Murder One

37

THE CLOCK ON THE courtroom wall indicated that it was past four, and given that Judge Cable would never dream of working past five, and LaBelle didn’t like to split a witness’s testimony over two days (because it gave the defense all night to prepare a cross based on the direct they had already heard), Ben felt sure LaBelle would call for a recess. But once again, he was wrong.

“The State calls Sergeant Frank Bailey to the stand.”

Ben had met Bailey during the prelim for the first trial, but he was still taken aback by the man’s immense frame. He was even larger than Loving, something Ben would not have previously thought possible. Shoulder to shoulder, he filled the witness box and then some. In the words of the immortal Jim Croce, he was “built like a ’frigerator with a head.”

With a quick flurry of questions, LaBelle established that the man was a career member of the police force with a wife and six children. Bailey answered questions in the traditional cop manner—short and to the point. As Ben knew, police officers were coached by the D.A.’s office to testify in that Jack Webb nothing-but-the-facts manner. The idea, of course, was that the less they said, the less likely the defense attorney would be to trip them up. As Mike had told Ben a thousand times, cops were not prepared for trial with a lecture about the exalted search for truth. They were trained like soldiers preparing for combat. It was us-against-them—the them being the defense lawyers, who would at every possible opportunity be trying to make the police officer look like Bozo the Clown.

After he finished with the preliminaries, LaBelle cut to the heart of the matter. “Sir, in the course of your work for the police department, did you ever have occasion to know a man named Joe McNaughton?”

“Of course,” Bailey said matter-of-factly. “I knew Joe for years.”

“Did you work with him?”

“Yeah. I saw him almost every day, till he got shifted over to the Catrona investigation.”

“Did you feel that you knew Sergeant McNaughton well?”

“Like he was my brother.”

“Were you in contact with him prior to his death?”

“Constantly. We weren’t working together, but we saw each other around. And we talked.”

LaBelle turned a page in his notebook, signaling to the jury that he was moving on to a new and more interesting subject. “Were you aware that Sergeant McNaughton was engaged in a, uh, liaison with Keri Dalcanton?”

“Oh sure. Lots of the boys knew about her. I was at the club the night he met her.”

“And you were aware that the two developed a … relationship? A sexual relationship.”

“Sure.” Bailey shifted his bulky frame. “He told me about it. Repeatedly.”

“What did he say?”

“Objection, hearsay.” Ben knew he was going to get creamed, but he had to make the gallant effort, just the same.

“Your honor,” LaBelle explained tiredly, as if Ben’s petty little objections were the most wearisome thing in the world, “as with Corporal Wesley, these statements come from the deceased, a witness who is obviously unavailable, and given the circumstances surrounding the statements and the utter absence of any motivation for falsehood, I ask that the court accept these statements as evidence just as it did the previous ones.”

“Your honor,” Ben jumped in, “these statements are different because—”

Too late. “I’ll allow it,” Judge Cable said, cutting him off. “Overruled.”

LaBelle nodded toward his witness. “You may answer the question.”

Bailey did. “Basically, he said she was a pistol. A real hot potato. Always ready and eager to please. He liked that.”

Well, who wouldn’t, Ben wondered. Except, perhaps, McNaughton’s widow. A quick glance into the gallery told him she wasn’t pleased at all.

“Did he have any concerns regarding the relationship?”

“Well, I know he worried a little about her age. She claimed she was eighteen, but she was awful young looking, and he didn’t want to get into any trouble with the law.”

How noble, Ben thought. Of course, this concern didn’t stop him from dropping by her apartment every night for another go with the whips and chains.

“Did he have any other concerns?”

“Yeah. More than once he told me that he was worried about … well, this is kinda delicate.”

“I understand it’s hard to talk about private matters you were told in secret,” LaBelle said. “But I must assure you, it’s for the best. Please answer the question.”

“Well,” Bailey said, his massive frame drooping a bit, “he did tell me he was worried about Keri’s … fondness for violence.”

“For violence?” LaBelle said, as if surprised. “Was she violent?”

“Oh, yeah. Well, you can understand, if you’ve seen those pictures …” He nodded toward the graphic exhibits resting on the edge of the judge’s bench. “Or if you’d heard Joe talk about … some of the things she liked to do. Really weird stuff. Weird and violent.”

“Was her taste for violence restricted to sexual activities?”

“Unfortunately, no. I think Joe could’ve lived with that. He didn’t like it, but it was worth it to get … well, you know. But it wasn’t just the kinky sex. She had a horrible temper—that’s what he told me. Said she used to fly off the handle with the least excuse, screamin’ and yellin’ and throwin’ things. Said she got all red in the face and crazy, like she totally lost her head or something. One time, she even came at him with a knife.”

Someone in the jury box gasped. The word knife had the effect for which LaBelle had undoubtedly been hoping.

Keri leaned close and whispered in Ben’s ear. “This is not how it happened. Not at all.”

Ben patted her hand. The time for explanations would come later.

