The Mayor of Lexington Avenue (44 page)

“Did you have a reason why you told him that?”

“Yes, I did. I just naturally assumed he wanted to conduct a fair investigation and I thought it was something he needed to know.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

“All right,” Judge Stanton said. “Mr. DiCarlo, do you wish to cross-examine the witness?”

Jimmy and Clay Evans had discussed the principal’s appearance beforehand and had decided that they had nothing to gain from a cross.

“No questions, Your Honor.”

Benny Dragone was next, and Jack had prepared him for a repeat performance just as he had Principal Yates.

“Do you remember the day Detective Brume took Rudy Kelly in for questioning?” Jack asked after a few preliminary questions were out of the way.

“Yes.”

“Where were you at the time?”

“At my store. Rudy worked for me. He worked the counter. I gave him a job because I knew his mother, Elena. It was a favor to her.”

“What do you recall about that day?”

“Detective Brume wanted to take Rudy over to the station for questioning. I told him that I wouldn’t let him speak to Rudy until I talked with his mother.”

“Why did you tell him that?”

“I knew he was looking at Rudy as a suspect in Lucy Ochoa’s murder and I didn’t trust him. I never trusted Brume, and I knew Rudy wouldn’t be able to deal with him by himself.”

“And how did Mr. Brume respond?”

“Well, like I told Rudy’s lawyer back then in that hearing, Brume threatened me. He said he’d get the health department over to my store for an inspection. And I knew exactly what he meant.”

“And what did he mean?”

“He meant that he’d make trouble for me if I didn’t cooperate.”

“So you did?”

“Yeah. And I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“No further questions, Your Honor,” Jack said, returning to his table.

“Mr. DiCarlo, cross-examination?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Good. We’re going to wrap up for the day. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I admonish you again not to talk to anyone about this case. Do not read the newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio. Do not discuss it with your spouses. Do you understand?” Everyone nodded. “Court is adjourned.” The judge rapped his gavel. “I’ll see you all at nine a.m. sharp. I want the lawyers to be here at 8:30 just in case you think of anything overnight that you wish to discuss with me before we get started.” It was just how he’d wrapped up jury selection. Judge Stanton was nothing if not consistent, Jack thought as he gathered up his papers.

Forty–seven

Jack was very pleased at how things had gone on the first day of trial, especially after the opening statements. He had succeeded in surprising Jimmy DiCarlo by putting Wesley Brume on the stand and had established through Bill Yates and Benny Dragone that Brume had manipulated Rudy into talking to him alone and had lied about the circumstances under oath. Maria would testify about further lies and manipulations tomorrow and then the trial would shift to the rape file and Clay Evans’s involvement. It would heat up at that point, he was sure. After the first day, however, he became convinced that DiCarlo and Evans were content to feed Wesley Brume to the wolves. Poor Brume, he didn’t even see it coming.

He hadn’t seen Maria since Joaquin had been shot. She spent her days and nights at the hospital. They’d set up a cot for her in Joaquin’s room. Dick had been up that afternoon to check on Joaquin’s progress.

“How’s he doing?” Jack asked on the ride home.

“Still the same. He hasn’t woken up yet and that worries Maria, but I talked to the doctor and he said everything is fine. He said Joaquin’s just resting. He’ll wake up in his own good time.”

“That’s great,” Jack said. “I don’t mean to sound mercenary, Dick, but Maria is scheduled to testify first thing in the morning tomorrow. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t talked to her. I haven’t prepped her.”

“You don’t need to prep her, Jack. She’ll tell the truth. I’ll get her there. I’ll drop you off early and I’ll go pick her up. She and I have talked about it already. When she’s through testifying I’ll take her right back.”

“Thanks, Dick.”

That night Pat rubbed his back in bed trying to loosen him up, but it was no use. Jack was as tight as a steel cable wire.

“It went pretty good today,” she said, trying another approach.

“Yeah, it did, but tomorrow is the big day. In this business things can go south in a heartbeat.”

“Well, we’ll just have to say a prayer.”

“Or two.”

Dick dropped Jack off early the next morning and went to get Maria as planned. Jack was not sure he’d be seeing either one of them anytime soon. Maria had a mind of her own, and right now her mind was on one thing only—tending to Joaquin.

