The Mayor of Lexington Avenue (16 page)

“You picked Rudy up at the convenience store where he worked, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did you speak to his boss?”

“Yes.”

“Was he reluctant to let Rudy go with you?”

“Somewhat.”

Tracey bit his head off again. “What does ‘Somewhat’ mean, Mr. Brume? Does it mean he was reluctant or he was not reluctant?”

“It means he didn’t want me to take Rudy at first but after we talked and I told him the importance of the investigation, he agreed that Rudy should go with me.”

“You mean he agreed after you threatened him with the health department?”

“That’s not true. I would never do that.” Wes didn’t dare look up at the judge. He had used those exact words before in a speeding hearing.

“Did Mr. Dragone want to call Rudy’s mother to let her know what was happening?”

“I don’t recall that.”

“Did you discourage him from doing that?”

“I don’t recall that.” Wes had hit on a new answer. He remembered a former president had used it very effectively.

Tracey kept the pace moving, mindful that the judge might wonder where all this was going. She picked up the police report from her desk, held it in her hand.

“So you took Rudy to the police department?”

“Yes.”

“And you began questioning him, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And according to your report, you began questioning him at 3:18 p.m., correct?” She showed him the report. Wes glanced at it.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And isn’t it true,
Officer
Brume, that before you started your interrogation of Rudy, his mother arrived at the station and demanded to see her son and that you not question her son without her being present?” The Fourth jumped to his feet. It was his first opportunity to stop Tracey’s rhythm.

“Objection, Your Honor. Compound question.” It was a valid objection but meaningless under the circumstances. There was no jury and Judge Wentwell certainly knew it was a compound question.

“Overruled. Proceed, Ms. James.”

“Do you need me to repeat the question,
Officer
Brume?” Tracey asked.

“
Detective
Brume. No, I recall the question. To my knowledge the mother didn’t arrive at the station until I was almost finished with the interview.”

“When she did arrive, did she request that you stop the interview?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“He’d agreed to talk to me. He’s an adult and she’s not a lawyer.”

“Did you tell him his mother was outside and she wanted to see him before he answered any more questions?”

“No.”

“Is that because you knew that he wouldn’t talk to you anymore if he knew his mother was outside?”

“No. I was almost finished anyway. At that point it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“You hadn’t taken his blood yet, had you?”

“No.”

Tracey changed subjects again. “Where did this interrogation take place?”

“In the interrogation room at the police department.”

“I’ve heard about that room. It’s equipped with a television camera, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you have audio recording equipment in there as well, correct?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t use either?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Was there a reason why you didn’t,
Officer
Brume?” The Fourth was on his feet again.

“Objection, Your Honor. She’s harassing the witness. He’s already told her several times that he’s a detective.” Unfortunately for Clay, Judge Wentwell was enjoying the harassment.

“He may be a detective, Mr. Clay, but he’s also a sworn police officer. I don’t see how addressing a police officer as ‘Officer’ can constitute harassment. Objection overruled. You may proceed, Ms. James.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. Do you need me to repeat the question, Officer Brume?” Tracey asked politely as she turned her focus back to the fat little cop.

“No. There was no reason in particular. We rarely use the video camera. And I didn’t have a tape available.”

“What would you have had to do to use the camera, just get a videotape?”

“Pretty much.”

“Is that a ‘yes,’ Officer Brume?”

“Yes.”

“Where was the videotape?”

“In the equipment room.” He was being evasive but Tracey didn’t mind. His evasiveness would have been obvious to a two-year-old.

“And where is the equipment room?”

“Down the hall.”

“And the recording equipment, would you have found a tape for that in the equipment room as well?”

“Yes.”

“Can you be more specific, Officer Brume? How long would it have taken you to walk down the hall, fetch the video or recording equipment, or both, and install them before beginning your interview?”

“Three to five minutes,” the Grunt replied nonchalantly. It was that cavalier attitude that made Clay Evans want to strangle him.
Does this idiot have any idea where she’s taking him?

“Is it accurate that this recording equipment was in the interrogation room to be used for interrogations?”

“Of course.”
What a stupid question
, Wes thought.

“Is it accurate that when you brought my client in for questioning he was already a suspect in this murder?”

“Yes.”

“And he was your only suspect at the time?”

“Yes.”

“And is it accurate, Detective Brume, that in your twenty-plus years as a police officer in this department this is the most heinous crime you have ever investigated?” She had deliberately called him Detective. She was starting to give him the respect he deserved, or so it seemed.

“No question about that,” he responded. Tracey had him cornered. It was time to drop the bomb.

“So you bought this hi-tech equipment for the specific purpose of interrogation, you’re investigating the most heinous crime ever, and you make a conscious decision not to video or even audio record it, correct?”

“No, that’s not correct,” Wes replied, realizing too late the crater that he was sitting in. Tracey was not about to let him squirm his way out by asking him to explain his answer. She switched gears.

“Did you have Rudy make a written statement?”

“No, but I had him read my notes and sign them.”

“Did you tell him to sign them?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Was he allowed to make changes?”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s very simple,
Officer
Brume, did you let him edit your notes?”

“Of course not.”

“You just had him sign them.”

“Yes.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.” The abrupt termination of the examination surprised the Fourth. He had expected Tracey to grill the Grunt on the questions and answers he’d written down, but Tracey was only interested in the procedure, not the substance.

Now it was Clay’s turn. His immediate task was to cauterize Wes’s wounds to prevent further bleeding. Wes hadn’t really suffered a direct hit but he was bleeding profusely from several minor wounds. The Fourth could choose either to cut his losses and get the poor man off the stand, something that required great restraint, or to ask more questions and open the Grunt up for even heavier artillery. He chose the latter course, rising slowly and calculating his questions as he walked to the podium. He had to rehabilitate the fat little toad.

