Bury the Lead

38



DENISE BANKS HAD been out dancing with friends at the Belmont Club in downtown Paterson, approximately six blocks from Willie’s house. Friends say that she complained of a headache and left the club alone at eleven P.M. Her body was discovered an hour later in an alley fifty feet from her car.

We get this information from television, along with an unconfirmed report that Ms. Banks was strangled and her hands were cut off. If the reports are correct, either the same killer has struck again, or a copycat killer has taken over.

We are all stunned, both because of the murder itself and also because of the strong likelihood that Sondra was almost the victim. It’s certainly possible that there were two attackers in the area around that time, but I don’t believe in coincidences, and I’m not going to start with this one.

We head over to the murder scene, and Willie and Sondra come along. Their report to the police is even more significant now, but in all the turmoil it may take the cops a while to get around to them.

Vince is already on the periphery of the scene when we arrive, though he has no more information than we do. I’m sure he’s upset that a woman has been murdered, but his focus is elsewhere. “You think this will get Daniel off?” he asks, and I deflect the question, mumbling that we’ll have to wait and see exactly what happened.

Laurie says, “I’ll take Willie and Sondra inside.”

I nod. “We’ll be right here.”

She then leads them into the area where the police are concentrated, able to make her way in because she knows most of the officers guarding the periphery.

Vince, Kevin, and I spend the next hour and a half standing in the same spot, waiting for their return. I see a number of people that I know leave the scene, including the coroner, Janet Carlson. She sees me and just shakes her head sadly; it’s another night of exposure to the inhumanity of humans. I wouldn’t do her job for all the money in the world.

Finally, Laurie, Willie, and Sondra come out, and I’m very pleased to see that Pete Stanton is with them.

“Let’s find someplace to talk,” Pete says.

“I know a coffee shop three blocks from here,” says Vince.

Pete shakes his head. “Let’s go somewhere private.”

I’m sure Pete doesn’t want to be seen talking with the enemy, and I don’t blame him. I also don’t want a big crowd for this conversation, but there’s no way we’re going to get rid of Vince. “I think we should help Willie get Sondra back,” I say. “She’s been through enough tonight.”

Willie shakes his head. “I don’t need no help. There ain’t nothing going to hurt her.”

I believe him totally and they head home. The rest of us go back to my house, with Pete taking his own car. I ask Laurie what she has learned, but she explains that everybody was tight-lipped, and she was going to give up when she saw Pete. He was heading out, and he agreed to fill us in.

Pete asks us not to reveal that he spoke with us, since he knows Captain Millen would have a stroke if he found out. Pete also knows that all this information is due to us in discovery anyway, so he is merely giving us a couple hours head start.

“It’s the same killer,” Pete says.

“No chance it’s a copycat?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Not according to Janet. She said the angle of the strangulation and the way he cut are identical. She said it’s the same guy; she told Millen while I was there.”

“What did he say?”

“That she shouldn’t jump to conclusions, and should go back and examine the body more carefully.”

“Which she’s doing now?” Laurie asks.

“Yeah. But she told me her opinion won’t change, that there’s no doubt.”

“Anything else we need to know?” I ask.

He nods. “The killer left a note. I think I remember the exact words . . . ‘Only fools kill the messenger.’”

This is another bombshell in a night full of them. “He’s talking about Daniel,” I say. “He had said that Daniel would reveal him to the world. Daniel was his messenger, and he’s telling the cops they are killing the wrong guy.”

Pete leaves, and Kevin and I immediately start to focus on the most effective way to use this information in court. We are both confident that it will be admissible, and we discuss strategy in case Tucker resists. More likely, he’ll see it as a futile effort; he knows as well as I do that every juror must already know about tonight’s events by now.

Laurie and I aren’t in bed until almost three A.M., and we spend some more time reflecting on the amazing turn of events. Today was a true disaster in court, but now I don’t see how we can lose.

“Too bad Denise Banks had to lose,” she says.

This comment jolts me; it’s pathetic how little attention I’ve paid to Denise Banks. I’ve been so caught up in my own situation that a victim of a vicious murder became a piece of a strategic struggle.

Also absent from my thinking has been the fact that the killer is still out there, probably preparing to strike again. Once again his actions defy understanding: Why go to all the trouble of framing Daniel only to commit an act that could get him off the hook days before his certain conviction?

I fully believe that Lassiter is the murderer, but these are not the actions of a dispassionate contract killer. It seems like more of a game, or an ego trip, a taunting way to embarrass the police. A more deadly version of his paint-ball game with me on the Manhattan street.

I’m up at six, refreshed despite getting less than three hours’ sleep. I watch the news as I prepare to go to court, but though it’s far and away the dominant story, there is less-current information than I got from Pete.

