Seeking Truth: Part 5

Late Arrival

Irony. That was the best way to describe the weather as I walked up the steps towards the courthouse. Despite my somber mood and the uncertainty that followed me, the weather couldn't have been a brighter, sunnier day. Either this was some sign that everything would work out, or a means to balance out the unfortunate events that were about to take place in the courtroom. Whatever the case, I went through security as usual, pressed the elevator button to take me to the Prosecutors' Office, and then waited for what would come once I arrived there.

As soon as the door opened, a feeling of dread washed over me. This was it. Everything we had worked for would be tested today, and we still didn't have solid evidence on Closeau. I had been thinking about it so hard that I didn't hear the ding of the elevator doors closing after arriving at my floor. Realizing that I was still in the elevator, I dashed out of it just before the doors closed again, and found myself face to face with Lise, wearing a gray suit that seemed somewhat similar to Luke's own.

“Easy there, Mark. I know this case has got you on edge, but there's no need to be that worried about it.”

“Right, sorry Lise. Where's Luke?”

“Already down in 4B. He said to get yourself situated, then to meet him down there.”

“Alright,” I caught my breath, “thanks Lise.”

She nodded, obviously still slightly shaken since Wednesday. As she returned to her desk, I entered Luke's office and set my bag down. Ordinarily I'd be booting up my laptop and preparing my log for the day to show the internship director when I next saw her, but somehow...I just couldn't bring myself to focus like that. Making up my mind, I left the office and went straight down to 4B, deciding that I couldn't miss a moment of the trial. Lise gave me a knowing smile as I passed. She apparently hadn't expected me to stay very long.

As the elevator opened to the fourth floor atrium, the room was silent. Usually in the morning these rooms were filled with people waiting for their cases to be heard, but they must have all been in the courtrooms already. I cautiously opened the door to 4B, then stepped through the antechamber into the courtroom itself.

Courtroom dramas on TV rarely portray what actual courtrooms look like. They typically show off this massive chamber with room for three hundred people and all sorts of legal gimmicks around the room, such as a framed copy of the Constitution, American flags everywhere, or even pairs of gilded scales. Actual courtrooms are rarely, if ever, like that. The room is about the size of a large classroom, with benches for about seventy-five to a hundred people, and the central area consisting of only about thirty square feet. The trial's audience was rather underwhelming, amounting to about fifteen to twenty people. The judge, an elderly-looking otter, looked down at me from his elevated desk, as did the two deputies, both bears, in either corner of the room. The court reporter, however, was still hard at work, talking quietly into her microphone to transcribe everything that was happening. Not wanting to delay things any further, I stepped past the small swinging doors that separated the main half of the courtroom from the audience half, then walked behind Ms. Tey, bumping her tail slightly, over to Luke. As I moved past the podium between the two attorneys, I noticed Hayes, sitting in a chair in front of the Defense's table, so that the jury could see him clearly. Before I could say anything to Luke, the judge called out, “After that slight interruption,” looking down at me briefly, “we can continue. You've both finished your opening statements, so how many witnesses will you present, Mr. Prosecutor?”

“Two, your honor, but there may be a third depending on the first two.”

Making a note on his desk, he turned to Tey and asked, “And you, madam counselor?”

“One, your honor.”

“Very well,” came the otter's feeble, but still respectable, voice, “Call your first witness, Mr. Bradley.”

“The People call Detective Maria Ingle.”

One of the deputies opened a door on the side of the courtroom that led into the witness waiting room. Seconds after her name was called, a very impressive hawk walked into the courtroom. From her stride to her posture, it was obvious that she was extremely proud to be here. Standing before the witness seat, the deputy to the other side of the judge instructed, “Raise your right hand, please.” As Maria obliged, he continued, “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth and to obey the rules of this court?”

“I do,” came her reply, followed by stepping into the witness stand and taking a seat.

“You may proceed,” came the judge's voice.

Luke rose from his seat and boldly strode forward into the center of the courtroom, ignoring the podium, “Good morning detective.”

She replied, with as much authority as she could muster, “Good morning, prosecutor.”

“Would you please state your name for the record?”

“Detective Maria Ingle, I-N-G-L-E.” The way she was answering gave the impression that she had done this many times before, and she probably had. Detectives were usually called to testify at every case they oversaw, so this must have been very commonplace for her. Luke's next few questions proved this, as he asked her about her record, experience, how long she had been a detective, etc. By the time he had moved on to the actual case, it sounded like she should have been the police chief!

Leaning casually upon the podium, he continued, “When were you first assigned to this case?”

Authoritatively, she replied, “March 15th, I was dispatched to the scene around 10:20.”

“And what did you find when you arrived?”

“The victim, Devon Vell, was being led away at the time. And the officers at the scene told me what had happened.”

