Филипп Марголин - The Perfect Alibi

Rex kept his eyes on the paperwork so he wouldn’t have to look at Robin or his boss.

“Well?” Getty asked when enough time had passed without a response.

“I…” Kellerman ran his tongue over his lips. “This is a setup, Paul. I mean, maybe Armstrong’s wife was having an affair with someone at the hotel, but it wasn’t me.”

Getty handed more paperwork to Kellerman. “I sent a detective to the hotel,” the DA said. “The clerk made another positive identification of you. He also gave us credit card receipts signed by you. Lying is just going to make this worse.”

Kellerman was dizzy, and he felt like he might throw up. “Okay, yeah, we had a brief affair, but it was before Armstrong murdered his partner.”

“Rex, you’re a smart guy,” Getty said. “Don’t tell me you didn’t understand that you had one hell of a conflict. Mrs. Armstrong thinks you’re prosecuting her husband to get even with her for breaking off the affair.”

“No, no. He did it. That’s why I’m after Armstrong.”

“We had a talk in this office before you went to the grand jury. I told you that I was dubious about Armstrong’s involvement and so is everyone else who’s had any part of this case. I think what Robin told me explains why you were so enthusiastic about indicting Doug.”

“I know how this looks,” Kellerman pleaded, “but Armstrong is guilty. I knew I might have a conflict, but no one else was willing to go after him. I couldn’t let him get away with murder. He was alone with Nylander. Armstrong’s blood is under Nylander’s fingernails.”

“The DNA evidence presents another problem,” Getty said. “Robin spoke to Dr. Nilson, who runs the lab that conducted the DNA test you say supports your theory. He told her that you were informed that his initial test of the blood sample was inconclusive and that you offered him several incentives for him to retest it. Did you share the results of the first test with the defense?”

“No. I didn’t think it was necessary. The retest showed it was Armstrong’s blood.”

Getty was starting to look angry. “You do know that the United States Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors have to give any exculpatory evidence to the defense?”

“Yes, but the first test wasn’t exculpatory. It was inconclusive.”

“I’m not even going to respond to that ridiculous argument,” Getty said. “But I am going to ask you if you offered a bribe in the form of extra payments and a chance for Nilson to get publicity for his company in exchange for a positive test?”

“No, never. I don’t know what Nilson told you. I just asked him to retest the sample. I couldn’t expect him to do it for free. And his company is new. I just let him know that the press would be covering the case and if he got a positive result and testified in court about it, people would learn about Nilson Forensics. But I never told him to fake a result.”

Getty was shaking his head, and Kellerman stopped when he realized his boss’s mind was set.

“I’m taking this case away from you,” Getty said, “and I’m going to dismiss it with prejudice. That’s the deal I’ve made with Robin in exchange for a promise by her to keep the reason for the dismissal between us.

“I’ll go to Judge Greenwood in chambers and say we’ve reevaluated the evidence. That way the real reasons for the dismissal won’t come out. I’m doing it this way to protect Mrs. Armstrong’s reputation. Is that acceptable to you, Robin?”

“Yes. If Mrs. Armstrong wants to tell Doug what she’s done, it will be her decision. My impression is that she greatly regrets the affair.” Robin turned to Kellerman. “I don’t trust you, Rex, so I’m warning you. If your affair with Mrs. Armstrong becomes public, I will have you disbarred.”

“Okay, Robin,” Getty said. “I think Rex gets the point. Now I’d like you to leave us. I have a few more things I want to discuss with Rex. I’ll let you know when Mr. Armstrong can go home. I’ll try to dismiss soon.”

When they were alone, Getty looked at Kellerman. “I’m also keeping the reason for dismissal quiet so you can resign from your position without anyone knowing why you left.”

“You’re firing me?” Kellerman asked in disbelief.

“I don’t see how I can keep you on after this. You’re a good lawyer, Rex. You’ll probably be able to get a job with a firm if no one learns why you quit. I wish you the best, but I can’t have you on my staff anymore.”

“Come on, Paul. It was one slipup.”

“That’s not true. Judge Wright met with me after the conclusion of the Henderson case and told me how you lied about your rebuttal witness. He wanted to file a bar complaint, but I talked him out of it. That was a mistake on my part. If you’d been forced to answer that complaint, maybe you would have understood that there are consequences if you violate your oath as an officer of the Court.”

“Armstrong is a killer, Paul. Our job is to protect the public by putting killers where they can’t hurt the citizens of Oregon.”

Getty looked sad. “You don’t get it, do you, so let me put this in plain English: You fucked Doug Armstrong’s wife . By keeping that fact secret, you’ve forced me to dismiss his case with prejudice. That means he can never be prosecuted for Nylander’s murder. So, if he is guilty, you also fucked the people of Oregon.

“You should have taken yourself off the case immediately and you should have told me about the affair immediately. I’m not even going to get into the DNA evidence. You’ve left me no choice. There’s no way I can justify keeping you on my staff after what you’ve done.”

Robin and Marsha were waiting for Doug in the jail reception area. As soon as he walked out of the elevator, Marsha ran to him and threw herself into his arms. Robin waited while the couple had their moment.

When they broke their embrace, Doug saw Robin. He put his arm around Marsha’s shoulders and the couple walked over. They were both smiling.

“I don’t even know how to begin to thank you. You’ve been extraordinary.”

“I just did my job, Doug.”

“How did you get Paul Getty to dismiss my case with prejudice?”

“I had a lot of help from Rex Kellerman. The DNA test of the blood sample under Frank’s fingernail was the only concrete evidence Rex had. The test results he gave to me said there was a match between your DNA and the DNA extracted from the blood. But there was a test that was conducted before the test results Rex gave us in discovery. That first test came out inconclusive.

“As you know, a prosecutor is required to give the defense any evidence that supports an argument that the defendant is innocent, but Rex didn’t do that. When he didn’t like the result, Rex bribed Dr. Nilson, the head of the lab, to do a retest. Dr. Nilson shaded the results to come out with a positive match.

“When I confronted Dr. Nilson, he confessed to screwing around with his calculations so the test came out positive. When Paul heard what Rex had done, he was very upset.”

Doug’s face flushed with anger. “That little prick. I’m going to see that Kellerman is disbarred.”

Robin put a hand on Doug’s forearm. “I think we should talk about what you should do when you’ve had some time to think. Getty has given Rex his walking papers. He also made Rex promise that he wouldn’t run for Multnomah County DA.”

“What about my reputation? Everyone is going to think I killed Frank and got off on a technicality.”

“I thought of that. Paul has agreed to hold a press conference. He’s going to apologize to you publicly, and he’s going to tell everyone that there is no evidence that you killed Frank.”