“A knife?” LaBelle repeated, making sure every juror got it. “McNaughton told you she came at him with a knife?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you sure about this? It’s very important.”

“I’m sure. It’s not the sort of thing you’re likely to forget. Something about her wantin’ to go out barhoppin’, but he had to go home and do somethin’ with his wife, and she just lost it. Grabbed a knife out of the kitchen and tried to stop him. He said he thought she would’ve killed him if he hadn’t seen her comin’.”

“If he hadn’t seen her coming,” LaBelle murmured meaningfully. “That time.”

“Your honor!” Ben said, jumping up.

Judge Cable nodded. “Mr. LaBelle, please stick to the questions and keep your comments to yourself.”

“Of course, your honor,” he said. “Sorry.” Although Ben did not detect much sorrow in his face or voice. He turned another page in his notebook. “Sergeant Bailey, did you have occasion to talk to Joe McNaughton in the early evening of the night he was killed?”

“Yes. I saw him at headquarters. We talked.”

“Did Sergeant McNaughton mention Ms. Dalcanton on this occasion?”

“Yes, he did.”

“What did he say?”

“Said there’d been a big blowup. With both his wife and his—Keri Dalcanton. Said his whole life was fallin’ apart all around him.”

“How so?”

Bailey inched ever so subtly toward the jury box. “I didn’t get all the details, but somehow, his wife found out about the affair. She was mad. She was talking about divorce, talking about takin’ him to the cleaners. As I think you know, Joe didn’t work for money—he was actually quite well off. At the same time, Keri Dalcanton was having a major tantrum, demanding that he come back to her, threatenin’ him.”

“Threatening him?”

“Oh yeah. In no uncertain terms. Joe told me she said that if he dumped her, he’d be very sorry.”

Ben heard Keri whispering under her breath. “It isn’t true. I didn’t even know yet.”

Christina cautioned her to remain quiet.

“He would be sorry,” LaBelle repeated. “What exactly did that mean, Sergeant?”

“Joe didn’t know. But given her fondness for violence, he was worried about it.”

“Was there anything else?”

“Yeah. When he told her that his wife knew and all, she apparently went kinda crazy. Started screamin’ and shoutin’ and spittin’. Throwin’ things at him. He said he finally had to leave. She was nuts—screamin’ the same word over and over again.”

“Indeed. And what was that word?”

Bailey took a deep breath before answering. “Faithless. That’s what she called him. That’s what she said over and over again. Faithless.”

Ben watched the reaction on the jurors’ faces as they heard the dreaded magic word. The word the killer had painted on McNaughton’s chest in his own blood.

LaBelle pivoted and gave Keri a long look—thus inviting the jury to do the same.

A considerable period of time elapsed before he spoke again. “I have no more questions, your honor.”

As Ben scrambled to the podium, he could think of at least ten different ways to start the cross of this witness. But he had to pick one. And it needed to be the right one, because the testimony this man delivered had been keenly incriminating.

Ben cranked up the volume so he could be sure his first question hit home. “Have you been following me?”

Bailey blinked several times rapidly. “I … excuse me?”

“You heard the question. Have you been following me?”

“I … uh … I don’t know what …” Ben was pleased—and relieved—to see the witness stumbling around. Evidently he had managed to choose the one subject on which LaBelle had not known to prepare him.

LaBelle tried to bail him out. “Objection, your honor. Lack of relevance.”

“Lack of relevance?” Ben shot back. “Like it’s not relevant whether the police have been harassing and stalking the defense team? Believe me, your honor, I’ll tie it up.”

Judge Cable rubbed the bridge of his nose unhappily. “Well …”

“Furthermore,” LaBelle added, “I object on grounds that this exceeds the scope of the direct examination.”

“I think it will soon be evident,” Ben said, “that this is keenly relevant to the credibility of every word this man has ever said.”

Judge Cable sighed heavily. “I will give you some leeway to quickly and firmly establish the relevance of this line of questioning, Mr. Kincaid. Don’t disappoint me.”

Ben turned back toward the witness. “Let’s try it again, Sergeant Bailey. Have you been following me?”

He coughed. His words came slowly. “I, um, I still don’t see …”

“Maybe I can help you.” Ben whipped a photo out of his notebook. “This was taken by my investigator a few nights ago just outside my office building. It clearly shows you and another officer, Arlen Matthews, who coincidentally has also testified against my client, watching my office. So let me ask again, Sergeant. Have you been following me?”

Bailey inhaled, lifting his massive chest, then letting it fall. “Yes.”

Hallelujah. “For how long?”

Another long pause. “Since the first dismissal of this case.”

“You and Arlen Matthews?”

“Like it shows in the picture.”

“Anyone else?”

He nodded. “At times.”

“And was this an official police assignment?”

“No.”

Too bad, Ben thought. A yes might’ve gotten this case dismissed again. “So why were you there? Why were you stalking me? Why were you surveilling my office?”

Bailey craned his neck. “We were concerned because … we felt that you had gotten Joe’s killer off by underhanded means and … we wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.”

“So you invaded my privacy. Carried on illegal surveillance.”

