The Fifth Witness Part 28

"Yes, right. Well, Mr. Modesto, the bank security chief, also provided me with a file. What he called the threat-a.s.sessment file. He turned that over to me and it contained several names, including the name of the defendant. Then, just a short while later, Mr. Modesto called me and informed me that Lisa Trammel, one of the people listed in the file, happened to be seen that morning in close proximity to the bank."

"The defendant. And so this was how her name came up in the investigation, correct?"

"Correct."

"What did you do with this information, Detective?"

"I first returned to the crime scene. I then sent my partner to interview the witness who said she saw Lisa Trammel near the bank. It was important that we confirm that sighting and get the details. I then began to go through the threat-a.s.sessment file to study all of the names and the details of the perceived threats."

"And did you draw any immediate conclusions?"

"I didn't believe there was any individual listed who would immediately jump to the level of a person of interest based solely on what was reported in the file about them and their disputes with the bank. Obviously, they would all have to be looked at carefully. However, Lisa Trammel did rise to the level of being a person of interest because I knew from Mr. Modesto that she had allegedly been seen in the vicinity of the bank at the time of the murder."

"So Lisa Trammel's time and geographic proximity to the murder was key to your thinking at this point?"

"Yes, because proximity could mean access. It appeared from the crime scene that someone had been waiting for the victim. He had an a.s.signed parking s.p.a.ce with his name on the wall. There was a large support column next to the s.p.a.ce. Our initial theory was that the killer had hidden behind the column and waited for Mr. Bondurant to pull in and park. It appeared that he was struck the first time from behind, just as he left his car."

"Thank you, Detective."

Freeman led her witness through a few more of the steps taken at the crime scene before bringing the focus back to Lisa Trammel.

"Did your partner return to the crime scene at some point to report back about her interview with the bank employee who claimed to have seen Lisa Trammel near the bank?"

"Yes, she did. My partner and I felt that the identification made by the witness was solid. We then discussed Lisa Trammel and the need for us to speak to her quickly."

"But, Detective, you had a crime scene investigation under way and a file full of the names of people who had made threats against the bank or its employees. Why the urgency involving Lisa Trammel?"

Kurlen leaned back in his witness chair and adopted the pose of a wise and wily old veteran.

"Well, there were a couple things that gave us a sense of urgency in regard to Ms. Trammel. First of all, her dispute with the bank was over the foreclosure of her property. That put her dispute specifically in the home loan division. The victim, Mr. Bondurant, was a senior vice president directly in charge of the home loan division. So we were looking at that connection. Additionally, and more importantly-"

"Let me interrupt you there, Detective. You called that a connection. Did you know if the victim and Lisa Trammel knew each other?"

"Not at that point, no. What we knew was that Ms. Trammel had a history of protesting the foreclosure of her home and that the foreclosure action was initiated by Mr. Bondurant, the victim. But we did not know at that time whether these two people knew each other or had ever even met."

It was a smooth move, bringing out the deficiencies in her case to the jury before I did. It made it harder for the defense to make its case.

"Okay, Detective," Freeman said. "I interrupted you when you were going to tell us a second reason for having some urgency in regard to Ms. Trammel."

"What I wanted to explain is that a murder investigation is a fluid situation. You must move carefully and cautiously, but at the same time you must go where the case takes you. If you don't, then evidence could be at risk-and possibly other victims. We felt there was a need to make contact with Lisa Trammel at this point in the investigation. We couldn't wait. We could not give her time to destroy evidence or harm other persons. We had to move."

I checked the jury. Kurlen was giving one of his best performances ever. He held every eye in the jury box. If Clegg McReynolds ever made a movie, maybe Kurlen should play himself.

"So what did you do, Detective?"

"We ran a check on Lisa Trammel's driver's license, got her address in Woodland Hills and proceeded to her home."

"Who was left at the crime scene?"

"Several people. Our coordinator and all the SID techs and the coroner's people. They still had a lot to do and we were waiting on them anyway. Going to Lisa Trammel's house in no way compromised the scene or the investigation."

"Your coordinator? Who's that?"

"The detective-three in charge of the homicide unit. Jack Newsome. He was the supervisor on scene."

"I see. So what happened when you got to Ms. Trammel's home? Was she there?"

"Yes, she was. We knocked and she answered."

"Can you take us through what happened next?"

"We identified ourselves and said we were conducting an investigation of a crime. Didn't say what it was, just said it was serious. We asked if we could come inside to ask her a few questions. She said yes, so we entered."

I felt a vibration in my pocket and knew I had received a text on my cell phone. I slipped it out of my pocket and held it down below the table so the judge would not see it. The message was from Cisco.

Need to talk, show you something.

I texted back and we had a quick digital conversation:

You verify the letter?No, something else. Still working the letter.Then after court. Get me the letter.

I put the phone away and went back to watching Freeman's direct examination. The letter in question had come in the afternoon before in the mail to my P.O. box. It came anonymously but if its contents could be confirmed by Cisco I would have a new weapon. A powerful weapon.

"What was Ms. Trammel's demeanor when you met her?" Freeman asked.

"She seemed pretty calm to me," Kurlen said. "She didn't seem particularly curious about why we wanted to talk to her or what the crime was. She was nonchalant about the whole thing."

"Where did you and your partner speak to her?"

"She walked us into the kitchen where there was a table and she invited us to sit down. She asked if we wanted water or coffee and we both said no."

"And you started asking her questions then?"

"Yes, we started by asking if she had been in the house all morning. She said she had been except for when she drove her son to school in Sherman Oaks at eight. I asked if she had made any other stops on the way home and she said no."

"And what did that mean to you?"

"Well, that somebody was lying. We had the witness who put her near the bank at close to nine. So somebody was wrong or somebody was lying."

