by Sydney Bauer
Logically, he only saw three potential problems – Ed Washington, Cavanaugh, and, he hated to admit it, his wife.
Washington would be spoken to and watched closely. The Senator suspected this would be enough, but being the cautious man that he was, he allowed for the possibility that some secondary action may be necessary. He would wait and see.
Cavanaugh was good, very good in fact. Verne’s research had confirmed this. But he also had a history of allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement. He hated Katz, which may fuel his will to win, but would also inevitably interfere with his clarity. The girl – Davis – was not a threat. She was young and inexperienced. If Cavanaugh were as smart as he suspected, he would not use her a great deal in trial. She was, after all, one of them, so everything she said would be tainted.
As for Elizabeth, he would have to keep an eye on her. Her behaviour at the funeral was unacceptable and extremely high risk. There was that look in her eye, the vague behaviour, the memory lapses, the idle chatter. Elizabeth had always been prone to daydreams, and such behaviour often came hand in hand with grief, but she seemed a little . . . unstable. And this made him nervous.
He would have a word to Agnes and find ways to keep her close to home, occupied with the banquet and other menial tasks. He needed her shipshape for the upcoming electoral campaign and as such would make sure she was rested and protected. After all, it would not be for long. This trial would be fast tracked so that he could concentrate on his re-election. By the end of the year, Rayna Martin would be well settled in her new home, serving the first months of what would be a lifetime in prison. Just where she belonged.
David did not get back to Boston until late Friday night. After spending another two hours talking with Mariah, he accepted an offer to stay for dinner, and was even more grateful when Ewan Jordan offered him a lift back to the city. The successful veterinarian who, according to Sara had made a good deal of money from inventing a nationwide vets’ on-line consulting service, said he hadn’t driven the Porsche all week and wanted to take it for a decent spin.
Not one to turn down an hour-long drive in a 911 – or even better, the chance to get behind the wheel, which Ewan offered halfway through their journey – David called Arthur and took a raincheck on their meeting. He was also relieved to get a call from Sara on his cell. They both agreed something was definitely not right about Petri’s involvement in her brother’s arrest and arranged to meet at District Court the next morning to try to get Jake arraigned and released in the Saturday morning rush.
Once he hung up from Sara he turned his attention to Ewan Jordan, the two of them talking about everything from the news, the Red Sox and eventually sailing. Ewan Jordan didn’t just dabble in the sport, he was actually a very accomplished yachtsman. He was part owner in a 32-footer moored at Rockport, Cape Ann and knew the waters of the area very well.
‘So I guess you’re familiar with Ipswich and Essex Bays where Rayna took the girls?’ said David.
‘Sure am. Calm waters, mild winds – the perfect place for a safe weekend sail.’
‘And you would doubt climactic or tidal forces had anything to do with Christina’s death?’
‘Highly unlikely in my opinion. As you know, Gloucester and some of the areas around it are still working fishing villages. Even the immediate harbour used to be a fisherman’s haven with schools of bluefish, cod and haddock flocking into the more protected inlets where waters were warm and currents less threatening. Fishermen used to set their nets overnight and pull in loads of the stuff every morning. It was a trawler’s gold mine.
‘Of course these days they have to travel a little further out for any decent sort of catch. The closer inlets have been pretty much fished out. Some of the old nets are still there, but do little more than act as a hindrance to charter boats that get tangled anchors at low tide. Nowadays places like Gloucester, Rockport and Essex rely more on the tourist dollar: boat charters, helicopter rides, craft shops, art galleries, that sort of thing. It’s a nice spot. Well worth a visit.’
David made a mental note of Ewan’s comments so he could pass them on to Arthur’s associates, Samantha Bale and Con Stipoulos who were currently investigating the physical forces in play on the day of Christina’s death. They were researching the tidal and weather conditions, canvassing the locals, interviewing the Coastguard and so on.
‘It’s a popular destination then?’
