The number is likely higher than 400. There are an estimated 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the country.
The destruction has occurred over the past two years and often followed flawed and incomplete investigations. Dozens of kits were trashed mere weeks or months after police took custody of the evidence, records showed. Many kits were also destroyed that were to be evidence in pending trials against criminal defendants accused of sexual assault.
Almost 80% were never tested for DNA evidence, a process that can identify a suspect or link that person to other crimes.”
Megan threw the paper down on her desk. Her disappointment was almost unbearable.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. “Absolutely outrageous.” She swiveled around in the chair and looked out the window at the D.C skyline. A blanket of gray fog covered the city and sheets of rain were pouring down. The weather fit her mood. Right now things looked pretty grim. She not only had no rape kit to back up the fact that Lucy had been sexually assaulted, she had lost the chance to nail Tarkington with a DNA comparison test using the DNA swab that had been taken when he was booked into the jail . It was inconceivable that everything had been destroyed —everything.
The rape kit getting destroyed was a devastating blow that made her insides feel raw. She was back to being left with Lucy’s word versus Tarkington’s. Lucy was a strong witness and presented herself well. But so did Tarkington, and he had the weight and resources of the firm and a Supreme Court justice grandfather behind him. Megan had suffered blows in the past when prosecuting cases, when witnesses disappeared or changed their testimony at the last minute, but this blow, the loss of the rape kit evidence, felt like the worst.
She called Lucy, told her what had happened and assured her that the case would still go forward.
We’re screwed,” Lucy finally said softly. ‘‘ We’ve lost before we even got started.”
Megan spent at least a half hour explaining to Lucy that all was not lost. They had suffered another blow but they still had her testimony and she was a very credible witness.
After what seemed like an eternity, Lucy came around. “We always overcome,” she said and Megan agreed. What Megan didn’t say was that this blow was by far the most devastating one and one that they might not overcome. The case of The People Versus Craig Tarkington now rested completely on Lucy’s credibility.
Megan hung up and sat staring at the wall. When she’d called Windfield yesterday after her phone call with Chief Cutsinger, Windfield had been upset but said he felt she would still be able to prove the case somehow. She knew he was right. There had been many sexual assault cases successfully prosecuted on only the testimony of the victim, and something else was likely to present itself. Still, Megan wished she felt more confident about her ability to win Lucy’s case.
She heard a knock and swiveled around to see Eric standing in the doorway. He’d called an hour ago after he saw the article in the paper and reminded her that despite the devastating loss of the rape kit, they still had the security video from Tarkington’s apartment building.
“Did you get the email from the security officer about the video?” he said, sliding down into a chair.
That was another thing. Megan had gotten the email with the security footage about an hour ago. She’d only had time to glance at it but she saw enough to be disappointed in the quality. “They just sent me the outside footage,” she told Eric. “It’s not really clear at all—not like the footage you saw when you went over there. In the one they sent me you can see what looks like a woman coming into the building and leaving but I can’t say one hundred percent that anyone would be able to identify the person as Lucy.” Megan shook her head.
“But it shows the time and date, right?”
“Yes.”
“We’re putting this case together piece by piece, Megan. Let me see the security video they sent you.” Eric leaned forward and placed his arms on the desk.
Megan tapped the keys on the computer and turned the screen around for Eric to see. She looked at him as he watched the video. She could tell by his expression he wasn’t thrilled with what he was seeing either.
“Well, I think it’s good enough. It establishes the date and time and I think the jury can tell it’s a woman.” Eric was in full cop mode. “On the way over to see you I called the guy who works security at the apartment building. He said he’ll have the inside security video to you today. That’s what could put the nails in Tarkington’s coffin.” Eric stood up. “Let me know when you get it. “ He rapped his knuckles on the desk. “We may have had a little setback but the war ain’t over yet.”
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
Megan yawned and stretched. She’d been at the office since early in the morning and it was close to nine p.m. now. No matter how many times she went over Lucy’s case, she couldn’t think of anything else she could do to make it stronger. It was still down to the security video and Lucy’s testimony.
Everyone at the prosecutor’s office had gone home and the floor was eerily quiet. Eric had said she should have the inside security videos by this evening. She opened her email, leaned over and squinted at the list of new messages. There it was:
“Dear Ms. O’Reilly,
Please find attached the security videos you requested. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, James Calahan, Director of Security, The Lakeworth
Megan clicked on the attachment and waited for the videos to load. After a moment the screen came to life, showing a clear picture of a hallway and Tarkington’s front door. She looked for the date and time the video was recorded and found it in the bottom left corner. The video footage had been narrowed down to show one hour before Lucy said she’d arrived and one hour after Lucy said she’d left Tarkington’s apartment.