For a moment, I was afraid Luke would go on from there, but he stopped himself and said, “Your honor at this time I would like to admit what has been marked as People's Exhibit #3, the police report.” Luke had certainly learned from his last case. He had found out the hard way that asking a police officer what had happened when he or she had learned it from another officer invited several hearsay objections, unless the witness was referring to the police report.

“Does the defense have any objections?” asked the elderly judge.

“None, your honor,” came Tey's terse reply.

“The evidence shall be admitted, carry on, prosecutor.”

Luke nodded to him and approached Detective Ingle, offering her a copy of the report. He then went back to the podium and resumed his casual slouch, his tail swaying slowly. “According to the report, how did that evening begin?”

As she looked down at the report, she read aloud, “Two people, Robert Hayes and Devon Vell, entered the building at approximately 10 PM. They conversed for several minutes before the power in the building went out.”

Since this was a direct examination, Luke couldn't just tell the jury what had happened, he needed to ask the right questions so that she told it like a story. Hence, his next question was, “Why did the power go out?”

“The power failure was caused by an explosive device planted on the building's circuit breaker.”

Again, Luke stopped and picked up a bag from the table, saying, “Your honor, I would like to admit People's Exhibit #4, the remains of said device.”

The judge did his usual routine of asking if there were any objections, then told Luke to carry on.

“Thank you.” He held it up so that she could easily see the parts inside the bag, “Detective, are these the remains of the device that was used to cut the power?”

She examined them, then replied, “Yes, these were found near the circuit breaker.”

“Is there anything special about this type of explosive?”

She shook her head, “No, only that this one was stolen from the police station.”

Luke looked surprised, but most of the court staff would have known that it was merely for the jury's amusement, “It was stolen from the station?”

She nodded gravely and replied, “We're still working on who stole it, but right now we believe it was someone who works with the police.”

I was impressed. I felt for sure that that question would be objected to on one or more grounds. Was this the arrangement Luke and Ellen made on Wednesday? The judge seemed to think the same, as he looked to Ellen for a moment, then back at the witness.

Stepping away from the podium, Luke paced around the room and asked, “After the power went out, what happened next?”

From her voice, it seemed like this had been the part she had been most eager to reach, replying, “Hayes shot and killed Vell.”

Without wasting any time for the jury's reaction, Luke continued, “I would like to admit People's Exhibits 5 and 6 into evidence, your honor.” This was again followed by the judge's required ritual, but was ultimately admitted.

“Thank you.” Holding up exhibit 5, Hayes's weapon in a tightly sealed transparent bag, he asked, “Detective, what is this?”

She looked at the weapon very closely, then replied, “That's the weapon we recovered from Hayes. Given the bullets missing from the magazine, and from observing the scene, we believe that it was fired twice that evening.”

Luke then held up exhibit 6, “And what are these?”

“Those are the bullet casings released from Hayes's weapon. Ballistic fingerprinting indicates that they came from the same model of firearm that Hayes was using. We couldn't retrieve the bullets, since they fragmented in impact, but we found remnants of them in the wall behind Vell and in Vell's head.”

“I see,” Luke paused, then asked the next one slowly and clearly, making sure that it would be understood. “Was there any evidence as to why Hayes would shoot Vell?”

She scratched at a spot on her arm for a moment, then replied, “I wish I had a better answer, but it's difficult to say, since their entire conversation is in code, but I suspect it was a business disagreement.”

“You say their conversation was in code...how do you know what they said?”

“The incident was being recorded.” No doubt the jury already knew this from the opening statements, but Luke had to get it out of the witnesses to talk about it.

“Your honor, at this time I would like to admit People's Exhibit #1, the recording.”

While the judge did his thing, my tail began to sway. Like Luke's, it seemed to move faster as things got more exciting or intriguing.

“Thank you, your honor. Deputy, if you would be so kind,” Luke said as he offered the memory card to the deputy, who loaded it into the computer. Shortly after, a projector on the ceiling flickered to life, projecting the video onto a screen next to the jury. So the court watched Vell's last business deal. The looks of confusion from the conversation were quickly replaced with shock as the lights went out and the gunshots ensued. I silently hoped that somewhere in that suit of his, Luke was holding the phone that would bridge the gap and tie everything together. Otherwise, we'd be in for a long haul and a difficult fight. As soon as the tape was finished, he turned to Ellen and said, “your witness,” before sitting down next to me.

Cross-examination

Wait...wasn't he going to go over how it had been fabricated? And all the other things we had figured out?

My thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Tey, who stepped into the center of the courtroom, tail dragging on the floor as she walked. “Good morning, detective.”

The detective gave her a curt nod and replied, “Good morning, Ms. Tey.”

She liked to keep things straightforward as well, it seemed, since she started by asking, “Did you find anything...odd, about what we just watched?”

“I'm not sure I follow you.”

“I'm talking,” she rewound the recording to the moment of silence, “about this,” and then played it again. “Isn't that silence a little unnatural?”

