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

“He disabled the burglar alarm and entered through a rear door.”

“Does that take expertise?” Andy asks.

“Considerable. This was clearly not a novice at work.”

“Was Mr. Evaldi known to law enforcement?”

“Yes. He had served two jail terms, one for manslaughter. He was commonly considered a hired gun.”

“Was there anyone else in the house?”

“Yes, a Ms. Dani Kendall. She said that when Mr. Douglas’s dog alerted them to the intruder, Mr. Douglas instructed her to go into the closet with the phone to call nine-one-one. She did so and was in there when the shooting took place.”

Andy turns Lieutenant Leeman over to Dylan, who appears to shrug Leeman’s testimony off as unimportant to the matter at hand. “Lieutenant, can we assume you conducted an investigation of this incident?”

“Of course. It is ongoing.”

“Good. Have you discovered in your ongoing investigation anything that connects this incident to the murder of Gerald Kline?”

“Not so far.”

“Nothing at all?” Dylan asks, pressing the point.

“No.”

“Lieutenant, how many years have you been on the police force?”

“Next month will be twelve years.”

“Thank you for your service. There has been testimony that Mr. Douglas was on the force for twenty-five years.”

“I believe that’s correct,” Leeman says, though he wasn’t asked a question.

“Have you made enemies in your twelve years? I’m talking about criminals, perhaps those you’ve arrested?”

“Of course.”

“Some of them violent criminals?”

“Of course.”

“That’s par for the course, isn’t it? For a cop who has served twelve years, like yourself, or even more so for one who has served twenty-five, like Mr. Douglas. The more years you serve, the more arrests you make, the more enemies you have?”

“I can’t speak for Mr. Douglas.”

Dylan smiles. “I’m not asking you to. Would you be shocked if someone tried to exact revenge on you for something you’ve done in your capacity as a police officer?”

“I try to guard against it.”

“As Mr. Douglas did when he shot Mr. Evaldi?”

“I don’t know Mr. Evaldi’s motivation, whether he was looking for revenge or had a different motive entirely. As I said, it’s under investigation.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Good luck with your investigation.”

During the break, I check my messages and there is one from Sam asking that I call him back.

The first thing he says when he gets on the phone is “Doris Landry’s email account has been wiped clean.”

“What does that mean?”

“The account still exists, but there are no longer any emails there. They would be somewhere on the provider’s server, but there’s no way for me to access them.”

“Who could have wiped it?”

“Anyone with the password. Her son had it, right?”

“Apparently so,” I say.

“So it could have been him.”

“Sam, I need you to do something else. It’s a big ask.… Do you mind?”

“Are you kidding? I love this stuff. You know, I’m licensed to carry.”

“I don’t think there will be any shooting. But I need you to go down to Somers Point and locate some friends of Doris Landry. Get their contact information, phone numbers, and find one or more who are willing to talk to me. Can you do it first thing in the morning?”

“Of course. You want me to call you from down there with the names?”

“If you get any.” I don’t say so, but I don’t think there is a chance in hell that he will get any names. I don’t think Doris Landry had any friends.

“IT’S decision time,” Andy says, and I know what he means.

We are almost at the end of the defense case, and we need to decide whether I am going to testify. I want to tell my story, but I also trust Andy’s instincts and expertise in this situation more than my own. “What do you think?” I ask.

“The positive is that you could explain how your clothing and knife got on the scene. It’s not a terribly credible explanation, even though it’s true. But it fills in a blank that the jury must be wondering about.

“The negatives are that your explanation, and everything else you say, will be viewed as self-serving. And there is really no information that you have, other than the clothing and knife, that we haven’t already gotten in. And of course the big problem is that you would be exposed to cross-examination.”

“It would not be my first time on the stand.”

“I’m aware of that.” He’s kind enough not to mention that he once manhandled me on a cross-examination; that could now be factoring into his decision.

“So bottom line?” I ask.

“I don’t think you should do it. I think we’re muddying the water enough to at least get a hung jury. But I obviously could be wrong. And it’s your call, one hundred percent. If you want to tell your story, I will help you tell it.”

“No, I trust your judgment. I won’t testify.” Then, “I’m anxious to hear from Sam from down in Somers Point.”

Andy nods. “I understand. But you could be surprised again. He might come back with her entire mah-jongg team.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Either way, let’s not count on solving the crime before the end of the trial because it’s not likely to happen. Let’s focus on getting twelve not-guilty votes.”

Andy calls Stephanie Downes, Gerald Kline’s partner, to the stand. Her testimony is quick and targeted. He gets her to tell the jury that she went to high school with Richard Mahler, that Kline recommended him, and that he went on to be the top computer guy at Ardmore. Most important, she mentions that in high school Mahler’s nickname was Rico.

There is no mention of Mahler’s death in her direct testimony, and because her testimony has done no damage to Dylan’s case, he asks no questions in cross-examination.

Next Andy recalls Pete Stanton. He introduces as evidence the email sent by Lisa Yates to Doris Landry. “Captain Stanton, could you read this part of it to the jury, please.”

Pete reads the words of Doris Landry: “‘I’m afraid to ask. But is there anything new with your situation?’”

Andy then asks Pete to read Lisa Yates’s words in response, which he does: