Reilly 09 - Presumption of Death (41 page)

“What happened then?”

“Detective Crockett interviewed the defendant. Then I was called in to place the defendant in custody pursuant to Detective Crockett’s arrest. By then it was almost midnight. I then took the defendant to the jail facility, where he was booked.”

“Thank you. Nothing further.”

“Your witness,” Salas said.

“Good morning, Deputy Grace.” Nina spoke from her place at the table.

“Good morning.” The deputy crossed his legs, maybe to show she didn’t unnerve him at all.

“You were trying to determine the identity of this burn victim found on the ridge?”

“Correct.”

And you assumed it must be Mr. Whitefeather or Mr. Cervantes?”

“Correct.”

“What made you assume it had to be one or the other?”

“Because we had the report that the two of them went up the ridge that night.”

“And so you were also assuming no one else did?”

“Not necessarily. We just had this report on these two.”

“So it’s possible one or more other people were up there?”

“There’s no evidence of that.”

“But it’s possible?”

“Sure.”

“Now, you also assumed Mr. Whitefeather and Mr. Cervantes set the fires, is that correct?”

“That was our working theory. We had a witness report on a previous fire that two men were involved.”

“Did you consider that someone else might have set the fire, and these two young men were trying to catch him?”

“No. We didn’t have any evidence of a third party, as I have stated.”

“Other than a report from some other incident that there might be two men, what evidence do you have that these men set the fire on the ridge?”

“The witness report in the second fire reported that one of the suspects was dropped off on Siesta Court in Carmel Valley Village, which is where Mr. Cervantes lived, which in my mind linked him to at least the second fire. Mr. Cervantes died in the third fire. So he was present. He went with Mr. Whitefeather. I have read Detective Crockett’s report and I am aware that the defendant admitted he was there. Bottom line, it was late at night on a deserted mountain and an arson fire was in progress and the defendant was there. He exhibited burns consistent with flame burns, as if he’d been caught in a wildfire.”

“Any other evidence?”

“Detective Crockett’s interview-”

Jaime intervened. “Your Honor, since Detective Crockett is the next witness, it would be better for him to testify directly regarding additional evidence developed by the Arson Investigation Unit.”

“Counsel?” Salas said.

“Sounds fine to me,” Nina said. “Oh, by the way, Deputy, when you came to Mr. van Wagoner’s door, did you have an arrest warrant?”

“No, ma’am. We only wanted to question-”

“Was I obligated in some way to allow you inside the home?”

“Not legally, ma’am, no.”

“And did Mr. Whitefeather in any way attempt to resist or flee?”

“No, ma’am.”

“And was he in any way uncooperative?”

“No, ma’am. You were the one who was uncooperative. You advised him not to say anything.” Nina heard a ripple of laughter behind her.

“How did you get Mr. van Wagoner’s home address?”

“We have it on file.”

“Now, you said that you got a call from the Las Flores Clinic that Mr. Whitefeather had been hiding there?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You assumed he was fleeing police?”

“It was my working theory.”

“How do you know he was hiding?”

“Well, there were plenty of places to get medical treatment closer than fifty miles away.”

“Is the Las Flores Clinic a private clinic?”

“No, ma’am, it’s part of the San Benito County system.”

“Did Mr. Whitefeather use an assumed name?”

“No. He used his real name.”

“Did he use a fake emergency name and number?”

“No, since it led us to him.”

“Did he have genuine injuries?”

“It appeared he did.”

“Is there any indication he stayed unnecessarily long at the clinic?”

“Not that I know of.”

“And as soon as he was discharged, he returned to the county?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is that the usual behavior of a fleeing felon?”

“Objection,” Jaime said. “Calls for a conclusion. Calls for an opinion. Speculation.”

“He can speculate all he wants about why the defendant was on the mountain and why he chose this clinic, but he can’t speculate about the behavior of a fleeing felon?” Nina said.

“I get the point,” Judge Salas said. “Objection overruled. Let’s move it along.”

“Your answer?” Nina said to Deputy Grace.

