Presumption of Guilt

by Marti Green

  They finished up their sandwiches and headed back to the courtroom. It would be a long afternoon of the prosecution’s witnesses, stretching out their testimony to make it seem like they had a case. Smoke and mirrors, Dani thought. Confuse the jurors with enough words that it would become a jumble in their minds, leaving room only for the image of Molly Singer on video, saying, “I killed my parents.”

  CHAPTER

  48

  His finger hovered over the doorbell as he wondered whether she would see him, speak to him. If she refused, he’d understand. His mouth felt dry and his stomach did acrobatics.

  “Come on, Dad, what are you waiting for?” Sophie asked.

  Finn closed his eyes, tried to calm himself, then pressed the button. Within a few moments, Donna opened the door. She stared at Finn, then pasted on a bright smile when she spotted Sophie.

  “Hi, sweetie. Molly’s in the living room.”

  Sophie stepped around her father and entered the house. Donna continued to stare silently at Finn.

  “I know you didn’t expect me, too,” he said. “And I get it if Molly doesn’t want to see me. But”—he glanced downward, bit his lip, then looked up again—“but I’d really like to see her. Would you ask Molly if I can?”

  Donna paused, then nodded. “Wait here.”

  It seemed like an eternity, but then she was there, standing in the doorway, smiling at him. Her hair had darkened from the light blonde of childhood, but it still shone. She’d changed from the black skirt and flowered blouse he’d seen her wearing on the evening news coverage of her trial. Now she wore jeans that hugged her hips and an emerald cashmere sweater that deepened the green of her eyes.

  “Of course I’d like to see you,” Molly said. She waved him inside and he followed her into the living room. “Have you met Len, and my niece and nephew?”

  Finn nodded. They all lived in the same small community, and he’d run into them many times over the years. At first Donna, believing Molly had killed their parents, had been cordial to him. By the time Donna realized that Molly would never re-establish contact with her, she began to hold Finn responsible for the verdict. After that, they only spoke on the few occasions when he dropped Sophie off to spend time with Donna’s family.

  “It’s good to see you,” Molly said as she sat down on the couch and motioned for Finn to sit next to her.

  “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel, you know, because I testified for the other side at your trial.”

  “We talked about this a long time ago. You didn’t lie on the stand.”

  “But you didn’t know then that I was trying to protect my father.”

  Molly could see Finn squirming. She knew this conversation had to be difficult for him, especially in front of her whole family. She took his hand in hers. “You thought you were doing the right thing. I’m not angry at you. If anyone, it’s my own father I should be angry at.” She stopped speaking and the room was silent. She let go of Finn’s hand, picked up her glass of water from the cocktail table, and took a sip. After placing the glass back, she looked up and quietly said, “I spent twelve years in prison because my father was a crook. If he hadn’t cheated the county, no one would have felt threatened; no one would have killed him. I lost my daughter because of what he did.”

  Donna came over to Molly, pulled her up from the couch and gathered her into her arms. “He did something terrible, that’s true,” Donna said. “But he wanted to make it right. He shouldn’t have been killed for it. Or Mom either. Be angry at the men who murdered them.”

  Molly pulled away from her sister, sighed, then sat back down on the couch. “You’re right, I guess. It’s just—I want those years back. I didn’t allow myself to be angry when I was in prison. It made it too hard. Now that I’m away from it, it’s all coming to the surface.”

  “Maybe that’s good,” Finn said. “Maybe you need to let it out.”

  Molly smiled. “Well, I just did and I feel better already.”

  The conversation returned to the idle chatter of families. No one spoke about the ongoing trial. Instead, there was an easy, relaxed rapport among the family members. Even laughter at times. Finn watched Sophie’s face as she joined in the conversation, already a part of this family, it seemed to him. She looked happy, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. As it approached nine o’clock, he motioned to Sophie that it was time to leave.

  “Just a little longer,” she begged.

  “School tomorrow.”

  Sophie stood up, gave Molly a hug, and said good-bye to the rest of the family. Molly walked Finn and Sophie to the front door, and when they got there, Finn said to Sophie, “Go sit in the car. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  When she left, Finn turned to Molly. For a long time he’d wanted to tell her he’d been wrong. Wrong about so many things, but most of all for convincing Molly to give up Sophie. It had hurt both of them. Mothers and daughters shouldn’t be separated, he’d realized too late, long after it had been clear that Kim didn’t want to be Sophie’s mother. “I—” He paused, looked down at the ground, then up at Molly again. “I—” The words wouldn’t come. He felt like they were tied up in a knot inside his chest, and he couldn’t untangle them.

  Molly put her hand on Finn’s. “It’s okay. I know what you want to say.”

  Finn mumbled, “You don’t.”

  “You want to say you’re sorry.”

  The knot loosened, his words began to flow. “I should never have asked you to give up Sophie. She’s been so unhappy. And I see her now with you, with your family. Her face lights up around you.”

