Uncommon Thief
Page 44
Chapter 44
The Connection
The next day before the trial began, Roberts spoke to Whitehead and told him about the connection between Jake Johnson, Harold Clifford and Sam Stewart. Harper listened to Roberts silently for a moment and then shrugged. "So what?"
“Well, I’m putting you on notice that I may call Harold Clifford, Jake Johnson and Sam Stewart as witnesses.”
“Good luck with Sam Stewart,” Whitehead chuckled.
“Well, we actually have a lead as to his whereabouts.”
“And where is that?”
“Toronto Canada.”
“Do you have an address?”
“No, not yet but we are working on it.”
"Alright, let me know the minute you have one.” Whitehead said evenly. “Thanks for the update.”
As he returned to his seat, Roberts heard the Judge bang his gavel and ask Whitehead to call his next witness.
Whitehead called Jenny Madeira. She took the stand and the Judge administered the oath.
"Miss Madeira, do you know the defendant, Fred Fuller?" Whitehead asked.
"Yes, I do. He was Candy's friend," Jenny replied.
"And who is Candy?"
"Candy Clisby. She was my best friend. We lived in the same apartment complex."
"She and Fred were more than just friends, weren't they, Miss Madeira?"
"Well, yes, I suppose so."
"In fact, they were lovers, weren't they?"
"Yes."
The crowd stirred. Fred looked over at Maria apologetically, but Maria appeared unruffled by the comment.
"Did you ever see them together?"
"No, but Candy always filled me in on what happened between them."
"Did you ever meet Fred Fuller?"
"Yes."
"How did you meet him?"
"I met him the night of Candy's death."
"How did he contact you?"
"He called me and told me Candy had died."
"Did he tell you how she died?"
"Yes. He said she had died of a snakebite."
"Did you see him that night?"
"Yes. He came over to my place."
"What did you and he do?"
"We talked about Candy and cried a lot."
"When was the last time you spoke to Candy?"
"That Saturday morning, she called me from Palm Springs."
"What did she tell you?"
"Objection, Your Honor. Calls for hearsay," Joel said.
"Your Honor, Miss Clisby is dead and obviously can't be called as a witness. Although we concede Miss Madeira's testimony as to what Candy Clisby said would be hearsay, it's admissible if it can be corroborated."
"I'll allow it if you can corroborate it," the Judge ruled.
"We can, Your Honor."
"Exception, Your Honor."
"Noted," the Judge said. "You may answer, Miss Madeira."
"She asked me to feed her cat while she was gone."
"Anything else?"
"She said Fred had agreed to support her so she could quit her job. She wanted to be an actress and wanted to devote all her time to that pursuit."
“And what would Fred get out of this?”
“She’d be his lover then and his mistress later, after he got married.”
The gallery erupted in conversation, prompting the Judge to bang his gavel and say, "Order! Order in the court! Any more outbursts like that, and I'll clear the courtroom."
"How long did she tell you she was planning to be gone?"
"She didn’t know. Fred hadn’t told her where they were going yet."
"Didn't you think this whole thing a little odd?"
"Yes, I thought it was completely mad, but there was no dissuading her."
"Did she say anything about going to Canada?"
"No. She just wanted to be sure I took care of her cat. I assumed it would just be for the weekend."
"Later on, when Fred came by your apartment, did he mention a trip to Canada?"
"No, he did not, although he did say the FBI was following him."
"Thank you, Miss Madeira. Pass the witness."
"Yes, Miss Madeira, Fred didn't go to Canada, did he?" Joel asked.
"Obviously not."
"You testified he came to visit you after Candy's death but never mentioned going to Canada, isn't that right?"
"Right."
“Now, you testified Fred and Candy were lovers?” Roberts said.
“Yes.”
“I can understand that, but this mistress thing makes no sense. Would she really stand by and let Maria marry Fred?”
“That was her plan.”
“Candy had a good sense of humor, didn’t she?”
"Yes, she did."
"Didn't she take great pleasure in shocking people, telling them strange things just to watch their reaction?"
"Yes, she was kind of playful—sort of a jokester."
"Could it be that she was joking about being Fred’s mistress, just trying to shock you?"
"Well, it's possible, but—"
"Isn't it true that Candy told Fred she wanted to be his mistress just to lure him away from Maria; make him think he could have both of them."
"Not exactly."
"What exactly was the plan then?"
"At first, that was the plan, but later I think she fell in love with Fred."
“So, this was a simple case of seduction? Candy wanted Fred and would say or do anything to get him. Is that what you’re saying?”
Jenny shrugged. “Yes, you may be right," Jenny said softly.
"That's all, Miss Madeira. Thank you."
"Redirect, Mr. Whitehead?" the Judge asked.
"Yes, Your Honor. Miss Madeira, do have any personal knowledge of Candy Clisby’ s financial condition?"
"Yes."
"Was she a wealthy woman?"
"Are you kidding? She worked part-time for the bank, and as far as I know, her income from that job was all the money she had in the world."
"Did Fred Fuller ever give Candy money?"
"Yes. He gave her $2,000 one night."
"Was Candy a prostitute?"
"No! Absolutely not. Like I said, Fred was going to support Candy so she could study acting."
At this point, Maria got up and left the courtroom. Her mother followed her, as well as several reporters.
"Do you have any idea where Fred got the $2,000?" Roberts continued.
"Supposedly from an inheritance."
"Did he write her a check for this $2,000, or was it cash?"
"Money orders."
"Money orders. I see. Huh, so, this wasn’t all about love, was it? It was about money, and Candy must have known Fred was about to come into a lot of it.”
“Objection!” Roberts yelled. “Counsel is leading the witness and testifying.”
“Objection sustained,” the Judge ruled.
“No further questions."
"Mr. Roberts?" the Judge said.
"No further questions, Your Honor."
"It’s getting late. We'll adjourn until tomorrow morning at ten," Judge Sessions announced.
The courtroom cleared. Roberts began to pack up his briefcase and then he turned to Fred and said, "This hurts us, Fred. I wish you would have told me about Jenny earlier. This doesn't help us at all. Is there anything else you haven't told me?"
There’s a lot I haven’t told you. How about that I have a million dollars stashed away in the desert? What would you do if I dumped that on you? "No, I don't think so," Fred said evenly.
Joel closed his briefcase and looked Fred in the eyes. "Well, if we get any more surprises like this one, I may not be able to keep you out of prison. I'll see you in the morning."
Fred swallowed hard. "Okay," he said dejectedly. "I’m sorry."
The bailiff took Fred back upstairs to the Federal Marshal's office. Just a few minutes after he’d arrived, the Deputy Marshal brought him a TV dinner. He set the dinne
r on the food door and then began chatting. "Here's your dinner, Fred."
"Thank you."
"So, where did you stash the money?"
"What money?"
"Come on. You don't expect anyone to believe that you don't have the money, do you?"
"I don't have any money," Fred lied.
"Yeah, right. Too bad you'll never be able to spend it."
"What makes you think the jury isn’t going to let me off?"
"You're a dreamer, Fuller. After today's testimony, you might as well give it up. You’re just another greedy little bastard. They've already got a cell waiting for you at Lompoc."
Fred just stared at the Marshal in horror. Is he right? Is it all over for me? Has the jury already made up their minds? No! They won’t convict an innocent man. It can’t happen, can it? Anger began to well in him. He took a deep breath, trying to control himself.
“So, you’re the Judge and jury now? I didn’t rob the bank, okay. I may have screwed up my love life, but I’m not a thief or a murderer. So, take this damn food and shove it up your ass!” he said as he kicked the TV dinner, spilling it all over the Marshal’s pants.