The Tustin Chronicles: A Detective Santy Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

  Chapter 3

  Clarissa gets lost driving downtown and keeps going the wrong way down one-way streets. When she finally sees the signs for the Civic Center, she is relieved. Now the issue is where to park. She can’t find any side streets that she can park on. I guess I’m going have pay to park, she tells herself when she sees a public parking sign. She pulls up to the meter that spits out a parking ticket and is shocked when she reads the prices: “$1.50 per 30 minutes; $20.00 daily.” Wow! she says aloud. She is shocked to read that if she loses her ticket, it will cost her $20.00. Reading this, she immediately puts the ticket into her purse so it doesn’t get lost.

  As she enters the parking lot, she notices a lot of make-shift cardboard and wooden shacks taking up many areas of the parking lot. What in the world is going on? she wonders. The people look like they haven’t showered or had clean clothes on for weeks. Several homeless guys come up to her and ask her for spare change. She tells them that all she has are debit and credit cards--no bills or coins.

  They answer, “Gee. It must be nice to have both a debit and credit card.”

  Where is that damn library? she wonders. She sees a building directory and tries to get oriented. She finally sees the building number for the library and heads in that direction.

  As she is walking towards the library, a woman in high heels, wearing a slip, comes over to talk to her. She asks Clarissa, “Want to party?”

  “Do I want to what?” Clarissa asks.

  You know,” the woman smiles, “have a date with me.”

  Clarissa says, “Do I look like a man to you?”

  The prostitute responds, “Just askin’ sweetheart. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Some ladies swing both ways.”

  “Well you have the wrong lady,” Clarissa replies.

  “Have a nice day,” the woman tells Clarissa as she sashays away. Clarissa feels really dirty all of the sudden and wants to take a shower.

  At last, she sees the law library. As she walks up the stairwell, she sees and smells a damp area that reeks of urine. How can people stand working here? As she rounds the bend in the stairway, she sees a fountain with no water in it. All that’s left in it are trash wrappers and cigarette butts. Finally, she crosses through the sliding doors into the law library. She can’t help but notice that there are a lot of homeless people in here, too. Well…I suppose they have to hang out somewhere. At least there’s air conditioning and restrooms. Speaking of which, she really wants to wash her hands. She follows the sign pointing to the restroom. When she enters, she sees a naked homeless woman washing her body with soap and water and drying herself off with paper towels. All the comforts of home, Clarissa tells herself; but then feels guilty because she is acting so high and mighty. She remembers a song her father used to listen to that went, “There, but for fortune, go you or I.”

  Okay, she tells herself. Count to ten and breathe. She dries her hands quickly and heads to the Reference desk. She asks a kind-looking older gentleman if the public can use the library. He assures her that she can. She tells him that she’d like to get a copy of a court transcript and if he can help her.

  “Do you have the case number?” he asks.

  “I’m afraid I don’t. It’s an old case regarding the murder of my father.”

  The librarian says, “Your father was murdered? I am so very sorry for your loss. I’ll do what I can for you. What you need to do is to go over to the Superior Courthouse. It’s within walking distance of here,” he says, pointing towards the courthouse building. “Here, take this map with you.” He marks the map to show where they are and where the courthouse is. “Go to the Criminal Operations room on the first floor. They will make you a copy of the court transcript.”

  “Awesome,” she replies. “Thanks so much for your help.”

  My faith in the system is restored, she tells herself. These are really nice people who work here. Time to find the Superior Courthouse. She runs the gauntlet of homeless people who are either talking to themselves or yelling at their imaginary pursuers. Finally, she reaches the courthouse.

  There is a long line branching out the door as people stand in line waiting to go through the metal detectors. She notices men having to take their belts off before they can be cleared to enter. She puts her purse on the conveyor belt and walks through the metal detector. The lights flash and she is told to go through it again. The lights continue to flash and the female screener says, “It’s probably just the underwire in your bra. Go ahead.”

