Muzzled

by Rosenfelt, David

  “Yes, I believe so. We found traces of Cintron 421.”

  “What is that?”

  “An extraordinarily powerful explosive. Military grade.”

  “Had you encountered it in your work before?”

  “Yes, but rarely. It’s very volatile and takes a real expertise to handle.”

  Trell feigns surprise. “Military grade? So a serviceman trained in munitions might typically be expected to be familiar with it?”

  “Most would, yes.”

  “Have you encountered Cintron 421 since that day on the ocean?”

  “Yes, when we executed a search warrant on Mr. Vogel’s house. There were traces of it on his worktable.”

  Trell gives that a moment to sink in. “He was working with Cintron 421 in his house?”

  “I can’t be sure of that. All I can say with certainty is that there were traces of it on the worktable.”

  “Did you find anything else in the boat wreckage?”

  “Blood traces. DNA determined that it belonged to Mr. Giarrusso.”

  Trell asks him a few more questions, mostly to get him to repeat the incriminating things he’s already said, then turns him over to me.

  “Sergeant Willeford, you talked about Cintron 421 being volatile.”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, it is more prone than most explosives to detonate accidentally.”

  “How might that happen?”

  “Well, depending on how it is stored, or the device it is housed in, perhaps it could be powerfully shaken, maybe exposed to intense heat.…”

  “Did any of those things happen on the Doral?”

  “I couldn’t say.”

  “So it might have gone off accidentally? Is that possible?”

  “I wasn’t there.”

  “That would be a good answer if my question had been ‘Sergeant Willeford, were you there?’ But I asked if it was possible for it to have gone off accidentally.”

  “Yes, that’s possible. I don’t have enough information to determine if it did or not.”

  “Thank you. Now regarding soldiers with munitions training. If you know, do they go to a lab or workroom and physically mix chemicals or materials to make explosives?”

  “No, I wouldn’t think so. The munitions come to them fully prepared. They are manufactured in factories.”

  “You said that you found traces of Cintron 421 in Mr. Vogel’s house, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any other bomb-making equipment?”

  “No.”

  “If you know, who put those traces there?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you aware that Mr. Vogel’s house was broken into the day after the explosion on the Doral, before you guys inspected it?”

  “Yes, it was quite obvious that the house had been ransacked.”

  “Could the person or persons who broke in have left the Cintron 421 traces?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know if it’s possible?”

  “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “Can you say beyond a reasonable doubt that it didn’t happen that way?”

  “I cannot, no.”

  “Thank you, no further questions.”

  Pharmacon CEO Eric Buckner called the meeting to discuss a crucial matter.

  In the wake of events in Cumberland, New York, a significant decision had to be made.

  Ruth and Glenn Radford, having contracted an infection caused by Diveria aureus, had been cured by Loraxil. Since Pharmacon’s survival most likely depended on Loraxil’s success, the importance of this event could not be overstated.

  Pharmacon had sent two scientists to Cumberland to confer and consult with scientists from the CDC and FDA. All parties agreed that the Radfords in fact had the ailment, and that their recovery after receiving Loraxil was stunning.

  Most significant, the government entities believed that the drug could likely attack other so-called superbugs.

  Reflecting the importance of this meeting now, it was attended by only three people, none of whom brought any staff along. In addition to Buckner, there was CFO Gerald Bennings and Chief Scientist Jordan Tucker.

  Alex Vogel would have been the fourth attendee, but he could not be there for obvious reasons. Since he had not yet been replaced, Bennings had taken over his responsibilities for the time being.

  Bennings started by giving an update on where things stood with the FDA, independent of the events in Cumberland. “We’ve got all of our testing data over there. It’s impressive, and we should get approval on the merits. The problem, as you know, is that it is limited in scope. We do not and cannot have many case results because there have been so few cases reported. So mostly it has been animal testing, and the data is very impressive.”

  “This changes things dramatically,” Buckner said. “Does it not?”

  “It does, but things still move slowly in the bureaucracy. The FDA people will go back and tell their bosses what happened, and it will be given consideration. I am told, though, that it is unlikely it will be fast-tracked.”

  “Not even after Cumberland?” Tucker asked.

  Bennings shook his head. “Correct. They will not see this as a public emergency; to them it is a one-off. And they probably are correct.”

  “So Cumberland makes our case more compelling but still doesn’t carry the day?” Buckner asked. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “That’s my view,” Bennings said.

  “What if there was a breakout of the disease? If there was a cluster and a bunch of people contracted it? Do we have the supply to deal with it if called upon to do so?”

  That was Tucker’s area, and he answered quickly, “No, absolutely not. We barely had enough to deal with Cumberland. We are producing it on a need basis, and that need has not been there so far. We could mass-produce, but it’s expensive. Still, I think we should do it.”

