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

by Dennis Carstens

  For the five victims Howie was charged with murdering, the police, crime scene techs and medical examiners had taken hundreds of pictures. Harris had presented at least a dozen of each victim that he wanted to present to the jury. Marc, Harris and Paul Ramsey spent the better part of an entire day arguing in Judge Koch’s chambers about the photos. Most of them were quite inflammatory and Harris obviously wanted them all admitted to shock the jury. The angrier they became with the horror of what the victims went through, the more likely the jury would want someone to pay for it.

  Judge Koch decided to limit the number of photos to be admitted to between two and four each. She would allow one shot of how the body was found, an autopsy photo and one showing the crushed fingers and toes of those who had been tortured.

  With the grizzly photo of Watson’s tortured, bloody corpse on the TV screen Jefferson continued his testimony. He described for the jury the action the police took and that he went back to his desk to review the report from Beltrami County.

  The judge allowed Jefferson to testify that the case up north was very similar to Rhea Watson’s. Koch allowed details to be given to the jury that were the exact match, the crushed fingers and toes, the wound across the throat, the barbed-wire crown and crucifixion type pose of both bodies.

  “What else, if anything, was found that was the same on both victims?”

  “There appeared to be two burn marks on each that were caused by a Taser.”

  “The same Taser?”

  “Objection,” Marc said as he stood up.

  “Did you personally conduct any tests to identify the burns on the bodies?” Judge Koch asked Jefferson.

  “No, your Honor, I did not.”

  “Sustained. Move along, Mr. Harris.”

  It took Harris and Jefferson almost two hours to complete his testimony about Rhea Watson. Before Harris started on the next victim, Ross Peterson, Judge Koch ordered a break.

  When court resumed, Harris followed the same basic script to guide Jefferson through the discovery of Judge Peterson. The most noticeable difference between the photos of Watson and Peterson was the lack of blood on Peterson. Harris had Jefferson explain this from the autopsy report that gave Peterson’s cause of death as a heart attack.

  “Do you know what caused Judge Peterson to have the heart attack that killed him?” Harris asked.

  “Objection,” Marc said. “Lack of foundation for this witness to make such a claim.” Jefferson was not qualified to testify that the Taser shock caused Peterson’s pacemaker to malfunction and cause the heart attack. The M.E. would have to do that and Marc could challenge him on it.

  “Sustained,” Koch ruled. “Move along, Mr. Harris.”

  Jefferson also explained to the jury that the police were beginning to find links between Peterson, Rhea Watson and Howard Traynor. Harris was a bit of a plodder but he was also quite thorough. It was almost 5:30 by the time they finished. The first day of testimony ended when Jefferson and Harris completed their discussion of Ross Peterson.

  The next morning, Judge Koch was on the bench at precisely nine o’clock. Within two minutes the jury was seated and Jefferson was called back to the stand.

  “We left off yesterday afternoon when you finished your testimony about Judge Peterson,” Harris began the second day of testimony.

  Jefferson and Harris repeated their process of leading the jury through each victim. This morning they started with Elliot Sanders, the man found in Mueller Park in South Minneapolis.

  “After the murder of Judge Peterson,” Jefferson said, “we concentrated our investigation on finding common links between the victims. We were looking for people who were tried by Rhea Watson in front of Judge Peterson. We found quite a few of them in our system. When we included those who also had Judge Smith, the murder victim in Bemidji, as a judge handling their appeal, the list narrowed down to eight names.”

  “Was the defendant one of them?”

  “Yes, he was. There were two others that were noticeable as well,” Jefferson continued.

  “Who were they?”

  Jefferson looked at the notebook he held on his lap and read their names. “Eugene Parlow and Aaron Forsberg.”

  “Why did those two catch your attention?”

  “Those two men, along with the defendant and a fourth man, Angelo Suarez, had recently been released from prison. Their convictions were overturned and they were released early. Each of them was convicted with the use of flawed DNA testing. Except for Suarez, we put these men under surveillance as well as the defendant.”

  “Why not Suarez?”

  “Angelo Suarez was shot and killed when he attempted to attack a woman in St. Paul.”

  This caused a noticeable buzz to go through the courtroom. Judge Koch rapped her gavel three times and with an icy glare silenced the crowd.

  “Was Angelo Suarez connected to the victims?”

  “No, he was tried in Ramsey County. We could find no connection between Suarez and the victims.”

  “You said there were eight names, what about the other five?”

  “We were able to eliminate each one,” Jefferson answered and then went on to explain how they were checked out and why none of them were considered suspects.

  For the next half hour Jefferson, with a few easy questions to keep him on track, explained the scene where Elliot Sanders was found. He told the jury how he was found, the condition of the body and what Jefferson himself did.

  Some of this was objectionable. Jefferson did not personally find the body, but it was pointless for Marc to object to it. The two women who found him were going to testify anyway and Jefferson’s testimony would be corroborated by them. Plus it did not really matter how the body was found and who found it.

  The detective went into detail telling the jury about how he and his partner, Marcie Sterling, identified the victim through missing person reports and his daughter. He then went on to explain how he found the connection between Sanders and Howard Traynor.

