A Naked Singularity: A Novel (46 page)

“No. You know about them because of me. Without me you’re nothing.”

“Want to know why that chimp did what he did?

“Listen lady. Look at me. Read my lips with your one good eye. None of those people have anything whatsoever to do with me.”

“What about the chimp?”

“Fuck that chimp! I don’t care about the chimp.”

“There’s more I want to show you. Look at this . . .”

I should have stayed awake. When I was awake I knew what I was doing. What I was doing was looking for that damn green book and yelling at anybody who got in my way and didn’t know where it was.

“I thought Arronaugh already ruled against you on that?” said Toomberg.

“She did but I’m hoping the green book can change her mind.”

“Green? That’s right it
was
green.”

“Correction
is
green. And, if Conley is to be believed,
is
in Solomon Grinn’s office where I’m now going to get it.”

“Didn’t you have a dispute with him the other day?”

“Irrelevant Toomie, the green book cuts across even the greatest of divides. Don’t just stand there, come with and tell what you think of today’s transcript.”

THE COURT
: Are we ready to proceed gentlemen?

MR. McSLAPPAHAN
: Yes. If I could make a brief record of some further Rosario material. A Copy of the 911 tape in this case, which includes the call to the police from Mr. Bolo, has been copied and given to defense counsel. I also have a few exhibits Your Honor. I don’t know if Your Honor would rather have me mark them now or not.

THE COURT
: You could have had them marked during the last hour that we have been waiting. Fine mark them now. But do it immediately.

THE CLERK
: Case on trial, People of the State of New York against Juan Hurtado. The defendant, the defense attorney, the District Attorney and the sworn jurors are all present.

THE COURT
: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Well the best laid plans of mousy men as they say. We’ve already had a minor delay in the proceedings as you are all aware. I told you all to be here promptly at nine-thirty but of course this is New York City which means traffic. To make a long story short, traffic held up a necessary party and that’s why we’re getting a late start today. Anyway we’re ready to proceed now and we’re going to do so. Mr. McSlappanee would you call your first witness please?

MR. McSLAPPANEE
: The people call Jerry Bolo.

Whereupon, the witness, JERRY BOLO, having been called on behalf of the PEOPLE, having been duly sworn, testifies as follows:.

THE CLERK
: State your name, spelling your last name, and state your county of residence.

THE WITNESS
: My name is Jerry Bolo, B-O-L-O, Hudson County, New Jersey.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. McSLAPPANEE
:

Q Good morning, Mr. Bolo.

A Morning.

Q You mentioned that you live in New Jersey?

A No. I work in New York.

Q Which state do you reside in?

A New Jersey.

Q Please tell the members of the grand jury how old you are? I mean the members of the jury.

A Thirty-two.

Q Where are you currently employed?

A Salieri Construction and Remodeling.

THE COURT
: Would you spell the name of your employer?

THE WITNESS
: S-A-L-I-E-R-I.

THE COURT
: Thank you.

Q Can you please describe what type of work that Salieri Construction company does?

A We mostly remodel churches, paint them, plastering, gold leaf, wood graining, marbleizing.

Q How long have you been employed by the Salieri Company?

A Three years.

Q Can you please briefly describe what your duties and responsibilities are within the company?

A I’m a church painter. I’m in charge of supplies, and basically that’s

about it.

Q Does part of your duties and responsibilities sometimes entail the supervision of others?

A Absolutely.

Q Now approximately how many employees work for the Salieri Construction Company?

A Approximately seven, seven and a half.

Q Where is the company located?

A Manhattan.

Q Now, to what areas does Salieri Construction provide the service of remodeling churches?

A New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania.

Q Now, you’ve given us a description of the type of work that Salieri Construction does. What type of equipment is needed to remodel those churches?

A We have a lot of lights, power tools, technical tools for all the wood graining, marbleizing and stuff. A lot of expensive tools.

Q How are the employees and different equipment transported to the different job sites?

A We have a van.

Q What kind of van do you have?

A A Dodge Chrysler.

Q What year is that van?

A Brand new. This year.

Q When you arrive at these job sites throughout basically the tri-state area, are the tools and equipment stored while you’re working on the church?

A In the van.

Q Mr. Bolo, I want to direct your attention to April 27 of last year. Were you working on that date?

A Yes.

Q Were you working for the Salieri Construction and Remodeling Company?

A Yes.

Q And where was the job site that you were working at on that particular day?

A 35th Street.

Q Was it here in Manhattan?

A Yes.

Q Do you remember the name of the church that you were remodeling?

A No.

Q The church that you were remodeling, what hours were you performing this service?

A We work from night at 6:30 until 3:00 in the morning.

Q You arrived at that location at approximately what time?

A 6, 6:30.

Q How many other people were at that location on Lower Manhattan where you were renovating the church?

A Three of us.

Q How did you arrive there?

A By the van.

Q Can you give us a fuller description of the van that was used to proceed to that location?

A A brand new Dodge Chrysler van, cargo van. It’s white. It’s got our lettering on it, ladder on the top, filled with tools.

Q Can you describe if there are any windows on the cargo side of the van?

A Two swinging cargo doors on the side and in the back of the van, and they both have windows on it.

Q Can you tell the members of the jury what equipment was being kept in the back of the van on last April 27th?

A On that night we had a spray machine, all the power tools. Lights, light stand. Basically all the tools the company owns are in that van.

Q Prior to arriving at the location on April 27th, was the van damaged in any way?