“Detective Brume, in your twenty-plus years with the police department has your credibility ever been questioned?” Tracey was on her feet in a heartbeat.

“Objection, Your Honor. The character of Officer Brume is not an issue in this case, although his credibility in this particular case is.” It was classic litigator-speak, something the public probably wouldn’t understand. But Tracey didn’t care about the small group of regular folks observing the proceedings from the gallery. The only person in the room who mattered to her at that moment was Judge Wentwell, and he was sure to get it.

“This court is in recess for the next twenty minutes. I want to see the lawyers in my chambers with the court reporter.” The judge stood and left the courtroom. Clay and Tracey followed him to his chambers. When everyone was seated and the court reporter was set up, the judge began.

“I did not believe it was necessary to disclose this information at the beginning of this hearing, but the testimony has brought me to a place where I must disclose some pertinent information to you that I’m certain you’re not aware of.” Tracey and Clay looked at each other quizzically then turned back to the judge, who proceeded to tell them about the little “speeding” incident he’d had with Wes.

“I agree with Ms. James,” the judge went on, “that Officer Brume’s credibility is at issue here, not his character. However, Mr. Evans, since I will be deciding what evidence the jury hears, it is my duty to disclose to you that my opinion is somewhat tainted regarding Officer Brume’s credibility
and
character. I do not believe that will affect my decision on the legal issues in this hearing or at trial. However, if you wish, I will step down from this case.”

Clay was almost shaking by the time Judge Wentwell finished. He wanted to take a bazooka back into the courtroom and blow Wesley Brume to kingdom come.
How could he do this to me? How could he not tell me about his encounter with the judge?
But that was old news. Now Clay had to make a very important decision, a decision that would definitely affect the outcome of this case.

Seated next to him, Tracey was trying desperately not to smile. Things had definitely just taken a sharp turn for the better. And her best witnesses were yet to come. On the other hand, Clay had no choice but to ask the judge to recuse himself, and she wasn’t so sure she wanted to lose Judge Wentwell.

Seconds passed. The judge waited patiently while Clay thought it through. Judge Wentwell was a law-and-order guy. He would follow the law strictly. He wasn’t about to buy into a new theory of evidence even if he didn’t believe one word that came out of the fat little toad’s mouth. And a new judge might not be so conservative in his or her thinking.

“Judge, I believe this court will be able to separate any personal views in deciding issues of law. I will not ask you to recuse yourself.” Tracey was nonplussed. The judge turned to her.

“Ms. James, do you have anything to say?”

“No, Your Honor. I believe your full disclosure has said it all. Like the prosecutor, I do not believe your personal experience with Officer Brume will affect your decisions in this case.”

I’ll bet you don’t!
the Fourth said to himself, hoping he had made the right decision.

Minutes later they were back in the courtroom, Clay standing at the podium.

Judge Wentwell spoke first.

“Mr. Evans, you may proceed.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.” Since the judge knew the Grunt was a big fat liar, there was no point in trying to rehabilitate him. Wes stepped down, not sure where things stood but pretty sure from the look on Clay’s face that he was annoyed about something.

“Call your next witness, Ms. James.”

Tracey had set up the state’s case with the Grunt’s testimony. Now she was going to rip it to shreds.

She started by calling Rudy’s high school principal, Bill Yates, to the stand. After he introduced himself and explained that he’d been Rudy’s principal for all four years, Tracey got right to it.

“Mr. Yates, did Detective Wesley Brume visit you a couple of months ago?”

“Yes.”

“And could you tell the court the reason for the visit?”

“He wanted to find out about Rudy, how he had been as a student.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him that Rudy was a very nice, motivated young man but that he was a little slow. I think his IQ was somewhere around eighty or a little below. We’re a small school. We don’t have special programs for children like that so we did the best we could. After two years we put Rudy in a vocational program. He never received a high school diploma, just an attendance certificate.”

“Did Detective Brume tell you why he was inquiring about Rudy?”

“Yes. He said Rudy might be a suspect in the murder of the young woman in the barrio.”

“And what was your response to that?”

“I told him he must be mistaken. I knew Rudy very well and I did not believe he was capable of anything like that.”

“Did Detective Brume tell you that he was going to bring Rudy in for questioning?”

“Yes.”

“How did you respond to that?”

“I suggested that if he did anything like that he should contact Rudy’s mother or at least make sure he had a lawyer. I told him that Rudy was a very affable person and very naive. He would not know how to protect himself. He would respond to every question the officer asked even if it was not in his best interests to do so.”

“Is there a reason why you told the detective that?”

“Yes. I figured that he wanted to conduct a fair investigation and I thought it was something he needed to know.”

“Thank you, Mr. Yates. I have no further questions.”

Judge Wentwell looked at Clay. “Cross-examination, Mr. Evans?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Clay was certain this was a witness he could score some points with. He stood up but stayed at the counsel table.

“Mr. Yates, could Rudy read and write?”

“Yes.”

Clay approached the bench and retrieved the consent form Rudy had signed. He handed the document to the principal.

“And in your opinion could he have read this document and understood it?” Principal Yates put his glasses on and read the document.

“Yes, I believe he could.”

“And, even though he was a very affable person, if Detective Brume had presented this document to him before he began his questioning and Rudy had read this document, in your opinion he would have
understood
that he had the right not to speak to Detective Brume?”

Bill Yates hesitated for a moment. He could see that Clay Evans had backed him into a corner. He didn’t want to hurt Rudy but he had to answer the question honestly.

“Yes. I believe that he would have understood that he had the right to refuse to speak to Officer Brume but —” Clay cut him off before he could go any further.