  Molly continued to hold Finn’s hand. She brushed her hair away from her face, and said, “I should never have agreed to it. Mothers shouldn’t give up their children. Ever. But”—her voice softened—“we both thought we were doing what was best for Sophie. And we were both mistaken. There’s no point in looking backward now. It can’t be undone.”

  Finn nodded. Still, he’d raised Sophie since she was a year old. He’d seen Kim’s treatment of her, the subtle rejection after Graham was born. He could have done something about it, and he hadn’t. Molly may have forgiven him, but he wasn’t ready to forgive himself.

  “When the trial is over, if I’m acquitted—” Molly said.

  “Oh, you will be, how could the jury not see that.”

  “If I am, I’d like Sophie to be in my life.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’d like to share custody of her.”

  Finn had never thought about that. Sophie was his child. He’d had sole custody since he stopped bringing her for visits at the prison. He knew, though, that Sophie needed Molly. He nodded slowly. “We’ll work something out, when this is over.”

  CHAPTER

  49

  They had sat through three days of the prosecution’s case. Three days of hammering away at Molly’s confession with very little else of substance. The medical examiner testified that the victims had been bludgeoned with a heavy object and then stabbed multiple times with a six- to seven-inch nonserrated knife. Dani got him to admit that, based upon the depths of the contusions from the heavy object, it was more likely wielded by a person weighing more than Molly’s 112 pounds, although, he added, “adrenaline can give someone unexpected strength.”

  The crime-scene investigator testified as to the state of the master bedroom and their search for evidentiary clues. “No fingerprints were found other than the family’s,” she said. Under Dani’s questioning, she admitted that she’d found no forensic evidence that tied Molly to the murders. Unlike Molly’s first trial, Dani got in testimony that the shower and sink drains had been tested for blood residue and none was found.

  A lesser parade of schoolmates than at the original trial testified about statements Molly had made about her parents but admitted during Dani’s cross-examination that they’d made similar statements a
bout their own parents during high school, yet none had murdered them. Given Frank Reynolds’s complicity in the county jail scandal, Finn wasn’t called by the prosecution this time around.

  This morning began the defendant’s case. Dani had her witnesses lined up and ready. Her most important witness, Molly, would take the stand last.

  With the jurors seated and the judge on the bench, Dani called Josh Cosgrove. He was dressed for the occasion in a navy pinstriped suit and strode to the stand with an air of confidence. Once seated and sworn in, Dani ran through his credentials: a Yale Law School graduate, fifteen years at the US Attorney’s Office, the last four as chief of the criminal division.

  “Mr. Cosgrove, did there come a time when you learned that one of the victims, Joe Singer, had been involved in criminal activity?”

  Eric Murdoch stood up. “The county concedes that Joe Singer had been involved in criminal activity. There’s no need for testimony on that subject.”

  Dani turned to the judge. “Your Honor, the jury has a right to hear the details of that activity and the others involved in it. Since two of those people have pending criminal charges, I’m sure Mr. Murdoch is not conceding their guilt.”

  Judge Silver nodded, then looked at the witness. “You can answer the question.”

  The court reporter read it back to Cosgrove and he answered, “Yes.”

  “Would you describe that activity?”

  Cosgrove leaned forward in his seat and turned toward the jury box. “Joe Singer and his partner, Quince Michaels, won the bid to construct the Hudson County jail, back around fourteen years ago. With the acquiescence of Frank Reynolds and Mary Jane Olivetti—they were the ranking Democrat and Republican on the county legislature’s appropriations committee—they submitted fraudulent invoices for more than thirty-five million dollars over the actual cost of building the jail.”

  “And did Mr. Singer and Mr. Michaels pocket that entire sum?”

  “No. Together, they received fourteen million dollars over their expected profit for building the jail.”

  “And how do you know this? Did Mr. Michaels tell you?”

  “Michaels died in a suspicious boat accident five months ago. But he’d told his widow about the scam, and she provided bank records from the Caribbean bank where they stashed the money and an agreement which showed that both Singer and Michaels were the owners of that account.”

  “Did Mrs. Michaels tell you what happened to the rest of the money?”

  “She knew others were involved but didn’t know who.”

  “Has the US Attorney’s Office arrested anyone else in connection with this fraud against the county?”

  “Yes. Two months ago we filed criminal charges against Frank Reynolds. He’s since entered into a plea agreement and is serving a one-year sentence in a federal prison.”

  “Did Mr. Reynolds know who else pocketed the remaining money?”

  Murdoch called out, “Objection. Hearsay.”

  “I’ll rephrase. As a result of information you received from Mr. Reynolds, did you indict anyone else for stealing funds related to the building of the county jail?”

  “Yes. The grand jury issued indictments for theft and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds against Judge Alan Bryson and Sheriff John Engles.”

  “And what is the essential allegation of that indictment?”

  “That together with Quince Michaels, Joe Singer, and Paul Scoby, they bribed or blackmailed Hudson County legislators Frank Reynolds and Mary Jane Olivetti in order to defraud Hudson County of more than thirty-five million dollars. They did this by using fraudulent invoices to overbill for the construction of the Hudson County jail.”

