“It’s never perfect. Fingerprints taken in the field are not perfect. They’re dirty, smudged. Sometimes tainted with blood or body oils. You have to account for the realities of life.”
“All of which is a fancy way of saying, no, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the prints did not match perfectly.”
“But they matched enough that I felt comfortable saying that the prints came from the defendant.”
“Apparently you felt comfortable saying there was a one-hundred-percent match, although as it turns out, you didn’t have one-hundred-percent prints, and what you had didn’t match one-hundred percent either.”
Jazlyn rose to her feet. “Objection, your honor. Mr. Pike has made his point, such that it is. Could we move on?”
The judge seemed sympathetic. “I do think you’ve made your point, counsel. Is there anything else?”
“Yes, your honor. I’m afraid so.” He turned back to the witness. “How many people’s prints did you compare to the prints on the gun?”
She squinted. “How many?”
“Exactly. Did you compare your partials with the prints of anyone other than my client?”
“No.”
“How did you know to look at Gabriella’s prints?”
“I was directed to do so by the prosecutors.”
“Who had already decided Gabriella was guilty.”
“As I understand it, they found the murder weapon in her backyard. That would make her the logical person to check prints on.”
“I’ve already talked at length about the sketchy business of finding the gun in her backyard, the one place no one with half a brain would ever hide the murder weapon.”
“Objection,” Jazlyn said. “Move to strike.”
“Sustained.”
He continued unabated. “What I’m getting at is that the police asked you to look at one set of prints, and what a surprise, you found sufficient commonality to declare a one-hundred-percent match. Did you at any time look at any other prints, to see if you might find commonality there as well?”
“As I said, no.”
“Did you look at Emilio Lòpez’s prints? The gang leader at the scene of the murder? He’s a suspect. Unless they turn him into a witness.”
Jazlyn shot up. “Your honor! Objection. This is grossly prejudicial.”
Judge Le pointed a gavel. “Mr. Pike, you are truly trying my patience.”
He held up his hands. “I’m making a point, your honor. It’s just frustrating having to wade through so much muck to get there. My point, Dr. Palmer, is that you didn’t look at Emilio’s prints, right?”
“True.”
“Did you check the prints of Emilio’s lieutenant, Luis González? Or the victim’s brother, Diego Sanchez?”
“I’ve already said, I looked at no other prints.”
“So you looked where the police asked you to look. And nowhere else. End of investigation. Tell the police what they want to hear, then quit.”
“Your honor,” Jazlyn said, “asked and answered.”
“Agreed,” Judge Le said. “Aren’t you about done now, Mr. Pike?”
“There’s one more thing.”
The judge rolled her eyes.
“Dr. Palmer, with respect to the prints on the gun—is there any way for you to determine when those prints were made?”
“Not really. Sometimes, when prints are very old, they degrade.”
“Did you see that here?”
“No.”
“So those prints could have been left prior to the night of the shooting?”
“It’s possible.”
“What if the prints were placed two months before? When Gabriella bought the gun.”
“I think I would know.”
“Can you rule out the possibility? One-hundred percent?”
She sighed. “I suppose not.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at the judge. “And now I’m finished.”
He thought he heard the judge whisper under her breath, Thank goodness.
Chapter 34
Dan hoped Judge Le would call it quits for the day. But there was still an hour and a half on the clock, and to his dismay, Jazlyn said the prosecution had a witness they could get on and off in that amount of time. Usually, when a prosecutor made offers like that, what they actually meant was that there was sufficient time for them to put on the direct examination. They didn’t care whether there was time for cross. In fact, they probably hoped there wasn’t. Everybody wanted to end the day on a strong note, so the jurors would go home mulling the as-yet unrebutted evidence. A cross-examination quickly covered the next day, early in the morning, when jurors were sleepy and wishing they had more coffee, might have less impact.
The next prosecution witness was a woman named Betty Fuller, a tourist, not a local. Print dress. Sandals. Friendship bracelet, probably from a child. Red nose. Bruise at the base of her neck.
Fuller happened to be walking down the sidewalk in the wee hours of the morning because she was having an allergy attack and hoped to find an all-night drugstore. Instead, she found something much worse. When she saw shadowy figures yelling at each other, she ducked behind a retaining wall on the outskirts of the hotel. After the firing started, she was too scared to move.
Eventually, Jazlyn brought her to the main point. “Did you recognize any of the people you saw in this confrontation?”
“I didn’t recognize them at the time.”
“But you recognize them now?”
Fuller pointed toward Gabriella. “She was there.”
“Let the record reflect that the witness indicated the defendant was at the scene of the shooting.”
Jazlyn turned back to the witness. “Please tell the jury what you saw.”
“I saw her talking to a man about her height, also Hispanic. I couldn’t hear what they said. He seemed extremely agitated. My impression was that she was trying to calm him down. Unsuccessfully.”
“Were either of them holding anything?”
“The defendant was holding some kind of bag.”
“Anything else?”
