Rosato And Associates: Accused Part 14

Mary made a note. "I didn't see any guest list in the file. Do you know if you were given anything like that?"

"Not that I recall." Bob gestured vaguely to his right. "I sent for the file when you called today, I had it stored in business archives. When I get it, I'll have it messengered to you."

"Thanks. Did you know if Fiona had a date at the party?"

"No, I don't know."

"Do you know if she was there with any of her girlfriends?"

"No I don't know that, either. I'm sure the Gardner family could give you that information, though."

"They're not exactly cooperating. We went to their house and sat in a home conference room that was wired for-" Mary caught herself, then glanced at Judy. "Wait a minute. They taped our meeting. I wonder if they had a videotape going the night of the party."

Judy's eyes lit up. "I'm sure they'd have one. If they do it at home, for sure they're going to do it at work. There are security cameras and videotapes everywhere, these days."

Bob frowned. "I didn't get a security videotape from the D.A. and I don't believe there was one introduced into evidence by the Commonwealth. So I don't know if the police got one from the family, or they got one but didn't turn it over. They have to turn evidence over only if it shows a defendant is innocent, right?"

"Right. They have a duty to turn over only exculpatory evidence, and there can be prosecutorial misconduct issues, where the D.A. has exculpatory evidence but hides it."

"It would be such a risk for the D.A. to do that, in Lonnie's case."

"But it happens." Mary's thoughts raced ahead. "I would love to see the videotape of that party. It could show us Fiona, who she was with, who she talked to, everything about her that night."

Judy looked over. "I don't remember seeing security videotapes listed on the exhibit list, do you?"

"No, but I didn't get as far as the exhibit list." Mary was kicking herself for not staying up to work last night. "But even if it wasn't turned over to the police, I a.s.sume the Gardner family company has a videotape, or the very least, they'd certainly have a guest list, in addition to a list of the service people."

Bob nodded. "I'm sure they would. They would turn over copies of those things to the police, not the originals. Who would part with the original videotape taken at a party the night your daughter was murdered? That's what I'm talking about." Bob threw up his hands. "n.o.body was looking to cast the net wide, because they thought they had their man. The only person who believes Lonnie was innocent was Lonnie and his family, and all of us, at church."

"Why did he take the plea, in the end?"

"I begged him to, and after he testified, he saw the light. He talked to his mom, then Linda, who he saw from time to time, she had a crush on him anyway. Then he gave me the word, take the deal."

"Why did they still offer it?" Mary wanted to verify her theory. "They'd gone all through the trial."

"There was still a risk they would lose, or hang the jury, and they didn't want to risk anything. They increased it, added five more years." Bob's voice turned bitter. "It was payback for Lonnie's turning down the deal when it was first offered. I do the same thing when I negotiate, but a man's liberty and life aren't involved."

"Was race a factor, at all?" Mary was wondering if it was grounds for collateral attack.

"No." Bob's tone was firm. "There were twelve people on the jury, and ten of them were black. But you know what was a factor? Gender."

"How so?"

"There were eight men and four women, and even I knew that was bad news, as soon as they were empaneled." Bob shook his head. "It was the first jury I ever picked, but even a rookie could tell that a young, good-looking black kid, Dean's List in college, who had a steady part-time job, also sang solos in two church choirs, was going to appeal to women, especially the older ones we had to choose from. I struck every middle-aged white man I could, to try to get more women, but it was just luck of the draw."

Mary made a note. "How about Judge Vander, was he a factor? He sounded fair and reasonable in the transcript, but I know a judge can sway a jury in a way that doesn't show in print."

"Nothing there. Vander was completely down the middle. He wasn't prejudiced either way." Bob's gaze traveled to the window, but Mary knew there was nothing to see, except for the blinds. "That's the thing about this case. We had so much right, but so much wrong, from the jump."

Mary recognized the resignation in his tone, and he sounded uncannily like Lonnie at Graterford this morning. "You know, when we went to see Lonnie, he wished us luck, but he said he doesn't have any hope. He doesn't even want to hope."

Bob turned to Mary, locking eyes with her over his desk. "I didn't want to hope either, until you two walked in."

His words stayed with Mary, worrying her as they left Bob's office and walked back to Rosato & a.s.sociates, where hope had arrived, or at least help, in one of its many forms.

Chapter Seventeen.

"Lou, you came back!" Mary cried out, when she and Judy stepped off the elevator to find Lou Jacobs, their firm investigator, standing at the reception desk, talking to Marshall. He was in his mid-sixties, but hardly looked it, trim and fit in his white polo shirt and khaki pants, which he always called slacks. He had a year-round tan that he earned fishing on his boat, but he made a sunburn look outdoorsy, rather than carcinogenic.

"Hiya, girls!" Lou turned with a broad smile, throwing open his brawny arms. His hair was a slicked-back white-gray, his eyes a lively black-brown, and his nose curved like a seagull above thin lips. His cheekbones were high and slanting in a weathered face creased by deep crow's-feet and even deeper laugh lines. "Mare, you gettin' married? Marshall just told me! Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Mary dropped her gear and hugged him, breathing in his smells of salt air, Drakkar Noir, and the liverwurst and onion sandwich he'd undoubtedly had for lunch, because he was a walking deli. She released him, happily. "That was so nice of you, to come back from your vacation. I feel guilty."