‘Yes and no. It’s no Cape Cod but it has its own sort of earthy charm. Summers are busy, but May is a sweet time – warm enough for a great day’s sailing, but a whole lot quieter than June or July.’
‘Hmmm,’ said David.
‘Yes sir, I see your problem,’ said Ewan reading between the lines. ‘No witnesses. And no explanation as to why a teenage girl drowns in the middle of a relatively quiet and peaceful waterway.’
‘Exactly.’
11
Friday night brought the best sleep David had had in a week, more due to exhaustion than anything else. He woke early on Saturday feeling refreshed enough to tackle a long run before grabbing a juice at Myrtles, jogging home to shower and change, and heading out to meet Sara.
Luckily Sara had worked her magic with the court clerk and managed to get Jake’s arraignment squashed into the heavy weekend docket. Sara’s father paid the $5000 bond and Jake was free to go home, pending a hearing to be scheduled in the next few months.
By two, David and Sara were starving so David suggested some take-out and a late picnic lunch at Boston Common. Sara was anxious to hear about Mariah’s interview, but David suggested they allow themselves a quiet lunch before they rang Arthur and set up a time to go through it as a group.
For the moment they were enjoying the sun on their faces and the comforting sound of children playing around them.
‘Do you think we should talk to Joe about Petri?’ Sara broke the silence.
‘That’s what I was planning. We have to be careful though, Petri is one of his men and Joe is pretty protective. He seems to think the guy is straight up, just a little jaded after years on the job.’
‘I don’t like accusing an experienced cop, David, but there just doesn’t seem to be any other explanation, and the link with Rayna . . . it just seems a little too . . .’
‘I know. We’ll get to the bottom of it, don’t worry.’
David immediately thought of Joe’s warning about Haynes and his ability to reach into people’s lives. Perhaps he should tell her, he thought, but then he looked at her profile as she gazed out across the park, her eyes squinting in the afternoon light, her hair back in a ponytail blowing in the breeze and felt that all-consuming need to protect her.
She turned to see him looking at her.
‘David. I think we need to . . . um . . .’
‘Look, if it’s about the other day in Arthur’s office, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to —’
‘No, no. It’s not that.’
Sara turned towards him and took his hand. He looked at her, not knowing what to say.
‘The other night in the car I . . . I didn’t want you to think that I—’
‘I know,’ he interrupted, somehow preferring to say it himself than hear any form of rejection coming from her.
‘It’s not that I didn’t want to.’
‘It’s not?’ he interrupted, feeling surprised, pleased.
‘No. I mean, I did, but I just think that right now, we have to focus 100 per cent on the trial.’
‘It’s okay, Sara,’ he said, relieved she had felt something. ‘I understand and you’re right. First things first.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘But I am sorry,’ he went on, ‘about what I said about you needing to take a step back.’
‘Don’t be. I know I am too close to this thing and I’ve been trying to toughen up and disassociate myself, but I can’t seem to stop this feeling of anger. The mess with Jake just made it worse.’
‘You don’t have to stop being angry. You may find this hard to believe but I’ve bee
n known to let my temper get the better of me.’
‘Oh, really?’ she said and he could hear the playful sarcasm in her voice. ‘If your performance at the funeral is anything to go by, my guess is that temper of yours has had more than its fair share of run-ins. To be honest, I was pretty annoyed at Joe when he pulled you off the ADA.’
‘Me too,’ he laughed.
They sat in silence a minute longer, David not feeling the need to fill the pauses.
‘You hate him, don’t you?’ she asked at last.
‘Katz? Well, yeah, I suppose I do. Not very grown up of me, is it?’
‘Will you tell me one day what he did to you?’
‘It wasn’t really to me, it was to someone a lot more vulnerable. And yeah, I will tell you one day.’ He squeezed her hand again. ‘I promise.’
‘You were right,’ David heard Arthur say as he leaned back in his old, scratched leather chair. ‘Mariah is a problem.’