“No, it’s not what I would expect from a fleeing felon.” Grace was still relaxed. He had told the truth without any fuss, and Nina respected that.

“Thank you, Deputy.”

“No redirect,” Jaime said, and Deputy Grace stepped down.

They took a short recess. Paul was fuming. “On file,” he said. “I guard my home address like El Al guards its ticket counter. No way could they get my address.”

“So that’s why we don’t have many visitors,” Nina said.

“Why didn’t you follow up some more on how he got my address?”

“Because it has nothing to do with this hearing, and it would add a confusing bit to the transcript, and because you can call him and ask him.”

“They’re keeping a file on me, Nina.”

“They’re keeping a file on everybody,” Nina said. “I’m going back in and get ready for Crockett.”

32

“G OOD AFTERNOON, DETECTIVE CROCKETT.”

“Good afternoon.” Jaime had already taken Davy Crockett through the story of Wish’s arrest and interview at the station. Methodically, he had then obtained an outline of the series of arson fires that had occurred, the Cat Lady’s statement about two men, Wish’s burns, and had even attempted to bring in Wish’s juvenile record for setting a fire. Nina had objected, of course, but Judge Salas had absorbed it even as he sustained her objection.

Now it was her turn. The object of all this was to show that Wish’s actions and statements were consistent with innocence, and that Coyote had also been on the mountain.

“Now, Mr. Whitefeather told you at the interview that Danny was only trying to stop the fires?”

“That’s about all he said, yes. You advised him to remain silent but he did say that, in addition to admitting he was on the ridge that Tuesday night.”

“All right. Now. There was a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist in the previous two fires, am I correct?”

“I believe so. It was put up jointly by two corporations that suffered property damages due to the arsons.”

“And the amount of this award was?”

“A hundred thousand dollars, I believe.” Judge Salas stroked his chin.

“You had received numerous tips from the public about who the arsonist could be?”

“Yes.”

“Ruth Frost asked for that reward, did she not, after she signed her statement?”

“Doesn’t mean she wasn’t telling the truth.”

“Right. So there was great public interest in this reward? It had been well-publicized?”

“Yes.”

“Would a photograph of a man, accompanied by a sworn statement that the photograph was taken at the time and place of an arson fire, be evidence that the man was an arsonist?” The question was clumsy, but Crockett understood and Jaime made no objection.

“Possibly. It might be a firefighter, or an innocent bystander.”

“Right. But your office would follow up to determine if this person was an innocent party or not if presented with such a photograph?”

“Sure we would.”

“Now, you have testified that the murder weapon was found to be a camera.”

“Dr. Rittenhauer will go into that further in her testimony, I believe.”

“But that’s your understanding?”

“Yes.”

“And you have identified the camera as belonging to the defendant?”

“Yes.”

“Speaking as a highly trained and experienced arson investigator, why do you think the defendant brought the camera up the mountain with him? You think he did that, right?”

“He was up there and so was his camera. There are several possible reasons for bringing it up there. The first one I would think of is, he wanted a souvenir. It was an ego trip. Can I make a comment about why the fires might have been set?”

“Go right ahead.” She had been hoping Crockett would go into his lecture mode. Let Salas hear about all the many reasons others might have set the fires.

“Juveniles set most of the fires, probably fifty percent of the fires in this country. They love the colors, the excitement, the destruction.

“Adults don’t get that same kick. Maybe they want to do something grandiose, something that will make them famous. We call that a vanity motive.

“Then there are the revenge arsons. Love stories gone bad. Feuding relatives. These people aren’t worrying about being caught. They’re too busy being drama kings and queens.

“Of course, there are always the insurance fires. The list goes on. Lately, we’ve seen an increase in arson that is used to commit homicide or to cover up a homicide.

“Now, we don’t know exactly why these fires were set. But in any of these scenarios except the last, the arsonist might have wanted a photo to remember it by.”

“Isn’t it true that the last scenario is actually what you believe at this time was the motivation for the third fire? To cover up a homicide?”

