and that worries Maria, but I talked to the doctor and he said everything is fine. He said Joaquin’s just resting. He’ll wake up in his own good time.”

“That’s great,” Jack said. “I don’t mean to sound mercenary, Dick, but Maria is scheduled to testify first thing in the morning tomorrow. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t talked to her. I haven’t prepped her.”

“You don’t need to prep her, Jack. She’ll tell the truth. I’ll get her there. I’ll drop you off early and I’ll go pick her up. She and I have talked about it already. When she’s through testifying I’ll take her right back.”

“Thanks, Dick.”

That night Pat rubbed his back in bed trying to loosen him up, but it was no use. Jack was as tight as a steel cable wire.

“It went pretty good today,” she said, trying another approach.

“Yeah, it did, but tomorrow is the big day. In this business things can go south in a heartbeat.”

“Well, we’ll just have to say a prayer.”

“Or two.”

Dick dropped Jack off early the next morning and went to get Maria as planned. Jack was not sure he’d be seeing either one of them anytime soon. Maria had a mind of her own, and right now her mind was on one thing only-tending to Joaquin.

Jack had called Charley Peterson the night before and told him to be there early, just in case. It was not uncommon to take witnesses out of order in a trial. He did it all the time, especially with expert witnesses like doctors. But this case was different. He felt strongly that in order to convince the jury, he needed a meticulously logical progression of witnesses.

Jack and Jimmy DiCarlo were ushered into the judge’s chambers promptly at 8:30. Stanton was in a chipper mood. Jack could tell he was enjoying himself, but he didn’t know if that was good or bad.

“Any motions this morning, gentlemen? Any new theories you’ve spun in the middle of the night?”