Chapter 46
STILWELL LIKED GETTING to the sub early on Mondays.
It was the calm after the storm of the weekend.
He would read the crime reports that had come in during the busy days, decide what needed his attention, update the schedule of who was working and when, and generally set up things for the week ahead.
It was basic busywork, but the routine of it created a normalcy he enjoyed.
He also enjoyed the quiet time with a latte and croissant from Catalina Coffee & Cookie, which was on his way from the house.
But he was only a half hour into the routine when his cell buzzed with a text from Carol Najera telling him to call her as soon as he got up. She was the major crimes prosecutor assigned to the Douglas Allen case. He called her right away.
“I’ve been up,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Allen filed an electronic motion over the weekend accusing you of harassing his family,” she said.
Stilwell had to take a moment to get his focus back on the Allen case and figure out what this was about.
“He’s calling not arresting his son harassment?” he finally said.
“I don’t know the details but they’re using whatever happened to try to remove you from the witness list,” Najera said.
“Yeah, well, it’s bullshit.”
Stilwell spent the next ten minutes recounting the graffiti investigation that had led to his sit-down with the ex-mayor’s son.
“Can you get on a boat and come over here?” Najera asked. “I need you to tell all this to the judge. Allen’s really grasping at straws at this point.”
“I guess so,” Stilwell said. “When?”
“This morning. Right now. Allen’s lawyer has asked for a hearing on it.”
Stilwell looked at his watch. He could catch the eight a.m. ferry if he hurried and if there was room. The first boat back on Mondays was often packed with tourists returning home after the weekend.
“Okay, I’ll try to grab the next boat. Meet at the courthouse?”
“Come to my office. But listen, his son might be coming on the same boat to testify. If you see him, don’t go near him. You understand?”
“Got it.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
Stilwell left a handwritten note on Mercy’s desk saying only that he had gone to the mainland for a court appearance.
The eight o’clock boat was sold out and the waiting list was in double digits, but Kim Krabill was in the captain’s chair and got him on board standing room only.
He stood outside the open door of the pilothouse.
It was a good spot for viewing the flying fish that leaped from the water in front of the bow as it cut through the waves toward Long Beach.
Stilwell thought he would never grow tired of seeing the dolphins and flying fish and the occasional whale on the ride to and from the island.
Krabill had once told him that hitting a whale was her biggest nightmare as a captain.
Along the way he got another text from Najera, saying that the judge had set the hearing for eleven. That gave Stilwell some breathing room, but factoring in the boat ride back, it meant most of his day would be taken up by this distraction.
At one point during the seventy-minute cruise, he took a walk around the boat decks, surreptitiously checking to see if Matt Allen was aboard. If he was, Stilwell didn’t see him, and he returned to his spot by the pilothouse door.
By 9:45, Stilwell was seated in the waiting area of the Long Beach branch of the district attorney’s office. He had texted Najera before entering the building to let her know he’d made it.
There was no one else waiting to see a prosecutor.
Stilwell called Ernie Simon again. For the sixth time his call went unanswered.
Fed up with his supposed friend and colleague ducking him, Stilwell called the main line for the homicide unit.
The call was picked up by Dulce Camarena, the office assistant.
She had been in the position for years. No last names were needed.
“Dulce, it’s Stil. It’s been a while.”
“It certainly has. How are you, Stil?”
“I’m good. I have a question for you. I’m trying to reach Ernie Simon. Do you see him in the bullpen?”
“Uh, Ernie is no longer here.”
Stilwell was taken aback.
“You mean he transferred?” he asked.
“No, he retired,” Camarena said.
“When was this?”
“Friday was his last day.”
“Well, when did he give notice that he was retiring?”
“I think that happened Friday too, but you’d have to ask Captain Corum.”
Stilwell was stunned by this timing. His immediate conclusion was that Simon had been forced out to avoid something that threatened more than his job.
“Is Trestle there, Dulce?” he asked. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’s on vacation this week,” she said. “Actually, for two weeks. I’m looking at the vacations calendar here. I heard he went on a cruise.”
“Well, who’s handling the Quigley case while he’s gone if Simon’s retired?”
“I’m not sure, but the captain told me to send all inquiries to him. Should I see if he’s free?”
“No, I’ll call back later. Thanks, Dulce.”
He disconnected and dropped so deeply into dark thoughts about this that he did not hear the receptionist trying to get his attention until she nearly yelled his name.
