Уильям Макгиверн - Summitt

“Yes, sir, we thought that—”

“Forgive me, Trooper Karec, but I’d prefer to ask these questions in my own way. I’d like you to bear with me, please. You assumed that Miss Selby might have been struck by a car and driven by the motorist to a nearby hospital, is that it?”

“Yes, sir, that’s what we were hoping had happened.”

“Much later that night,” Davic went on, “early the following morning rather, the Selby girl was brought home by her father from a housing park known locally as Little Tennessee or Little Tenn. Is that correct, Trooper?”

“Yes, sir. But meantime we’d had our squads out checking back roads and school parking lots and—”

“Forgive me again, Trooper. Were you notified immediately when the Selby girl was returned home?”

“No, sir, we didn’t know anything about that for almost an hour.”

“How were you advised of that fact?”

“Sergeant Ritter had been checking the Selby place every half hour or so to see if they’d got a call or anything. Around one-thirty, Mrs. Cranston told him the kid was back, had been for an hour or more. Said with all the excitement, they’d forgot to call us.”

“What did you do then?”

“Trooper Jimson and I drove over to question her.”

“That was routine procedure?”

“You better believe it, sir. Sergeant Ritter gave us the call direct, didn’t patch it through Central. Told us to roll on a Code Three, red lights and siren.”

“When you got to the Selbys’, did you question Miss Selby?”

“No, sir. Mr. Selby wouldn’t let us talk to his daughter, wouldn’t even let us see her.”

“Did he tell you why? ”

“He said he didn’t want any cops talking to her... he meant any men, I believe.”

“Did you explain to Mr. Selby why it was essential that you speak with his daughter?”

“You’re damned — sorry, sir, you better believe we did. Told him we needed a description of the perpetrator and the car to put out APBs and set up roadblocks.”

“Did Mr. Selby then change his mind?”

“No, sir. He called Sergeant Ritter and told him he wanted a nurse to look at his daughter. Wouldn’t let me or Jimson go near her, never mind we’re both family men.”

Karec then explained that he had waited with Trooper Jimson in the Selby driveway until the nurse and the doctor had treated and questioned the plaintiff. Nurse Redden then provided them with a description of the car and the assailant.

“Trooper Karec, is Nurse Redden a trained police investigator?”

“She’s a fine nurse, sir, a fine woman.”

“That wasn’t my question. The nurse’s description of the alleged perpetrator and vehicle — were they as exact and helpful as you would expect from a trained police officer?”

“I object, Your Honor.”

“Overruled. Witness will answer.”

Karec was eager. “No, sir. The Selby girl was scared out of her wits. Nobody can blame her, but she told Edith things like the man was tall and dark and that the car was shiny and that it was warm and quiet inside it. She should have asked the kid if by dark she meant he was a black guy or a Puerto, and tried to get some—”

“Objection, Your Honor!”

“Sustained. We can’t speculate on what facts might have been developed in a hypothetical interrogation.”

“Yes, Your Honor... Trooper Karec, from the time you arrived at the Selbys’ home, from that moment until you finally put Nurse Redden’s sketchy descriptions of the alleged rapist and his car on the police network — how much time had been lost by then?”

“I’d say more than three hours, sir.”

“In addition, you weren’t notified immediately when the girl was returned home?”

“That’s right, sir.”

“Trooper Karec, even if this alleged rapist had obeyed every posted speed limit to the letter, couldn’t he have driven hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime during those four hours?”

“Objection, Your Honor.”

“Sustained. We won’t admit that speculation.”

Davic nodded deferentially to the bench, but he was pleased the jury had heard the question. “Tell me this then, Trooper. Wouldn’t you say, as a professional, that someone — or let’s just say circumstances — conspired, unintentionally or otherwise, to give that alleged and vaguely described criminal a long headstart on you and your fellow police officers?”

“Objection, Your Honor!”

“Sustained.”

“Thank you, Trooper Karec. I have no more questions.”

Brett said, “Just one thing, Trooper. When Mr. Selby told you he didn’t want you to interrogate his daughter, do you remember all the reasons he gave?”

“Like I testified, ma’am, he told us he didn’t want policemen talking to her. He wanted a woman, a nurse for that.”

“Mr. Selby had still another reason, I believe.” Brett paused. “Do you remember what it was?”

“Well, I think Mr. Selby told us his daughter wouldn’t even talk to him . Maybe he figured we couldn’t do any better but—”

“Thank you, Trooper Karec. No further questions.”

“The witness is excused.”

At the defense table, Davic briefly nodded to Brett, with an accompanying smile that he made certain the jury saw. A gracious gentleman, this fellow... even if he was from New York...

After the luncheon recess Dorcas introduced the Commonwealth’s physical evidence against Earl Thomson. The defendant’s fingerprints from the garage at Vinegar Hill were presented as People’s exhibits, together with photographs of his red Porsche. After dates and times had been corroborated, and the authenticity of the fingerprints established, Captain Slocum was called to the stand to identify the taped interrogations of Earl Thomson. The tapes were played in open court and the exchanges between Slocum, Lieutenant Gus Eberle and the defendant, Earl Thomson, were linked to the People’s chain of evidence.

Captain Slocum made an excellent witness, forceful, assured and professional. His expensive clothing enhanced that image, adding to an overall impression of poise and authority.

Counselor Davic did not defer his cross-examination of Slocum. His impatient manner — more than impatience, it was closer to a caged ferocity — made it clear he could hardly wait to get at this smoothly plausible detective. But he was careful to begin in a disarmingly courteous manner.

“You’ve been a police officer how long, Captain?”

“Twenty-three years and nine months, sir.”

“And your associate, Lieutenant Gus Eberle, has an almost equal amount of experience, I understand?”

“Yes, sir, the lieutenant’s been with my division for fourteen or fifteen years at least, came right up through the ranks.”

“Then in the course of a routine investigation involving a stolen car, it could be assumed that you and the lieutenant, would know what you’re doing. Is that a fair assumption, Captain?”

Davic’s tone had abruptly turned caustic. Slocum seemed puzzled by it.

“When you put it that way, sir, it sounds like you’re damning us with pretty faint praise. Yes, we know what we’re doing, sir.”

“Good, excellent. Now we’re going to replay the section of the tapes that were introduced in evidence by the prosecution. After that, I’ll have more questions about you and your lieutenant.”

The bailiff turned on the machine and Earl Thomson’s recorded and metallic voice sounded in the courtroom.

“... no, Captain, I’m sure I’ve never been there. I’m positive. Vinegar Hill, you say?”

“That’s right, Earl” The voice was Slocum’s. “It’s a farm, a small one, a dozen acres maybe. It’s on Dade Road, near Brandywine Lakes.”