Retaining her dignity after having it shown to her she replied, “We admit that we suspected the same, but could never prove it. There's nothing there that would prove something had been removed.”

Tey gave her a very toothy grin, responding, “You're absolutely correct, detective, but there isn't something there that proves just the opposite.”

“I'm sorry?” came the detective's confused reply.

“You believe that this camera is very accurate, yes? That it picks up even very small sounds, such as the movement of these two people?”

“Yes,” she began, “it seems to be very sensitive.”

She turned to Luke and said, “Then Mr. Prosecutor, if you'll assist me?” Luke seemed to know exactly what was going on as he rose, but he quickly put on a face of uncertainty as he faced the jury.

“Mr. Prosecutor, please raise your arms as if you were holding a firearm.” Luke complied, doing so in the quietest manner that he could. “You could all hear that, could you not? Why then, does the camera not hear it when Mr. Hayes must do the same? There is nothing at all before the gunshots when there must have been movement!” She played that part again, and the jurors' faces showed firm belief.

As he returned to his seat, I asked, “Luke, did you-” but he silenced me in his usual manner before looking back out to the courtroom. Although I still wasn't sure what he had planned, his face told me that things were still following that plan.

Stating very succinctly, “Now, let me ask again, do you believe that the tape was fabricated, detective?”

“I'm not sure...but it looks that way,” she conceded.

“Nothing further, your honor,” finished Ellen as she sat down.

“Re-direct, Mr. Prosecutor?” asked the judge.

Luke rose and straightened his red striped tie. “No, your honor, the People rest, but if it's alright with you and defense counsel, we would like to call the detective and my other witness at a later time, once the defendant has had a chance to speak.”

The judge squinted at Luke, replying, “That's a rather unusual request, Mr. Prosecutor, but I don't mind, so long as defense counsel has no objections.”

“It doesn't matter to me, your honor. I'm certain the record will speak the truth no matter who he calls,” came Tey's short response.

“Very well, permission is granted. Ms. Tey, your witness?”

The detective gave Luke an odd look as she left the stand, but continued on to the witness waiting room.

From the Mouth of the Killer

“The defense calls the defendant, Robert Hayes, to the stand.”

The defendant slowly made his way to the stand, as if considering each step before it was made. I didn't know if he had been informed of the arrangement between Luke and Ellen, but since even I was confused at this point, I really shouldn't make that call. After he had been sworn in and taken his seat, Ellen began her examination.

“Please state your name for the record.”

“Robert Hayes,” even his voice was filled with uneasiness.

“And spell your last, for the record,”

“H-A-Y-E-S.”

“And your occupation?”

“I'm a representative for a company,” he looked like he would've stopped there, but as Ellen remained silent, he added, “the Anubis Arms Corporation.”

While this was a bit of a stretch, and Luke probably could've objected to foundation, she asked, “Was your meeting with the victim company-related?”

Hayes hesitantly replied, “Yes.”

“Did you know Vell before that evening?”

This time, the response was immediate, “No, absolutely not.”

She began to pace around the courtroom, idly asking, “Could you have thought about murdering him if you hadn't met him before?”

Before Hayes could answer, Luke rose and quickly interrupted, “Objection! That question is argumentative.”

The judge, while obviously uncertain about the case, still knew his objections and issued a quick ruling, “Sustained, rephrase or move on, counselor.”

She stopped pacing, looked at Luke for a moment, then back to the judge, “I'll withdraw,” she resumed her pacing before continuing, “Mr. Hayes, please go over what happened that night, starting from the beginning.”

Again, Luke rose and raised another, “Objection! Calls for a narrative.”

The judge looked at Tey as if he was sorry, then said, “Also sustained, please rephrase, counsel.”

Tey seemed to be getting annoyed, but carried on nonetheless and asked, as if it was beneath her, “How did you reach the meeting location, Mr. Hayes?”

“I drove there.”

“And what happened after you arrived?”

Hayes looked up at the ceiling, carefully responding, “Vell and I shook hands, then headed into the building. The room where it took place is just inside, so it didn't take long. Then we just got down to business.”

“What was the nature of your meeting?” When he didn't answer, she added, “You need not go into any detail, just the general purpose of why you met with him.”

“We were making a business deal, arranging for my organization to sell to his.”

“And what is his organization?”

“I don't know. I was just sent to broker the deal, having only minimal information. Like I said, I didn't even know who I was meeting with until it began.”

Her temper seemed to be cooling, her next questions sounded more relaxed, “Alright, going back to the meeting itself, how did it go?”

“Very well. I think we came to some good compromises, though it was a little confusing at first. I regret to say, though, that there were some disagreements towards the end. As you heard in the recording, things became slightly heated, but certainly not hostile.”

She stopped pacing, looking straight at Hayes and asking, as if challenging him, “And then the lights went out?”

