Филипп Марголин - The Perfect Alibi

“Did it?”

“His secretary told him I was in the waiting room, and he came out. I told him I wanted to see the raw data and the source code for the software. He refused. He said the source code is a trade secret.” Jeff paused for emphasis. “Robin, he sounded scared.”

“Can you think of any reason why he should be?”

“Maybe there’s something about the test he doesn’t want us to know.”

“I’m going to move for discovery of the source code and the raw data that was used to determine that the blood under Nylander’s fingernails was Doug’s. Once we get it, we can try to see if there’s a reason Dr. Nilson is scared.”

Robin was shocked by Marsha Armstrong’s appearance when Doug’s wife walked into her office. Marsha’s eyes were red from crying, she’d lost weight, and it looked like she’d thrown on her clothes without any thought as to how they would look.

“Why are you here, Marsha?” Robin asked, not trying to hide her concern.

“I was just at the jail. Doug told me that they’re going to say that the blood under Frank’s fingernails is his. How bad is that for Doug’s case?”

“It doesn’t kill us. I may have a witness who will testify that there are flaws in the method that was used to make the match. I can argue to the jury that the results are unreliable.”

“But the district attorney will argue they’re not, and the jury might believe Doug was in a fight with Frank?”

“That’s possible.”

“And Doug won’t be able to say anything, because he has amnesia.”

“Yes.”

Marsha looked at her lap. When she spoke, Robin had a hard time hearing what she said, and she asked her to repeat it. Marsha looked up. There were tears in her eyes. “I did something terrible,” she said. “It’s why Rex Kellerman is trying to send Doug to prison.”

Robin was confused. “I don’t understand.”

“I cheated on Doug with Rex.”

“You what!?”

“I miscarried and I was depressed and Rex acted like he cared, but he didn’t.”

“Slow down and tell me what happened,” Robin said.

Marsha told Robin about her miscarriage, her depression, and her brief affair with Doug’s prosecutor.

“When I came to my senses, I realized that I’d made a big mistake and I broke it off. Rex didn’t take it well. He was really angry, and I think he’s going after Doug to get even with me.”

“Jesus. Why did you wait to tell this to me?”

“I couldn’t before. I thought this was all a mistake and you’d get Doug out and he wouldn’t have to know. Even after he was denied bail, I kept fooling myself because I couldn’t bear to hurt Doug. And I know this could kill him. But now he might really die and… Will this help? Can you use it against Rex?”

“I’m going to have to think about what you’ve told me. One thing is certain: Rex Kellerman has a big fat conflict of interest. The question is how to exploit it.”

“You’re kidding!” Jeff said.

They were in his office with the door closed, and Robin had just finished telling him about Marsha’s affair.

“Interesting, huh?”

“Did you take a class in understatement at Yale?”

“What do you think I should do?”

“If Marsha isn’t making this up to help Doug…”

“I don’t think she is. You should have seen her. She was in tears and she looked awful.”

Jeff grinned. “Rex is definitely fucked whether Doug is guilty or innocent.”

Robin nodded. “This screams prosecutorial misconduct. No one but Rex was pushing the theory that Doug killed Nylander.”

“Get me photos of Marsha and Rex,” Jeff said. “I’ll go to the hotel in Vancouver.”

“If you can find evidence to back up Marsha’s claim, I’ll move to have the case dismissed.”

Jeff shook his head. “Don’t go to the judge. Set up a meeting with Paul Getty. If you work this out privately, Getty can say they’ve reevaluated the DNA evidence or give some other excuse for dismissing. That way Marsha can decide whether she wants to tell Armstrong about her affair and Paul can save face by dismissing without embarrassing his office.”

“And if they don’t dismiss?”

“Then you have no choice. You’ll have to go before a judge and move for dismissal on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. But if I know Getty, he’ll want this settled quietly.”

“I think you’re right. But before I go to Getty, there’s one other thing we need to do.”

Robin and Jeff were waiting in the parking lot at Nilson Forensics when Greg Nilson walked to his car.

“Dr. Nilson?” Robin asked.

Nilson stopped and looked at Robin, then Jeff. “I’m Dr. Nilson.”

Robin held out her business card. “My name is Robin Lockwood, and I represent Douglas Armstrong. I believe you’ve met my investigator, Jeff Hodges. We’d like to talk to you about a DNA test your lab conducted.”

Nilson looked nervous. “I told Mr. Hodges that I wouldn’t discuss the test without the district attorney’s permission.”

“When you say the DA, do you mean Rex Kellerman?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Mr. Kellerman is going to be in a world of hurt very soon, and anyone who did anything even mildly dicey in Mr. Armstrong’s case is going to be in big trouble, too. Do you fit into that category?”

“What… what do you mean?”

“I can’t go into details, but Mr. Kellerman violated a number of ethical rules, and the odds are that Mr. Armstrong’s case will be dismissed. When Jeff tried to talk to you, you refused and he got the distinct impression that you were scared. Why would that be if you had nothing to hide?”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

“Then you better come clean about what you did,” Robin said.

“What would happen if I told you about the test and you thought I’d done something I shouldn’t have done?”

“You’re not under oath right now, Dr. Nilson. But you will be if I start filing motions. If you lie under oath, that’s perjury and you could go to jail. If you’re honest with me, I will try to protect you if I can without hurting my client. Now, what did you do?”

Rex Kellerman was in a great mood when he walked down the hall to Paul Getty’s office. The day before, he had won a motion to suppress in a high-profile case. He guessed that Paul wanted to congratulate him in person for his coup.

Kellerman’s mood changed from elation to confusion when he saw Robin Lockwood sitting across from his boss. Then he smiled. Maybe Lockwood was here to work out a plea in Armstrong.

“Close the door and have a seat, Rex,” Getty said. He didn’t sound happy.

“What’s up?” Rex asked.

“Miss Lockwood has just given me some deeply troubling information,” Getty answered.

Rex glanced at Lockwood. She looked grim. Rex frowned. “What did she say?”

Getty nodded at Robin.

She turned so she could look Kellerman in the eye. “Doug Armstrong’s wife came to my office two days ago. She told me that you met her at a hotel in Vancouver, Washington, on four occasions. According to Mrs. Armstrong, the second and third time, you had sexual relations, and the fourth time you met, she broke off the relationship.”

Kellerman looked stunned, but he recovered his composure quickly. “That’s ridiculous.”

Getty handed Kellerman several documents. “This is a sworn affidavit from a desk clerk at the hotel who identified you and Mrs. Armstrong from photographs Robin’s investigator showed him. The other documents are copies of the hotel register signed by Mrs. Armstrong.”