The Attorney (31 page)

"How do you know unless you try?"

"If it weren't for Jonah's trial, they might humor me," I tell her.

"Provide some protection. At least watch the house. But with the trial, any action on their part that lends credence to the theory that the Mexican killed Crow and Murphy opens the door to arguments that he may have also killed Suade. No way Ryan will permit that." I'm looking out the window at her backyard. Sunlight filtered on the hard surface of the patio outside. Shadows of leaves, sharp edges dancing over the cracks in the stone pavers.

She gets up, comes over, nuzzles up behind me, hands around my waist. I can feel the warmth of her body against mine. We stand there, a swaying silhouette in front of the French doors.

"I'm worried that I'm putting you in danger," I tell her. "I saw what happened to Murphy. In the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That wasn't your fault," she says.

"I'm not talking guilt. I'm talking hard reality. What these people will do if they feel it's necessary to come after me. Right now they figure Crow's dead. They're in the clear. What happens if I get lucky? Turn over another rock? And I have to try."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise the best I can do is a verdict on some diminished charge. Jonah's going to go to prison. Don't you understand?

He'll probably die there." There's a deep sigh from Susan as she hugs me a little tighter.

"I'm sure if he did it, it was self-defense," she says. "Suade's gun."

"Problem is he says he wasn't there."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I have to try to find Jessica."

"You think she'll help her father?"

"I don't know. But at least I can try to get the child back." I turn to look at Susan, her arms still around me.

She's not looking at me. Instead she's gazing out at nothing, over my shoulder into the yard.

"I'll help you," she says.

"No. I don't want you involved any more than you already are.

If you'll take care of Sarah ..."

"I'm already involved."

"You mean Suade's gun? Ancient history," I tell her. "Another day or two in court, Ryan will forget where it came from." This doesn't seem to move her much.

"The child's in danger," she says. "We've got to find her."

"You leave that to me." She doesn't respond. Instead ignores me, changes the subject.

"One thing puzzles me," she says. "How do you think they found this man Crow?"

"I've been thinking about that. It's possible they followed Murphy and me the night we served him. If so, Ontaveroz probably squeezed Crow to see if he knew where Jessica was. He would have found the subpoena and Murphy's business card." "You said Crow didn't know where Jessica was."

"That's what he told us. Who knows what he might have told the Mexican?

Anything to stay alive. If Ontaveroz found the subpoena, he would have known we were getting ready to put Crow on the stand. That could have put Ontaveroz on display in the middle of Jonahs trial. I doubt if he wanted the publicity."

"That's why he killed Crow?"

"I think so."

"It still doesn't make sense," she says. "Why would he kill Murphy?"

"If he thinks Crow told him something."

"But he didn't."

"Ontaveroz doesn't know that." I am thinking this was not a voluntary act on Crow's part, the phone call to Murph.

"They probably injected Crow after the call, put him in the tub, then sat and waited for Murphy to show up." I feel her body shiver against mine with this thought, her chin resting on my shoulder as she looks out through the glass.

"But if they think Crow told Murphy something, and they followed the two of you to Crow's apartment that night, then they must think you know something too." She pulls her head away and finally looks up at me.

"That's why I can't stay here any longer" I tell her.

this morning RYAN plows old crounn, trying to get it right this time.

His witness is a firearms and ballistics expert from the county crime lab, Kevin Sloan.

Blond and in his early thirties, he looks more like a cop than a lab technician.

They quickly go through the grain weight of each of the bullets, confirming that the rounds that killed Suade were a three-eighty caliber.

After all the jostling with Dr. Morris over this very point, Ryan for some reason is now comfortable with the caliber.

In light of what we know about Suade's missing gun, Harry and I are left to wonder why.

Ryan gets into lands and grooves on the bullets, and the witness tells the jury that the firearm that killed Suade was a semiautomatic, based on the rimless cartridges found at the scene.