"Don't. I woulda felt guilty if I stayed. Jewish guilt trumps Catholic, every time. We've been at it longer than you guys. Experience shows." Lou grinned down at her. He was only of average height, but had been a beat cop and later a homicide detective, so he had a naturally commanding presence. "And you, kiddo? I turn my back five minutes, and you become a partner and get engaged? I'm happy for you, and I love Anthony, but if he does you wrong, I'll break his face."

"Now, that's love." Mary smiled.

"Only kidding, anyway, I got you something, to say congratulations on your partnership." Lou reached into his back pocket, produced a long skinny box wrapped in newspaper, and handed it to Mary. "Sorry, I didn't have any gift wrap on the boat. But at least I didn't use this for the fish."

"Lou, you didn't have to do that. We said no presents."

"I don't listen to you ladies, and we know I'm special."

"You are." Mary tore off the paper to reveal a dark blue box, which she opened. Inside was a silvery Cross pen, and she held it up to the light, where it gleamed. "Oh, you're too nice. What a great gift, thank you so much!"

"Happy to." Lou nodded, pleased. "I know you're on the computer, but every lawyer should have a nice pen, don't you think? At least to sign those nice big checks that'll be coming in."

"True! Or those big bills that will be going out." Mary put the pen back, closed the box, and gave him another hug. "Thanks again."

Marshall stood up, frowning. "Mary, where's your engagement ring, to show Lou?"

Mary reddened. "It's being resized."

"To nothing," Judy added, and Mary shot her a look.

Lou was oblivious, having learned to disregard their girl talk. "So what do you ladies got for me? That case in the conference room? I glanced through the file already."

"Good, then let's go. We need you." Mary took Lou's arm, and she and Judy led him to the war room, where they settled in around the conference table, and Mary and Judy took turns bringing him up-to-date, which included showing him the stack of letters that Allegra had written to Lonnie Stall, which were all basically identical, except that Allegra's handwriting got better as she got older, then turned to typing, on laser-printed computer paper. When Mary was finished, she eased back in the chair and asked Lou what he thought, because she respected his judgment.

"You wanna know what I think?" Lou rubbed his eyes, leaving a little redness under his fresh tan. "I feel sorry for this kid, Allegra, for lots of reasons, but that's not the point."

Mary felt comforted. "It's not the point legally, but I feel it, too."

Judy sipped a fresh coffee. The late-day sun beamed through the windows and flooded the conference room with a warm golden hue, as it began to dip over West Philly. "Me, too. Do you think Stall did it, Lou?"

"Too soon to say. I'm reserving judgment, and we all know I'm not the bleeding heart that you ladies are." Lou's expression settled into grave lines. "They had a boatload of evidence on him, and I agree you want to look at that videotape."

"The security company they use is Blackmore."

"Good, I know a few guys at Blackmore. I can make some calls. Unofficially."

"That would be great." Mary brightened. Lou had been their security guard when Bennie had hired him, and he was totally plugged into the retired-cop network, most of whom were bored to tears working as security guards.

Judy straightened up. "But what's our next move? Ideally, we'd try to get information about that night from the family, but that isn't happening anytime soon. Should we try to talk to some of the trial witnesses? Does that make any sense?"

"No." Mary leaned forward, trying not to look at the letters from Allegra that littered the table. "I don't think we should be talking to the trial witnesses. Allegra asked us to solve her sister's murder, and so far, what we've done is retraced the steps of the police. I get it, because we needed the background, but if we do only that, we're just going to end up in the same place that the police did, without testing their conclusion."

Lou nodded. "That's right. I looked at the file and I can tell you that they had only the best personnel on this case. Not just with Mel trying it himself, but I know Mort Ledbetter, the lead detective and his partner. They've been around a long time and they're some of the best in the department, even now."

Judy looked over. "What's your point? That they're right?"

Lou shook his head. "No, but given the circ.u.mstances, I see why they liked Stall."

Listening, Mary reminded herself that Lou, as an ex-cop, still used cop jargon, so when he said the cops liked somebody, it meant that they suspected him. It was probably why Mary couldn't have been a cop, because she liked everybody and suspected no one.

Lou continued, "And I know that confirmation bias affects even the best guys. It's not really a rush to judgment, but more, we like this guy, and then you start to see only the facts that support your theory. That could be what happened here, but you won't find that out, or challenge it, by following what they did."

"Right." Mary found herself rising, as it was a little-known fact that though Italians needed their hands to talk, they needed their feet to think. "We have to start fresh and not continue on the track we were starting with. We have to talk to Tim Gage."

Lou nodded. "That's right, the boyfriend. I'd like to know if he was there that night."