  Bennings was shaking his head before Tucker even finished. “Way too expensive; it’s just not practical at this point. Not without government approval and financial incentives. If we go ahead, and the FDA doesn’t sign off on it soon, we’re history.”

  Nothing more was to be said. Buckner agreed with Bennings, so they would not start mass production. All they could do was wait.

  Cumberland was a huge plus for Pharmacon’s prospects, but they remained prospects. For the time being Loraxil would remain in limbo, and so would the company.

  Now that Trell has placed Vogel on the boat, he needs to get him off it.

  All the jury knows, at least from the testimony at trial, is that he boarded the Doral with two other men and that it blew up. Since they can see Alex Vogel at the defense table, they know he escaped, but they don’t know how.

  Telling them is Trell’s job today.

  He calls Lieutenant Susan Kelly of the Long Beach Township Police Department to accomplish it. Her job will not be difficult.

  “Lieutenant Kelly, were you called to the home of a Mr. Walter Ambrose the day after the explosion on the Doral?”

  “The call came in to our department. I answered it.”

  “That home is in a town called Loveladies, which is on Long Beach Island?”

  She nods. “That’s correct.”

  Trell introduces as evidence a large map of Long Beach Island, and he uses it to demonstrate how Loveladies is almost at the opposite end of the island from Beach Haven, where the Doral had been docked. He makes it sound like suspicious behavior, which it is.

  Then, “Why had Mr. Ambrose called your department?”

  “A dinghy had come onshore at his private dock. He did not see it when it arrived, so did not know who had been on it. But it was concerning to him, so he contacted us.”

  “And you found it?”

  “We did; Mr. Ambrose directed us to it.”

  “Did you determine who it belonged to?”

  She nods. “Yes, there wa
s identification on the side which indicated it was attached to the Doral, Mr. Vogel’s boat.”

  “By then you had known about the boat explosion?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you know at that point who had been on the dinghy?”

  “No.”

  Trell gets Lieutenant Kelly to say that she learned that Vogel rented a car from a rental-car agency across the causeway, therefore off the island.

  “Is there a rental-car agency on the island?”

  “Yes.”

  “But he chose not to use it?”

  “I can’t speak to any choice he might have made; I can only tell you which place he used and which he didn’t.”

  “Was his own car still parked at the Beach Haven pier?”

  “It was.”

  “Did Mr. Vogel report to your department what had happened out on the water?”

  “He did not.”

  On cross-examination I cannot once again successfully challenge any of the facts, since they are all completely accurate. Vogel did use the dinghy to land in Loveladies, he did leave his car in Beach Haven, and he failed to report to police.

  His claim is that he was afraid his pursuers might somehow know he was alive and might be searching for him, so he wanted to escape as quickly and cleanly as possible. But he’s not on the stand, so I have no way to get that across.

  “Lieutenant Kelly, if Mr. Vogel intentionally sailed that dinghy to Loveladies rather than Beach Haven, do you know why?”

  “I can only speculate.”

  “Is it possible he misjudged where he was coming in? Was there any navigation equipment on the dinghy?”

  “I can’t say what his intentions were. No, there was no navigation equipment on there.”

  “You said before that you could speculate on why he acted the way he did. Would part of that speculation be that he wanted to escape detection, to hide?”

  “Definitely, yes.”

  “In your experience, is one of the reasons that people hide to escape danger?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sometimes they see that danger as coming from the police. Correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Might that danger also come from someone else? For example, if the average person believed that hired killers had murdered two friends and had that person next on their list, might that person also have reason to hide?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Fear of murder is only a ‘possible’ reason to hide?”

  “It depends on the person.”

  “You mean, you’ve met people who when threatened with death adopt the ‘Come and get me too, Chino’ approach?’” I’m not sure how many jurors will get the West Side Story reference, but it is understandable in any event. Most of the jurors smile, so I think they get it.

  “Here’s a hypothetical. Please answer based on your experience and common sense. If an average person, having never been involved in violence in his life, saw two friends murdered, barely escaped his own death, and believed the killers were still after him … would that person have reason to be afraid? And could the stress of that situation possibly cause him to make rash decisions?”

  Trell objects and Mahomes makes me withdraw the question on the grounds that I am testifying, rather than cross-examining. It’s a fair point, but I’ve already made my own point, so I let her off the stand.

  “Andy, I know this is not going well.”

  Alex had asked to speak to me for ten minutes before the afternoon session starts, so we’re meeting in an anteroom. He’s obviously down and worried about our prospects.

  “Have you been speaking to Hike?” I ask.

  Alex smiles. “As rarely as possible. But it has nothing to do with Hike. I’m not stupid, contrary to what my actions in this case would indicate. I can tell that the prosecution is holding all the cards. I just wanted to thank you and tell you I appreciate everything; no one could do it better.”

  “We’ve got a long way to go,” I say, mainly because we do have a long way to go.

  “I know, and I hope I’m wrong, but there’s one other thing.…”

  “What’s that?”

