Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries Vol 1-6 (Marc Kadella Series)

by Dennis Carstens

  “So I take it you don’t know anything either. I can’t get anything out of the cops or Slocum’s office. No one seems to know anything about it.”

  “Bullshit,” Marc said. “It’s him. How many Eugene Parlow’s are there in this town? For some reason they’re keeping a lid on it. I have to go, Gabriella. I need to make a phone call.”

  “Can I call you back?”

  Marc paused then said, “I tell you what, you know Steve Gondeck?”

  “Yes, I know him.”

  “Call him in half an hour. If he won’t talk to you, call me after lunch.”

  Two minutes later, Gondeck answered Marc’s call.

  “Why haven’t I been told about the murder of Eugene Parlow?” Marc asked without even saying hello.

  “Because we don’t believe it had anything to do with Traynor or your case,” Gondeck replied.

  “At this point, Steve, that’s not for you to decide,” Marc said barely concealing his anger.

  “Wait, Marc. Back it up. Yes, you have a right to know and I was going to call you today,” Gondeck lied. “Parlow was found in an alley between two dumpsters. He was shot three times; twice in the chest, once in the forehead. It’s a drug deal, gang killing, Marc.”

  “I’ll want all police reports, autopsies, everything. Speaking of which, when am I going to get the rest of my discovery? I’ve seen news reports on TV about hair samples and DNA but…”

  “I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Gondeck protested. “We’re working on getting these things to you. I have people I answer to, you know.”

  This last statement was a clear message to Marc that Slocum was personally monitoring this case. Marc had suspected this all along and Gondeck just confirmed it. They were dragging their feet on Slocum’s orders to make Marc’s job difficult and to try to get him to waive a speedy trial to give the cops more time to find more evidence.

  “Gabriella Shriqui, the reporter from Channel 8, is going to call you in a while. She wants to talk to you about Parlow. Either you talk to her or I will. I’ll see you in court next week.” With that, Marc ended the call.

  Before Marc had a chance to go back to his motion paperwork, his personal cell phone went off. He looked at the ID then answered it.

  “What did Vivian tell you?” he asked Tony Carvelli.

  “She told me to make you buy me lunch and give you what you want. The lady likes you for some reason I can’t explain.”

  “I’ll see you at noon,” Marc said.

  FORTY-FOUR

  The intercom on Steve Gondeck’s desk phone buzzed. He looked at the ID and thought about ignoring it. He was busy and not in the mood to play “placate the idiot” as he liked to call it. Giving in, against his better judgment, he picked up the phone.

  “Yes, Craig, what do you need?” Gondeck said as pleasantly as possible.

  The county attorney abruptly said, “Come into my office. I have something I want to talk to you about.”

  “I’m a little busy. I have a scheduling conference for the Traynor case this morning.”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Bring your entire file,” Slocum said.

  An alarm bell sounded in Gondeck’s head but he acquiesced to his boss’ demand anyway. He gathered up the Traynor file and headed out the door.

  Ever since their meeting with Owen Jefferson concerning the murder of Eugene Parlow, Gondeck and Slocum had been at odds. In Gondeck’s opinion, the Parlow murder and the evidence found at the scene were obviously pertinent to the Traynor case. He strongly believed the prosecution had an ethical responsibility to inform Traynor’s lawyer and turn over the information about that crime to him.

  Slocum had taken the opposite view. The canvas bag found near Parlow’s body could not be positively linked to Parlow and therefore, so he argued, it was not relevant to Traynor’s case.

  The two men had gone around about this three or four times, once or twice the argument became a little heated. While walking the short distance to Slocum’s large, corner office a feeling of foreboding hung over Gondeck. He had an uneasy feeling he knew what was coming. In his opinion, a huge mistake was about to be made.

  Gondeck rapped firmly on the office door, opened it, and went in. Seated in a chair was the mistake he believed Slocum was going to make.

  “Come in, Steve,” Slocum said. “Have a seat.”