“Yes.”

Her next question came rather suddenly, as if she wanted to get it out before Luke had a chance to object, “Have you been in meetings like this before?”

Hayes responded immediately, “I have. I've always been instructed to stay on my guard and watch out for double-crossing. That's why I had my gun with me.”

“So what did you think when the lights went out?”

“I thought Vell was up to something, so I put one paw on my weapon.”

She obviously had been hoping for something better than that, so she narrowed her gaze and asked the most basic question, “What happened next?”

“Then I heard the gunshot, the one that was removed from the recording. Immediately, I thought I was under fire, so I drew my weapon and fired back.”

Now she looked mildly intrigued, resuming her pacing, “What happened after you fired?”

Hayes, meanwhile, was still looking at the ceiling, probably reliving the night in his head, “I ran. I didn't know what else might happen, if he had backup, for instance. So I left, but kept my weapon ready in case anything else happened. When I got outside, I saw a police car passing, but then it stopped and the officer arrested me.”

Nodding at him, she finished with, “So, let me just ask for clarification, why did you shoot at Mr. Vell?”

“I was frightened when the lights went out. I thought he must've planned that, so I put one hand on my weapon. Then I heard a gunshot from Mr. Vell, so I did the only sane thing, I fired back.”

Smiling, she turned to Luke and said, “Your witness, prosecutor,”

Lawyerly Tricks

It was then that I noticed Luke wasn't watching her, but rather, his phone. He was sending a text message to someone. Just after it was sent, I saw that he had actually been replying to a message, which read, “C & P have come.” While I didn't see his response in time, from the way he confidently rose and stepped into the open, I think he got the message across.

“Mr. Hayes, you claim that the recording was edited. What proof do you have of this?” I was shocked to hear him ask that. After all, it was obvious that it had been fabricated. What was he up to?

Hayes looked at him incredulously, “What do you mean? Weren't you paying attention when she showed-”

“Please answer my question, Mr. Hayes. What proof,” he turned to face Hayes directly, “do you have that it was edited?”

It seems Hayes understood the implication there. “None. I, personally, don't have any proof that it was edited.”

Luke smiled smugly, “You say that you were arranging a business deal with Mr. Vell, correct?”

“That's correct.”

“And you also say that you have a good deal of experience in this line of work, do you not?”

“I do.”

He leaned against the podium again, asking in a sort of annoyed tone of voice, “Then perhaps you can answer this, what would happen to the business relationship between your organization and Vell's if you killed him?”

Tey started to rise to object, but Hayes had already started answering, “Anyone can figure that out. It's gone! We won't be doing business again! Ever!”

Luke continued, “Is that why someone edited the recording?”

This time, Ellen rose from her seat and shouted, “Objection, calls for opinion!”

“Sustained. Find a different route, Mr. Prosecutor,” came the judge's stern decision.

Luke took the next one slowly, “From your experience in this line of work, is it possible for someone to want to sabotage a business relationship held by your company?”

Hayes didn't answer for a few seconds, then admitted, “It's possible.”

“Does your company have any rivals, Mr. Hayes?”

“Of course they do. All big businesses have rivals.” Hayes was obviously starting to get frustrated.

“And are you loyal to AAC, or are you looking for a new job?”

Rising again, Tey cried, “Objection! Relevance!”

However, this time the judge didn't give his ruling right away. “Overruled, but get to the point quick, Mr. Bradley.”

Luke arrogantly asked again, “I'll repeat myself, are you looking for work outside of AAC?”

“Of course not!”

He leaned in closer to Hayes, saying, “You're aware that you're under oath, right? Are you sure that's your answer?”

Hayes was positively angry by now, practically shouting, “That is my answer. I don't know what you're getting at, but I've always been loyal to AAC.”

Luke gave a slight nod, then looked up at the judge and said softly, “Your honor at this point I would like to admit People's Exhibits 9, 10, and 11,” he held up a set of papers that had Hayes's name printed in bold at the top. As he set them back down on the table, I saw that they were resumes, and the envelopes attached to each were addressed to other companies, one of which was ADSI.

“Any objections, counsel?” asked the judge, looking surprised.

“Only that the personal information contained within remain private, your honor.”

“Understood. The exhibits are admitted with that stipulation.”

Luke stepped in front of the jury box, then addressed Hayes again, “These are resume letters and applications, are they not, Mr. Hayes?”

He didn't answer for almost ten seconds, then angrily replied , “They are.”

“And wouldn't something like sabotage,” he looked at the jury, “improve your relationship with another company?”

To no one's surprise, Tey rose again and shouted, “Objection! Th-”

Before she could finish, Luke interrupted, “Withdrawn. Nothing Further, your honor.” Although the question would obviously be struck from the record, the damage had been done. The jury had heard it, and they wouldn't be able to disregard it, no matter what the judge said. I couldn't quite believe it. Luke had been so convinced of Closeau's guilt had now found a motive for Hayes to shoot Vell and fabricate the recording. Why hadn't he told me about those letters? Had it been some test of loyalty that I had failed?