  “Has there been a trial in that case?”

  “No. It’s still pending.”

  “Why hasn’t Paul Scoby been indicted as well?”

  “He was arrested and released on bail. We had arranged to put him into protective custody, but before our men got to him, he was murdered.”

  “So, let’s make sure I’ve got this straight. Joe Singer was part of a group of men who either were known to have defrauded the county or who were arrested for defrauding the county and whose charges are still pending. Of those men, Joe Singer and Paul Scoby were murdered, and Quince Michaels’s death was ruled suspicious. Is that correct?”

  Cosgrove turned toward the jury and somberly answered, “That’s exactly right.”

  Dani took a step back. She wanted the jury to take in the testimony they’d just heard. After a moment, she turned back to Cosgrove and said, “Thank you. No further questions.” She walked back to her table and sat down. Melanie, sitting next to her, scribbled on a notepad, “Great job. No one could convict Molly now.” Dani wished that were true. She had too much experience with juries to believe results were ever predictable.

  Murdoch stood up and approached the witness.

  “Mr. Cosgrove, did you uncover any evidence that any of the men involved in this scheme murdered, or arranged to have murdered, Mr. and Mrs. Singer?”

  “No, not yet. But we’re working on that.”

  “Please confine your answer to the question asked,” Murdoch said, his jaw clenched tightly. “Have you arrested anyone in connection with the murder of Paul Scoby?”

  “No.”

  “To your knowledge has any arrest been made in connection with the death of Quince Michaels?”

  Cosgrove shook his head, then caught himself and answered, “No.”

  “Do you have any information which shows that these deaths were related?”

  “Not at this time.”

  “In fact, isn’t it true that Paul Scoby’s house was burglarized as well?”

  “The house appeared to have been ransacked. It’s unclear whether anything was taken.”

  “So, Mr. Scoby’s death could have been attributable to a home break-in gone bad, isn’t that so?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “With respect to Mr. Michaels’s boat accident, has the coast guard ruled out the possibility that the gas line was tampered with by Mr. Michaels himself?”

  “They ruled it was suspicious.”

  “I must remind you to answer my questions. Have they ruled out the possibility of deliberate tampering by Michaels as a way to commit suicide?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “So, let me recap. Mr. and Mrs. Singer were murdered twelve years ago, Mr. Michaels’s boat exploded as a result of a gas leak that the coast guard hasn’t ruled out as a suicide, and Mr. Scoby was murdered during what could have been a burglary, isn’t that correct?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Thank you. I have no other questions of this witness.”

  Dani stood up. “Just a few more on redirect,” she said. She approached the witness box. “To your knowledge, were any attempts made on Mr. Reynolds’s life?”

  “Yes, when our agent arrived to take him and his wife into protective custody, an armed man was firing his weapon into their home and attempting to enter it. Our agent thwarted the murder attempt on the Reynoldses.”

  “And when did this attempt occur?”

  “The same day that Paul Scoby was murdered.”

  “Were FBI agents dispatched on that day to bring Mr. Scoby into protective custody?”

  “Yes, but when they arrived, he’d already been murdered.”

  “Now let me once again recap. Mr. and Mrs. Singer were murdered twelve years ago while the state was investigating improprieties in the cost of building the jail; Mr. Michaels’s boat exploded after his wife was told by investigators for the Help Innocent Prisoners Project that he was suspected of stealing money from the county. Mr. Scoby was murdered after he had been arrested for his theft of county monies, and an attempt was made on Mr. Reynolds’s life after he confessed to his role in the crime and on the s
ame day Mr. Scoby was murdered. Is that correct?”

  “That about sums it up.”

  “Thank you. You can step down.”

  Judge Silver looked up at the clock. “I think this is a good time to break for lunch. Let’s resume in ninety minutes.”

  Dani knew she was a worrier. Over lunch, Melanie and Tommy were confident that she’d scored a bull’s-eye with Cosgrove. Molly sat quietly, clearly unsure what to think. Dani couldn’t shake the fear that it wouldn’t matter to the jury that Joe Singer had been caught up in something despicable. Unless Dani could tie one of the participants in that scheme to the Singers’ murder, the jurors would fall back on Molly’s confession.

  When the court was called into session, Dani called Finn Reynolds to the stand. Finn entered the courtroom hesitantly, but upon seeing Molly, smiled at her, then quickly took his seat.

  “Mr. Reynolds, please describe your relationship with Molly at the time of the murders of her parents.”

  “She was my girlfriend.”

  “And are you the father of her child?”

  Finn nodded.

  “Please speak your answers for the court reporter.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Did you testify for the prosecution at Molly’s first trial?”

  Finn nodded again, then caught himself. “I did.”

  “What did you say at that trial?”

  Finn described his earlier testimony.

  “Now, most boyfriends wouldn’t have offered that information to the man trying to lock up his pregnant girlfriend. Were you angry at Molly?”

  “No.”

  “Did you believe she murdered her parents?”