CHAPTER 29
JANET STATION WAS THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT of New York, appointed six years ago by the previous administration and a carryover now.
She, like most leftovers, was waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the call to come that the new gang in Washington had decided on her replacement.
But it had been several months and the turnover slowed, if not stopped altogether.
So when the call from Washington had come the night before, she was surprised by the identity of the voice on the other end—the Assistant U.S.
Attorney General—and more so by the request.
Sidney Ryan’s past three documentaries had all resulted in exonerations.
It was, by any measure, an impressive string of success.
Clemency took more muscle than any one filmmaker could manage on her own.
Exonerations took the Innocence Project and attorneys and usually some politically connected individuals, who either had a relation with, or could apply pressure to, the district attorney’s office that had originally indicted and prosecuted the subject.
It took the discovery of new evidence, too, and usually some public outcry to gain a D.A.
’s attention. When celebrities got involved, things usually turned ugly.
And though most district attorneys basked in any media attention directed their way, certain forms of attentiveness—the negative kind that could ruin a career—was avoided at all cost.
It was never an easy decision for a D.A.
to overturn a conviction, as this was typically an admission of incompetence.
Some fast research the night before told Janet Station that the three individuals highlighted in Sidney Ryan’s searing documentaries were pardoned, not by the D.A.
or judge who had put them behind bars, but years later by a new prosecutor who filled the hole left by the retiring D.A.
This new district attorney had less to lose from looking at a decades-old case and admitting that it was handled incorrectly by the previous administration.
These fights were hard and long, and no one came out clean on the other end.
But Grace Sebold’s case was different. Prosecuted and convicted by a foreign government, Grace had never returned to the United States after Julian Crist was killed.
Sidney Ryan’s documentary was chugging along, gaining a voice and an audience, and a hell of a lot of attention.
The conclusion being whispered around Washington?
That a United States citizen had been wrongfully accused and imprisoned by a foreign government.
The inevitable question that will be asked?
Why had the government of the United States sat back and done nothing?
The question and its implication was a runaway train Washington wanted to get in front of, and so the call had come to Janet Station to see how far along that train had gotten, and how fast it was running.
Her cell phone rang.
“Yeah?”
“She’s in a booth in the back. Lady with her is Leslie Martin, a producer for the documentary.”
“Got it,” Janet said as she climbed out of the black Denali, which was parked across the street. She walked across West Forty-second Street and into the café. She spotted Sidney Ryan and walked directly over to the booth.
“Ms. Ryan?” Janet asked.
Sidney looked up. “Yes.”
“Janet Station, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Do you have a minute?”
Sidney looked at her producer, then back to Janet. “I guess, sure.”
“May I?” Janet pointed to the booth.
“Of course,” Sidney said.
Janet slid into the booth next to Leslie, across from Sidney.
“Sorry to intrude on your breakfast.”
“This is Leslie Martin,” Sidney said.
“Yes,” Janet said. “One of the producers, correct?”
“That’s right,” Leslie said. “Is there a problem?”
“That’s what I’ve come to find out.”
A waitress approached. “Can I get you anything?”
“Coffee, please.” Janet looked back at Sidney. “Your documentary is all the rave.”
“You sound concerned.”
“Concerned is a good word,” Janet said.
“What are you concerned about?” Leslie asked.
“I remember the Grace Sebold case from back when it was in the news. Back then, it looked pretty cut-and-dry. I’ve refreshed myself since your documentary has become so popular.
Some people in Washington are worried about the situation.
That a U.S. citizen is sitting in a foreign jail for a crime she, perhaps, did not commit.
The simple question is how much of what you’ve been airing is fact, and how much is pop-culture fiction? ”
Sidney pushed a folder across the table. “Leslie and I were just reviewing everything. Here’s all our research to this point.”
Janet opened the folder and paged through the contents.
“I understand the skepticism,” Sidney said.
“With the current popularity of true-crime documentaries, there can be an undercurrent of sensationalism. But in this case, I think you’ll see that our findings show a pattern of startling conclusions about how Grace Sebold’s case was originally investigated by the St. Lucian government, as well as new evidence we’ve turned up that disproves one of the central conclusions about the case.
Specifically, that the weapon suggested at trial as being used to kill Julian Crist, according to forensic experts here in the U.S.
, could not have caused the injuries found on the victim.
This Friday’s episode will tackle some of the other ‘evidence’ that was found in St. Lucia, including examining more closely the victim’s blood in Grace’s room and the so-called cleanup.
It’s all incorrect, mishandled, misconstrued, and possibly fraudulent. ”
Sidney pointed at the pages Janet was reading.
“Those are facts. Friday’s episode will also be facts.
No skepticism. No pop culture. Speculation does play a role, however.
And it comes from the idea that tourism represents the main source of income for St. Lucia,” Sidney said.
“And in order to preserve this economic windfall, the detectives that ran the case succumbed to pressure of the St. Lucian government to find someone to blame, find them quickly, and put the future tourists at ease that St. Lucia was still a majestic and peaceful Caribbean island known for sunsets and beaches, not murder and mayhem.”
Janet Station paged through the documents. After a moment of silence, she said, “Can you stall on any of this? Just until we have a chance to look into it more thoroughly?”
Sidney looked at Leslie, who shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” Leslie said. “The documentary is real-time. We’re producing an episode each week. Whatever we learn, our audience learns.”
“And we’re under tight deadlines,” Sidney said.
Janet Station smiled. “I was instructed to ask.”
“It’s not too late,” Leslie said. “One of our citizens still needs our government’s help. Has, in fact, begged for it for ten years.”
“It will be in my report.” She slid out of the booth and stood. “Have a good Fourth of July.”
“You too,” Sidney said.
Janet Station walked out of the café and to the waiting SUV. She climbed in the backseat and the Denali took off from the curb. She dialed her cell.
“Hello?”
“We’ve got a problem.”