  Clarissa thinks, Great. Now all the men in line are thinking about me in my bra.

  The courthouse is abuzz with people. She sees potential jurors entering the jury assembly room. They look dazed and confused as to where to go. Attorneys briskly pass by, talking on their cell phones. She loves the idea that she is in the center of government for the County. It makes her excited and a little patriotic. She tells herself that she is not going to bother the officers at the information desk by asking them where the Criminal Operations Room is. She will find it herself. She wanders down the hall and finally finds the room. The sign on the door reads “Criminal and Traffic Operations Room”. She wonders why people with traffic tickets would have to come here and stand in line with people who want to look at court transcripts. There is a very long line.

  Finally, she reaches the window and explains what she needs. “Do you have the case number?” she’s asked.

  There’s that question again. “No; all I have is the case name and date.”

  The clerk says, “Oh; that’s a really old case. This is going to take some time.”

  “It’s okay; I’m not in a hurry,” she says and can almost hear the groans of the people waiting in line in back of her.

  The clerk finds the case number and she is relieved. He says, “Do you realize that this transcript is 250 pages long?”

  Wow, cool, Clarissa thinks. I had no idea there would be that much information! I can’t wait to dive in!

  He tells her that the fee to copy the transcript is 50 cents per page. Not so cool, she thinks. Realizing that she has no other choice, she tells him to go ahead and copy them. The clerk tells her that first she must go up to the second floor to see “C.R.I.S”, the Court Reporter Interpretive Services room, to get approval to look at the file. The clerk tells her that when she gets a supervisor’s signed approval, she must bring it back and then he will make a copy it for her.

  He tells her to just look for “C.R.I.S.”, up on the second floor. She thinks that she is supposed to talk to some lady named “Cris”. She goes to the second floor and sees people waiting to get into a courtroom. Several of the rooms have signs saying, “Court is in session.”

  This is so awesome, she thinks. This whole process is so exciting. Her admiration starts to flag when she realizes that she can’t find the right room. She can’t exactly interrupt a court session and ask for information. Luckily, she sees a woman talking on the phone in her office. It has the door open, so Clarissa knocks and asks, “Do you know where I can find Cris?” The lady answers, “Cris who?”

  “I’m not sure. They told me at the Criminal Operations Room that I should go see Cris.”

  The lady looks puzzled and then realizes what Clarissa means. “Ah! I know. You need to go to the Court Reporter Interpretive Services. That’s what those initials stand for. It’s actually on the third floor.”

  Okay, she tells herself. This is starting to feel like the “Circumlocution Office” in Dickens’ Little Dorrit.

  Finally she finds C.R.I.S. and gets a signature. That was easy, she thinks. I was expecting I’d have to fill out all sorts of paperwork explaining why I wanted to see the transcripts. Now having the valuable signature in hand, she heads down stairs once again to return to the Criminal and Traffic Operations room. She gets back in line and waits her turn again. When she gets up to the window at last, she is told by the clerk that he’ll make copies, but it’s going to take a while. “Have a seat,” she’s told.

  I hope I
get out of here before it gets dark, she tells herself. She listens to the stories of the people waiting for information also. Several complain about traffic tickets. One guy says that he’s just got a new dream job and he’s afraid that they’ll find out he has a misdemeanor on file.

  The clerk says, “Sir, you may want to get yourself an attorney. We don’t provide legal advice.”

  He leaves in a huff. Another satisfied customer, Clarissa thinks. Finally, her name is called and the clerk tells her that it will be $125.00.

  Yikes! I’m glad that I just cashed my paycheck! Well…it’s not as if I didn’t know, she tells herself and pays the fee, finally glad to have the precious transcript in hand.

  Chapter 4

  Home at last with the transcripts, she can’t wait to start reading. She asks herself, What if I can’t understand all the legalese. I have absolutely no legal training.

  She turns to the first page on the transcript. She sees that the name of the case is “The People of the State of California, (Plaintiff) vs. Ivan Romanov (Defendant).