Judy sipped her coffee, her eyes narrowing. "I see, and we should also look into whether Fiona had any friends there. Girlfriends. Allegra may be a loner, but I get the impression that Fiona wasn't. She was pretty and popular, and she probably had lots of friends. Maybe Allegra could give us some of their names. If Tim Gage wasn't there, she could've been there with her girlfriends, any guy friends, or all of them."

Mary felt her heart beat a little faster. "This should take about thirty seconds on Facebook. Start with Gage."

Judy was already pulling over her laptop. "Right, he's the only name we have, and boys are so dumb, they keep everything in their profiles public."

Lou rolled his chair next to Judy, to see her laptop. "I remember when your profile was how you looked from the side."

"Lou, don't start." Mary smiled, then pushed her laptop across the table, to work next to Judy. "You're hipper than you think. You're a hep cat. Or for this case, you're the bee's knees."

Judy looked over as she typed. "Mary's right, Lou. You're hot for an olds. You're hot enough to be on a Cialis commercial."

Lou laughed. "Never touch the stuff. Ask Mich.e.l.le."

Mary sat down next to Judy, logged onto the Internet, and started typing. "Judy, while you do that, I'll email Allegra and ask her who Fiona was with that night, and even if she wasn't there with her girlfriends, to give me the name of her three closest girlfriends." She logged into her email account and started typing. "I'd call, but I don't want to risk her parents' catching her on the phone."

Lou looked from Mary to Judy and back again. "You guys slay me. Since when did detectives become typists?"

"Yay!" Suddenly Judy threw her arms up in the air. "Tim Gage attends Wharton grad school at the University of Pennsylvania. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner."

"Penn is my alma mater." Mary hit Send on her email to Allegra and shifted over to see Judy's laptop screen. "That means we can run down and see him. What's he look like?"

"What's his story?" Lou picked up his black reading gla.s.ses from the letter pile, came over to stand behind Judy, and slipped them on. "Looks like a nice kid."

"Hardly." Mary pointed to Gage's Relationship Status, which read, Random Play.

Lou frowned. "What does that mean?"

Judy snorted. "It means he's a jerk."

Mary smiled up at Lou, explaining, "It means he doesn't want a steady girlfriend."

Lou frowned. "So he plays the field?"

Judy snorted. "No, he screws the field."

Lou burst into laughter, gesturing at the laptop. "A guy can just say that straight out? That he only wants to fool around? What girl would say yes to that?"

"Exactly." Mary eyed the photo of Tim Gage, who was handsome, with big brown eyes, a patrician nose, and a broad, confident smile. Straight brown hair flopped casually onto his forehead, and Mary was already hating on him, which she knew was probably her residual cla.s.s-warfare impulse. She knew she had to get over that, now that she was an adult partner and everything. She hoped someday her inside would catch up with her outside.

"Let's look at his Spring Fling alb.u.m." Judy opened one of Gage's many photo alb.u.ms and clicked through an array of beautiful young men and women at a party, holding Solo cups. "Did you ever notice how everybody's photo alb.u.ms look alike?"

"I know, right? College kids keep Solo cups in business. Go back to his Wall." Mary read Gage's Wall, after Judy clicked back. "He likes Coldplay and Maroon 5, he was an Econ major at Wharton, and he played varsity lacrosse. Cla.s.sic profile for a murderer."

Lou laughed. "Or the CEO of any Fortune 500 company."

Mary sniffed. "Also he lives at St. A's, the preppy frat. Why am I not surprised?"

Judy looked over. "So when do you want to go, or do you want to wait until Allegra gets back to us about Fiona's girlfriends?"

"No, we can do that on the fly. Let's go as soon as I'm finished here."

"Okay. Let me take a second to see what else I can find out about Gage." Judy started typing, and Mary logged on to Facebook and searched under Allegra Gardner, scanning her page when it popped onto the screen. Allegra had most of her profile settings on private, but she named her interests as beekeeping and criminalistics. She had ten friends, whose names were not public, but they were all in the Milton School network.

Mary groaned. "Poor kid."

"What?" Lou asked, reading over her shoulder. "Is that the client? Why are you looking up the client?"

"I just want to know more about her." Mary navigated to the menu and sent Allegra a friend request. "She hardly has any friends. I feel so bad for her."

Lou placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "While you guys are doing that, let me step outside and make a few phone calls to my buddy at Blackmore."

"Thanks," Mary said, as Lou left the room. She started searching Facebook for Jane Gardner, which returned hundreds of names. She scanned the pictures to see if any of them were Allegra's mother.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked, puzzled.

"Just seeing what the mother's really like, who her friends are. You never know what you might turn up." Mary clicked to the next page, but didn't see any thumbnails of her. Many of the profile pictures weren't of the person, but of a dog, a flower, or a cartoon, which didn't help. "Something could lead to something else. That's the way we always do it, right?"

"Mare, we have to keep our eye on the ball on this case." Judy gestured at the bulletin boards that Mary had made and set up on easels on the other side of the table. "I understand why you searched for articles about Fiona's murder, but I'm not sure I follow why articles about Allegra being a girl genius are relevant to finding out who killed Fiona."

"They're not, I guess. But they're interesting and they might be helpful."