After Dark

by Phillip Margolin

  Tracy had been studying the underside of the overhang inch by inch for several minutes when her foot dislodged a small rock.

  She paid no attention as it plummeted down, smashing into fragments at the end of its flight, because her concentration was riveted on a crack that ran through the middle of the overhang.

  The crack appeared to be wide enough to let her insert her hand, if her hand was open and rigid. Tracy thought about the crack and what it might let her do. Her plan would depend on split second timing and the chance that the crack would widen as it worked its way into the rock.

  But Tracy's situation left her no choice. Her only alternative was to admit defeat and descend the cliff.

  Tracy was dressed in a loose-fitting, long-sleeved white top and baggy black spider pants that zipped over her form-fitting rock shoes. The day was dry and cold. If it had rained, she would not have attempted the ascent. The solo climb was dangerous enough in good weather.

  The maneuver she was contemplating was risky, but Tracy could not let herself think about the danger. Nervous tension is a climber's worst enemy, because it can make a climber's hands sweat and jeopardize the security of a good handhold. While she thought through her plan, Tracy dipped both hands into the chalk in a fat purple bag fastened behind her at her waist. The chalk would keep her hands dry.

  Tracy stared at the crack and relaxed her breathing. Behind her, the wilderness spread out like a green carpet, but Tracy saw only the gray uneven surface of the rock wall. She scanned the area above her for handholds. When she was rested, Tracy worked her way up the rockface until she was just under the overhang.

  Tracy turned and balanced on her foothold, then she extended her right arm slowly until her hand was in the crack.

  Please, please, please, she whispered to herself as her fingers inched upward. She breathed out slowly as she felt the narrow crack widen to form a pocket in the rock.

  Up this high the air was as blue as the sky in a fairy tale and the clouds were pillows of white. To succeed, Tracy would have to float on the air. She watched the clouds until her body grew as light as one of them. She was gossamer, butterfly wings, puffballs blown from a dandelion.

  Tracy made a fist with her right hand, increasing its width until it was wedged into the crack. She breathed in, then expelled violently, pushing out from the cliff with an explosive thrust. Her right hand was a ball of iron. For a moment it was her only contact with the world.

  Then she pivoted on it, swinging upward past the outer rim of the overhang. Her free hand reached high. It would only have, a moment of contact in which to grip tight enough to support her body.

  Tracy twisted and the fingers of her left hand found a hold just as the force of the swing wrenched her fist from the crack.

  For a second, she dangled in space, halfway between safety and oblivion.

  Then her fingers tightened and she drew her body upward in a one-armed pull-up. The right hand arced over the lip of the overhang and gripped.

  A moment later, Tracy was over the top, stretched out on her stomach, adrenaline coursing through her as she trembled with elation.

  The summit was now an easy climb, not worth more than a casual thought.

  When she reached the top, Tracy turned slowly, looking across the evergreen forest at the peaks of rugged, snowdusted mountains all covered by a sky of the clearest blue. This was the world the way an eagle saw it. Tracy inhaled the sweet mountain air. Then she sat on the edge of the cliff, unhooked her water bottle and took a drink.

  The climb had forced Tracy to forget about everything except the rock.

  Now that the climb was over, there was no way to avoid thinking about the conflict that dominated her every waking moment the way the Cascade Mountains dominated the skyline.

  Matthew Reynolds's life was an inspiration to every attorney who undertook a death penalty case. If Tracy did what the law and the Canon of Ethics required, she would bring him down. All of Matthew's good deeds would be forgotten, because of a single act committed for love.

  Tracy had decided that she would never reveal the truth behind the photograph if she knew for certain that Abigail Griffen was innocent, because a jury that learned about the photograph would convict Abbie and probably sentence her to death. It was the possibility that Griffen was guilty that made Tracy's predicament so difficult.

  Matthew was convinced that someone was framing Abbie.

  There was certainly enough evidence to support that conclusion.