“Ms. Ingle? Your witness,” the judge called, interrupting my thought.

The reptilian woman stood and approached the witness, “Mr. Hayes, how long have you worked at AAC?”

Obviously desperate for some positive answers, he shouted, “Seventeen years!”

“And you're up for a promotion soon, aren't you?” He thought for a moment, then replied, “I believe so, yes.”

“So you don't really have much reason to leave the company, with that coming your way, do you?”

“Of course not! I'm going to stay with them until I retire!”

She nodded, then sat back down, “Thank you, nothing further.”

While she had mitigated some of the damage, the jury didn't seem so convinced. I still couldn't wrap my head around it. What was Luke up to? What had he planned with Tey?

“The witness may step down, anyone else, Ms. Tey?”

“No one, your honor, I believe-”

“So sorry I'm late, everyone, traffic from the airport was ghastly,” came a very loud, boisterous voice from the courtroom entrance. My mouth dropped open while some of my fur stood on end. A tiger in a slightly wrinkled black suit had entered the courtroom. His fur was very carefully groomed, and he wore a pair of circular glasses. He seemed like he would attract the attention of everyone in the room, even if he had entered it silently. As I closed my mouth and pushed back my fur, I said another silent prayer that things would work out. For Closeau had arrived.

The Nature of the Beast

“Mr. Closeau, so glad you could join us,” came the judge's amiable reply.

“Just in time, too. Are you ready, sir?” Wait...Luke? What was he doing?

“Yes, I believe so. Get on with it.” He threw his coat onto an empty bench then approached the center of the courtroom.

Luke nodded, “Very well. Your honor, I would like exercise the privelege you granted me earlier and call Mr. Closeau to the stand.” Closeau as a witness? How had he pulled that off?

The judge looked surprised as well, but then nodded in agreement. “I see. Bailiff, go ahead.”

Closeau was thus sworn in, and took his seat on the witness stand. While he was doing so, Luke leaned over to me and whispered, “Hand me the wrong gun when I ask for it.” Before I had a chance to respond, he walked into the open and began to question Closeau.

Luke stood in the middle of the courtroom and began, “Please state your name for the record, sir.”

Even seated in the witness seat, his presence was felt around the courtroom. “Chief Prosecutor Gerard Closeau. C-L-O-S-E-A-U.”

“And as a prosecutor, you've had extensive experience with all kinds of criminal cases?”

“I have, and very proud of it.”

“Are you considered an expert in any fields?”

Although he no doubt knew that Luke had to proceed like this, he seemed slightly annoyed that he had to explain it, “I am, from my extensive work in relation to organized crime, as well as the books I have written on the subject, I have come to be known as an expert in that field.”

Luke smiled and nodded, turning to the judge and saying, “Your honor, I would like to ask that the court recognize Mr. Closeau as an expert in the field of criminology, specifically organized crime.”

“Any objections, counsel?”

“None, your honor.”

“So recognized. Proceed, Mr. Bradley.”

“Thank you.” While it may have been to stroke his ego, having the court recognize Closeau as an expert gave him an extra ounce of credibility when giving testimony, plus he would be allowed to give opinionated testimony without risking an objection.

Luke proceeded down that path immediately, “Mr. Closeau, in your expert opinion, do you believe that organized crime has some influence in this case?”

Showing off all of his pearly white teeth in a smile, he announced, “I do, and I can prove it, if you'll show me Hayes's weapon.”

Luke turned to me, and slowly said, “Mark, would you please hand me Hayes's firearm?”

I wasn't sure if I should go through with what he said. After all, he had been very suspicious this morning. But ultimately, I decided to trust him, so I followed what he had told me and handed him Vell's weapon.

Like Hayes's gun, it was contained in a tightly sealed transparent bag, which he held up before the witness, “What's so special about this weapon, Mr. Closeau?”

Closeau explained it like we were all students in a classroom, “You can no doubt tell that it's no ordinary weapon, because of the engraving on the side there, see?” Luke pointed it out to the jury, a very fancy letter M engraved on the side of the handle. “That's a trademark symbol of a certain crime family: the Marestis.”

“So, someone who has a weapon of this kind is most likely a member of that organization?”

Closeau nodded, “Without a doubt. In order to ensure that people don't take credit for their work, they change the design slightly every year. The design on that weapon is the current one.”

Luke nodded in agreement, replying, “I see. Are there any other indicators that Hayes was part of this crime family?”

Seemingly delighted for another chance to show off, he continued, “Oh yes, if you'll rewind the tape, I'll show you.” Luke complied and rewound the tape to about the halfway point in the conversation, the set it to play. “Listen closely here,” Closeau continued, “those words, “soprano,” “aria,” and “Florence,” are just a few that are unique to that family's coding system.”

