The Underground Man

42

Harry Dirkson was in top form for his closing argument. The anger and frustration he’d felt at being outmaneuvered by Steve Winslow had evaporated over the lunch hour, as it gradually dawned on him that though Steve had tricked him on procedure, by doing so Steve had virtually conceded the case. The evidence was uncontested, it was enough to convict, and Dirkson was sitting pretty. So he was confident and assured as he rose to argue the case.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he began. “I’m not going to make any lengthy argument here, because frankly I don’t have to. You’ve heard the evidence in this case, and it is straightforward and convincing. And that evidence leads to one inescapable conclusion. And that is, that Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh.

“I will review the evidence for you briefly. I don’t think I really need to, but I will do so because I am the prosecutor and that’s my job.”

Dirkson smiled as he said that, and several of the jurors smiled back. He struck a pose and began lining out his points.

“You’ve heard evidence that on the afternoon of February 26th, a man answering the description of Jack Walsh was spotted in the corridors of Jeremy Dawson’s high school. There is evidence that Jeremy Dawson left with this man. There is further evidence that Jeremy Dawson cut the rest of his afternoon classes. You have heard the evidence of the witness, Joseph Bissel, that Jack Walsh was seen with Jeremy Dawson in the very subway station in which he was found murdered. You have also the evidence from Joseph Bissel that Jack Walsh was writing something at the time.

“And what was he writing?” Dirkson strode to the court reporter’s table and picked up the will. “I have in evidence People’s Exhibit Seven, a handwritten will entirely in the handwriting of the decedent, Jack Walsh, leaving his entire fortune to Jeremy Dawson. And where was this will recovered? It was found in Jeremy Dawson’s possession on the day after the murder.”

Dirkson held up the will. “The significance of this document is twofold. It is significant that Jeremy had it the day after the murder, showing conclusively that he had been in contact with Jack Walsh. And it is significant in that it furnishes the motive for the murder. For having this document in his possession clearly shows that Jeremy Dawson had every reason to believe that by the death of Jack Walsh he stood to gain several million dollars.”

Dirkson paused and let that sink in. “Several million dollars. Was there ever a more convincing motive for murder?”

Dirkson smiled and set the will back down on the table. “But that’s the least of the evidence. We have the testimony of Carl Jenson, who saw the defendant on the very afternoon of the murder at approximately five-thirty. We know that that was after Jack Walsh had written the will. How do we know that? We know that by the will itself, which Jack Walsh not only dated, but also put in the time of execution. And what was that time? Two-thirty in the afternoon. Before Carl Jenson saw the defendant, Jeremy Dawson.

“And what words did Jeremy Dawson say to Carl Jenson at that time? You recall the testimony. Jeremy Dawson smiled and said, ‘You be nice to me, Carl, ’cause I’m gonna be rich.’”

Dirkson paused a moment to let that sink in, then picked up the pace. “When is the next time we spot Jeremy Dawson? Well, we have the testimony of Martin Steers that at approximately seven o’clock a young man with green hair was seen breaking into Teaneck High School. Admittedly, the witness does not identify Jeremy Dawson as being that boy. He is an honest, credible witness and he tells us only what he saw. And what he saw is for you to judge. Was that boy Jeremy Dawson? You can draw your own conclusions.

“And to help you draw them, you should consider what happened next. At approximately ten-thirty that evening in Manhattan, Jack Walsh was shot and killed in the very subway station in the very spot where earlier that afternoon he had taken Jeremy Dawson and written out the will. And what gun shot and killed Jack Walsh? We have the testimony of the ballistics expert that the gun that fired the fatal bullet was the gun discovered by detectives the following day in the high school locker of Jeremy Dawson.”

Dirkson smiled and spread his hands. “Does that help you draw your conclusions any? The murder gun was kept in Jeremy Dawson’s locker. At seven o’clock on the evening of the murder, a boy with green hair was seen breaking into the high school, the high school where the murder weapon was kept. The high school where the murder weapon was found. Jeremy Dawson’s high school. Jeremy Dawson’s locker. Jeremy Dawson’s gun.

“Now,” Dirkson said, “you may ask, as I myself did, why did Jeremy Dawson hang onto the gun? It was the murder weapon, it could convict him, why would he keep it?” Dirkson held up his hand. “It is not sufficient to say that the defendant is not very bright. The explanation is that he wanted it, that he felt he might need it. Why? Well, there is evidence in this case that in Jeremy Dawson’s locker along with the gun there was drug paraphernalia and several vials of crack. I leave it to you to figure out why the defendant might have wanted a gun.

“At any rate, he wanted to keep it. And because he wanted to keep it, he attempted to disguise his crime. And how did he do that? The testimony of the witnesses who were on the subway platform that night, as well as the lab analysis of the material left over from the clothes of the decedent, gives us the answer. And what is the answer?” Dirkson shook his head. “He set the body on fire. He poured gasoline on Jack Walsh’s body and set the body on fire. A wholly despicable act, and hard to comprehend, and yet there was a motivation. In fact there were two. One, he wanted to disguise the crime by making it look like a random act of violence, a wilding incident. And two, he wanted the body burned so the bullet wound would go undiscovered. Which would have happened, had it not been for the thoroughness and skill of the medical examiner.

“But the bullet wound was discovered. The bullet was retrieved. And the bullet matches absolutely with test bullets fired from the gun found in Jeremy Dawson’s locker.

“And what does all this evidence show? I will summarize it briefly for you. On the afternoon of February 26th, Jack Walsh sought out Jeremy Dawson at his high school. He took him to New York, took him down in the subway, and wrote him out a will, leaving all of his money to him.

“Jeremy Dawson left Jack Walsh and went home with the will in his pocket. He had the afternoon to think it over. To mull on it. To come to the one conclusion to which he eventually came. That if Jack Walsh were to die, he would be rich.

“Jeremy Dawson went home. He encountered Carl Jenson, had an argument with him. He went upstairs, showered and changed. By the time he came back downstairs it was clear the plan had already formed in his mind. We know that from those telling parting words: You be nice to me, Carl, ’cause I’m gonna be rich.

“Jeremy Dawson left home and went to his high school. He broke in the side door and got the gun. He took the gun, went to Manhattan, hunted up Jack Walsh in the subway station, and fired a bullet into his brain.

“He then set the body on fire, and returned to Teaneck, arriving home around twelve-thirty in the morning.

“The only thing I don’t know, ladies and gentlemen,” Dirkson said, “is whether he broke into the high school that night to return the gun to his locker, or whether he brought it to school when he went to class the following morning.” Dirkson held up his finger and smiled. “But that, ladies and gentlemen, is the only thing we don’t know. Everything else is abundantly clear. Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh. A cold-blooded, premeditated murder for profit.

“Your duty is clear, and I will leave you to it. And that duty is to bring back a verdict of guilty as charged.”

With that, Dirkson bowed to the jury, and with a triumphant smile, walked back to his table and sat down.