Jack had called Charley Peterson the night before and told him to be there early, just in case. It was not uncommon to take witnesses out of order in a trial. He did it all the time, especially with expert witnesses like doctors. But this case was different. He felt strongly that in order to convince the jury, he needed a meticulously logical progression of witnesses.

Jack and Jimmy DiCarlo were ushered into the judge’s chambers promptly at 8:30. Stanton was in a chipper mood. Jack could tell he was enjoying himself, but he didn’t know if that was good or bad.

“Any motions this morning, gentlemen? Any new theories you’ve spun in the middle of the night?”

“No, sir,” Jimmy replied.

“No, Judge,” Jack added.

“All righty then. Mr. Tobin, how many witnesses do you have left?”

“Three, Your Honor. The last is a video.”

“Good, good. Then you should finish up today. Mr. DiCarlo, have you made any decisions about who you’re going to put on?”

Jimmy had seen Geronimo Cruz’s video deposition. It was powerful and he didn’t want the jury to see it. Now was probably the time to make the objection.

“Not entirely, Judge. I know I’ll have at least one witness, but Your Honor, I do have an objection to Mr. Tobin’s video—the Geronimo Cruz confession. We can stipulate that Mr. Cruz killed Lucy Ochoa. We don’t need the video.”

Judge Stanton looked at Jack. It was heating up already. He loved it.

“What do you say about that, Mr. Tobin?”

“I’d like the jury to see it, Judge. It removes any doubt.”

“I’m sure you would, Counsel, but if Mr. DiCarlo is stipulating to its contents, I don’t see why it’s necessary.”

“It’s the specifics, Your Honor. He tells exactly how he did it, and the jury will be able to evaluate that evidence in light of what evidence the police had not only before the trial but two years after when they learned Cruz was in a jail cell in Texas.”

The judge turned to Jimmy DiCarlo.

“He’s got a point, Mr. DiCarlo.”

“We’ll stipulate to the facts. He can read a factual summary to the jury. It will save a lot of time, Judge.”

“It’s not the same, Your Honor. A stipulation won’t have the impact.”

“I understand that, Mr. Tobin, but we’re not looking for emotional impact here, we’re looking for facts. If Mr. DiCarlo’s clients are willing to stipulate to those facts we don’t need the Cruz videotape.”

“Judge, I think I have the right.”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s within my discretion. I’m not going to rule right now. I’ll give you some time to come up with a better reason than the one you just proposed, but I want it by the time you present Mr. Cruz’s deposition and I want you two to work out a stipulation of the facts in the event I rule against you, Mr. Tobin. Is that understood?”

Jack felt like he had been dealt a body blow to the gut, one that he hadn’t anticipated and should have. He had no case law to support his argument and no time to do any research. He needed that video for its emotional impact. The jury had to see Geronimo Cruz—to understand what he did and how he did it—in order to understand what happened to Rudy and just how malicious the defendants’ actions had been. Reading a stipulated statement of facts would not suffice.

“Is that understood, Mr. Tobin?” Stanton repeated in a firmer tone.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Okay, let’s go into the courtroom.”

The judge walked into the courtroom with them. There was no formality today. When everyone was seated he admonished the spectators as he had done the day before. Then he told the bailiff to bring in the jury.

Jack was out of sorts for another reason as well. He had checked with the bailiff and Maria had not arrived. He was going to have to start the day with Charley Peterson as his first witness.

Charley was wearing an olive green suit and he looked perfectly calm as he walked forward, stood in front of the clerk and took an oath to tell the truth.

“Would you state your name for the record?” Jack began.

“Charles Nickleby Peterson.”

“And Mr. Peterson, where are you employed?”

“Carolina Christian Teachers’ College.”

“And what do you do there?”

“I’m a professor of political science.”

“And do you hold any professional degrees?”

“Yes, I have a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Georgetown.” Jack hoped those credentials impressed the jury because what was coming wouldn’t.

“Now, Mr. Peterson, you at one time were the public defender here in Cobb County, is that accurate?”

“Yes, I was.”

“And you, in fact, represented Rudy Kelly in his trial for first-degree murder, is that correct?”

“Yes, I did.”

