Probity: A Legal Suspense Novel

by Thomas Gatta

  “Yes. They’ll look into the matter. But they’ll want to let the trial run its course, first. No point in taking action if your folks can get a conviction.”

  Cohen nodded, “Sure, of course. See what the jury decides. Well, good luck.” He tilted his head to his left and said, “You’ve got lots of friendly reporters waiting down the hall.” Cohen winked at Craddock and said, “Don’t know if any of them know you work for the Committees or not.” Cohen waved as he took off down the hall in the opposite direction, away from the reporters, and said, “Guess I’d better get back to the office. Have fun. Bye now.”

  Craddock looked after him and grimaced. Then he looked back at the reporters and headed more slowly in the same direction Cohen had taken.

  - 60 -

  Joan glared at Dave and Hank as they stopped in the hall outside the courtroom. “Well, why didn’t we know about those recordings? Particularly that last one? And why the hell didn’t Sean’s managers tell us about the rape allegations? Who in our office interviewed Gutzmann? Did anybody?”

  Hank looked at Dave and Joan and shrugged his shoulders, “Are you really surprised folks aren’t willing to tell the lawyers all?” He shook his head. “And, really, what would we have done with it?”

  Joan said, “Well, we’d have done a crime referral to Justice about the rape and the other allegations. And we’d have let the IG know.”

  Dave looked at her and nodded toward the courtroom, “So, the testimony in there was pretty telling. Gutzmann’s managers were dismissive. She didn’t think the IG would do anything—probably correctly. The IG just refers matters back to management to deal with—that way they can squelch any controversies.”

  Joan shook her head, “Damn, I thought this was going better. Now we’ve got a mess to deal with. We look stupid, and the press is down the hall swarming.” She turned and looked in the opposite direction. “Let’s see if we can find a back door. We need to let the seniors in the SU and the Pentagon brass know. They’ll want to get a statement out.”

  Hank asked, “Saying what, that we didn’t know?”

  Joan replied, “Of course not. It will have to say that we take these sorts of allegations seriously but that we cannot interfere in an ongoing trial. That’s all for now.”

  She looked at them both and said, “And we’ll also need to let management know about the Committees most likely being ready to stick their oars in. Why didn’t we know Gutzmann went to them? We should have been alerted. Damn.” Joan grimaced, turned, and headed down the hall looking for a back entrance, the aubergine designer scarf around her neck flying out behind her and her matching high heels snapping against the granite floor. Hank and Dave looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and scurried after her.

  - 61 -

  Scott watched the jurors as he listened to the judge give them their instructions before they retired for their deliberations. They looked tired. He was. The last week had been rough.

  The defendant’s attorney, Smith, after trying to destroy Kate’s credibility, had then turned to undermining the prosecution’s contention that MEJA applied to the case. Smith had done a decent job at trying to explain that Bennett’s mission for the SU was separate from that of DOD in Afghanistan, and so MEJA was irrelevant. Smith had called a few more SU officials. They’d danced around saying what Bennett actually was tasked with doing but had said that, whatever it was, it was in support of SU objectives. The officials wouldn’t confirm that Bennett was supporting DOD’s mission, even though Scott had pressed them during cross-examination.

  The closing arguments had been strong.

  Smith had emphasized Bennett’s good record and patriotism and again hammered at Kate’s possible motives, particularly a desire for revenge. The defense attorney also had tried to drive home to the jury the idea that Bennett was merely doing his duty during the raid and had acted to defend himself in a difficult situation.