“Now wait a minute. We never did anything illegal.”

“I wonder. Were you watching the night the police found the alleged murder weapon in my office?” This question would, of course, remove the carefully drawn curtain of anonymity around the identity of the lawyer who had the knife, but Ben thought it was worth it to follow up this line of questioning.

Bailey frowned. “I was.”

“And Matthews?”

“For a while. Then he got an anonymous call, which caused him to get the warrant to search your office.”

“Did you actually hear this anonymous call?”

“Well …”

“No. Matthews just told you there had been such a call, right?”

Another long pause. “That’s right. But—”

“And were you and your buddies also on hand a few nights ago when a young woman was brutally stabbed in my office?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Are you sure? Because my investigator—”

“We were there that night. But we left before … the incident. We thought everyone had left.”

“But you were there that night.”

“Yes. But we—”

“Just answer the questions, Sergeant.” He assumed the man would not admit he was behind the stabbing, so he moved on. “Would you please explain to the jury the meaning of the phrase ‘the Blue Squeeze’?”

Bailey hesitated, giving LaBelle time to try to bail him out. “Your honor, Mr. Kincaid promised us he would establish the relevance of this questioning and he has failed to do so. He’s just trying to tarnish the reputations of our valiant police officers in a cheap attempt—”

“I’m trying to tarnish the reputations of the stalkers who have been illegally hounding me and my staff,” Ben replied. “And if he doesn’t see the relevance, he needs to be shipped back to first-year law school!”

Judge Cable pointed a gavel. “Mr. Kincaid, watch your tongue.”

“Your honor, this is gross misconduct of the worst sort by police officers who have passed themselves off as disinterested witnesses. I should be asking for a mistrial.”

Ben saw Judge Cable’s face lose its color. The last thing on earth he wanted was to see this case boomerang back again. “I’ll allow this to continue. But get to the point.”

“Your honor,” LaBelle said, “for the record, I must protest—”

“Sit down!” Cable snapped.

Ben and Christina exchanged a look. Cable going after the prosecutor? Was it possible he was beginning to smell a rat, too?

“I’ll repeat the question,” Ben said to Bailey, “and don’t pretend you don’t know the answer. What’s the Blue Squeeze?”

Another heavy sigh. “The Blue Squeeze is a term some people use when police officers decide to—well, put the squeeze on someone.”

“We’re not talking about official police business, right?”

Bailey nodded. “This would be a … private matter.”

“And after the first trial ended, you put the Blue Squeeze on me and my staff, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t my idea—”

“Matthews then. Whoever. But the Blue Squeeze was on, right?”

Bailey glanced at LaBelle, but there was no way the prosecutor could help him now. “Right. The Blue Squeeze was on. I didn’t think it was necessary, or even a particularly good idea. But some of the other boys—”

“I’m sure they dragged you kicking and screaming.”

“Mr. Kincaid!” Judge Cable bellowed.

“Sorry, your honor. I’ll withdraw that.” As if it mattered. “You admit the Blue Squeeze was on. You admit you were following me and my staff around, watching our movements, watching our office—”

“But we didn’t do anythin’,” Bailey insisted. “We just wanted to make sure you didn’t try anythin’ underhanded. We just watched.”

“You just watched. And we’re supposed to believe that it’s just a coincidence that while you were watching, the knife turned up in my office.”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Bailey said. “I think you—”

“And it was just a coincidence that Paula Connelly, who was working with me on Keri Dalcanton’s defense, was brutally attacked—while you were watching.”

“I don’t know anything about—”

“For all we know, you might’ve planted every piece of evidence in this case. It’s clear that you and your friends were so determined to see my client convicted, you were willing to do anything!”

LaBelle rose. “Is that a question?”

Well, Ben had done about all he could here anyway. It was time to move on. “I’ll withdraw it.” He flipped to the next page of his outline. “Can you explain to me why Joe McNaughton was demoted, several months before he was killed?”

Bailey seemed startled by the abrupt change of subject. “Why—what?”

“You’ve told us you and Joe were buddies, that you talked to him all the time. Surely you know why he was demoted.”

“It was my understanding that … Internal Affairs was concerned that he might’ve gotten … too close to the subject of his investigation.”

“That would be Antonio Catrona?”

“Yes.”

“And can you then explain why sometime later his rank was restored?”

Bailey shrugged. “I assume the IA investigation cleared him.”

“Really?” Ben arched an eyebrow. “If IA cleared him, why was Corporal Wesley running around taking pictures of McNaughton through the windowpane?”

Bailey paused. “I don’t know.”

“Could it be that he wasn’t really cleared—because he really was tangled up with Catrona? Could that unfortunate connection possibly be the real reason he was killed?”

“I don’t think it’s—”

“Is—it—possible?” Ben asked, practically shouting.

“I couldn’t say,” Bailey replied.

“Then you don’t really know who killed Joe McNaughton, do you?”

“No,” he said finally. “I guess I don’t.”

“That’s right,” Ben said, walking away from the podium. “And neither does anyone else.”