“What do they mean?”

“Soprano refers to a person in charge, aria for security, and Florence for an armory.”

Luke considered these for a moment, then began to pace around the courtroom, tail moving back and forth rather quickly, “Let's just be sure about this first, shall we? Do other families' coding systems have different words for those?”

Closeau looked slightly miffed, as he usually did when someone interrupted his train of thought. “Of course they do. Take security for example, I've already told you that their word for that is aria. For another family, the word for that is ambiance, for another, flow, and for yet another, standard.”

“So by using those words unique code words, one can tell which family a person belongs to?”

“Usually, yes.”

Before turning to face Closeau again, Luke gave me a sly grin, “That must get very confusing to someone who has to work amongst several of them, doesn't it?”

Closeau must have thought this a joke, from his following laughter, “Oh yes, quite right. It may take a while to get their lines of communication straightened.”

Luke's face returned to one of seriousness, as he asked “Is there anything else? Or are those two the best indicators that Hayes belonged to the Maresti family?” Glancing at Hayes, I noticed that he was at the edge of his seat, almost ready to tackle Luke.

Closeau smiled, replying, “Ah yes, there is one last thing: do you remember the explosive device he used to rig the building's power?”

There was a slight glimmer in his eyes as he asked, “Yes, what about it?” and held up the bag containing the remains of the device.

“Yes, that's the one. It's common practice for that family to use stolen explosives to carry out such operations.”

Luke looked slightly confused as he asked, “So why does this influence this case?” That seemed an odd question. Luke knew that it was a police-issued explosive for the circuit breaker...

Closeau's face became one of obvious annoyance, “Isn't it obvious? The explosive in this case was stolen from the police! Hayes must have stolen it and used it to cut the power!”

I turned to look at Hayes, and saw that Tey's hand was on his shoulder, keeping him from leaving his seat. Luke seemed to have sensed the hostility emanating from Hayes, and stepped towards the podium, leaning on it again as he asked innocently, “Alright then. Is there anything else that shows he was a member of that crime family?”

Closeau shook his head, “Those are usually sufficient. There are, of course, other ways of knowing, but given the information we have, it is quite conclusive.”

Luke's ears perked slightly, and his tail stood still, as he turned towards me, “And you're certain about all of this?”

“I'd stake my life on it.” came the tiger's response.

“Alright then.” And then Luke stopped completely, turned to Closeau, and revealed a very vicious grin. From my first case with Luke, I recognized that cunning look immediately. It said, just like Vader did in the first Star Wars movie: “I have you now!”

Truth

“I believe the time has come to cast aside the veil then, sir.”

Closeau didn't quite look frightened, but his face was full of uncertainty. “What's this? What do you mean?” The judge looked equally confused, but remained silent.

“The truth of the matter is twofold. First,” he pointed to the gun he had shown Closeau, “this is not Hayes's weapon.” A glance at the jury revealed that he had their full attention. “This firearm,” he said very slowly and clearly, “belongs to Mr. Vell.”

“Vell?” came Closeau's astonished reply.

Luke got straight to the point, continuing, “That's right. And from what you've just told us, the marking on its side shows that he was in the Maresti family, not Hayes!”

My ears perked up immediately, and my tail began dusting the bench behind me. Closeau narrowed his gaze towards Luke, “If you're so sure of that, then show me Hayes's weapon, his real one.”

Luke obliged, and showed Closeau the weapon. The two were quite similar, since it was, in fact, a Maresti weapon, it was just a few years out of date. “As you can see, this one has a similar design. I was merely confused about the markings. This one is the real current one.”

Luke's face became much softer, more understanding, “I suppose it is possible to make a mistake like that, Mr. Closeau, but how could you make a mistake on the code?”

“The code? What about the code?”

The sly face returned, “Have another look at the recording.” Luke rewound the tape and played it from the beginning. While Hayes and Vell were getting situated, he reminded Closeau, “You said aria meant security to the Marestis, didn't you? And that standard meant the same to another family? And you also said that it can be very confusing for someone that deals with them often?” Not waiting for Closeau to answer, he let the tape carry on until Hayes said 'standard'. Vell's face looked slightly confused, and then he said something else ending in 'aria'. “As you can see, Hayes initially thought that the correct word was 'standard', but afterwards, Vell corrected him, saying that it was 'aria'. You'll also find, as this goes on, that none of the words Mr. Closeau has mentioned are said by Hayes until after Vell has said them.”

The jurors' eyes widened, turning towards Closeau. The tiger looked very offended, and I was certain that when this was over, he would fire Luke. “So what, it just shows that Hayes didn't know what family Vell was part of, he still knew that he was part of organized crime.”