  Maddie had been great. She’d recalled the jury’s attention to Bennett’s excesses: the photos on the wall at his base showing his trophy “kills”; how he’d committed the killings with a silenced gun, execution-style, while the students—boys, not men—slept; his boasting of his slaying of “vermin,” not human beings and, finally; Bennett’s admissions while he raped Kate. Maddie had acknowledged that this case was not about the rape but had called the jury’s attention to the defendant’s pattern of illegal, harmful behavior. She talked about the need for accountability and whether the defendant should be above the law. She had underscored for the jury how members of the US Armed Forces, wherever they may be, in domestic or foreign locations, cannot commit serious crimes and expect to remain unpunished. Maddie had explained that Congress intended MEJA to extend US law overseas to cover such crimes as Bennett had committed. She said the defense’s argument that MEJA didn’t apply in this case was spurious. Bennett would not have been doing what he was doing had the US military not been involved in Afghanistan. Finally, Maddie had pointed out to the jury that Bennett’s actions in killing the schoolboys weren’t authorized activities conducted in accordance with applicable US law. They were, instead, outrageous actions that shocked the conscience. And she asked the jury to think about what crimes Bennett could commit next if they didn’t take action against him.

  The judge was coming to the end of her instructions. McNamara banged the gavel and dismissed the jury to deliberate.

  Scott glanced at Maddie, and she looked back at him and nodded toward the jury box. She said, “I couldn’t tell anything from looking at them. What about you?”

  He responded, “No. I think it could go either way. And I don’t think it’s going to be a quick decision. So let’s go find some lunch and then head back to the office. Maybe we can talk Kate into letting us prosecute Bennett for rape.”

  Maddie replied, “I’m good with lunch, but I don’t think we’ll have much luck with Kate. I think she’s done now. It took a lot out of her to allow us to use that last recording. And Smith’s cross-examination of her was emotionally brutal. Now, I think she just wants to hide and figure out what she’s going to do next.”

  Scott nodded. “She was a brave lady to bring all this forward. I guess I understand her unwillingness to go further now. I gather she’s resigning from her job?”

  “Yes. I think she’s convinced she has no choice, especially after going to the Committees. Her career is ruined. And she’s afraid of what Bennett will try to do to her.”

  “He’d be crazy to try anything now.”

  Maddie looked at Scott and raised her eyebrows.

  Scott said, “Okay. Has she got someone to stay with for a while?”

  Maddie said, “I think so, at least until the jury’s done. Then I understand she may leave the area.”

  Scott responded, “Good. But I’m hoping she won’t have to do that.”

  Maddie nodded, “Me, too. I really like her.” She shook her head and said, “Life is so unfair sometimes.” Standing up, Maddie gathered her files, smiled at Scott and said, “Enough for now. Let’s go find food before I expire.”

  - 62 -

  Assadullah had gone back to his boss, Habib, and told him about the trial. Habib had called Assadullah to ask him about the court case after reading several articles in the news. The reporters had filed multiple articles describing Kate’s testimony, and public interest in what was going on had heated up. Now the newspapers were running stories, not just about the trial, but about what the SU, Pentagon, Congressional, and other public officials were saying about SU accountability.

  Assadullah explained to Habib about the recordings and what Kate had said. Assadullah told Habib about the defense attorney’s efforts to try to undermine Kate’s testimony. Habib was sympathetic when Assadullah had said he was no longer sure he could trust the court to do the right thing and to send Bennett to prison. Assadullah clarified that he meant that, after Kate’s testimony, he was convinced that he needed to take his Badal, not depend on the court.

  Habib had said he unde
rstood. He said not to blame the court, though. It was the lawyers who were devious. Then Habib suggested that the jury might do the right thing despite the lawyers. He counseled Assadullah not to do anything rash and instead to wait for the verdict.

  Assadullah had told Habib that he had delayed long enough and could be patient only a little while longer. The jury needed to decide soon. Then Assadullah asked Habib where he could obtain a gun, “just in case” the jury made the wrong decision.

  - 63 -

  Kate had turned in her resignation papers and argued with various offices in the SU about whether she could keep her clearance. The SU lawyers were stirring up trouble for her, claiming she went around them in going to the Committees. She hadn’t. She’d followed the procedures, at least as she’d understood them. Kate wasn’t surprised at the hassle, though. She’d expected to face retribution. The history of whistleblowers wasn’t a positive one.