  She is surprised to see that there are two public defenders. From what she knows about people having the right to an attorney, even when they can’t pay for one, Mr. Romanov having two struck her as unusual. I guess that’s where our tax money goes. Then she reminds herself, Innocent people are being blamed all of the time for crimes they haven’t done. Look at all of the Cold Case shows on TV. Once the cops look at the DNA evidence, it turns out lots of times that the wrong person has been punished--some even getting lethal injections. I will try to keep an open mind.

  Her cousin, Charlotte, has already told her that the opening statements of both the prosecutor and defendant are very important because they offer the jury the first opportunity to hear both sides of the case. In the court transcript, the Judge talked directly to the jury and said, “Folks; before we begin, I just want to caution you that what the prosecution and defense say in their opening arguments is not to be considered as evidence. What they will tell you will be merely an overview of what each of their cases is about.”

  The Judge then asked the Prosecuting attorney if he is ready to begin. The Prosecution began by saying, “Starting today, I will present you with witnesses and exhibits that will demonstrate and prove that the defendant, Ivan Romanov, has committed another murder as a result of his jealous rage. Some of you may have heard of the defendant and his conviction for murdering his girlfriend’s husband with a hammer and a gun. You’ve probably also seen on TV that the defendant escaped from the Orange County Jail a month before he was caught and rearrested in March 1976. What had this man been doing during the month he was a fugitive? Did he kill another victim, Steve Rogers, in a jealous rage? The evidence that I will present to you in this trial will prove that the answer is “Yes!”

  You are going to hear four witnesses who will prove the guilt of Mr. Romanov—guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The first witness will testify that physical evidence relating to the murder was found in the car the defendant was driving. Next, the second witness will testify that the defendant used the same methods for the same reasons in both killings. In other words, he has the same M.O. in both murders. (You have probably seen movies or TV shows that talk about the suspect’s M. O. It stands for method of operation). The third witness will testify that the victim, Steven Rogers, was seen leaving a bar with Mr. Romanov on the night of his murder. The fourth witness will testify that the defendant and victim worked together at The Register Newspaper and the defendant was jealous when he found Mr. Rogers flirting with a woman they both liked.

  It’s up to you, ladies and gentlemen. Each one of you is a judge. Each one of you will have to look at the evidence in this case and ask yourself, “Is this evidence is logical? Does it make sense? Is there enough evidence to convince you that the defendant has committed another crime for the same reason? A second conviction for this defendant may result in the death penalty. Is there enough evidence to justify the State of California killing this man? The People’s case is certain that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding, “Yes!” I want to thank you in advance for your attention. The Court recognizes that it is inconvenient for many of you to be here serving on this jury; and, because of that, we thank you very much for your service.”

  Wow! Clarissa thinks. Dad sure hung out with some scary people. What was Dad doing in a bar? He was supposed to be in A.A. He wasn’t supposed to be drinking. I guess Dad had a lot of secrets. Like who is my Mother! Maybe that secret will come out in the trial. Maybe my Mom was the woman who worked at the newspaper with Dad and Ivan. I wonder what the opening statement of the Defense is going to be? Lots to think about. I’d better stop reading this or I’ll be up all night. Tomorrow is a work day.

  Chapter 5

  Clarissa wakes up the next morning, puts on her sweats, and makes her daily coffee-run to Starbucks. Before leaving, she asks her grandmother if she wants her to pick up anything while she’s there.

  “Maybe a small decaf, dear. That Starbucks coffee you drink is too strong. And, it makes me too fidgety.”

  After Clarissa finishes her coffee, she gets dressed and ready to work her shift at “In-And-Out Burger.” Yesterday at work, she was handing out orders at the take-out window, and some guy grabbed her hand and asked her if she’d like to go out with him. Jeez…he looked about 30, she thinks; why would I want to date an old man like him! She puts on her uniform with its giant safety pin that holds her apron together. It’s going to be so nice to be a paralegal and wear my own clothes to work. I can see myself in Jimmy Choo’s with a great suit on that I’d bought at Bloomingdales. I’ll have this great up-do and have French-manicured nails. And I won’t have to put up with perverts pawing me every day at work.