He was almost hoping the older, wiser member of their team might find some redeeming feature in Mariah’s interview, but in the end they all agreed the girl they were hoping would be their star witness had turned out to be a major disappointment. Mariah’s heart was certainly in the right place but putting her on the stand would be a huge risk. The State could tear her apart, and their client’s case along with her.
‘Maybe it’s not as bad as it first seems,’ said David. ‘She’s not saying the conversation didn’t take place, just that Rayna made no direct reference to it. It all happened so quickly. She was manoeuvring the cruiser, relieved to find out they were okay and desperate to get back to Christina. There was no time for chit-chat.’
‘David’s right,’ said Sara.
‘Maybe,’ said Arthur. ‘But it still would have been a hell of lot easier if she’d made some allusion to it.’
They sat in silence for a moment trying to re-collect their thoughts.
‘Okay,’ said Sara, standing to walk towards the windows, obviously determined this latest setback would not affect their enthusiasm. ‘Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. We’re so busy trying to paint a picture of what did happen, maybe we should be focusing on what didn’t.’
They looked at her, confused.
‘Think about it. What if Rayna hadn’t rushed to the other three?’ she asked.
‘Be careful, Sara,’ said Arthur. ‘Katz will just say Christina would be alive and the girls would have been waiting for the cruiser with their life jackets on.’
‘No, that’s not what I mean,’ she was on a roll now, pacing around the office. ‘The jury have to see this from Rayna’s perspective. All Rayna had to go on was Christina’s urgent warning that they were in danger – immediate danger. What if Christina was right? For all Rayna knew, she was. In this scenario Christina would be safe but three other teenagers could be in serious trouble.’
The two of them looked at her without interrupting.
‘Francie said she hit her head right? And, she had a cramp. She couldn’t move and she was panicking big time. Mariah isn’t a great swimmer, she was trying to hold her up but getting weaker by the minute. Teesha would probably have been okay, but who knows what lengths she would have gone to in order to support the other two. Christina told Rayna she was one of the best swimmers at school so . . . This was the scenario Rayna was seeing and we have to make the jury see it this way too.’
‘And as for Haynes . . .’ began Arthur, now sitting forward on his chair.
‘He must be carrying a hell of a lot of guilt for allowing Christina to go to the party in the first place,’ said David.
‘Or rather,’ said Arthur, ‘not trying hard enough to stop her.’
‘Exactly,’ said Sara, moving across the room again before stopping short in front of Arthur’s desk. ‘To Haynes there can be no other suspect. Rayna is black. In his mind that alone is predisposition of guilt. He isn’t even considering an alternative. He doesn’t know how.’
‘And so he is manipulating the legal system to make sure she goes away,’ said Arthur. ‘The question is, can Mariah help us establish Haynes’ bias?’
‘Well,’ said Sara, ‘Mariah had no doubt Christina was under pressure to drop her African–American friends. She even suspected Christina originally befriended the three girls as an act of rebellion. The fact they all became fast friends made her parents even more furious.’
‘None of these girls have ever been to Christina’s house?’ asked Arthur.
‘Mariah went there once,’ said David, now rising from his chair across the room to join the other two at Arthur’s desk, completing the huddle of three. ‘But only when Christina’s parents were out and only for a few minutes. She described a family room with one wall acting as a gallery for photographs – you know, politicians, movie stars, relatives, friends, that sort of thing. Of the eighty or so pictures on the wall, there was not one black face in the mix.’
‘That isn’t normal,’ said Sara.
‘It is also useless,’ said Arthur, bringing his fist down on his desk and simultaneously dropping a bomb on their enthusiasm. ‘This is not concrete evidence. Christina Haynes was a minor. Her parents had every right to stop her from going to a party. They also have the right to choose what photos they put on their God-damned living room wall.’
‘But their decisions were based on skin colour,’ said Sara.