  The prosecutors, Maddie and Scott, had told Kate that they wanted to prosecute Bennett for rape. Scott had said the District Attorney felt that they’d have a pretty good case, particularly using the recording and her roommate Mona’s testimony. Kate had told Scott, “no,” she wouldn’t testify. Kate had thanked Scott for trying but told him she was finished, and she’d told the SU lawyers the same thing. She hoped that stopping the legal efforts would ease her way out of the SU. Besides, Kate believed she had done what she could to get the truth out. Now she just wanted the prosecutors, the SU, and the Committees to leave her alone. She needed to get on with her life.

  Kate had been staying with her friend, Cindy, until Karla called on her cell phone and said she planned to come down for a visit. Karla said she wanted to hear the verdict, whenever that would be. She also probably knew that Kate needed someone with her, in her apartment and in the courtroom. Karla said she planned to drive Kate back up to New Jersey with her after the verdict so Kate could meet her new cat and check out the beaches and job possibilities up north. That had sounded like a good plan to Kate.

  - 64 -

  Vivian checked her calendar on her cell phone. She could devote the remainder of today to this trial. No more. She had things to do. The fall gala was Saturday, and she’d promised her friends she would help with it. She also needed to get her hair done before Saturday, and she wanted to go shopping with Amy who needed a dress for her high school Homecoming dance, which was in two weeks. Vivian scanned her e-mail and noted that her maid service would be late today, and her husband had sent her a message asking her to stop by the wine store and pick up some bottles of Bordeaux for him for this weekend. And her son, Mike, wanted to bring some friends home for dinner before his football game on Friday. Great. Just great. Like she didn’t have plenty to do already. Enough of her civic duty. She had to see what she could do to get her fellow jurors off the fence and back into the courtroom with their decision. It wasn’t like it should be hard to decide. Bennett clearly wasn’t guilty. He had been doing his duty. And that Gutzmann woman who was accusing him of all kinds of wrongdoing just had an axe to grind. Bitch.

  - 65 -

  Ben Hernandez was sitting with the other jurors at the long table in the jury room. He was eating his lunch and trying to listen. Ben swallowed what was in his mouth, took a sip of his iced tea, and dropped the rest of his roast beef sandwich on the Pot Belly bag in front of him. It was a good sandwich, but his appetite was gone. He was thoroughly sick of the arguments and rehashing all the facts and testimonies.

  The jury earlier had elected Dan O’Neill foreman, and Dan had been doing a great job trying to guide the group through the process. He’d been patient, even-handed, and considerate of everyone’s needs. The problem was that Dan just couldn’t get everyone to agree—on any of the counts. It wasn’t his fault. Dan had tried to separate out the various charges and get folks to concur on them individually. No luck. They were heading toward being “hung.” As Dan explained, with no agreement by them on anything, the judge would declare a mistrial, and the defendant could be tried again in front of another jury. Dan pointed out that that would be costly for all concerned. So they needed to get their acts together and come to agreement—innocent or guilty—on at least some of the counts.

  Ben was more than ready. He and the majority of the jury—after intense discussions and more than a few arguments—believed MEJA applied in the case and favored convicting Bennett of charges of manslaughter and murder. The holdouts were Ted Walker and Vivian Markham. Now, Vivian was making a pitch to take a final vote without sifting through the evidence and testimonies again. She said that, unless Dan conjured up some new evidence, she was sticking with her decision. Vivian complained, again, that she had things to do outside the jury room and needed to finish this trial up today. Dan looked like he finally was starting to get annoyed. Really annoyed. Ben just shook his head and watched to see what would happen next.

  Vivian glanced at Ted and then said to the other jurors, “Look, Ted and I just don’t see things your way. I don’t care about all that Mejy-Wegy stuff. It doesn’t matter. The guy was doing what he was supposed to do, whether you like it or not. End of story. You can either change your votes to not guilty on all the counts, or the judge gets a ‘hung jury.’ I don’t care. Ted and I are not changing. Besides, the end result will be the same. If the judge declares a mistrial, the defendant will get off. The prosecution won’t try this again. They’d look worse than they already do. I tell you for the hundredth time, Bennett didn’t do anything wrong. The prosecutors are just out to make names for themselves and to drag the SU through the mud. That’s what sells in the press, isn’t it?”