  Griffen was brilliant. She would never use the same type of bomb Deems had used in the Hollins murder, knowing it would make her a suspect. If she. did use a bomb, she wouldn't be stupid enough to leave a piece of it in her garage. The strip of metal Torino had found in the garage was not even from the bomb, making it likely that it had been planted to frame Griffen. Then there was Deems. If the $100,000 was a payoff for perjury, Abbie was innocent.

  Which brought Tracy to the next question. If Abbie was innocent, who was guilty? Deems was the easy answer But someone paid Deems $100,000 for something. Whether it was to kill Justice Griffen, frame Abbie, or both, there still had to be someone else involved. But who? And what motive did they have?

  Suddenly a thought occurred to her. She had been assuming that either Abbie murdered the judge and Laura because they were lovers or the two murders were unconnected. What if Laura's murder and the murder of Justice Griffen were connected, but someone else killed them? That would put a whole new slant on the case.

  Justice Kelly was a possible suspect. Had she lied when she said that her sexual relationship with Justice Griffen meant little to her? What if she was insanely jealous and killed the judge and Laura because Griffen had taken Laura as his lover?

  Then Tracy remembered the transcripts and the cases on the sheet of legal paper. Laura had been upset about something for weeks before her death. It would have been natural for Laura to tell Justice Griffen what was bothering her, especially if, in addition to being his law clerk, she was also his lover. What if the transcript and the cases were evidence of something illegal? Were they what the murderer was looking for when he ransacked Laura's office and cottage?

  The transcript was a public record that anyone could get, but Tracy had read the transcript and had no idea why it was important. It was the same with the cases. Nothing she had read in them had alerted her.

  Having the transcript and the list was meaningless unless you knew what to look for. If Laura's killer learned that Justice Griffen had the transcript and the list of cases, and suspected that the judge knew why they were important, he would have a motive to kill Justice Griffen. But how could she possibly figure out why the cases and the transcript were important or if they even had any significance?

  Tracy wished that she could forget about the case and stay forever on this perch where she could be above it all, but she had to descend to earth. She felt defeated by the case but she had to keep going. She had no choice. If she could not solve the murders, she would have to tell Judge Baldwin about the fake photograph. Tracy sighed and took a mixture of nuts and dried fruit from a plastic bag in her side pocket.

  She chewed slowly and took another drink of water. Then she carefully checked her climbing gear and started her descent.

  Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN

  As soon as she woke up Friday morning, Tracy slipped into a heavy sweater and jeans and carried a bran muffin and a mug of black coffee onto her terrace. As she ate, Tracy watched the drawbridges rise to accommodate a rusted tanker with a Spanish name and a Liberian flag. She wished Barry was sitting beside her. Tracy missed him. He was a kind and considerate lover.

  More important, he was a kind and considerate man. She understood why Barry wasn't with her. She admired him for his loyalty.

  But she wished he was helping her and she knew that she would lose him for good, if she hadn't already, unless she could prove Abigail Griffen was innocent.

  After breakfast, Tracy called in sick. It was not a complete lie.

&
nbsp; She was sick at heart and could not imagine being in a place where she would see both Matthew and Barry. The receptionist told Tracy that Judge Baldwin was taking the prosecution's motion to introduce evidence of Laura's murder under advisement and had dismissed the jury for the weekend. Tracy hung up and called Bob Packard's office.

  "I wanted to thank you for lending us the transcripts," Tracy said.

  "They've been very useful."

  "Glad I could help," Packard answered.

  "I was wondering if you could help me again."

  "What do you need?"

  "Could you tell me a little about a case you handled in the Supreme Court? State v. Galarraga."

  "Is Ernesto going to be a witness in the Griffen case?"

  "No. Why do you ask?"

  "He knows a lot about Charlie Deems."

  "He does?", "You didn't know?"

  "No, I didn't."

  "Do you know who Raoul Otero is?"

  "He's mixed up with narcotics, isn't he?"