He finally looked up.
“Carol can see you now,” she said.
The hearing with the judge was held in chambers because of the sensitivity of the claim involving a juvenile. Superior court judge Greta Galvez was presiding. Douglas Allen was there along with his two attorneys, Martin Klein and Avril Gardner.
“I have read the defense motion to dismiss Sergeant Stilwell as a witness,” Galvez began. “It makes serious accusations and I would like to hear the state’s response.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Najera said. “The state’s response is that this is a spurious claim and a desperate effort to undermine the case before it has even gone to trial.
As you can see, I have Sergeant Stilwell here and he is ready to present testimony and evidence as to what really occurred involving the defendant’s son. ”
“Very well,” Galvez said. “Sergeant Stilwell, I am going to put you under oath.”
Stilwell raised his hand and took the oath to tell nothing but the truth. The judge told Najera to proceed.
“Sergeant Stilwell, can you tell the court what brought you into contact with Matthew Allen last week?” she asked.
“Happy to,” Stilwell said. “My office on Catalina was contacted by multiple citizens reporting that two of Avalon’s most important historic structures, the chimes tower and the casino, had been defaced with graffiti. I investigated and confirmed the reports.”
From there, Stilwell recounted under questioning the investigation that led to his identifying Matt Allen as the suspect. He shared the photos he had taken of the graffiti and the stills from the video at the casino.
“Who mentioned the name Matt Allen first?” Najera asked. “You or Olester Bryant?”
“It was Bryant,” Stilwell said. “He recognized the letters FSID and told me there was a group of kids at the school who used it as a name for their informal club.”
“Did he look at the photo you have shown us?”
“He did and he said it was Matt Allen. He agreed to set up a meeting with Matt the next morning. We had that meeting, and Matt arrived wearing a hoodie that matched the one the suspect was wearing in the surveillance video. It also had blue paint on the sleeve.”
“Did you accuse him of the crime?”
“No, I didn’t need to. It was obvious to me and I didn’t think my purpose there was to make an arrest. I just told him the graffiti needed to stop, and if it did, I would let it go.”
“Did you at any point threaten him with arrest or try to coerce him into revealing information about his father?”
“No, not at all.”
“Did you talk about his father?”
“I didn’t, but he did.”
“And what did he say?”
Klein objected to Stilwell giving an answer, saying it would be hearsay. Najera argued that what Matt Allen said should be allowed under the excited-utterance exception.
“I’ll hear what he said and consider the objection after,” Galvez said. “You may answer, Sergeant.”
“He called his father a crook and then he called me stupid for taking so long to get him on anything,” Stilwell said.
“Did he say anything else about his father?” Najera asked.
“No, that was it.”
“Now, was there any witness to this conversation?”
“Yes, Bryant was there the whole time. It’s a rule that when you talk to a juvenile during an investigation, you have to have another adult present. I asked Bryant to stay and he did.”
“Did you record the conversation?”
“I did, yes, on my phone.”
“And did you bring that recording with you?”
“Yes.”
Najera asked the judge for permission to play the recording. Klein objected and seemed surprised to learn there was a recording. The judge overruled the objection, and Stilwell played the short conversation he’d had with Matt Allen in its entirety. Najera asked no questions afterward.
“I have nothing further, Your Honor,” she said.
It was the defense’s turn, and Klein launched a weak effort to attack Stilwell’s credibility, noting that he had not filed any reports on the two acts of vandalism.
“Were you trying to conceal the fact that you had put the mayor’s son in a room and pressured him to confess?” he asked.
“Uh, first of all, he’s not the mayor anymore,” Stilwell said.
“And second, by choosing not to file a report, I was using my discretion and doing Matthew Allen a favor. A reporter was already calling me about the graffiti. We keep the names of juveniles private, but anything can leak, and I didn’t want that for Matt.
I thought his intentions were good, just misguided. ”
“But that was against the rules, right?” Klein insisted. “You broke department regulations. Where else have you broken the regulations?”
“It was a judgment call,” Stilwell said. “And, Mr. Klein, I make them every day.”
“I’m going to step in here,” Galvez said.
“If you want to ask Sergeant Stilwell about rules and regulations, you can do that at trial, Mr. Klein. Because he will be allowed to be a witness. The motion is denied and I would think twice about wasting the court’s time in the future. Good day to you all.”