“We can’t be sure-”

“You’ve testified that Mr. Cervantes’s death was no accident, that the camera was the murder weapon. Mr. Whitefeather is charged with premeditated murder in one of the counts of the complaint. Which of the scenarios you have mentioned is the most likely scenario explaining the third fire, based on your experience and training?”

“For the third fire, it seems that at least one purpose was to commit a murder,” Crockett said, because he had to, or else the premeditated murder count would have to be dismissed.

“And, as you’ve just said, it is actually not at all likely that a suspect would bring a camera to record that?”

“You never know.”

“But it’s unlikely?”

Crockett pursed his lips and said reluctantly, “Pretty unlikely. They might take a souvenir, but usually some physical item, not a photo.”

“So the first reason for bringing the camera up the ridge, an ego trip, doesn’t work in this case. What other reason might there be to bring a camera up a hill, assuming that a hundred-thousand-dollar reward has been offered?”

“Presumably to try to get the reward by documenting the arsonist.”

“Ah,” Nina said.

“Pretty stupid way to go about it, though. And it doesn’t make sense in light of the other facts.”

“Why don’t you remind us of those facts again.”

With exaggerated patience, Crockett said, “Fact: The defendant went up the ridge with Mr. Cervantes. Fact: Mr. Cervantes was linked with the previous arson. Fact: There is no evidence anyone else was on the mountain that night.”

“Let’s look again at that third fact.” Judge Salas looked at the clock on the wall, stifled a yawn.

Nina took the photos recovered from Wish’s memory card from an envelope on her table. The memory card looked like a tiny disk and held digital memories of photos, taking the place of the roll of film of yore. She showed them to Jaime as a courtesy. He already had his set, and nodded, not particularly perturbed.

“You’ve seen these photos, haven’t you, Detective Crockett?”

Crockett looked through each of them and said, “Yes, your investigator gave me the same set.”

“He explained that these were developed from the memory card taken from the camera of Mr. Whitefeather?”

“He didn’t know where that memory card came from.”

“He told you I found it in clothing worn by Mr. Whitefeather during the fire, didn’t he?”

“Maybe you ought to testify, Counsel. I know nothing about where these photographs come from.”

“You have attempted to match the memory card to the camera, haven’t you?”

“Haven’t had time due to the prelim taking place so quickly.” It’s all your fault, his eyes said. He wasn’t happy about being rushed into the prelim, and now she was paying a price.

“What do the photos show?”

“Some people running around in some woods.”

“Recognize any of the people?”

Jaime got up and said, “Your Honor, this has gone far enough. This witness has testified that he can’t authenticate or identify the photographs. I object on grounds of lack of relevance and competence. The pictures could have been taken anytime, anyplace. Let’s not waste any more time.”

Nina said, “Offer of proof, Your Honor. Mr. Whitefeather will testify that he took these photographs during the Robles Ridge fire. He will identify the two other men pictured.”

“I look forward to that, I really do,” Jaime said. “It’ll be the first time in my legal career that a defendant has taken the stand in a prelim involving such serious felonies. I can’t wait. But, until he does, I object to questioning this witness further on this subject.”

Salas took his time. Finally he said, “This witness isn’t competent to testify about these photographs. You haven’t laid any groundwork. You have to assume too many facts not in evidence. I will sustain this objection.”

Salas was right, but she had had to try. The photos had at least reared their ugly heads. She took the set of photos back to the table and took a breath. Onward.

“All right. Back to your contention that there is no evidence of any third party being present during the third fire. My investigator, Mr. van Wagoner, also came to your office and signed a statement regarding a child-endangerment case in the Arroyo Seco area about a week after the third fire, is that correct?”

“Ye-es.” Crockett, puzzled, looked to Jaime for help, and Jaime shrugged his shoulders.

“The suspect in that case was a man named Robert Johnson, also known as Coyote?”

“Yes.”

Two could play at the hearsay game. Nina could make Crockett testify about Paul’s statement and keep Paul off the stand.

“You recorded the interview and later provided a copy of the statement to Mr. Sandoval here?”