  Packard laughed. "That's like asking if Babe Ruth is mixed up with baseball. Otero is a major Mexican drug dealer with a distribution network that covers large parts of the western United States. Charlie Deems was the Portland distributor for the Otero organization. Ernesto Galarraga worked for Charlie."

  Tracy thought about that for a moment. Then she asked, "Do the names Jorge Zamora or Pedro Cardona mean anything to you?"

  Tracy listened intently to what Packard had to say. As soon as she hung up, she made a call to Medford and talked to the district attorney who had prosecuted Pedro Cardona. When the call was over, Tracy was certain she had discovered the importance of the cases on Laura's list. She felt sick to her stomach. Coming so soon after her discovery of Matthew Reynolds's crime, it was almost too much to take in. If she was right, and could prove it, she could give the state Justice Griffen's killer and save Matthew Reynolds from disgrace. Tracy looked at her watch. It was only nine o'clock. She had time to do the necessary research at the law library and be at the Supreme Court by one.

  D Alice Sherzer gave Tracy a hug, then ushered her into her chambers.

  "Are you surviving Matthew Reynolds's sweatshop?"

  "Barely," Tracy answered tersely.

  "Is the job as much fun as you thought it would be?"

  "Matthew is a brilliant man and a great trial lawyer," Tracy said, avoiding a lie.

  "How do you like trying a major murder case?"

  "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Mrs. Griffen's case.

  Justice Sherzer looked surprised. "I don't think I can do that, Tracy.

  If she's convicted, there's a good chance the court will have to hear her appeal."

  "I know that. But I've discovered something that involves the court.

  Something you have to know. It bears not only on Justice Griffen's murder but also on the murder of Laura Rizzatti."

  "I don't understand."

  Tracy paused. Her stomach heaved and she felt light-headed.

  The full import of what she was going to say had not fully dawned on her until now.

  "Judge I think Justice Griffen and Laura Bizzatti were murdered because they learned that a member of this court is influencing the outcome of cases involving the Otero narcotics organization."

  Alice Sherzer stared at Tracy for a moment. Then she shook her head. "I don't believe that for a moment," she said angrily.

  "Hear me out. I know how you feel. I've been sick with the thought of it, but I can't see any other explanation for what I've found."

  Justice Sherzer frowned. Then she pressed the button on her intercom and told her secretary that she did not want to be interrupted by anyone.

  Tracy told Justice Sherzer about Laura's reaction when she had caught her reading the Deems transcript and the way Laura hid the names of the cases on the legal pad. Then Tracy explained how she found the transcript and the yellow sheet in the evidence taken from Justice Griffen's den.

  "I'm sure Laura figured out a connection between the cases and told Justice Griffen what she discovered. I think they were both murdered to prevent them from disclosing what they knew."

  "And what is that?"

  "I still have no idea why the transcript is important. But I'm certain I know the significance of the cases."

  Tracy gave Justice Sherzer a summary of the cases. Then she said, "Ernesto Galarraga worked with Charlie Deems and they both worked for Raoul Otero. Jorge Zamora was an enforcer for Otero. He murdered one of their rivals in a convenience store. He also killed the clerk to make the hit look like a robbery. Pedro Cardona was a front man for Otero in southern Oregon. He was trying to establish a distribution network in Medford when he was busted.

  "Deems, Cardona, Zamora and Galarraga all worked for Otero. They were all convicted, but their convictions were reversed by a divided court.

  Justice Lefcourt was in the majority in Zamora, but he dissented in the other cases. Justices Griffen, Kelly, Arriaga and Pope were in the majority in every one of the cases.

  "In every case but Zamora, which was reversed on an evidence issue, the court reversed on a novel legal theory. In Deems, the majority adopted a rule involving confessions that is the law in only three other states.

