That was it! The shortest opening statement in the history of American law.
Over lunch at Pappy’s Deli, Ike said, “Brilliant, just brilliant. He zeroed in on the strongest piece of the prosecution’s case and destroyed the credibility of Bobby Escobar.”
Theo, who’d had a knot in his stomach ever since Clifford Nance sat down, said, “You think the jury will believe Bobby’s lying?”
“Yes I do. Clifford Nance will destroy him on cross-examination. The jury is already suspicious. You need to understand, Theo, that immigration is a red-hot issue in this country. According to the experts, we, as a nation, are split right down the middle when it comes to undocumented workers. On the one hand, many people realize that these people primarily do the jobs that nobody else wants to do. But on the other hand, there are thousands of small businessmen who can’t compete with the cheap wages paid to illegals. I’ll bet that most of the people on the jury know of someone who lost his or her business because they wouldn’t hire undocumented workers. They resisted the temptation to cut corners, and they paid dearly for it when they closed their doors. Illegals are paid in cash, and they often earn far less than the minimum wage. There is a lot of anger out there directed at people like Bobby Escobar.”
“But Waverly Creek is the finest golf course around. Why would they hire undocumented workers?”
“To save money, and lots of it. Plus, Theo, they don’t always know. There’s a lot of fake paperwork around. Some employers don’t ask questions. Often, the guy who owns the business will hire a smaller company to do the dirty work and look the other way. In Bobby’s case, there’s a good chance he works for some small-time landscape company that has a contract with the golf course. It’s a murky world and evidence is hard to find. It’s easy to just ignore things and save money.”
Theo, who hadn’t touched his sandwich, asked, “Okay, what happens to an employer who gets caught using undocumented workers?”
“He gets busted, pays a big fine. But that rarely happens. There are too many workers and too many employers willing to pay cash and get the cheap labor. Eat your lunch.”
“I’m not that hungry. In fact I feel kind of sick. I wish I’d never dragged Bobby into this mess.”
“This mess was started when Pete Duffy killed his wife. It’s not your fault, or mine, or Bobby’s. A crime often drags in innocent people, people who would rather not get involved. That’s just the way it goes. If witnesses were afraid to testify, a lot of crimes would never be solved.”
Theo managed to nibble around the edges of his sandwich, but he had no appetite.
The afternoon session began when Jack Hogan called the first witness for the prosecution. Her name was Emily Green and she was the younger sister of Myra Duffy. After she was sworn in, she sat in the witness chair and tried to smile at the jurors. She was obviously nervous, as were most folks when they were put on the stand. Jack Hogan slowly walked her through the events of the day when she found her sister dead. They were supposed to meet for lunch, and when Myra didn’t show up, Emily began calling. When there was no answer she suspected something was wrong because her sister usually had her cell phone in hand. Emily hurried out to Waverly Creek, to the Duffy home, found the front door slightly open. She stepped inside and there was Myra, lying on the living room carpet. There were no signs of a struggle, and at first she thought Myra had simply fainted, or maybe had a heart attack. She checked her pulse, and when she realized she was dead, she panicked and called 911. As she told her story, she became emotional but managed to keep her composure.
Clifford Nance rose and said he had no questions on cross-examination. Emily Green was excused as a witness and took a seat in the front row behind the prosecution.
Jack Hogan called his next witness, Detective Thomas Krone. After a few preliminary questions, Detective Krone described the crime scene. A large photo was displayed on the screen, and the jurors got another look at Myra Duffy as she was found on the carpet. She was wearing a pretty dress; her high heels were still on her feet. Hogan and Krone went through every detail of the photo. The next one was a close-up of her neck, and the detective explained that as he first examined the body he noticed a redness and slight puffiness on both sides of her neck, just under the jawline. He immediately suspected strangulation, and moments later, when Ms. Green was being tended to by another detective, Krone opened the right eye of Myra Duffy. It was completely red, and he knew at that time that he was dealing with a murder.
Other photos showed cabinets and drawers the murderer had opened, with items strewn about, all in an effort to make the crime look as if it had been first a robbery, then a murder. Missing were some vintage watches owned by Pete Duffy, three handguns from his collection, and several pieces of Myra’s jewelry. These items had never been found. There was a photo of the front door, the patio door, found closed but unlocked, the alarm panel in standby mode. Hogan used an aerial photo for Krone to give the jury a clear picture of the Duffy home and its closeness to the sixth fairway on the Creek Course. Other photos showed the front and sides of the house, all heavily shaded and secluded, the point being that the place was very private. A number of fingerprints had been lifted from the doors, doorknobs, windows, cabinets, drawers, jewelry cases, and the antique mahogany box where Mr. Duffy kept his watches. The fingerprints matched only those of the Duffys and their housekeeper. This was to be expected since they lived and worked there, but it also proved that the killer either wore gloves and was very careful, or the killer was either Pete Duffy or the housekeeper. The housekeeper was not on duty that day. She had a solid alibi.
When they finished with the photos, Jack Hogan displayed a large diagram of Waverly Creek and walked Detective Krone through the locations of the Duffy home, the three golf courses, the clubhouse, and so on. According to the computer log in the golf shop, Pete Duffy teed off on the North Nine that morning at eleven ten, alone. The weather was not good and there were very few golfers on the three courses. He was using his own golf cart, as opposed to walking the course, and according to tests they had performed, he was either on the fourth or fifth hole at the time of his wife’s death. Riding in a cart identical to his, a person could travel from the fourth or fifth hole to the Duffy home in about eight minutes.