A No. It was brand new. Three weeks old that van was.

Q Do you remember what direction the street and traffic flowed on that street?

A That was a one-way street that went towards the Hudson River.

Q What side of the street was the van parked on?

A The left side of the street right in front of the rectory of the church.

Q Which side of the street was the rectory on?

A Left side, facing uptown.

Q Mr. Bolo, I want to direct your attention to about 11:30 p.m. the night of April 27th. Can you please describe to the Court and the members of the jury what occurred at that time?

A I walked outside and I saw broken glass next to the driver’s door window. It’s all over the ground. I proceeded to the van. I went around real wide and I looked through the hole where the window was and seen a man inside with a—shoving around all the tools. He was digging through drop cloths and the lights and looking around.

I waited there about a minute and he had grabbed the light in his hand, and that’s when I approached the van and I said, “Hey, what are you doing in there?” Immediately he says, “I didn’t break the window,” and I asked him to step out of the van. I accosted him and brought him into the church. I dialed 911 and the police came.

Q Okay. Do you see the person that you saw inside your van on April 27th, in the courtroom here today?

A It’s the gentleman right there. He’s cleaned up a little bit.

Q Can you just point to him and describe—

A That gentleman right there. Sitting next to the man in the suit.

MR. McSLAPPANEE
: Your Honor, I ask that the record reflect the witness has identified the defendant.

THE COURT
: The record will so reflect.

Q Mr. Bolo prior to you leaving the church at approximately 11:30 when was the last time that you were at the van before 11:30 on April 27th.

A Ten minutes before that. I had walked out, went to the back of the van, opened the doors to reach in for a drop cloth. The van was totally locked. I made sure all the doors were locked before I went back into the church.

Q When you were out there ten minutes before you observed the defendant there, what was the condition of the van?

A The same way I left it when I pulled up that afternoon, brand new.

Q When you first came out of the church about 11:30, what was the first thing that you observed that alerted your attention that someone was in the van?

A Broken glass all on the ground.

Q Do you know where the glass came from?

A The driver’s side window.

Q You looked inside the van?

A Yes.

Q Can you tell the members of the jury and the Court what window you were looking through?

A I approached the van on the driver’s side, swung real wide so I would come around and look through the hole where the window was of the van, so I could see totally inside the van.

Q When you looked inside the van and you saw the defendant, what part of his body did you see?

A I saw his back. That’s why—I didn’t see his hands immediately. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I don’t know if he had a gun or a stick or something.

DEFENSE COUNSEL
: Objection. Not responsive

Q I’m going to ask you to testify to what you saw. Don’t speculate.

A I saw his back.

Q Now after you saw—withdrawn. When you exited the church what side of the van is closest to the front of the church?

A The driver’s side.

Q Which window was broken?

A The driver’s side.

Q When you say it was broken, can you just give us a fuller description of what you mean?

A It was smashed out totally.

Q Was there any other damage to that side of the vehicle?

A No.

Q When you first saw the defendant what part of the van was he in?

A The back part of the van.

Q In the back part of the van there are windows?

A There’s two more windows. There’s a passenger window, two cargo windows on the side and two more windows of the back door.

Q Are you able to see the equipment that’s inside from the cargo window?

A Yes.

Q The equipment that you just described as being in the van. What part of the van was that in?

A Between the cargo doors and the back doors.

Q Is that the same area where you observed the defendant?

A Yes.

Q When you saw the defendant with his back faced to you, what’s the first thing you saw him doing?

A He was rustling around in the back of the van.

Q When you say rustling around what was he rustling around with?

A He had a light in one hand. He was moving things with the other hand.

Q Can you describe the light that you saw him holding?

A It’s a tripod light with two thousand watt light bulbs on both sides which we had purchased to do that job with.

Q I’m going to be showing you what’s previously been marked as Exhibit 1 and 2 for identification. And I’m going to ask Your Honor that two additional photographs be marked as Exhibit 4 and 5 for identification.

(Whereupon, exhibits are marked 4 and 5 for identification.)

Q I’m going to ask you to take a look at 1, 2, 4 and 5 for identification.

Do you recognize those photographs?

A Yes.

Q What do you recognize those photographs1, 2, 4, and 5 to be?

A This is the inside of the work van. On the last two pictures I’m holding here are the cargo side doors where someone had tried to pry open the latch that opens the cargo window of the van.

Q Are those photographs a fair and accurate depiction of what the van looked like and what the outside appearance of the van was on April 27th of last year?

A Yes.

Q Now, after you saw the defendant holding the light you’ve described you mentioned that you had said something to him?

A Yes.

Q And after you had said something to him, what did he do with the light?

A He had put it down.

Q In addition to the broken driver’s side window, did you observe any other damage to the van?

A Yes, I did.

Q And what other damage did you observe to the car, to the van?

A That would be the dents that are shown in the picture. The best one would be number 4.

Q Where are those dents?

A They’re right underneath the edge of the window on the crease of the metal of the door.

Q The doors you’re referring to, are those the driver and passenger doors?

A No. Those are the cargo doors.

Q The dents, can you give us more specific description of where those dents were located?

A They’re on the door—there’s a latch, a black latch that you push the window out. The dents are located right underneath where that latch would be if you tried to stick something underneath that window and pry open the window enough to push the latch up. That’s where the lock to the door is located there. Right on that door.

Q Can you describe what the condition of the paint surrounding that area was?