Chapter 55 #2
The juror in the blue sweater raised her hand again.
The jury keeper approached, the juror whispered, the jury keeper’s eyebrows shot up and then she turned to the judge and said, ‘This juror says if the decision has to be made by the jury, then respectfully, Your Honor, stop telling the jury what to think.’
Several jurors in the front row nodded, two in the back as well. I could’ve kissed them all.
That’s the special thing about juries. They’re ordinary decent citizens who have two eyes, two ears and the best of them have an open mind and an open heart. You can only lie to people for so long before they call bullshit. Sometimes, for all of its faults, the legal system is beautiful.
‘Call your next witness, Mr. Riley,’ said the judge, doing her best to ignore the statement from the jury.
The jury keeper, who had to deliver that reply from the juror, looked just a little smug.
You don’t always know what goes on behind closed doors with judges.
Those who were cruel or didn’t treat their court staff well sometimes got a little pushback. And it was always good to see.
‘The People call Derek Reading,’ said Riley.
This was the forensics officer who took the victim’s blood and the defendant’s DNA off of the jewelry box.
‘If it helps the court,’ I said, ‘we will stipulate that the victim’s blood and the defendant’s DNA are both on the jewelry box, as long as we can make submissions to the jury about the manner in which our client’s DNA got onto that box.’
The judge looked to Riley. He was handcuffed now.
He’d been planning a long, boring but devastating exchange with the forensics officer about blood and DNA, all of which would be damning for Vanessa.
There was nothing we could do to challenge it.
Her DNA was there and so far Vanessa had no explanation.
No point in dragging out the inevitable.
‘You have no problem with that, Mr. Riley?’ asked the judge.
‘I can’t really object, Your Honor. The defense is admitting the defendant’s DNA and the victim’s blood are on the murder weapon.’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Your Honor and the jury know very well, we are stipulating as a fact that the defendant’s DNA and the victim’s blood are on the jewelry box that was in the victim’s apartment – that’s all.
There is no evidence to show when, or how, the DNA or the blood got onto that box.
And it’s a matter for the jury to decide if this is the murder weapon, or not. ’
‘The jury will have understood that, Mr. Flynn,’ said Judge Tanner, and looked at the jury sympathetically. She was trying to win back their favor, and appear as if she was on their side. I can’t say it worked for all of them.
‘Mr. Riley, those facts are admitted. Call your next witness,’ said the judge.
Riley looked around at the back of the courtroom, then leaned over and whispered to his assistant. Then looked up at the judge as he spoke.
‘Your Honor, may we have a short recess? Detective Larkin would be our next witness, but he is not in court, presently.’
‘Go and find him,’ said the judge, and rose from the bench.
We all stood and watched her leave, followed by the jury. As soon as the last juror cleared out of the room, Riley got on his cell phone.
Harry and I looked at each other.
We both had the same thought.
‘Well, I mean, Larkin was probably told he wouldn’t be needed today. I’m sure he was instructed to come to court tomorrow,’ said Harry.
‘He was here for the opening of the case. He hasn’t shown up to court since we talked in Taco Bell,’ I said.
Harry whispered, ‘How much did he get from Dekker?’
‘A hundred grand, all in. That’s not enough for a cop to disappear.’
‘Maybe he asked for more. Or maybe he told them about your little talk.’
‘He wouldn’t have said a word. He gave me that journal, but he didn’t have to.
I didn’t push that hard. He could’ve lied about it.
I wonder if some part of him wanted to do the right thing.
Either he’s somehow gotten more money from them, enough to disappear, or they figured he’d been turned and took him out. ’
‘If they took out a cop, that means they’re getting desperate,’ said Harry.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Sometimes I wonder about the way the world has turned. Laws and rules don’t apply when you’ve got all the power. Fewer people are willing to stand up for what’s right any more. They can shoot people on Fifth Avenue and walk away now. Just like they said they could.’
Harry said, ‘The world may have changed, but people are still the same. There will always be people who fight back, who call out the injustices.’
‘We’re a dying breed,’ I said.
‘Speak for yourself. I’ve got a lot of drinking to do when this case is over. I’m not planning on dying for a long time.’
‘You’re a real badass, Harry.’
‘That’s what my ex-wives say. Well, something like that.’
Hanging up his phone call, Riley came over to me with a dark look on his face.
‘We can’t find Detective Larkin,’ said Riley.
‘You mean you’ve lost him,’ I said.
‘No, he’s just not answering his phone.’
‘Has anyone seen him since yesterday?’
‘No.’
‘Then you’ve lost him,’ I said. ‘That’s quite an achievement. He’s six foot three and four hundred pounds. He’s unlikely to have slipped down the back of your couch.’
‘We’ll get him. In the meantime, I have one more witness. It’ll take an hour to get him here, but I’m going to call Patrick Vanderpool.’