  “And Detective, what was that connection?”

  “Elliot Sanders was the foreman of the jury that convicted Howard Traynor of the murder of Lucille Benson,” Jefferson solemnly said. “This was the crime he was convicted of with a flawed DNA test result. The one he was recently released from prison for.”

  Again there was a buzz in the gallery and Marc saw a noticeable stir from the jurors.

  “Was there anything else you noticed?” Harris asked.

  “Yes, it was obvious he had not been killed in Mueller Park. A subsequent search of his home found no evidence he had been killed there either.”

  “Why is this important?”

  “He must have been taken against his will somewhere…”

  “Objection,” Marc stood up. “This is completely speculative your Honor. They have no evidence he was taken against his will anywhere.”

  “Do you have any such evidence that you will be presenting?”

  “No,” Harris quietly, reluctantly admitted.

  “Then the objection is sustained. Move along, Mr. Harris.”

  Marc sat down and quietly rejoiced at his small victory. Howie was charged with kidnapping Elliot Sanders. That charge was just eliminated.

  Throughout all of this, Howie Traynor had done a very good job of maintaining his demeanor. Marc had prepared him for this, as all defense lawyers do, but it isn’t always easy. Of course, the media would report that Howie looked as if he was bored and totally uninterested in the proceedings. They had to report something and typically, they were wrong.

  Following the morning break, Jefferson testified about Cara Meyers. This was a bit tricky since Meyers had no prior connection to Howie. Harris made sure his witness admitted this and told the jury that Meyers was Eugene Parlow’s former lawyer.

  When he reached the part where the single strand of hair was found, just as he started to testify about it, Marc requested a bench conference.

  “Your Honor,” Marc quietly began when the lawyers a
ssembled. “They are about to get into DNA testing. Detective Jefferson did not…”

  Koch held up a hand to stop him, looked at Harris and said, “Not a word about any test results. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, your Honor,” Harris said trying to look wounded. “We had no intention of it.”

  “Good, then we won’t have a problem.”

  When Jefferson resumed he testified that he, along with his partner, personally delivered the single strand of hair found on Cara Meyers to the BCA in St. Paul.

  “In your opinion, as a veteran investigator, why do you believe Cara Meyers was murdered?” Harris asked.

  Marc was on his feet in an instant. “Objection! Speculation, your Honor. There is no basis in fact for any answer to this question.”

  Judge Koch thought it over for a moment then said, “Overruled. He is a professional, experienced police homicide investigator. I’ll allow a bit of it.”

  “To throw us off the investigation,” Jefferson quickly said.

  Not wanting to press his luck Harris decided to move on.

  By now it was close enough to lunch time to take a break before the prosecution moved on to the last victim charged in the indictment, Jimmy Oliver. Knowing the testimony would be a little long, Harris suggested to Judge Koch that now would be a good time to break.

  The afternoon was taken up with Jefferson’s testimony of the murder of Jimmy Oliver. As they had done with all of the victims, one of the first things Harris did was to get the photo of Oliver’s body as it was found on the TV screen. And as they had done with the previous victims, the photo stayed up on the screen throughout Jefferson’s testimony.

  When the picture of Jimmy’s bloody corpse nailed to the fence in the alley went on the screen, Marc was closely watching the jury. He saw a subtle but noticeable change in their demeanor.

  They had clearly demonstrated shock and obvious revulsion with the very first photo, the one of Rhea Watson displayed in her basement. With each subsequent one, the jurors became less and less disturbed by the image. Jimmy Oliver’s bloody body barely created a stir. Most of the jurors looked at it with an almost indifferent, impassive expression. Very likely each of them had seen much worse images on TV and in the movies many times.

  Jefferson’s testimony of the Jimmy Oliver murder was the longest and most detailed of all. He very thoroughly described all of it including timing his walk from Tooley’s to Howie Traynor’s apartment. He admitted the surveillance team at Howie’s apartment had checked and found Howie home. But he emphasized how easily he made it from Tooley’s to Howie’s implying Howie could have done it himself no problem.

  Jefferson also spent quite a bit of time detailing the relationship between the two men. He made a special effort to tell the jury that it was the confession of Jimmy Oliver that led to the arrest of Howie Traynor for the murder of Lucille Benson and how frightened of Howie Jimmy Oliver had been because of it. Harris had decided not to have Jefferson testify about the meeting the two former burglary partners had during which Howie assured Jimmy he forgave him for giving him up to the police for the Benson murder. Even though this conversation between Jimmy and Howie was clearly exculpatory and should have been given to Marc, Slocum had ordered Harris to withhold it. Harris did not believe that Marc could know this and did not want to give it to him to use.

  Jefferson finished his testimony regarding Jimmy Oliver with the discovery of the three hairs on Oliver’s body. Once again the lawyers were called to the bench and Koch again warned Harris not to bring up any test results.

  Harris finished his direct-exam of the detective shortly before five o’clock. Koch called the lawyers to the bench and asked Marc if he wanted to start his cross-examination. Marc would have liked to do so. It would have been a good idea to leave the jury with some points from the defense to consider that evening. The judge made it clear she wanted to adjourn and start in the morning and Marc reluctantly agreed.

