Caffrey s telephone number and Ms. Easterbrook's cellular phone?"
"Yes."
"And isn't it also true that you have evidence that Ms. Easter-brook
had sexual relations with someone other than her husband?"
"If one considers rape sexual relations, then one could draw that
inference, yes."
"I'm sorry, Detective Johnson, are you saying that you are certain
beyond doubt that Ms. Easterbrook was raped?"
"No, but that is one possibility, and I was uncomfortable describing
that possibility as one involving what you called sexual relations."
"Let's talk a little bit about what that evidence is," Slip said. "In
the autopsy of Ms. Easterbrook, the medical examiner found an anti
spermicide gel within her vaginal canal. Correct?"
"That's correct."
"A gel that's often associated with condoms?"
"Yes."
"And, according to Ms. Easterbrook's husband, the two of them did not
use condoms or any such gel in the course of their own marital
relations, is that right?"
The question clearly called for hearsay. Under the rules, if Slip
wanted to introduce something Townsend said as true, he had to get it
from Townsend. But I'd been hoping to spare him from testifying. I
let it slide without objection, and Johnson conceded the point.
"Is it fair to say, Detective Johnson, that you at least wondered
whether Ms. Easterbrook and Mr. Caffrey were engaged in an
extramarital affair?"
"I considered it a possibility."
"In light of what was at least the possible connection between Mr.
Caffrey and the victim, did you ever question him to determine whether
he had relevant evidence?"
"No, I did not," Johnson said.
"Did you try to?" Slip asked.
"Yes."
"How so?"
"I left a message on Tuesday afternoon with his scheduling
assistant."
I hadn't realized that Johnson had gotten around to making that call.
He must have seen to it right after the MCT meeting, before he learned
that Jackson worked in Glenville.
"Did you tell the assistant that you were calling about Ms.
Easterbrook?" Slip asked.
"No, I did not."
"Did you tell the assistant anything about the nature of the call?"
"I believe I told him that I was calling about a pending criminal
investigation."
"A murder investigation?"
"No, I would not have said that. Just a criminal investigation."
"Is that a fairly standard message that you leave when you're trying to
reach a potential witness?"
"Yes."
"And is there a reason why you say the call relates to a pending
criminal investigation, rather than just leave your name and number?"
"Sure. Lets them know I'm not just fund-raising for the PBA. Makes it
more likely I get a prompt callback."
"And, in this case, did you get your prompt callback?"
"I have not spoken with Mr. Caffrey."
So the respectable T. J. Caffrey was a total slime. What does it say
about a man's character when he'd hide from his lover's murder
investigation just to cover his own ass? It did not, however, make him
a murderer.
"So if I understand you correctly," Slip said, "a man who may have been
having a special relationship with the victim on a murder case did not
call you back, even though he knew you were trying to contact him about
a pending criminal investigation. Is that right?"
"That's correct. But I have no way of knowing he got the message."
"Maybe we'll find that out later," Slip said. "After Mr. Caffrey
failed to get in touch with you after you left this message with his
assistant, did you continue your efforts to reach him?"
"No, I did not."
"To be clear," Slip said, "Terrence Caffrey is a member of the elected
Metro Council, correct?"
"That's correct."
"Did that have anything to do with your decision not to continue your
efforts to contact him about this case?"
"No, it did not."
Slip looked and sounded incredulous. "If it wasn't because of this
man's power and political influence, why then did you not want to speak
with him, given what is at least the appearance of a close and
unexplained relationship between him and the victim?"
A tip to defense attorneys: Don't ever ask a cop a question that begins
with why. It's an invitation for a subjective opinion and a quick way
to sink your client. Johnson batted it out of the park. "I stopped
trying to reach Caffrey when it became clear to me that your client
murdered Clarissa Easterbrook. To question him at that point about the
nature of his association with her would have been exploitative, more
like daytime television than a legitimate investigation. Or maybe a
defense attorney."
Slip was on his feet immediately, but even Prescott knew that Johnson's
answer was, just as Slip had requested, responsive.
My next witness was Heidi Chung from the crime lab. Heidi must be
pushing forty but could be mistaken for a teenager. In trial, I always
spend some time on her impressive credentials to be certain that the
jurors understand that she's a pro. Prescott, however, had seen Chung
enough to know she knew her stuff.
By the time Heidi was done, there could be no doubt about it. The
hammer Johnson pulled from Jackson's closet had been the one that
killed Clarissa, and two of the unidentified latent prints pulled from
the Easterbrooks' door knocker had been left by Jackson's right index
and middle fingers.
Slip couldn't do much to Heidi on cross. Sure, there were no prints on
the hammer, but wiping down a weapon is easy and a lot more obvious
than remembering to clean the door knocker.
When he was done, I rested. Given my low standard of proof, there was
no point giving him a look at my entire case in chief and a chance to
test all my witnesses for weak spots. And, thankfully, there was no
need to call Townsend to the stand. I'd managed to cover all the
important stuff with my two pros.
Even though he had told me about his intentions all along, part of me
was still surprised when Slip told Prescott he'd be calling witnesses
before we moved to arguments. I half thought he was bluffing, since he
had absolutely nothing to gain from the move. The judge was
essentially required to disregard any testimony that helped the
defense, since at trial it was possible that the jurors would not find
it credible.
Maybe Slip was using the prelim as a formal version of the usual
posturing that goes on between the prosecution and the defense: trying