  When her shift is over, she decides to treat her Grandmother to Knott’s Berry Farm chicken dinner takeout. She calls her Grandmother telling her not to bother making dinner tonight because she’ll be bringing her a surprise. When she arrives at Knott’s, she walks to the take-out counter for the chicken dinner. God; chicken sounds so good right now. If I eat or smell another In-And-Out burger today, I’m going to puke.

  As she’s driving home from Knott’s Berry Farm, Clarissa can hardly wait to see the look on her grandmother’s face when she sees what she’s bought home for dinner. It’s her grandmother’s favorite treat. Her family has so many good memories of going to Knott’s together. Because her grandfather worked there for so many years, they went there often, just to walk around Ghost Town. They used to like to read the witty tombstones at Boot Hill. She loved getting her picture taken sitting on a bench next to statues of Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill outside the Gold Trails Hotel.

  When Clarissa enters her house, she sees her grandmother washing dishes in the kitchen.

  Her grandmother says, “Something smells like chicken.”

  “It is, Nana. Fresh from Knott’s Berry Farm!”

  “What a treat, honey! Thank you so much. Let me go get some plates.”

  “I even bought a whole boysenberry pie for us.”

  “Let’s see how long that’ll last. Pretty soon, I’ll start busting the buttons off my house dress.”

  “Oh, Nana. You look perfect to me!”

  “You’re such a sweetie,” she tells her grand-daughter as she opens up the bag and takes out the boxes filled with chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, cabbage, and biscuits with Knott’s famous jam. Clarissa doesn’t get any rhubarb for herself (she thinks it’s gross), but she buys two servings of it because she knows how much her grandmother likes it.

  “This is just delicious, Clarissa. Good ole Knott’s. Your Dad used to love going there. We bought a coonskin cap for him there when he was little and he wore it everywhere. He used to love panning for gold, too. He was such a cute little boy,” Nana says wistfully.

  “I wish I could’ve gone there with him, Nana.”

  “He did take you there a few times. You were just too young to remember.”

  “I wish I co
uld remember.”

  “We lost him too early, dear.”

  They quietly eat the rest of their dinner and Clarissa says, “Nana, I’ve been reading some of the transcript from Dad’s murder trial. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Want me to read some of it to you?”

  “No, honey; I’d rather not. I hope it isn’t upsetting you?”

  “No. It’s interesting to read what the lawyers say.”

  “Maybe you should be a clerk at the courthouse someday.”

  “I want to be a lady lawyer.”

  “Well. You’ll have to win the lottery to do that. It’s very expensive to go to law school.”

  “I know, Nana. But it’s fun to dream.”

  After she helps her grandmother wash and dry the dishes, she says, “I’m going to hit the sack early to read some more of the transcript. I’ll see you in the morning, Nana.”

  “Thanks again for the delicious meal. Love you.”

  “Love and like you too, Nana.” They both kiss as her grandmother goes upstairs to bed.

  She can’t wait to hear what the defense’s opening argument is going to be. The defendant is represented by a female attorney named Iris Wallace. Wow! Clarissa thinks. I wonder if I could ever be a lawyer someday? She settles in and begins to read the court transcript:

  “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Many of you may be familiar with the defendant, Ivan Romanov. You may be aware of his previous convictions and you may also have seen the TV coverage about his escape from the Orange County Jail in 1976. He is now serving time for those convictions. The question you must ask yourselves throughout this trial is, “Did he also kill Steve Rogers during the month after he’d escaped from jail?”

  “You must ask yourselves about the logic behind the prosecution’s case. Their main argument is, “Because he did this, he did that.” Does the defendant have the propensity to kill again? And in the same fashion? That is the crux of their whole case.”