“After they talked briefly, she removed something from the bag and held it in her hand. A few moments later she extended her hand straight out from her shoulder. Like this.” Fuller demonstrated what was clearly someone pointing a weapon.
“Could you see what she held?”
“I thought it was a gun. And a few seconds later, I heard a gun fire, several times. Her arm appeared to recoil in connection with the sounds. Then she disappeared.”
“Could you see the body?”
“No.”
“So she might have left to...tamper with the corpse?”
He sprang to his feet. “Objection. Leading.”
Jazlyn nodded. “I’ll withdraw that. Thank you, Ms. Fuller. I appreciate you coming today to offer your testimony. Your witness, Mr. Pike.”
Before he stood, he glanced at the legal pad Maria passed over. She’d hastily scrawled a note.
She’s just trying to help.
He understood, and appreciated the reminder. Fuller was not evil, nor was she part of any prosecution or police conspiracy, so there was no reason for an attack-dog approach. Which did not mean he couldn’t expose the flaws in her testimony. He just needed to do so with a bit more finesse.
“Ms. Fuller, let me begin by echoing what the prosecutor has already said. I appreciate you being here today. I know you had to travel a long way and probably had better things to do. But we appreciate it.”
Fuller nodded.
He cut to the chase. The videotape had already shown that Gabriella was at the scene of the crime, so there was no point in arguing about that. The only question was what came out of that bag, and whether Gabriella fired a weapon. “I noticed when you described what came out of the bag, you didn’t exactly say it was a gun. Your words were, ‘I thought it was a gun.’”
“That’s correct.”
“So will you acknowledge that you may have been
mistaken?”
Fuller hesitated. “I was a long way off, but it looked like a gun to me. And her subsequent behavior reinforced my feeling that it was a gun.”
“We’ll get to the behavior in a minute. First I want to focus on what you saw. The murder weapon is a handgun, relatively small. I would think even in the daylight, from a distance, it would be difficult to know for certain what she held. But when you saw her it was nighttime, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And there was no moon that night?”
“That’s also correct.”
“Some ambient light from the hotel signs. But basically, you were in the dark.”
“That’s true.”
“Why do you think she held a gun?”
“I saw glints of light. It looked metallic.”
“So what you’re actually saying is that whatever she held, light reflected from it.”
She shrugged. “I suppose.”
“It might’ve been... a wrench?”
She tilted her head to one side.
“Or cellophane. Cellophane gives off light.”
Fuller’s eyebrows knitted. “Who would be carrying cellophane at two in the morning?”
“Do you know what gangs typically wrap drugs in?”
“No. I most certainly do not.”
“If they planned a payoff, what would the money be wrapped in?”
“I’m sure I don’t know.”
“All in all, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say you don’t know what you saw in her hand?”
“I saw her extend her arm and point it outward, toward the other people.” Again, she pantomimed holding a gun.
“A person might extend their arm for many reasons, don’t you think? Like, for instance, if they’re offering someone something, holding it out so they will take it, or at least see that it is being offered.”
Fuller hesitated. “I don’t think that’s what I saw.”
“In the darkness.”
“I also heard gunshots. There’s no question about the fact that gunshots occurred. And I saw her arm recoil. In coordination with the shots.”
“Could you really tell, from your distance?” He reminded himself to be gentle. “Given your distance, and your undoubtedly terrified state, can you be sure?”
“It’s... what I thought...”
“Gabriella heard the gunshots too. That might be a reason for pulling back her arm, don’t you think? Maybe she was getting ready to retreat. You said, a few seconds later, she ran away.”
“So did everybody who wasn’t lying on the ground.”
“Ms. Fuller, I’m sure you can understand why it’s absolutely crucial that we be clear on what you did and did not see. The jury has heard too much evidence that under scrutiny turned out to be less than it was suggested to be. Are you certain you saw a gun?”
Fuller hedged. “I suppose I can’t say I’m absolutely...certain.”
“Could you tell me what kind of gun it was? Or even what color?”
“No.”
“Can you say with certainty that you saw Gabriella fire a gun?”
“It’s what—” She stopped. “No, I can’t say it with absolute certainty.”
“And you surely can’t say that Gabriella fired the bullet that resulted in Sanchez’ death, can you?”
“No.”
“I appreciate your honesty. It’s citizens like you that make the system work. No more questions.”
Chapter 35
That evening, Dan returned to the office, which he still couldn’t bring himself to call an office, because it was so un-office-like.
“I thought the trial went spectacularly well today,” Jimmy said, bubbling with enthusiasm. “You’re like Superman in there, crusading for truth, justice, and the American way.”
Maria smiled. “He was rather impressive, wasn’t he? Mr. K was right about you.”
“Mr. K is always right,” Garrett added.
“I’ll be honest,” Jimmy said. “I thought this case was hopeless before we started. But now we’re two days in, and I don’t think Jazlyn scored a point. What has she proven? Gabriella was there and she bought the murder weapon a couple of months before. Honestly, that’s about it.”
