“A lot of Wallace, yes. But as you said yourself, he had a loud, booming voice. What was Caroline’s voice like?”
“Soft. Gentle.”
“Not the kind of voice that would likely carry all the way next door, right?”
Sanders’s lips pursed in irritation. “Perhaps not.”
“So for all you know, she could have said things that were far more horrible than what Wallace said. You just didn’t hear them.”
“That’s right. I didn’t hear them.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sanders. I wanted to ask you about one other matter— something I noticed you failed to mention in your testimony.”
Sanders looked startled, as did Bullock.
“In the newspapers, and when you spoke to my investigator, you mentioned that you had seen two strangers prowling around the neighborhood about the time of the murders. Why didn’t you tell the jury about that?”
“Well, it didn’t seem relevant since … since …”
“Since you wanted the jury to pin the rap on my client.”
“No, but—I mean, the evidence is clear.”
“Mr. Sanders, let’s let the jury evaluate the evidence. You just tell us what you saw.”
Sanders sighed heavily. “I saw two people. A tall young man, early twenties probably. Thin, scraggly. Wore fatigues. Had a goatee. Sometimes he carried a black bag over his shoulder. Once or twice I saw him with a younger girl—teenager, I’d guess. That’s it.”
“You didn’t think this was unusual? Two strangers in your high-dollar neighborhood?”
“I did think it was unusual, but I didn’t have any reason to believe they committed murder.”
“When you were initially interviewed by the police, almost the first thing you told them about was these strangers who were, in your words, casing the neighborhood.”
“That’s true … but at that time, I didn’t know …”
“You didn’t know the police were going to pin it on my client, right?”
“Well—”
“In fact, despite having witnessed this big fight, the first suspects you offered the police were these two unidentified strangers.”
“The police asked me if I had seen anything unusual in the neighborhood. So I told them.”
“Told them about the strangers. Not the fight. Not Barrett rushing out of his house.”
“I told them about everything. I just happened to mention the strangers first.”
“Indeed you did. The rest was practically an afterthought.”
Bullock sprang up. “Your honor, I object!”
“Sustained. Counsel, watch yourself.”
“Sorry, your honor.” But not very. “Mr. Sanders, did you ever see either of these strangers in the company of anyone else?”
Sanders started to shake his head, then stopped. “You know, now that you mention it, I do recall a time when the tall guy talked to someone else. Someone drove up in a car, leaned out the window, and talked with him. It was very quick. Not really a conversation. More like he barked out a few orders and then drove on. Very strange.”
“Did you recognize the man in the car?”
“No, sorry.”
“And you don’t recall anything else about these two strangers?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Thank you, sir. I have nothing more.”
The instant Ben had taken his seat, Bullock was back on his feet. “Just a short redirect, your honor.”
Judge Hart nodded.
“Let me ask you just a few questions about these spectral assassins defense counsel is trying to use to confuse the issues. I’m sure we’d all like to believe these horrible crimes were committed by some unknown, unnamed strangers. But, Mr. Sanders, did you ever observe these two doing anything that suggested they meant to harm anyone in the Barrett home?”
“No, I did not.”
“Did they seem to show unusual interest in the Barrett home?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Did they do anything that suggested they were dangerous?”
“No. I never saw them do anything but walk down the street. They were just strangers, that’s all.”
“You certainly didn’t see them fighting with Mrs. Barrett or her children.”
“No.”
“You didn’t see them hit or beat Mrs. Barrett or her children?”
“No.”
“And you didn’t see them dash out of the Barrett home minutes after the murders took place.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sanders. I just wanted to put this ghost to rest. That’s all.”
Ben’s jaw clenched tightly together. Bullock had put that ghost to rest, at least for now. If he was ever going to convince the jury there was another assailant, he was going to have to do a lot better than that.
Chapter 45
THE LAST WITNESS OF the day was Officer Kevin Calley, the first policeman at the scene of the crime. Calley was a baby-faced officer with curly brown hair and a smooth, somewhat chubby face. He looked younger than he probably was. Ben wondered if this was his first time to testify. He was obviously nervous, although, given the general clamor and hubbub in the courtroom, who wouldn’t be?
“What were your duties on the day of March 11, Officer?” Bullock remained crisp and professional, despite the fact that he was on his fifth witness of the day and had to be tired.
“I was on patrol duty in one of the downtown districts. We call it the Utica beat.” Because it was in the vicinity of Utica Square, Tulsa’s shopping haven for those who don’t look at price tags before buying.
“Do you recall receiving a call on your car radio at approximately five forty-five in the afternoon?”
Calley nodded. “I do.”
“What were your instructions?”
“I was told to proceed to a residence on Terwilliger not far from Philbrook Museum.”
“And did you?”
“Yes.”
“Whose residence was it?”
“Well, as I saw upon arrival, it was the home of the defendant. The mayor.” He nodded toward the defense table. “Mr. Barrett.”
“What was the nature of the call?”
“I was told that an anonymous caller had reported a domestic disturbance.”
“Domestic disturbance being a euphemism for what?”
“Violence. Wife beating, usually.”
“I see.” Bullock folded his hands on his notebook. “Tell us what happened next.”
“When I arrived at the Barrett home, I exited my vehicle and approached the front door.”
“Did you see or hear anything unusual?”
“Well, what was unusual was that I didn’t hear anything. Usually, on these domestic abuse calls, you can hear the couples going at it a mile away. I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Did that concern you?”
“Yes, it did. It was possible that the parties involved had simply cooled down on their own, but that would be quite unusual. Therefore, I became concerned that the incident may have escalated into something more serious.”
Ben knew perfectly well why Bullock was dragging the officer through all this testimony about his concerns. Ben had made a pretrial motion to exclude evidence based on Calley’s unwarranted entry and search of the home. Bullock was trying to show that Calley had ample justification for entering the premises.
“What did you do?”
“I rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. I knocked on the door, but again there was no answer. While I was knocking, however, the door swung partly open.”
“What did you do then?”
“Well, since whoever left the door open obviously wasn’t too concerned about privacy”—a quick glance at the judge—“and since I was concerned that some violent activity might be occurring inside, possibly involving children, I decided to enter the premises.”
Ben saw Bullock check him quickly out the corner of his eye to see if he was going to object. Forget it. Ben knew this was a loser.