According to Sloan the firearm isn't implicated in any other crimes, at least not according to the DOJ computer used to keep track of such things.

"Anything else you could determine from the cartridge found at the scene, or the bullets taken from the victim's body?"

"There were ejector marks on the cartridge, indicating it was fired only one time. Probably store-bought rounds. Whoever owned the gun was probably not what we would call a hobby shooter, someone sufficiently familiar with firearms that he would load his own ammunition."

"Anything else?" says Ryan.

"The lands and grooves, the spiral for this particular pistol displayed a right-hand twist. That means the bullet as it traveled down the barrel of the pistol would have spun in a clockwise direction looking from the breech, the chambered end. As a general rule," says Sloan,

"American-made firearms, semiautomatics, have a left-hand twist. The bullet spirals in a counterclockwise direction as it travels down the barrel. Colt, Browning, High Standard, Remington, most of these would be a left-hand twist. European-made weapons generally use a right-hand twist. Clockwise."

"So the pistol in this instance was probably European-made?"

"That's what I would conclude. It's a popular caliber," he says.

"There are a number of European manufacturers marketing semiautomatic pistols chambered in the three-eighty caliber."

"So you're telling us it would be difficult to identify the specific make or manufacture of the gun used in this case, unless we found the weapon itself?"

"That's correct." Ryan's trying to head me off, undercut the significance of Suade's gun. Put it out of reach, so that without the pistol itself I can't prove the rounds came from her pistol. This leaves the jury in a world of conjecture. She owned a gun, but was it the murder weapon?

"That's all I have for this witness," says Ryan.

I waste no time.

"Mr. Sloan, are you familiar with a pistol known as a Walther PPK?"

"I am."

"Is that a semiautomatic pistol?"

"It is."

"And where is that particular pistol manufactured?"

"Originally in Germany," says Sloan. "But, under license, some are made here in this country."

"Do you know whether the Walther PPK is chambered in a three-eighty caliber?"

"It is."

"Isn't it a fact that the Walther PPK three-eighty is often carried by police officers as a backup weapon?"

"I know officers who carry it," says Sloan.

"Is that because of its compact size and weight?"

"Yes. I would say so."

"Would it be accurate to characterize this semiautomatic, the Walther PPK three-eighty, as a 'woman's weapon' because of its small size?"

"Objection. Calls for speculation. Assumes that there is such a thing as a 'woman's weapon," " says Ryan.

"The witness is an expert," I tell the court. "No foundation," says Ryan.

"Sustained," says Peltro.

"Are there handguns that are more likely to be carried by women?"

"I don't know," says Sloan.

"Isn't it a fact that women tend, as a general rule, to buy and use handguns with a smaller frame?" Sloan thinks about this for a moment.

"As a general rule that's probably true."

"Thank you. And isn't it a fact that the Walther PPK threeeighty is just such a firearm?"

"I suppose," he says.

"So if a woman wanted to carry a gun, this would be a perfect gun to carry in her purse?"

"I guess, if she wanted to carry a gun." I get into the number of rounds the little Walther will hold, seven, eight if you put one in the chamber, and the fact that it produces a right-hand twist, just like the lands and grooves on the bullets taken out of Suade's body. I'm making good progress with the state's own witness, and for some reason, whether he's just putting on a face for the jury, Ryan appears unconcerned by this.

"Let's turn to the type of pistol we're talking about here, semiautomatic.

Can you explain to the jury how a semiautomatic pistol operates?" Ryan's sitting there. I can tell by the look, he's wondering whether he can make an objection, maybe beyond the scope. But he doesn't.

"That's quite complicated," says Sloan.

"Just in layman's terms," I tell him. "A simple explanation."

"Bullets generally load from a clip into the handle of a pistol.

When the clip is properly seated, the top sits just behind the chamber.