Jack picked up the rape file that had already been stipulated into evidence, approached the witness and handed him the file. “Mr. Peterson, I’ve just handed you the state’s composite exhibit number two, and I ask you to take a look at it.” Charley perused the file and looked up at Jack when he was finished.

“Have you seen that document before?”

“Yes, I saw it for the first time when I testified before the grand jury.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“Yes. It’s a rape file. Apparently, the police found semen inside Lucy Ochoa after she was murdered and for some reason created a murder file and a separate rape file.”

“Did you know anything about this rape file when you were representing Rudy Kelly?”

“No, I did not.”

“Did you file a request for the state to produce all evidence relating to the murder of Lucy Ochoa when you were representing Rudy Kelly?”

“Yes, I did.”

Jack handed him another document. “Can you identify exhibit number three?”

“Yes, that’s my demand for discovery or, to put it in layman’s terms, my request for all the evidence.”

“Did the state ever inform you that semen was found inside the victim, Lucy Ochoa?”

“No.”

“Would that have been significant for you?”

Jimmy DiCarlo was on his feet in a heartbeat. “Objection, Your Honor. Calls for speculation.”

“Overruled. You may answer the question, Mr. Peterson.”

“Oh yes, especially because the blood type was different from Rudy’s, which meant somebody else was in her trailer that night. It literally was the difference between a guilty and an innocent verdict.” Jack couldn’t believe the judge allowed that statement in, but he asked another question quickly before Jimmy could move to strike the answer. He handed Charley the state’s exhibit number four.

“Have you seen this document before, Mr. Peterson?”

“Yes, this is the coroner’s report that was introduced by the state at Rudy Kelly’s trial.”

“Who was the coroner at the time?”

“Harry Tuthill.”

“And where is Mr. Tuthill now?”

“He’s dead.”

“Is there anything unusual about this coroner’s report?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell the jury what that is?”

“For one, there’s no lab analysis in there at all. There’s no mention of the semen found in the body. No mention of the blood type.”

“Had you ever seen a coroner’s report from Mr. Tuthill before Lucy Ochoa’s murder?”

“Plenty. I had been the public defender at the time for fifteen years. Harry had been the coroner for twenty-five. Murder was not a common occurrence in Cobb County but it did happen, and Harry always did the report.”

“Well, when he did the reports in the past were the toxicology results always in there?”

“Always.”

“Did you work as a public defender before you took over the job as the public defender in Cobb County?”

“Yes, I worked as an assistant public defender in Miami for ten years.”

“So your total experience in this field is twenty-five years?”

“That’s correct.”

“Have you ever seen a coroner’s report in a murder investigation that excluded a major piece of evidence such as semen in the vagina from its findings?”

“No.”

“Was there any advantage to the state in creating this separate rape file other than what we’ve already discussed?”

Jimmy DiCarlo was up again. “Objection, Your Honor. Speculation.”

“Overruled. The witness can answer the question.”

“Well, by creating a separate case that nobody knew about, they kept the semen evidence from being discovered by, say, a public records request. It’s a way of keeping everything secret.”

Jimmy DiCarlo was livid. “Your Honor, I move to strike the question and the answer.”

“Overruled, Mr. DiCarlo. Proceed, Mr. Tobin.” Jack couldn’t believe his string of good luck with the judge.
Maybe Hang ’Em High Harry has an inkling these boys are guilty. He certainly knows the game they’re playing.

Jack decided to wrap it up there. The jury had to have the picture by now.

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

Jimmy DiCarlo was on his feet before Judge Stanton asked him if he wanted to cross-examine the witness. For a minute Jack thought he was going to walk up to Charley and strangle him. As it was, he stopped about two feet away from Charley’s face.

“Mr. Peterson, are you presently licensed to practice law in the state of Florida?”

“No.”

“Are you licensed anywhere?”

“No.”

“And the reason you’re not licensed is?”

“I was disbarred.” A collective gasp rose from the spectators’ pews, followed by scattered murmuring. Up until now the public had been largely silent. Jack looked at the jury and saw expressions of shock there as well. He’d thought about bringing the issue out on direct examination but had decided not to. It was an unforgivable mistake. Judge Stanton was rapping his gavel.