"What did you do at that point?"

"I asked if she would be willing to come with us to the police station where she would be interviewed and asked to look at some photographs. She said yes and we took her to Van Nuys."

"Did you first apprise her of her const.i.tutional rights not to speak to you without an attorney present?"

"Not at that time. She was not a suspect at this point. She was simply a person of interest whose name had come to the surface. I didn't believe that we needed to give her the rights warning until we crossed that threshold. We weren't close to being there yet. We had a discrepancy between what she told us and what a witness had told us. We needed to explore that further before anybody became a suspect."

Freeman was at it again. Trying to patch holes before I could tear them open. It was frustrating but there was nothing I could do about it. I was busy writing down questions I would later ask Kurlen, ones that Freeman wouldn't antic.i.p.ate.

Skillfully Freeman led Kurlen back to Van Nuys station and the interview room where he had sat with my client. She used him to introduce the video of the session. It was played for the jury on two overhead screens. Aronson had ably argued against showing the interview but to no avail. Judge Perry had allowed it. We could appeal after conviction but success there was a long shot. I had to turn things now. I had to find a way to make the jury see it as an unfair process, a trap into which my innocent client had stumbled.

The video was shot from an overhead angle and the defense scored a minor point right off the bat because Howard Kurlen was a big man and Lisa Trammel was small. Sitting across a table from Trammel, Kurlen looked like he was crowding her, cornering her, even bullying her. This was good. This was part of a theme I planned to put into my cross-examination.

The audio was clear and the sound crisp. Over my objection, the jurors as well as the other players in the trial had been given transcripts with which to read along. I had objected because I didn't want the jurors reading. I wanted them watching. I wanted them to see the big man bullying the little woman. There was sympathy to be gained there, but not in the words on the page.

Kurlen started casually, announcing the names of those in the room and asking Trammel if she was there voluntarily. My client said that she was but the starkness and angle of the video belied her words. She looked like she was being held in a prison.

"Why don't we start with you telling us about your movements today?" Kurlen asked next.

"Starting when?" Trammel responded.

"How about with the moment you woke up?"

Trammel outlined her early morning routine of waking and preparing her son for school, then driving him there. The boy attended a private school and the drive usually ranged from twenty to forty minutes depending on traffic. She said she stopped after the drop-off to get coffee and then she went back home.

"You told us at your home you didn't make any stops. Now you stopped for coffee?"

"I guess I forgot."

"Where?"

"A place called Joe's Joe on Ventura."

A veteran interrogator, Kurlen abruptly went in a new direction, keeping his quarry off guard.

"Did you go by WestLand National this morning?"

"No. Is that what this is about?"

"So if someone said they saw you there, they would be lying?"

"Yes, who said that? I have not violated the order. You-"

"Do you know Mitch.e.l.l Bondurant?"

"Know him? No. I know of him. I know who he is. But I don't know him."

"Did you see him today?"

Trammel paused here and this was detrimental to her cause. On the video, you could see the wheels working. She was considering whether to tell the truth. I glanced at the jury. I didn't see one face that wasn't turned up toward the screens.

"Yes, I saw him."

"But you just said you didn't go on WestLand property."

"I didn't. Look, I don't know who told you they saw me at the bank. And if it was him then he's a liar. I wasn't there. I saw him, yes, but that was at the coffee shop, not the-"

"Why didn't you tell us that this morning at your home?"

"Tell you what? You didn't ask."

"Have you changed clothes since this morning?"

"What?"

"Did you change clothes this morning after you got back home?"

"Look, what is this? You asked me to come down to talk and this is some sort of setup. I have not violated the order. I-"

"Did you attack Mitch.e.l.l Bondurant?"

"What?"

Kurlen didn't answer. He just stared at Trammel as her mouth came open in a perfect O. I checked the jury. All eyes were still on the screens. I hoped they saw what I saw. Genuine shock on my client's face.

"Is that-Mitch.e.l.l Bondurant was attacked? Is he all right?"

"No, actually, he's dead. And at this point I want to advise you of your const.i.tutional rights."

Kurlen read Trammel the Miranda rights warning and Trammel said the magic words, the smartest four words to ever come out of her mouth.

"I want my attorney."

That ended the interview and the video concluded with Kurlen placing Trammel under arrest for murder. And that was how Freeman ended Kurlen's testimony. She surprised me by abruptly saying she was finished with the witness and then sitting down. She still had the search of my client's house to cover with the jury. And the hammer. But it looked like she wouldn't be using Kurlen for these.

It was 11:45 and the judge broke for an early lunch. That gave me an hour and fifteen minutes to make final preparations for Kurlen. Once more we were about to do the jury dance.

Twenty-seven.

I stepped over to the lectern carrying two thick files and my trusty legal pad. The files were superfluous to my cross-examination but my hope was that they would make an impressive prop. I took my time organizing everything on top of the lectern. I wanted Kurlen to dangle. My plan was to treat him in the same manner he had treated my client. Bobbing and weaving, jabbing with the left when he was expecting the right, a hit-and-run mission. stepped over to the lectern carrying two thick files and my trusty legal pad. The files were superfluous to my cross-examination but my hope was that they would make an impressive prop. I took my time organizing everything on top of the lectern. I wanted Kurlen to dangle. My plan was to treat him in the same manner he had treated my client. Bobbing and weaving, jabbing with the left when he was expecting the right, a hit-and-run mission.

Freeman had made the smart play, breaking up the testimony between the partners. I wouldn't get the chance to make a cohesive attack on the case through just Kurlen. I would have to deal with him now and his partner Longstreth much later. Case ch.o.r.eography was one of Freeman's strong points and she was showing it here.