“Maybe so, but you probably don't realize what you've just said. If Hayes didn't know that he was dealing with the Maresti family, how could he be a part of that family?” Closeau didn't respond. Instead, he merely glared at Luke. “Furthermore, it shows that if anyone was part of a crime family, it was Vell! Hayes may have business dealings with them, but as you can see in that video, he saw Vell's weapon and still didn't know what family Vell was part of! If Hayes had been part of a mob family, he'd be very familiar with that emblem!”

Closeau remained silent, as did everyone else in the court. Even though Luke was well outside the bounds of a direct examination, Ms. Tey said nothing. Even the judge, who looked like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, didn't intervene. Everyone, it seemed, was waiting for Luke to continue.

“So what do we know? We know that Hayes was merely a businessman, while Vell was the real mob connection. Hayes had no reason to set Vell up, he didn't even know who he was! So who was the person who set Hayes up? The person who rigged the lights to go out and edited out the gunshot sound?” All eyes were on him, “Allow me to show you.”

The judge seemed to have found his voice at this point, and said in disbelief, “Mr. Bradley, you realize that you're a prosecutor, right? You know what your job is?”

“I do, your honor, perhaps better than most other prosecutors. And I assure you that I'm doing my job right now.” Turning back to Closeau, he continued, “The last thing you mentioned was that the explosive device was stolen from the police, didn't you? How did you know that?”

“Because it's standard mob practice to steal them!” he shouted in reply.

“Not quite,” Luke replied quietly.

Closeau hesitated a moment, then replied in disbelief, “What?”

“You said earlier that they typically use stolen explosives for their actions. How did you know that this one was stolen from the police, when even they didn't know that until yesterday?”

Closeau couldn't answer for a moment, then finally countered, “I called them yesterday evening, and they told me about it!”

“That's impossible.”

“Of course not, that's what happened!”

“I can prove it.”

Closeau continued to glare at him, daring him to keep going with this.

But then Luke scratched the back of his head and admitted, “Well, the truth is, I can't prove it. Not yet. Not,” he looked over at the door just as Lise walked in, carrying a red-rope folder, “until now.”

“Sorry I'm late,” she began, “took forever to get everything just right.”

“Mr. Bradley, what is the meaning of this?” came the judge's incredulous outcry.

“Your honor, this is Lise, she's a very good friend of mine, and she has the evidence that will bring all of this to a close.”

She set the folder on the desk, opening it up and removing a sheet of paper and a memory card similar to the one used for the recording. “Thank you very much, Lise, I know this has been hard on you, but I'm very grateful for your assistance.”

She nodded, saying, “Glad to help, Luke, this needs to end.” She turned to Closeau for a moment, but then shook her head at him and sat down next to me.

Luke didn't miss a beat, saying, “Your honor, at this point I would like to mark these two as People's exhibits 12 and 13 and admit them into evidence.”

“Surely the defense has some objection to this?” the judge asked as he looked to Tey.

“Negative, your honor,” came Tey's amused response.

The judge stared at her for a long moment, then finally threw his arms up and said, “Alright, so admitted, carry on, Mr. Bradley. It's your circus.”

“Thank you, your honor,” he answered with a smile. Holding up the document that he had just marked as #12, he offered it to Closeau, asking, “Please identify this document, Mr. Closeau.”

Closeau looked like he could've pounced on Luke as he offered it to them, but he complied. “This is a cell phone bill and record, for the number,” his eyes fixed on a certain part of the paper, “my number.”

“Are there any entries for used minutes yesterday?”

After a long silence, he finally said, “No.”

“So how could you have known that the explosive was stolen from the police...unless you stole it?”

This time, several gasps came from the jury, and the few people that made up the audience. “I uh...” he started to say, but Luke interrupted him.

“There's another number on that record isn't there? Is that another phone registered to you?” In response, Closeau crumpled up the paper and threw it at Luke, who deftly caught it midair. “Very well, then, Lise, would you do the honors?”

As she rose from her seat and joined him in the middle of the courtroom, Closeau threatened, “You'll be fired for this, Elizabeth...don't even try.”

Either she didn't hear him, or she didn't care, as she smoothed out the paper anyway and read, “Yes, there is a second number here, registered to you, Mr. Closeau.”

“I wonder where that phone is now,” he looked up at the ceiling, in mock wonder of where it was before going on to ask, “Lise, have you found out?” From his tone, it was obvious that he already knew the answer, but he couldn't be the one to say it.

“I have, Luke.” She then picked up the memory card that had been marked as exhibit #13, and handed it to the deputy, who loaded it up onto the screen.

While it was loading, Luke explained, “If I may give a short explanation, I've looked into this, and found that Mr. Closeau has a safe within his office.”

A glimmer appeared in Closeau's eyes, as he shouted, “Ha! You didn't have a search warrant! Anything you found there can't be used as evidence!”