  Vivian took a deep breath, huffed it out, and continued, “Bennett was sent out there by his managers, and he was defending our American way of life from terrorists. You people are a bunch of do-gooder liberals with no concept of what it was like for that man out there, going into a dark room with all those rag-heads.”

  Dan looked at Vivian and just shook his head. Andy Lloyd took a deep breath like he was ready to launch into Vivian, but then Dan caught his eye. Andy didn’t say anything, but he squashed his Pot Belly bag and launched it at a trashcan across the room. It missed.

  Dan spoke up, “Look, I’ve tried to be patient for the last week and more. I’ve tried to air all the arguments, pro and con. The judge instructed us to examine the facts and to come to a decision based upon the facts, not upon our personal preferences.” Dan looked at Vivian and said, “Your personal preference—and Ted’s—is obviously for acquittal.”

  Ted shifted a bit in his seat as he took in the glares the other jurors were directing at him and at Vivian. He said, “I will grant you that MEJA probably does apply in this case.” Then he leaned back and said, “Look, Bennett may have committed excesses—the information on those recordings was shocking and awful—but, I do agree with Vivian. Bennett was in a tough environment. Those SU managers also didn’t really say what his orders were. That information is essential, as far as I’m concerned. We can’t convict the man for doing what his superiors may have told him to do. So, in my book, Bennett is not guilty of any of the charges.”

  Dan got up from the table and walked over to the white board on one side of the room. The board had the various charges listed and how the jury had come out in its votes—guilty or acquit—next to each one. He pointed to the charges and said, “We can take a final vote on each of the charges, if that’s what everyone wants. First, though, is everyone comfortable with the idea of a hung jury and the judge most likely declaring a mistrial?”

  Some of the jurors nodded their heads, “yes.”

  Val Stephens leaned over the jury table, straightened her cardigan, and pushed back her silver-gray hair. She smiled slightly, looked at the other jurors, and said, “You know, the Government has invested a lot of time and money in running this trial, and a lot of people—prosecution and defense—have worked really hard on it. I think the least we can do is to do our job. We need to come to a decent decision and not have this become a mistrial.”
Val looked at Ted and Vivian. “I understand that some of us—many of us, really—have things in our lives that we need to get back to. I certainly would like to get back to my garden. But this is important, too. We need to look at this fairly, decide impartially, based upon the facts, as the judge instructed us. So, I guess I’m okay with a final vote, but only if we’re not going to be ‘hung.’”

  Bella Nevarrino nodded. “I agree. I think we’ve come too far. I’m not willing to quit. This is too important.”

  Vivian said, “Fine. Does that mean you’re going to change your votes? Because I’m not going to. You can dream on.”

  Ralph Peters rolled his eyes and looked at Vivian. “Lady, you’re really a piece of work. Got a nail appointment ya gotta make tomorrow?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ve given my attention to this trial for far too long.” She turned, glared at Bella, and said, “It’s just not that important. It’s time to vote and move on.” Vivian swiveled back to Ralph and commented, “And, by the way, don’t start criticizing me. You slept through most of the trial.”

  Mike Jablowski turned to Hank Zaun, sitting next to him, and said, “Start criticizing her? That’s rich.”

  Vivian glared at Mike. “Oh, shut up.”

  Dan raised a hand and said, “Okay, enough. I understand your positions, Val and Bella. I also think Vivian and Ted are correct. Everyone is aware of the facts and testimonies. We’ve gone over them enough, probably too many times. What we may not know, though, is why each of us has chosen to vote a particular way. So, what I’d like to do is to take a final vote, but before doing that, I think we need to make one more effort to reach consensus. I want to give everyone a chance to speak and to convince the rest of us that their opinion, their way of voting, is the correct one. This will be your chance to sway the rest of us. I want everyone to try to keep an open mind and to try to abide by the judge’s instructions to decide on the basis of the facts as presented. And I think we need to agree that there will be no shame, no criticism, if you do decide to change the way you’re voting. Only after everyone has spoken will we vote again on all the charges. I propose that that final vote stand. We’ll take the vote to the judge, whatever it may be—guilty, acquit, or call a mistrial.”