‘So what?’ countered Arthur, playing devil’s advocate. ‘Even if they were, there is no real evidence of it. We are clutching at straws. We bring up stuff like this in court and we look petty, or worse desperate. Go over to Rayna’s house and find a white face on her mantlepiece.’
Arthur was right. They needed something more tangible.
‘Arthur,’ said Sara, her arms up in a gesture of futility. ‘What you are asking is impossible. We are not going to find someone who’ll stand up in court and call Haynes a racist.’
David could tell she was getting worked up.
‘Let’s face it, our key witness is the victim, our main accuser is a wealthy and popular politician and our client is black. We are behind the eight ball here – big time. My bet is Katz and Scaturro are halfway to locking up Rayna for life, and we’re . . . well . . . we’re sitting here talking about birthday parties and picture walls.’
Sara took a deep breath, looked to Arthur and then to David before shaking her head in defeat.
‘It just feels so pointless. There’s an invisible undertow of deceit here that is pulling us under. It’s like we’re drowning, or already dead in the water.’
They realised the significance of her analogy the moment it left her lips, and David saw Sara look across at Arthur once more, no doubt hoping this smart, experienced, opinionated man might have some sound bite of wisdom that would save them all or, in the very least, give them some small piece of hope.
Arthur looked at them both and opened his mouth in reply but, for once, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
‘Just finishing?’
Officer Susan Leigh had just changed into her casuals and was heading for the front door of Headquarters when Chief Mannix came up behind her.
‘Ah . . . yes, Chief. Spent the day with the ADA, so I picked up an extra shift tonight. We’re short staffed.’
‘What else is new?’
Lieutenant Mannix was a respected figure in the Department, known for his ability to get things done minus the fuss and bravado exercised by a lot of other senior detectives. The guy carried a lot of clout in the building and, from what she heard, down at the DA’s office as well. Even more important, he was also Commander of the Homicide Unit – Homicide! Exactly where she wanted to be when she got her gold shield. And so, Susan Leigh, quick on her feet and never one to miss an opportunity, decided she should make the most of this timely encounter.
‘Busy coupla weeks,’ she said.
‘You can say that again. Is the ADA cutting into your work time?’
‘Not really. But Mr Katz is thorough and I am happy to work
doubles if it means assisting them in their pursuit of justice.’
Jeez, she thought, ‘pursuit of justice’ – it sounded like a bad line from one of those over-rated TV dramas. Tone it down, Susan.
‘I mean to say . . .’
‘I know what you meant, Officer. The ADA can be . . . ah . . . shall we say, zealous in his pursuit of all sorts of things.’
‘Just trying to help, Lieutenant.’
‘I am sure you are.’
They reached the front doors and Susan, now cursing herself for saying the wrong thing, turned to try to make amends.
‘I believe our role as police officers is to try to assist both the detectives and the District Attorney’s office as much as possible. The case doesn’t stop after the arrest, Lieutenant. I don’t believe in the theory that we should wash our hands of a perp as soon as our report is typed and filed. That attitude is both lazy and negligent. I certainly do not want to shirk the responsibility of seeing a case through. And if that means putting in the extra hours then so be it.’
Mannix smiled.
‘Can I offer a little advice, Officer?’
‘Yes Sir. Please Sir.’
‘Well, not everyone’s motives are as noble as yours,’ he said. ‘And sometimes, certain people can be so determined to nail a perp that they forget everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And you’re right, your job is to help. But you have to be careful not to be played as the pawn in the process.’
‘Yes Sir.’ she said, delighted to be getting a one-on-one with the Head of Homicide. Taking mental notes. A look of complete concentration on her face. ‘Anything else, Sir?’
‘Yeah, Susan. Lighten up.’
‘Lighten up?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Yes Sir,’ she said as Joe turned to walk towards his car. ‘Goodnight Lieutenant, and thank you,’ her voice trailed off in the distance. ‘Thank you very much.’