At seven I get a call from the court clerk: Calvin is summoning us to his chambers for an early meeting. Laurie takes Tara for her walk, and I pick up Kevin so that we can strategize before our meeting. The way Calvin handles this will decide Daniel’s fate.

“Well, gentlemen, we’ve got some issues to deal with” is how Calvin begins. He invites Tucker to update all of us on the events of last night, and Tucker quickly does so. His version has Janet Carlson less confident that the killer is the same, and neglects to mention the note.

“Did the killer contact anyone?” I ask innocently. “Or maybe leave any kind of message?”

Tucker nods and grudgingly tells us about the note. “You leave anything else out, Mr. Zachry?” Calvin asks with obvious annoyance.

Tucker says that he has not, and goes on to argue that this latest murder should not be presented to the jury, that it could be a copycat and does not change the facts concerning the previous murders.

We are prepared for this argument, but any first-year law student could win it. Kevin gives me a copy of the transcript of Tucker’s direct examination of Captain Millen. I read back to Calvin the exchange during which Tucker asked if any further murders have been committed since Daniel’s arrest.

When I’m finished reading, I drive the point home, though it’s already been made. “Clearly, if the question was proper when the prosecution asked it, it will be proper when I call Millen back to the stand and ask it again.”

Tucker has no answer for this, at least none that Calvin finds remotely persuasive. He asks me whom I plan to call, and I tell him just Millen and Janet Carlson. He decides to delay the start of court until after lunch, to give both of them time to get here.

I use the additional time to talk to Kevin about our final strategy for these witnesses, though it will be a cakewalk. When we’re finished, I realize I haven’t talked to Daniel since all this went down, and I arrange to meet with him in a court anteroom.

The first thing Daniel says when he’s brought in is, “Is it all true? Did he really kill someone else?”

I confirm that it is in fact true and bring him up-to-date on where we stand. He takes it all in, a look of some wonderment on his face. When I finish, he says, “It’s weird: An innocent person dies and it makes our case.” My opinion of him instantly goes up a very large notch; his reaction is exactly what mine should have been.

Understandably, he soon focuses on the trial. “Is there any way we can lose? I mean, there has to be at least reasonable doubt now, doesn’t there?”

I always try to be honest with my clients when I have bad news, so I might as well continue with that approach when the news is good. “Unless we get another surprise, I think Tucker will have to move for a dismissal.”

I call Captain Millen to the stand, and before I start my questioning I have to make sure I’m not salivating. He doesn’t put up any real resistance, answering my questions honestly and dispassionately. He admits his belief that Denise Banks’s killer is the same person who killed Linda Padilla and the other women, though he says he cannot be sure.

Janet Carlson is next, and she puts the finishing touch on a perfect afternoon. She says there is no doubt that one man has done all the killings.

“So if we assume that Mr. Cummings has been in custody for the past three months, would you say there is reasonable doubt that he killed Linda Padilla?”

She looks at the jury as she answers. “I would say there is no doubt whatsoever. Mr. Cummings did not kill Linda Padilla.”

Tucker does not cross-examine and asks for a brief recess. When it’s over, he stands and addresses the court. “Your Honor, I don’t think it’s any secret that the events of last night have cast a new light on this case. It has always been the policy of this state to treat everyone in a fair and impartial manner, and my office conducts this and all cases with that fairness as our primary concern.”

I allow myself a look at Kevin, and his expression confirms my feelings. Tucker is about to give it up.

“With that in mind, Your Honor, we believe that you should order a directed verdict of not guilty, and all charges against Daniel Cummings in this matter should be dismissed.”

There is an uproar in the courtroom, but my feelings, while I’m happy with the result, are unlike any I’ve experienced in my career. We’ve won, a client I believe is innocent is being set free, but I feel I’ve done little to accomplish that fact. Forces outside of my control intervened to provide this victory, and mixed in with my joy and relief is a slight discomfort.

It’s possible that the actual mechanics of the event are causing my reaction. I’m used to the tension and buildup before a verdict; this opposition surrender has a bit of the surreal to it. But it’s happened; I only have to glance at the press section to confirm that.

I look at Daniel, who seems stunned even though I told him this was a very likely result. He stares at me, questioning, and I smile and nod. Only then does his face reflect his joy.

Calvin dismisses the charges and it’s over. Daniel hugs Kevin and me, and Tucker comes over to congratulate us all. It’s a surprisingly gracious gesture from a man who is sure to face some difficult media scrutiny.

Vince comes down to the defense table. He hugs Daniel, then Kevin and me, and I think he’s actually tearful. “Man, you did it,” he says to me. “You did it.”

It’s not true, of course, but I don’t bother to correct him. Someone else did it, last night, by strangling and mutilating Denise Banks.