“And I don’t think that will be enough,” Maria said. “Especially once Dan starts hammering the jury about reasonable doubt.”
Garrett leaned back into the sofa. “Is anyone worried about the possibility that we might not be... serving justice? Does that concern you, Dan?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. If we keep the government from railroading someone, we’re serving justice.”
Garrett’s head lowered. “I just don’t want to be a part of a...miscarriage.”
Jimmy peered at him. “Are you saying you think Gabriella is guilty?”
Garrett shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I don’t think any of us know. But I do think something has to be done about what’s happening in this town. These gangland wars are getting out of control. Sometimes I feel like law and order is disappearing.”
“The cure for that,” Maria said, “is better education and more job opportunities. Not putting the entire Hispanic community behind bars.”
“I agree with you,” Garrett said. “But we have to support the people trying to protect us. And the prosecutors.”
He knew Garrett tended to be conservative, but he sensed something more going on. “You think I’m attacking the police? And the prosecutors?”
“Well...aren’t you?”
“No. I’m just doing my job. But there’s more going on here than we know. And I don’t believe Gabriella is the criminal puppet master behind it all.”
Maria went to the door and returned with more pizza than they could eat in a week. He noted it was delivered by Delmonico’s. One of the nicest restaurants in town, one he knew for a fact had the best pizza. He didn’t know they delivered. He suspected that was just for special customers.
He took a bite of the specialty white pizza—five kinds of cheese and alfredo rather than tomato sauce—and his eyes rolled into his head. “That is absolutely delicious.”
Maria smiled. “The secret ingredient is artichoke.”
He raised a finger. “That’s what I was tasting. I’ve got to try making this. It’s fabulous.” He glanced at Jimmy. “Have you tried a slice?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Thanks. I’m still a meat eater.” He reached for a slice of pepperoni.
Maria winced. “He even eats sausage. Ick.”
“The body needs the occasional animal-based protein.”
“It so doesn’t,” Maria said firmly. “But that’s all right. We love you even if you are a barbarian.”
Jimmy took another bite. “Vegetarians are so self-righteous.”
“We’ll win you over in time.” She took another slice. “What do you think Jazlyn will do next, Dan? How will she start the third day?”
“I’ve been wondering about that myself. She knows that even jurors who come into the courtroom assuming everyone accused is guilty are likely to be underwhelmed by the case she’s put on so far.”
“So what will she do?”
He shrugged. “The most likely ploy is Emilio.”
Jimmy cut in. “I stopped by the DA’s office on my way out today. A friend told me that they still hadn’t made a deal with him. And I don’t think he’d lie to me.”
“Jazlyn would notify me if she’d clinched a deal. But I suspect she’s working on it as we speak. She needs something to energize her case. He must be holding out. Probably asking for total immunity, for more than this incident. Possibly an expunged record. Possibly even witness protection. I’ll bet Jazlyn’s willing to give him more tonight than she was before. She needs him.”
“This sort of testimony should be forbidden,” Maria said. “It’s basically witness tampering. If we paid someone to testify we’d be disbarred, but prosecutors do it all the time, offering people immunity or early parole. It’s a complete dou
ble standard.”
“Agreed. But we have to live with it. Has anyone talked to Esperanza lately?”
“I called the detention center today. I was allowed to talk to her briefly. She did not sound good.”
He tried not to let anything show on his face. “How do you mean?”
“That normally upbeat, calm girl was distraught, excitable, edgy. Even screamed at one point. Not like herself at all.”
“Worse than when we visited her?”
“Much worse. She’s desperate to get out of there.”
“Have they isolated her? Crenshaw promised.”
“Yes. And that might be part of the problem. She feels cut off from everyone, even more so than before. I wasn’t going to tell you about this, but...I don’t think she can take this much longer. Without suffering some kind of...permanent damage.”
Chapter 36
Dan was not remotely surprised when he entered the courtroom the next day and Jazlyn told him she was calling Emilio as her next witness. What did surprise him was seeing the mayor, Camila Perez, sitting in the back corner of the gallery. Was that because she heard Emilio was testifying? She was tucked away in the farthest corner, but there was no way she could get here, or sit there, without being noticed.
Jazlyn gave him a copy of the immunity agreement, which had been signed late the previous night. While he and his crew were scarfing pizza, Jazlyn and Emilio were apparently locked in mortal combat. Each had something the other wanted, and each made it as difficult as possible to get. Emilio was granted full immunity, not only for all crimes relating to the shooting at the Trademark but for any and all crimes, discovered or undiscovered, occurring prior to that date. He had not asked for witness protection, but given this clean slate, perhaps he didn’t need it. When he walked out of this courtroom, regardless of what he said on the stand, he had a squeaky-clean record.
“I do not want that man to testify,” Gabriella said, whispering into his ear as the jury filed back into the courtroom. “I do not trust him.”
“You’re right not to trust him,” he whispered back. “The only person Emilio cares about is Emilio. But there’s nothing I can do about this.”
The Last Chance Lawyer Page 19