  Instead of sitting down he stepped over to the man sitting in Slocum’s office chair. He handed the man the Traynor file and said, “Here you are, Tommy, good luck. You have a scheduling conference with Judge Koch in twenty minutes.”

  Tommy Harris was Slocum’s number one ass-kisser. Slocum brought him into the county attorney’s office from the firm they were with when both were in private practice. Harris was passed over for partner by that firm for the third time and jumped at the chance when Slocum became county attorney. He was a fair trial lawyer but not in Gondeck’s class. As far as Slocum was concerned he had a far more significant virtue. Harris could be counted on to strictly adhere to Slocum’s bidding without question.

  A slightly shocked Slocum said, “You’re not going to argue with me about it?”

  Gondeck look at Slocum shrugged and said, “You’re the boss. It’s entirely your decision.”

  “I appreciate that, Steve. I just think you’re a little too close to Traynor’s lawyer, Kadella. No hard feelings?”

  “No, Craig, not at all,” Gondeck lied while thinking Slocum was letting his personal, petty feelings toward Marc Kadella cloud his judgment.

  When Gondeck got back to his office, he stood behind his desk staring out the large window overlooking south Minneapolis. Barely two minutes later, he heard a knock on his door and an angry Jennifer Moore stormed in slamming the door behind her.

  “It wasn’t my call,” Gondeck said holding his hands up as if to ward her off. “He took the case away from me.”

  “Slocum?” she quietly asked somewhat mollified.

  “Who else?”

  “Who has it?”

  “Guess,” Gondeck smiled.

  “Not Tommy Harris. Tell me that didn’t happen,” she replied.

  “Yes indeed.”

  Jennifer paused then said, “Now I’m glad they took me off. Who’s second chair?”

  “Not sure. Probably one of the new guys. They’ll want a gofer who will do anything he’s told.”

  Jennifer shrugged her shoulders then said, “Okay, I guess. Sorry to barge in on you. I thought you did it.”

  “I wouldn’t and don’t worry about it.”

  Marc turned the corner away from the elevators to get to Judge Koch’s courtroom. Once again he ran into a small herd of media members and court junkies in front of courtroom 1424. One of the media people spotted him and before he could react he was surrounded by them.

  “I have no comment about anything,” Marc quickly said as he retreated back from where he came. He reached the court chamber’s area security doors and pushed the buzzer on the intercom. A moment later a deputy opened the door and while the reporters continued to harangue Marc with questions, the deputy let him in.

  Marc found two men standing in the back hallway at the door to Koch’s chambers. One of them he recognized, the other younger one, he did not know at all.

  “Are you guys here for the Traynor conference?” he asked.

  The lawyer he vaguely knew introduced himself as Tommy Harris. The younger man told Marc he was Paul Ramsey. The three of them shook hands.

  “What happened to Steve Gondeck?” Marc asked.

  “I’ve been assigned to handle this case,” Harris said avoiding Marc’s question.

  Marc remembered what he had heard about Tommy Harris. Word was Harris was Slocum’s toady and office snitch. Remembering this made Marc realize that Slocum, whom Marc knew despised him, had taken the case away from Gondeck for personal reasons. The realization could not have made Marc happier. Steve Gondeck was a far better and more experienced lawyer.

  “
I was wondering if we could talk about a continuance of today’s hearing and your client waiving his right to a speedy trial,” Harris asked.

  “Sorry, no to both,” Marc replied.

  “It’s just that we were assigned this case this morning and…”

  “Craig Slocum should have thought of that before he threw his little temper tantrum and removed Gondeck,” Marc replied.

  “So, you won’t…”

  “No, I won’t,” Marc said smiling.

  “Come in and have a seat, gentlemen,” Koch said as the three lawyers filed into her chambers. “I want to do this in here to avoid the press. Where are Steve Gondeck and Jennifer Moore? I thought they were trying this case.”

  Tommy Harris explained to her that the case had been reassigned as the lawyers took their seats.