  “Promise me you’ll find a good home for Aggie. I can’t tell you how much I love that dog.”

  “There are very few promises I can make to my clients, Alex … other than I will try my best. But this is one I can make: no matter what, Aggie will be with people who love her.”

  “Thank you.”

  The bailiff comes in to tell us that court is coming back into session.

  As Alex gets up, I touch his arm to stop him. “One more thing, Alex. Stop talking to Hike.”

  “I never do. Hike talks to me.”

  Trell’s final witness today is probably the one that will wrap up his case. He is Captain William Shenton of the New Jersey State Police, Homicide Division, and he was the chief investigator on this case. He is also the cop that arrested Alex Vogel.

  “Captain Shenton, this was your case, is that correct?” Trell asks.

  “I led the investigative team, yes.”

  “When you initially were brought in, did you think Alex Vogel died in the explosion?”

  “I had no reason to believe otherwise. We had a strong indication that he had been on board, and there was no evidence of any survivors.”

  “How long were you into the investigation when you came to consider it a homicide?”

  “Very early on.”

  “Why was that? What made you come to that determination?”

  “Two things. One was the interview with the people on the other boat. They said that they believed there was a body covered in blood before the explosion even took place. So that was compelling. But then the fact that Cintron 421 was used; that just doesn’t happen to be stored on a pleasure boat. It had to be brought there for a reason. At least that was our reasoning.”

  “Did you have a suspect?”

  “Not at that point, because there were two possibilities. It was either a triple homicide, or a murder/suicide. It was plausible that one of the people on the boat deliberately took their own life as well as the others.”

  “When did that change?”

  “When we found the dinghy. That didn’t get to the pier in Loveladies by itself. It was clear that one of the people from that boat had gotten away. Then when we got the rental-car information, we were certain that Mr. Vogel had survived.”

  “So he became a suspect?”

  “Yes, we believed, and I believed, that not coming to the police and not coming forward when the media widely reported him dead showed what we call a consciousness of guilt. It wasn’t yet proof, but the discovery of traces of Cintron 421 in his apartment made his guilt, in my mind, a certainty. The fact that he was in munitions in the army cemented it even further.”

  Trell questions Shenton for a while longer, mostly to reaffirm what he has already said, rather than to extract new information. He does get Shenton to say that he believes that the bomb was detonated remotely rather than set on a timer, but he has no forensic information that supports this. Bottom line is that it does not matter.

  I start my cross by asking if he checked out other boats in the area near the explosion.

  “We put out word that we would like to speak to anyone out there who had any information.”

  “So you didn’t send boats out yourself to find and interview people?”

  “No. They would have been too dispersed by the time we could have done that.”

  “So if someone on another boat had committed this crime, by putting out word that people with information should come forward, you were hoping they would show up and confess? You were operating on the honor system?”

  I can tell by the look on his face that he’s pissed. “That was not our hope or expectation, no.”

  “Is it your theory that Mr. Vogel set off the explosion to kill his friends in the way he did as part of a plan to fake his own death?”

  “That is my theory, yes.
But the why is not as important as the facts.”

  “So when the facts are created by people, you don’t generally find that there is a reason for doing what they did?”

  “There is always a reason, sometimes rational, sometimes not.”

  I nod and walk back to the defense table so Hike can hand me a piece of paper. As I do, so I see that Laurie has entered the back of the courtroom. We make eye contact, but I can’t figure out why she’s here. There must be a reason; she sure as hell wasn’t just in the neighborhood.

  I introduce the paper as evidence, and I give copies to Trell and the witness, as well as Judge Mahomes. “Captain Shenton, can you describe this document for the jury?”

  “It’s a rental form for dock space at the pier in Long Beach Island. It’s for the Doral, and it has been signed and paid for by Mr. Vogel.”

  “Is it dated the same date as the explosion?”

  “Yes.”

  “And does it cover rental for the month before or after that date?”

  “After.”

  “Does it seem strange to you that Mr. Vogel paid in advance for a month’s boat rental when he was planning to destroy that boat and disappear two hours later?”

  “Perhaps he was trying to get people to think exactly what you are implying now.”

  “Why would he care what people thought about his boat rental when his plan was for them to think he was dead?”

  “I couldn’t say.”

  “I’m sure you couldn’t.”

  Trell objects that I’m badgering, and Mahomes sustains.

  “Captain Shenton, had you ever seen this piece of paper before today?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you didn’t think it was worth disclosing it to this jury?”

  “I don’t consider it important or particularly relevant, no.”

  “Do you consider Mr. Vogel’s actions well thought out? All planned in advance?”

  “Yes.”

  “So signing for a rental car with his own identification was part of his planning?”

  “It wasn’t a perfect plan, obviously.”

  “How did you come to find him?”

  “The Paterson police notified us that they had a tip that he had come forward under an assumed name to retrieve his dog.”