Animal Instinct by Rosenfelt, David (novels for students TXT) 📕

fact, commit suicide and even left a brief note.

I call Janet Carlson, the medical examiner who testified as one of Dylan’s witnesses.

“Hi, Corey. Sorry about testifying like that; I really had no choice.”

“Not to worry, Janet. It’s your job and you told the truth. No problem with that.”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but I think the charge against you is a bag of horseshit.”

I laugh. “Thanks, Janet. You’re a delicate flower.”

She returns the laugh. “So I’ve been told. What can I do for you?”

“Richard Mahler. Are you calling it a suicide?”

“Between us? Because I have not discussed it with anyone yet.”

“Just me, Laurie, and Andy.”

“Good enough. I’m calling it a suicide because I have no reason not to. All the signs are there, but in these cases you never know.”

“What did the note say?”

“Short and to the point: ‘I’m so sorry for what I’ve done.’ That’s it.”

I thank her and renew my promise to keep it confidential until she releases her report.

Maybe Andy will feel differently, but to me the manner of his death doesn’t seem terribly consequential to our case. Either way, it effectively closes the door to any possibility we have to reveal the conspiracy during our trial. The jury is not going to hear about the blackmail scheme that Gerald Kline was a player in because we simply have no evidence to present to them.

Mahler’s death fits in, I hope, with the defense Andy is going to offer, that Gerald Kline’s death was just one in a series of violent, chaotic events that have surrounded Ardmore and consumed everybody that Kline and Lisa Yates were involved in.

If the jury buys into it, then they will, I hope, be able to see that I have not been a player in that, and that I was clearly not in a position to have committed these other murders.

Laurie has a different idea. “I’m going to Pittsburgh.”

“Why would you do that?”

“To talk to Harold Marshall. To get him to reconsider and come forward with his story. Tied into the Mahler suicide, it would be powerful stuff.”

Andy shakes his head. “This time you go with Marcus. Cincinnati didn’t work out so well; we want to make sure Pittsburgh isn’t worse.”

“No chance. I can handle myself. And we want to cajole this guy, not scare the hell out of him.”

“He told me that if we come for him, he’ll deny everything.”

Laurie nods. “And maybe he will. But maybe not. It’s certainly worth a try. And you and Ricky can have another boys’ night.”

“How much pizza can we eat?”

So Laurie once again books her flight for first thing the next morning. I’m not optimistic that she’ll have any success in convincing Marshall; Andy had said he was adamant that he be left out of it. But like she says, it’s worth a try, and I appreciate her making the effort.

But I think our fate, my fate, is going to be determined in court.

One way or the other.

“CAPTAIN Stanton, if you know, who is Jake Gardener?” Andy asks.

Pete looks uncomfortable; he’s not used to testifying as part of a defense case. I know that discomfort is tempered somewhat by the fact that he is helping me, and I appreciate that.

“He is, or was, a contract killer.”

“You said ‘he was.’ Does that mean he has changed occupations or is deceased?”

“He is deceased.”

Andy acts surprised. “How and when did he die?”

“He was killed in a downtown Paterson parking lot almost four weeks ago.”

“Has that crime been solved?”

“Not yet; we are working some leads, but nothing solid.” Pete is lying; there is no way they have any leads, and he must be pissed because he is certain that Andy and Marcus are somehow involved in Gardener’s death.

“When the body was discovered, were any possessions he was carrying confiscated?”

“Yes.”

“Including a weapon?”

“Yes.”

“What about a cell phone?”

“Yes.”

Andy introduces as evidence the GPS record from that cell phone, which we again subpoenaed after Sam had already provided it to us. Andy asks Pete to identify it and he does.

Then Andy points to the night of Kline’s murder and gets Pete to say that the phone was in Kline’s house an hour before I called the police to the house and reported Kline’s death.

“So the phone was definitely there?”

Pete nods. “According to these records.”

“So just to be clear, a man you personally believe is a contract killer was in Gerald Kline’s house that night?”

“Apparently so.”

This is significant evidence, and I’m sure that Dylan considers it essential that he challenge it. He does that on his cross-examination.

“Captain Stanton, you said that Jake Gardener was a contract killer. How many murders did he commit?”

“I don’t have the exact number.”

“Fair enough. How many murders was he convicted of?”

“He was never convicted of a murder. He was convicted of other crimes. He—”

Dylan interrupts. “Never convicted? So apparently in your mind he was exempt from the innocent-until-proven-guilty thing that happens to be in the Constitution. Let’s try it another way. How many murders was he charged with?”

“He was never charged.”

“So he never went before a jury like this one, to be judged on whether he was an actual killer?”

“That’s correct.”

“So this is a contract killer who was never charged, never convicted, and you have no idea who he killed. Captain Stanton, have you encountered a good number of contract killers in your career?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Is it not their style to do the deed and then leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do they generally set up an elaborate scam to frame someone else?”

“Not in my experience.”

“Was there ever any allegation that Mr. Gardener had done such a thing before?”

“Not that I am aware of.”

“These records allegedly say that Mr. Gardener’s phone was there? Do you know who was carrying it?”

“I do not.”

“Do these records show where Mr. Gardener was that night?”

“They do not.”

“So just to recap, what we know is that the phone of a person never even charged with a homicide was at Mr. Kline’s house well before Mr. Douglas arrived? Is that accurate?”

“It is.”

“Thank you.”

Andy tells Judge