  “I can’t tell Craig Slocum who to assign to work his cases, but you tell him this had better be it. You two are the attorneys of record unless one of you dies. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, your Honor,” both men answered her.

  When the court reporter indicated she was ready, Judge Koch took a moment to read the case information into the record. She then had each lawyer in turn state their names and representation for the woman to take down.

  “Before we begin, your Honor,” Harris said. “I’d like to request a continuance.”

  “This is exactly why I don’t approve of Craig Slocum switching lawyers,” Koch sternly admonished him. “My schedule is not subject to his whim. But I’ll let Mr. Kadella decide,” she continued believing he had already turned down the request.

  “No, your Honor. My client should not be burdened with the expense or delay,” Marc said.

  “No, it is,” Koch said. Looking at Marc she asked, “Mr. Kadella, I assume they asked about waiving a speedy trial?”

  “Yes, your Honor. No again,” Marc answered.

  Koch looked at the two prosecutors and said, “There you are. You may have to put in some late nights. Again, something Craig Slocum should’ve considered. What’s next?”

  “My motions for discovery, your Honor,” Marc said.

  “I’ve read through your pleadings,” Koch answered him. She looked at Harris and said, “What’s the problem? Why isn’t he getting what he needs?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to adequately review the pleadings,” Harris protested.

  “Too bad,” Koch replied. She turned to Marc and said, “Why do you want the police surveillance records?”

  “The police had my client under round the clock surveillance during the time of at least some of these murders,” Marc answered her. “They create an alibi and are clearly exculpatory.”

  “Is that true?” Koch asked Harris.

  “I’m not sure, your Honor, I…”

  “He gets the records,” Koch ruled. “What else?”

  “Change of venue,” Marc said.

  “Do you have any evidence to submit other than what’s in your pleadings?” Koch asked.

  “No, your Honor. It just seems self-evident that given the publicity, he can’t get a fair trial in Hennepin County.”

  Koch thought for a moment then said, “I’m going to deny your request. I think we can impanel an unbiased jury. But if we can’t after a reasonable attempt, we’ll revisit the issue.”

  “Sequester the jury,” Marc said.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Koch said. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

  “We would like a gag order issued, your Honor,” Harris said. “Mr. Kadella is very cozy with several members of the media. He even acted as a lawyer for one at one time, a Ms. Gabriella Shriqui at the Channel 8 facility.”

  “I remember that,” Koch said looking at Marc. “Tell you what, I hate gag orders. They never work anyway. But I’ll keep an open mind about it. If things get out of hand I may impose it later.

  “Okay,” the judge continued. “Mr. Harris, I’m going to issue an order for you to turn over his discovery requests within ten days. I don’t like prosecutors who try to keep things from defense lawyers. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, your Honor,” Harris replied.

  “Now, what about scheduling. I am open in early December. How long to try it?”

  “That’s entirely too soon,” Harris protested.

  “It’s not up to you,” Koch said. “The clock is ticking. Unless the defendant changes his mind,” she continued looking at Marc, “we’ll start on Monday, November thirtieth. That will give us almost four weeks to try to finish before Christmas. Clear your calendars.

  “I want complete witness lists exchanged and all discovery completed by Friday, November twentieth. That will give us time to hear any last minute motions the week of Thanksgiving. You wanted a speedy trial, Mr. Kadella, you’re about to get one.”

  By the time the local noon TV news reports aired, the word about the trial scheduling had already been leaked. Marc knew it did not come from him. He was also certain it had not been leaked by the judge. Slocum’s office, as usual, was a sieve.

  FORTY-FIVE

  “Hey,” Carolyn said as Marc came through the office door when he returned after the conference in Judge Koch’s chambers. “Take this, you’ll want to see it right away,” she continued holding a message slip for him.

  Marc shifted his briefcase to his left hand and took the pink piece of paper from her. He read the brief note and asked, “He called about an hour ago? This is a relief. I’ve been trying to get a hold of him for two weeks,” he continued without waiting for Carolyn to confirm the time of the call.