  In Cardona and Galarraga, the court interpreted the Oregon constitution in a way that ran contrary to the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to the federal constitution. I talked with the DA who prosecuted Cardona. He was shocked by the reversal. There was a U S. Supreme Court case right on point. He said the trial judge upheld the search without batting an eye and the Court of Appeals affirmed with no dissenters.

  "I spent two hours this morning reading the criminal cases the court has decided in the past five years to see if I could find any other cases that fit this pattern. I think that's what Laura did.

  Justice Sherzer, those cases are unique. There are no other criminal cases with this exact voting bloc in the past five years."

  "How did Laura stumble onto the pattern?" Justice Sherzer asked.

  "I have no idea. The cases are spread through a five-year period. The reversal of any one of them should have gone unnoticed. I think something in the Deems transcript tipped her off, but I have no idea what it is. What I strongly suspect is that either Justice Kelly, Pope or Arriaga is working for Raoul Otero to influence the other judges to reverse cases in which important members of the Otero organization are the defendants. Somehow, this justice learned that Laura knew what was going on and had told Justice Griffer. I think that's why they were killed."

  "How could one person guarantee three other votes?"

  "There were no guarantees. But some of the judges, like Frank Arriaga and Justice Griffen, were very sensitive to defendant's rights and you know how an undecided vote can be influenced by a passionate advocate."

  "Tracy, listen to what you're saying. Can you honestly imagine a member of this court murdering Laura and Robert?"

  "No, but I can imagine him paying Charlie Deems to do it. I think the hundred thousand dollars that Matthew found in Deems's bank account was the payoff for a double killing."

  "Tracy, this doesn't make sense. I know these people."

  "Did either Justice Pope, Arriaga or Kelly take the lead in trying to reverse these cases during conferences?"

  "You know I can't reveal what goes on in conference."

  "You've got to. We're talking about a double homicide and the possibility of an innocent person being convicted for one of them."

  Justice Sherzer sighed. "You're right, of course. But I can't remember the discussions of those cases. Some of them took place four years ago."

  "What about Deems. It's fairly recent. Who pushed for the reversal?"

  "I believe Frank Arriaga was very concerned about the use of the informant. He and Stuart argued vehemently about the case."

  "Why did Justice Griffen write the opinion?"

  "Frank was going to do it. Then he got hung up on a complex land-use decision and he asked Robert to write it. They w
ere in agreement on the issues and Robert didn't have any outstanding decisions, so he volunteered to help out."

  "Can you think of any reason why Justice Arriaga would work for Raoul Otero?"

  "Certainly not! And I cannot imagine Frank killing anyone.

  That's preposterous."

  "What about money? Is he in debt? Does he have a drug habit? Anything like that?"

  "Frank Arriaga is a dear man with a rock-solid marriage and two children who adore him. I don't even think he drinks, for God's sake. You're way off base if you think Frank is your killer."

  "Then what about Mary Kelly?"

  Justice Sherzer frowned. "Money wouldn't be the motive. She was a very successful corporate attorney and has done quite well in the stock market and real estate."

  "Did you know that she and Justice Griffen were having an affair?"

  "No, but I'm not surprised. Mary's marriage is not particularly happy."

  "If they were seeing each other when Laura was killed, Justice Griffen might have confided what Laura told him without realizing that he was alerting her. If Justice Kelly is the murderer, that would explain how she learned that she was in danger."

  "I'm afraid I can't help you, Tracy. I can't think of anything that would lead me to conclude that Mary is dishonest."

  "Which brings us to the most likely suspect. Arnold Pope is a conservative ex-DA. What was he doing voting to reverse the convictions of two murderers and two drug dealers?"

  "Arnold is a peculiar man. He's the most obnoxious and contrary justice with whom I have ever served, but a lot of what he does is a pose. The man is very insecure and he desperately wants our approval. He knows he's seen as a buffoon and he knows everyone resents the way he ran his campaign and the fact that he replaced a brilliant justice who was well liked and widely respected. So to prove he is a legal scholar, too, Arnold occasionally takes positions that run counter to his image."