4th of July

Chapter 96

BROYLES GOT NOTHING MUCH out of Jacobi on cross. He answered yes and no and refused to rise to the bait when Broyles insinuated that he’d been lazy in performing his duty according to SFPD policies and procedures.

“I did the best I could do for both those kids and I’m thankful that your client wasn’t a better shot,” Jacobi said. “Otherwise I’d be dead, instead of talking to you here.”

When court adjourned for a lunch break, I found a quiet spot in a corner on the third floor between a Coke machine and a wall, and talked to Joe, our virtual hug spanning three time zones. He apologized at least a half dozen times for being in the middle of a huge investigation involving threats to airports from Boston to Miami, which was why he couldn’t be with me in San Francisco.

I had a bite of a dry ham sandwich and a sip of coffee from a machine before taking my seat beside Yuki as court was called back into session.

Then the moment I’d been dreading arrived. Yuki called me to the witness stand. When I was seated in the witness box, she stood in front of me so that my view of the Cabot family was blocked, and she gave me a sunny smile.

“Lieutenant Boxer, do you believe in following police procedures?”

“I do.”

“Were you drunk on the night in question?”

“No. I was having dinner with friends. I had a couple of drinks before I got the call from Jacobi.”

“You were off duty?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not against any rules to drink off duty, is it?”

“No.”

“When you got into the car with Inspector Jacobi, you officially went back on duty.”

“Yes. Still, I was sure that I had all my faculties. I stand by that now.”

“Would you say you’re a ‘by-the-book’ kind of cop?”

“Yes, but the book doesn’t cover all circumstances. Sometimes you have to work with the situation at hand and use your best judgment.”

At Yuki’s prompting, I told the story up to the point where Jacobi and I wrenched open the car door and freed the Cabot kids from the wreck.

“I made a mistake because those kids looked such a mess. I felt sorry for them.”

“Why did you feel sorry for them?”

“They were both crying. And Sam in particular was bleeding, throwing up, and pleading with me.”

“Could you explain?”

“He said, ‘Please don’t tell my father. He’ll kill me.’”

“So what did you do?”

“As Inspector Jacobi said, we had to get them out of the car. There was a danger of the gas tank exploding. I put my gun away so that I could get a grip on the car door, and together Inspector Jacobi and I got them out.”

“Go on, Lieutenant.”

“After they were out of the car, I should have cuffed Sara. Instead, I treated her as a victim of a bad traffic accident. When I asked to see her driver’s license, she pulled a gun out of her jacket and shot me in the shoulder, then in the thigh. I went down.”

“Where was Inspector Jacobi when Sara shot you?”

“Inspector Jacobi was calling an ambulance.”

“Where was his gun?”

“It was holstered.”

“You’re sure of that.”

“Yes. He was on the phone. His gun was holstered. I yelled ‘Gun’ just before Sara shot me. I saw Jacobi turn and see me fall. Just then, Sam Cabot fired on him—hitting him twice.”

“You’re sure you saw all this, Lieutenant? You didn’t lose consciousness?”

“No. I was conscious throughout.”

“Did Inspector Jacobi lose consciousness?”

“Yes. I thought he was dead. I saw Sam Cabot kick him in the head, and he didn’t move or try to protect himself.”

“You saw Sam Cabot kick Inspector Jacobi in the head. Please continue.”

“Maybe they thought I was dead, because they seemed to have forgotten all about me.”

“Objection. The witness is speculating.”

“Sustained.”

“Just tell us what you saw and heard and did,” Yuki said. “You’re doing very well.”

I dipped my head and tried to focus.

“I heard Sara tell Sam that they should leave the scene,” I said. “I got my gun out of my holster and demanded that Sara Cabot drop her weapon. She called me a bitch, then fired several more shots at me. Then I returned fire.”

“What happened after that?”

“Sara dropped to the ground, and Sam started screaming at me that I’d shot his sister. Again, I demanded that he drop his gun, which he refused to do. I shot him also.”

“Tell me, Lieutenant, did you want to hurt those children?”

“No, of course not. I wish with all my heart that none of this had ever happened.”

“In your opinion, if Sam and Sara Cabot hadn’t been carrying guns, could this tragedy have happened?”

“Objection,” Broyles shouted. “Calls for a conclusion on the part of the witness.”

The judge leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling through her thick black-rimmed glasses. Then, having decided, she snapped back upright.

“Sustained.”

“Lindsay. Is it true that in your ten years in Homicide, you’ve been cited for excellent arrests on thirty-seven occasions and received fifteen unit citations and twenty meritorious-service commendations?”

“I didn’t keep count, but that sounds about right.”

“In short, Lieutenant Boxer, the San Francisco Police Department would agree with Inspector Jacobi’s description of you. You’re a ‘damned good cop.’”

“Objection. Counsel is making a speech.”

“Thanks, Lindsay. I’m done, Your Honor.”