Megan fast-forwarded the video until she saw Tarkington show up, coming home about a half hour before Lucy was set to arrive. The picture was crisp and clear, nothing like the outside security videos she’d seen. There was no doubt it was Tarkington on the screen. He was dressed in a blue polo shirt and jeans and was walking at a brisk clip. She would know that walk anywhere—full of confidence and determination. A green backpack was slung over his shoulder.
Megan felt a wave of relief wash over her. It was the first time she’d felt hope about winning the case since the blow of the rape kit being accidentally destroyed by the police department.
She watched as Tarkington unlocked his door and went inside. The video continued to play with nothing noteworthy happening in the hallway. She looked at the time in the lower corner of the video. Lucy should be coming at any moment. She felt excitement building in her and leaned in closer.
Then something strange happened: the screen began to jiggle and jump. Megan found the video stop button, pushed it, and then pressed play again. The video started again, continuing the stuttering. She saw patches of black and then snowy pictures of Tarkington’s door. Her heart began to race and she felt her stomach tighten. She pressed stop again and then start again. The screen came back on. It was still snowy and the picture seemed to be cutting out and then returning briefly before it cut out again. As she was trying to fix it she saw something moving into the picture on the left side of the screen. It had to be a figure coming down the hall. Lucy.
Megan looked at the time on the screen. It was exactly when Lucy said she went to Tarkington’s apartment. But the picture was so fuzzy Megan could only see a wave of movement on the screen. She looked down at the keyboard, trying to figure out what she could do to fix it. All of a sudden the screen went black.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
Megan sat at the desk in her office. She’d spent an hour trying to bring the video back up after her computer screen went blank. No luck. She figured the security guy at The Lakeworth must have emailed her a faulty file. She’d tried several times to call the security office and only received the voicemail. She then she called the cell phone number for the security guy she and Eric had talk
ed to, but every time she called number she got voicemail as well. She left messages at both numbers. Tired of waiting for someone to call back, she packed her stuff and headed to the car. She would swing by The Lakeworth, find security, and get another file sent to her of the video.
Megan walked up to the entrance of The Lakeworth and pressed a button by the front door. The intercom crackled to life.
“ Security, can I help you?”
It was him—the guy she and Eric talked to. She felt irritated for a moment. Evidently he was at the office but just not returning calls.
“This is Megan O’Reilly. Can I come in and talk to you?”
The door buzzed and clicked.
Once Megan got inside she remembered Eric had said to take the elevator to the second floor and turn right. She hurried down the hallway until she came to a door that was half ajar, with a sign that said Security. She knocked.
“Come in,” a scratchy voice called.
A man with dark hair, wearing a crisp white shirt with Security The Lakeworth emblazoned over the left breast pocket, was sitting at a desk in front of five large screens.
She extended her hand. “Thank you for seeing me.”
The security guy motioned for her to have a seat.
“I know you’re busy so I won’t take much of your time.” She reminded him who she was and why she needed the videos and explained what had happened when she tried to watch what he’d sent.
“I really need to see that footage. I figure the file must be bad.”
The security guy pulled a pair of glasses from the center drawer of the desk and put them on, turned toward the computer on his desk, tapped some keys, and waited. From his change of expression Megan could tell something had come up on the screen. He leaned forward and squinted, then stabbed one key. Megan watched him roll his head from left to right and back as if reading something. She leaned back in the chair and waited.
“Give me one moment, Ms. O’Reilly,” the security guy said, getting up from his chair. Before she could say anything he was out the door. When he came back he sat down, took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket, and put it on the desk. He looked down at the paper and then back at the screen and typed in something. Megan watched him study the paper and then look back at the screen as if checking. After a few minutes he pushed the computer away. Megan felt her stomach tighten. She could tell he wasn’t happy.
“I went down to check with our IT guy.” He paused and raked a hand through his hair. “I thought what we had was a faulty file. It’s happened before and all we do is resend it. We don’t have that issue this time.”
Megan saw his expression darken.
“We have a system failure.”
Megan said nothing. She could feel the other shoe getting ready to drop.
“We don’t have any footage of the floor you requested or even the grounds around the outside of the building for the period of time on the day you’re wanting. We have no footage of anything. The system apparently crashed when we were downloading for a short period that night.”
Megan felt a wave of nausea wash over her. “You have nothing?” she asked, stunned.
“No. I checked with IT to find out what they knew and if they had any video files for that date and time and they told me what had happened. I guess we had a security blackout for a few hours. I’m really sorry.”
Megan sat for a couple of moments taking it all in. Finally she got up, shook the security guy’s hand, put on her coat, and headed out the door.
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
Megan looked at the clock on her desk in her study. It was five a.m. Yesterday she had met with the security guy at The Lakeworth and had received the devastating news that there was no security video for the night of Lucy’s rape.
She had spent the night sitting in her study going over every angle of Lucy’s case. It seemed as if they could never get a break. Every time she felt that there was a piece of evidence that would help strengthen the case it turned out to be a dead end. She pushed herself away from the desk and stretched.