In order to chamber the first round, you have to pull the slide back and let the recoil spring slam it forward. This will catch the first round from the clip, and seat it in the chamber closing and lock the ejection port at the same time. On weapons that have a hammer it will also cock the hammer in firing position. Then if the safety is off, all you have to do is pull the trigger. Each successive round then as it's fired activates the slide sending it backward, automatically chambering the next round and cocking the hammer."

"So all you have to do after seating the first round is pull the trigger?"

"Yes. If the safety's off," says Sloan.

"And the gun will fire as fast as you pull the trigger?"

"That's right."

"Are you familiar with the concept of trigger pull?" I ask. "The amount of pressure necessary to fire any particular weapon?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to object," says Ryan. "This is beyond the scope of direct."

"Your Honor, counsel raised the question as to the type of weapon being semiautomatic. I think I have a right to inquire into how such a weapon works."

"I'll allow the question." Peltro from the bench.

"Just in general terms, isn't it a fact that trigger pull is measured in terms of pounds of pressure necessary to pull any trigger to its release or firing point?"

"As a general concept that's correct."

"Now I'm going to set up a hypothetical question for you.

You're an expert on firearms, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's assume you're comparing a revolver, what is known as a double-action revolver. You know what that is, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Explain to the jury."

"A double-action revolver would be one for which you don't have to manually cock the hammer to fire it. You can merely pull the trigger and this will rotate the cylinder, line up the next round with the barrel, bring the hammer back, and fire it."

"Let's assume you're comparing a double-action revolver and a semiautomatic pistol. Lets further assume that we're only dealing with the question of how many pounds of pressure are necessary to fire a second shot. Let's assume that both the double-action revolver and the semiautomatic pistol are being fired only by pulling the trigger after each has fired a first shot. Do you understand?" He nods.

"You have to speak for the record."

"Yes."

"In that hypothetical, isn't it a fact that it would take considerably less trigger pull to fire the semiautomatic pistol than the revolver?"

"Your Honor, what's the relevance?" says Ryan.

"The witness has testified that there were two shots fired, two bullets taken from the victim's body. I think the defense has a right to inquire as to the amount of pull required on the trigger to fire the second round." Peltro nodding. "Overruled."

"You can answer the question," I tell Sloan.

"It would generally take less pull to fire a semiautomatic pistol than a double-action revolver."

"A lot less?"

"Yes."

"Would you say that the semiautomatic would be closer to a hair trigger?

A very light pull might set it off?"

"Depends on the firearm," he says.

"Let's assume as a hypothetical that two people were struggling over a small semiautomatic pistol."

I can see Ryan out of the corner of my eye as he shifts in his chair, uncomfortable with the mental images being painted.

"Let's assume further that one of them had his or her finger over the trigger and the other was trying to get the gun away. And let us assume that this pistol has a live round in the chamber, with the hammer already cocked and the safety off. Would it take much force on the trigger to fire that weapon?"

"As compared to what?"

"As compared to a double-action revolver, say?"

"It would take less."

"Considerably less?"

"Possibly."

"So slight pressure on the trigger could set the gun off?"

"It's possible."

"And it would immediately recycle itself to fire again?"

"If it was functioning properly."

"And the same amount of force, slight pressure on the trigger could set it off a second time?"

"The same amount of pressure, I don't know how slight. It would depend on the firearm in question." It's as good as it's going to get. Having climbed the wall, I go over the top.

"And let's assume, just for purposes of the hypothetical, that in struggling over the gun it got twisted around, and the first round struck the victim."

"I don't understand," says Sloan.

"If the weapon was in the victim's hand and got twisted around, could the impact of that bullet hitting her cause the weapon to fire a second time?"

"Objection!" Ryan's now out of his chair.

"Could the impact of that bullet cause her to pull the trigger a second time?"

"Assumes facts not in evidence. Beyond the scope of this witness.

He is not a medical expert," says Ryan.

"Sustained. Don't answer the question," says Peltro. "The jury will disregard the last question."