  “He said he was in Europe on vacation and got back last night,” Carolyn told him.

  Marc looked at the wall clock behind Carolyn’s desk. Noting the time and driving distance, he made a quick mental calculation. “He should be here around three this afternoon,” he said out loud to himself.

  “He said you could call him on his cell. That’s the number,” Carolyn said referring to a phone number on the message.

  “I will. Thanks, Carolyn,” Marc added hurrying to his office.

  “Hello, Jason and thanks for calling,” Marc said when the man answered his call.

  “Sorry I missed you, Marc. I was in Europe. But I’m on my way. Give me a quick update.”

  The man’s name was Jason Biggs and he was a criminalist Marc had used before with very good results. A criminalist is basically an independent CSI type investigator. Briggs was in his early fifties though he looked older because of his bald head and diminutive frame. He earned a bachelor’s degree in forensic science from Northwestern and his masters from Boston University. Briggs then spent ten years with the Chicago police department and six more in the Chicago office of the FBI. He watched many people of lesser ability make a lot more money as independent agents and over ten years ago decided to go that route himself. Because of his reputation from the CPD and FBI, he immediately tripled his income and worked less doing it.

  “Have you heard about my case?”

  “I went online and looked it up this morning before I called. You’ve got yourself a nasty one.”

  “Yeah. Here’s the deal. There’s a lot of physical evidence connected to the bodies. You’ll need to go over those. Plus autopsy reports although the ones I’ve seen make the cause of death seem pretty obvious with the exception of one who appears to have died from a heart attack probably brought on when he was hit with a Taser. I haven’t received any toxicology test results yet on any of them.”

  “What about crime scenes?”

  “I’ve been through all of them. The Minneapolis cops are pretty good and thorough. You’ll want to take a look but I’m not sure what you’ll find.”

  “Witnesses?” Briggs asked.

  “A few civilians but not many. No eyewitnesses to the crimes. Mostly people who found the bodies. I’ll talk to them myself. A lot of cops, M.E. personnel and DNA techs.”

  “What was tested for DNA?”

  “A few hair samples and the inside of a pair of glov
es. We’ll need to get our own test done.”

  “How many hairs?”

  “Four total.”

  “Anything else we’ll need to test for DNA?”

  “Not so far. They haven’t found my guy’s DNA on anything else so…”

  “We don’t want to test anything else and find it for them,” Briggs said completing Marc’s thought.

  “Exactly. There’s a lot of metal to test. Barbed wire.”

  “No problem. I can do that myself. I have the equipment and know how to do that. I can’t do DNA myself but I know several excellent labs to do it for us,” Briggs replied.

  “If I decide to,” Marc said.

  “Why wouldn’t you?” Briggs asked.

  “My guy was convicted once before on flawed DNA testing. I’m not sure I want to verify the test results this time for them. I might be able to use the last faked results against them this time. I just have to figure out how to get it into testimony.”

  “I see,” Briggs said, “interesting. Well, I’ll be there between two and three. I’m an hour or so west of Madison now.”

  “Great Jason and thanks again. It’s a relief to know you’re coming. Do you want me to get a room for you?”

  “Oh, yes, please. I didn’t think about that,” Briggs replied.

  “I’ll take care of it. Same place as last time. Do you remember how to get to my office?”

  “Yes, I’ll come right there when I get to Minneapolis.”

  “See you soon,” Marc said ending the call.

  Steve Gondeck was in a surly mood. For the first time in his career he was removed from a case and his ego had taken a hit. Intellectually he knew it was simply Slocum being a petulant ass but it still annoyed him. Gondeck had even typed up an email to Slocum resigning from his job. He let it sit in his outgoing mail and went for a walk to think it over.

  The walk calmed him down and made him realize he had not been removed from the Traynor case because of incompetence. In fact, it was just the opposite. Slocum knew that with Gondeck in charge of the prosecution, Slocum would be frozen out of any meaningful involvement. Slocum knew that giving the case to his personal office pet would put Slocum in total control.