One thing was clear: She needed to have both Eric and Lucy over for coffee later that morning to talk. Something told her she needed to have them both come together so the three of them could brainstorm. Several times in the past, while she was working on a case, she’d called the victim and the whole prosecution team in for a meeting to go over the entire case. More often than not it was amazing how helpful that was in trial preparation. As she often did, she thought of Lisa Garrett and her stomach tightened. If she’d had a meeting like that during the preparation for Lisa’s trial she probably wouldn’t have made the mistake that cost them. She would have known that her main witness—the prosecution’s main witness—had a perjury conviction several years earlier in another state. She’d been overly confident and lax in preparation and it had cost her dearly. She still woke up in the middle of the night sometimes thinking about Lisa and feeling like she’d failed her.
A few hours later Megan poured Eric and Lucy cups of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table with them. Without the rape kit results and the security video to confirm Lucy’s story, the whole case was back to square one.
“It’s hard to believe there was a freak system failure with the security cameras at Tarkington’s apartment building at the exact moment you were arriving,” Megan said looking at Lucy. She took a sip of hot coffee and set the cup back down. “It doesn’t feel right to me. My gut tells me there’s something else going on.”
“Makes me wonder,” Eric said. He reached for the Half and Half and poured a ribbon of it into his cup. “I called the security guy this morning and asked how long they’ve been having problems with the security system and if there’s been any other system failures. He said they installed these security cameras two years ago and there’s never been a single problem up till now.”
“So the only time the cameras didn’t work was when Lucy was about to arrive. Other than that the cameras have always been fine.” Megan dropped a cube of sugar in her coffee and stirred.
Eric nodded. “The guy said the system rebooted four hours after the crash and it worked the rest of the night.” He took a blueberry muffin from the basket on the table.
Megan leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “I want to know more about that system. I can’t imagine they don’t have a backup system or something.”
“I know a guy who works for the company that designed and manufactured the system,” Eric said. “I can check with him.”
“Fantastic,” Megan said. She wished she could think of additional ways to figure out what had gone wrong and whether there was something suspicious going on, but she couldn’t. Still, this was better than nothing. She felt her mood brightening. She picked up the coffee pot and topped off her cup, took a deep breath and looked at her notes, searching for anything she might have missed. .
“Lucy, when you were at Tarkington’s that night, did you see or speak to anyone?
Megan studied Lucy’s face. She had already asked Lucy this once before and she’d said no, but Megan had learned that sometimes people remembered things if you kept asking them the same questions.
“No…” Lucy paused and sat for a few moments thinking. “Well, yes. Yes. I did see someone.”
Megan leaned in toward her.
“When I was leaving I was running so fast that I almost ran into a limousine parked in front of the building.”
Megan and Eric looked at each other and then at Lucy.
“I know I startled the chauffeur and the guy who was getting out of the back seat.”
“Did you stop and say anything to them?”
Lucy shook her head. “No. I was so upset I just wanted to get away from there. I didn’t speak. But I remember thinking the guy who was getting out of the limo looked familiar.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell me this before.” Megan took a sip of the steaming coffee.
“I just remembered. I was in such a state after Tarkington
…” Lucy paused as if she couldn’t bear to say what Tarkington had done to her.
“That’s okay,” Megan said. “But do you have any idea who he was?”
Eric picked up his pen.
“I want to say the guy was the main newscaster on channel 8.” Lucy cast a glance at Megan and Eric. “The guy with salt and pepper hair who does the evening news.”
“Bob Udell?” Eric asked.
“Yes, that’s who he looked like.”
“Did you see anyone else?” Megan asked
Lucy shook her head. “No.”
Megan smiled at Eric. “Let’s chat with Mr. Udell. Add that to your list.”
“Will do.” Eric made a note and flipped his spiral bound notebook shut.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Megan set the bag of groceries down on the porch and inserted her key in the bottom lock and then the top one on her front door. She’d decided to go to the grocery store after Lucy and Eric left. The top lock was kind of sticky—she’d been meaning to call a locksmith to get it replaced but hadn’t had time. As she twisted and turned the key she heard her landline ringing in the house. Even thought most people used only their cell she had kept her landline to use as an office phone and also to use with her home security system— the company had strongly advised her to keep the landline in case of a power failure.
She pulled and twisted the key back and forth. The phone continued to ring. Soon voicemail would kick in. She felt the lock slide. Finally. She twisted the knob and gave a push and the door opened. A pool of light flooded out onto the porch. She set the groceries down inside the door and hurried to the phone. It stopped ringing just as she reached out for it.
“Of course,” she muttered. She looked at the clock. It was after ten p.m. Who would be calling at this hour? She couldn’t imagine it would be a client. She went into the kitchen and put her groceries away, then went back into the living room, picked up the receiver and punched in the number. The recording told her she had one new message. She sat down in the chair beside the phone and crossed her legs.
Victim of the Defense Page 14