  FIFTY-ONE

  Madeline Rivers parked her Audi in the restaurant lot. Marc had sent her a text asking her to meet him and suggested this faux French Bistro in Edina. While driving into the parking area she had seen Marc’s SUV. Now she sat staring through the window thinking about their relationship.

  Maddy had known Marc since shortly after arriving in Minneapolis from Chicago. Their mutual friend, Tony Carvelli, had introduced them and Maddy worked for Marc on several cases since then and developed a deep, almost loving friendship. In fact, Maddy did love Marc in the same way she would a close, older brother. And she knew he felt the same way toward her.

  Something in the back of her mind was telling her this meeting was a problem. Maddy knew what was bothering her and she felt rotten about it. For the first time the two of them were on opposite sides of a case. Because of her involvement with the surveillance of Howie Traynor, Maddy had a conflict of interest and could not work for Marc. If she had known helping Carvelli was going to cause this, she certainly would have declined, she believed. On the other hand turning Tony and Vivian Donahue down would have been difficult, to say the least.

  Maddy entered through the front door and before the hostess got to her, she saw Marc. He was seated in a booth at the far end of the crowded bar waiting for her. He waved at her and a few seconds later she sat down opposite him.

  “Hi,” he smiled, “how are you?”

  “I’m good,” she answered a bit cautiously. “How’s the trial?”

  “Just starting,” he answered.

  “Marc, I’m so sorry I can’t…”

  “Stop. We’ve been through this. It’s okay.”

  The waiter arrived and Maddy ordered a glass of house wine. Marc declined, still sipping a small glass of beer.

  “It’s getting late,” Marc said after looking at his watch. “After nine and I need to get home and get a good night’s sleep.”

  The waiter reappeared with Maddy’s drink. Despite the obvious age difference, the young man hovered around her a lot longer than was necessary.

  “That’s why I wanted to see you,” Marc said when the young man left. “I have to cross-examine Owen Jefferson tomorrow and your name is going to come up. It can’t be avoided.”

  When he said this, Maddy’s shoulders visibly slumped, her heart sank a bit and she swallowed a large gulp of wine.

  “I figured something like that,” she said.

  “Madeline, I’ll do everything I can to protect you but I have to defend my client.”

  “Marc,” she leaned forward and whispered, “I told you what I did in confidence. Now you’re going to use it?”

  “Maddy, I wasn’t your lawyer,” Marc defensively answered her. “I’m Howie’s lawyer and yes, I have to use it.”

  “It sucks,” she said as she sulkily sat back.

  The unspoken between them was the fact that Maddy had committed a felony going into Howie’s apartment. If it came to light, she could go to jail for it and would certainly lose her P.I. license.

  An awkward minute of silence passed between them. Maddy glared at Marc while he fidgeted with his almost empty glass.

  “You know you’re on both witness lists, don’t you?”

  “I am?” she asked genuinely surprised.

  “Have you been served a subpoena by the prosecution?”

  “No.”

  “Well, you’ll love this,” Marc said as he reached inside his suit coat and removed a single page of paper. It was folded in thirds and he placed it on the table. With a single finger he slid it across the table to her.

  “Madeline Rivers, you’ve just been served by the defendant. Keep yourself available.”

  Maddy stared at it without speaking or touching it for almost thirty seconds. Finally, she picked it up, unfolded it and read it over.

  “Is this really necessary?” she asked as she refolded it and placed it in her shoulder bag.

  “I hope not... yes,” Marc quietly said.

  “I have to go, I have to go,” she said as she swallowed what was left of her
wine, grabbed her bag and stood up.

  While he watched her hurry through the crowd, ignoring the gawking men, Marc quietly said to himself, “Sometimes I really hate this goddamn job.”

  The waiter reappeared and Marc told him he did not want anything else. Just as the young man was leaving, Marc stopped him and ordered a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer chaser.

  On his way out of the office for the evening, Craig Slocum stopped at Tommy Harris’ door and went in without knocking. Harris was at his desk working but set aside what he was doing when Slocum sat down.

  “How did things go today?” Slocum asked.

  “Good,” Harris replied. “I finished my direct of Jefferson. We got in everything we could from him. The judge wouldn’t let him testify about the hair samples but I expected that.”

  “She wouldn’t let him talk about them at all?” Slocum asked.

  “No, no. He testified about them being found on Meyers and Oliver and that he took them to the BCA. She wouldn’t let him tell the jury what the test results were.”

  “Oh, okay, sure,” Slocum said.

  “The jury got it, though. They know what the DNA results were. Plus, I told them about it in my opening statement. They know. We’ll get a couple of the techs to testify.”

  “Did Jefferson testify about the doctored DNA test that was used to help convict Traynor thirteen years ago?”

  “Sure, we need it for motive, remember?” Harris said.

  “What about the evidence found in Traynor’s apartment?” Slocum asked.

  “Jefferson identified all of it. He even told the jury that he was there and saw the cop use that board walkway to cross from Traynor’s building to the next one. The jury now knows Traynor could have easily evaded the surveillance.”