False Accusations by Jacobson, Alan (great novels of all time .txt) 📕

Chandler was unsure if that was her way of putting him off, a useless guess, or if it really was when Gray could take the call. Either way, it seemed as if the criminalist was avoiding him. Not what he needed now. Time was precious.

He made his scheduled appointment at the KMRA studio, where Hellman’s Lexus was parked out front. He entered and explained to the receptionist why he was there. She buzzed Maurice Mather, received authorization, and handed him a visitor’s pass. An escort was summoned to the lobby to take him into the studio.

The set consisted of three chairs positioned around a small round coffee table. Behind it stood an expansive blue backdrop as well as two white pillars that were fashioned to match those on the state capitol building’s facade. This was where Politically Speaking was filmed every Sunday morning.

As Chandler walked into the studio, he saw the host, Maurice Mather, standing off to the side with Hellman, who was touching his index finger into his opposing open hand, as if he were going point by point.

“...Dr. Madison will not be participating. He will not be answering any questions, and he will not be directly addressed, even though he will be standing off-camera. Are we clear on this?”

“Clear,” Mather said.

“My purpose in insisting that this be taped rather than shot live is so that I can view it when you’re finished editing it. If I’m not satisfied, and there’s no acceptable way to edit it, we pull it and nothing gets shown. Are we clear on that?”

Mather hesitated a second before saying, “Clear again.”

“This outlines our agreement,” Hellman said, handing him a one-page document. “Initial at the bottom that you received it.”

Mather scribbled his initials and handed it back to Hellman, who provided him with a copy.

“A word?” Chandler asked.

Hellman excused himself, then moved off with Chandler out of earshot of Mather and the camera crew.

“What’s up?”

Chandler folded his arms across his chest. “The lab guy won’t take my call. Says I’m supposed to call back later. Rotting piece of—”

“Easy,” Hellman said, motioning with both hands and keeping an eye on Mather over Chandler’s shoulder.

“I’m gonna call him back in an hour. I just want to make sure he ran the lip print comparison.”

“Fine,” Hellman said, “we’ll worry about it later. About this interview. We keep it short, to the point, and we don’t divulge any specifics. We only tell them enough to whet their curiosity. But we can’t say anything that’s not factual and we can’t make claims we can’t substantiate.”

“C’mon, Jeffrey. That doesn’t leave us a whole lot of leeway.”

“No, you’re missing the point. We can discuss the new evidence we have, without saying what it is specifically, and we can discuss its significance without outlining exactly how it’s going to have an impact on the case.”

Chandler appeared uneasy. “We’re not magicians. This is gonna be difficult.”

“You don’t have any experience as a politician.”

“I’ve dedicated my life to catching criminals, not acting like them.”

Hellman smiled. “That remark could be considered blasphemy being that we’re so close to the state capitol building.”

Mather approached from behind. “We’ll be ready to shoot in two minutes, gentlemen.”

Hellman nodded and turned back to Chandler, “Comb your hair, will you? There’s a mirror over there on the wall behind the cameraman.”

“What, no makeup?”

Hellman snorted. “No offense, but you’re nobody important. So, no, you’re not getting any makeup.”

Chandler knew that appearing professional and confident would play an important role in achieving their goal. He straightened his hair and tie, then took a few deep breaths to wipe the lines of stress from his face.

Mather was waiting for Chandler and Hellman to take their seats. Cables snaked across the floor from three cameras that stood like sentries guarding the set.

The floor director helped them clip on their lapel mikes, then positioned them for the camera setup. Mather sat to the right of Hellman and Chandler, who sat beside each other. Large spotlights shone down upon them, bathing the small area in bright white light.

The director checked with the producer and sound techs who were seated off to the side. After getting a thumbs-up in response, he held up three fingers and counted down.

Mather began speaking, introducing the viewers to the setting, and stating the purpose of their interview.

“Mr. Hellman,” Mather said, “I believe it’s safe to say that you feel your client is not guilty.”

“He isn’t just ‘not guilty,’ he’s innocent.”

“I didn’t realize there was a difference,” Mather said, a broad smile creasing his face.

Hellman maintained a serious, almost clinical expression. “‘Not guilty,’ in my opinion, carries a negative connotation. Simply stated, Dr. Madison is completely innocent of this crime and is being wrongly charged. In fact, we are in the process of amassing evidence which demonstrates that he was framed.”

“Framed?” Mather asked. He straightened in his seat.

“That’s what we’re working on right now. Ryan Chandler is our investigator,” Hellman said, nodding toward his associate.

“Are the police working with you on this?” Mather asked, turning toward Chandler.

“The police are not involved in our investigation at this time.”

“And why is that?”

Chandler leaned forward a bit. “We’re still putting together all the details. We felt it would be better that we have all our cards in order first. We don’t want them to think we’re making a baseless accusation. Then we wouldn’t have their confidence, or even their cooperation, when we complete our work and have more solid objective evidence to turn over to them.”

“Are you saying that the police were delinquent in their investigation of this case?”

Hellman glanced over at Chandler. Being that Chandler was “one of them,” it was preferable that he address such an issue.

“Not at all,” Chandler said. “The police, I’m sure, have been as diligent in their investigation as possible. They brought in a suspect, and they did it within a reasonable period of time following the murders.”

“What would you consider to be a reasonable period of time?”

“Three, four days. Longer than