“Actually, I didn't need one,” Luke retorted, putting his paws in his pockets and smiling at his boss. Closeau froze, waiting for Luke's explanation. “As it turns out, that safe was part of this building's original design, the blueprints of which are publicly available. However, you are correct that its contents cannot be used as evidence without a search warrant. But since we couldn't figure out how to open it,” he rolled his eyes, “that's not really an issue, is it?” A wicked grin grew on Closeau's face, but it was quickly wiped away as Luke added, “So we convinced some of the evidence in there to come out.”

As he finished that sentence, the recording finished loading and began to play. It was a closeup of the safe in Closeau's office. “As you can see, this is the witness's office, and that is the safe we're talking about, still closed.” Then Lise's spotted arm came into view holding a cell phone, the dialed number highlighted on its display. “Lise, is that the cell phone number registered to Mr. Closeau on the record there?”

“It is,” she replied.

Her hand on the screen pressed the 'Talk' button, and then moved to the side to get a clear view of the safe again. Moments after the word 'connected' appeared on the screen, a muffled gunshot noise could be heard from within the safe.

“That's it!” shouted Hayes suddenly, leaping from his seat, “That's the noise I heard!”

After Tey brought her client back to his seat, Luke continued, “This was taken this morning, in the last few minutes if I'm not mistaken. What this means is that Lise dialed the cell phone registered to Mr. Closeau here, which was obviously within that safe. What kind of ring tone did it have? A gunshot. I can't say this for certain, but I'd bet that if we opened that safe, we'd find a cell phone identical to Vell's, with a record that indicates receiving a call at the exact time of the shooting.”

Closeau was starting to shake, stammering, “You...you can't mean...”

Luke's smile returned, “Yes,” turning to the jury, “Allow me to summarize. You switched Vell's phone with that one, planted the explosive, and called it after detonating the charge to provoke Hayes into shooting Vell!”

The atmosphere in the courtroom changed immediately. All eyes were on Closeau. No one even dared to breathe. Closeau, however, was looking from the screen, to Luke's desk, to Hayes, and back to the TV, looking for some hole, some fault in Luke's reasoning that he could use to escape.

Looking at the two deputies, Luke added, “Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that's probable cause for arrest. Prosecution rests.”

Nodding to the wolf, the two deputies in the room approached Closeau and led him off the stand, handcuffed him, and took him behind the judge's bench to the holding cells.

Luke took his seat and let out a sigh. He had done it.

A New Week

I was thinking about the case on the elevator ride to the office on Monday. After Closeau had been led off, the closing arguments followed. Once Closeau was out of the way, Luke had turned his attention to Hayes. While Hayes hadn't intended to kill Vell, he had still done so, and Luke was able to convince the jury of that. Despite Tey's defense, Hayes had been found guilty of manslaughter, and his sentence would be determined next week. It would be a substantially smaller sentence than he would have received if Luke had let things be.

As the elevator doors opened, I found Lise waiting for me, wearing a dark blue dress and a pair of sapphire earrings. “Good morning, Lise.”

“Mornin' Mark. Have a good weekend?”

“Very good,” I replied, setting my pack down, “especially now that that case is over.”

“Yeah, quite a relief to have it done. The man of the hour should be arriving any minute now, if you'd like to wait for him.”

“Sounds good. Oh, I wanted to ask you something,” I paused, then added, “well, two things really: why did Luke start the trial off like that, making Hayes out to be the villain, and that stuff he revealed in court...did he get that off of Closeau's computer?”

“Well, I don't know for sure, but I think it was because he didn't want to take any chances with Closeau not showing up. It wasn't easy for him to convince Closeau to appear as an expert, and we were both fairly sure that Closeau had someone in the audience letting him know how it was going. We probably won't know for certain until Closeau's trial, but I know what you're thinking. He was on our side from the start, he just likes to have some reckless plans and often accidentally leaves some people out of the loop.”

It was quite a relief to hear that. “And the computer?”

She gave me a sly smile, not unlike Luke's, “Oh yes, cracked it Thursday evening.”

I didn't think their computer skills, even combined, could have done that, “But, how did you manage that?”

“I'm sure we'll tell all of Detroit once Closeau's on trial, since we'll no doubt appear on the witness stand. So all that stuff we managed to find out about him will certainly be used against him once it's his turn in the defendant's chair,” she said. “That'll take a while though. You know the legal system, it'll probably be a month or two before it's his turn.”

“Yeah, but at least we'll have time to do a real investigation. I'm pretty sure some of the stuff we did should stay off the record.”

She smiled, “Heh, no objections here, Mark.”

Feeling the need, I told her, “I'll be right back, need to hit the restroom.”

“Alright, I'll keep watch for him then.”

Just after I closed the door to the restroom, I heard the bell of the elevator, followed by, “I'm not coming home from a foreign war, you know, you don't have to greet me like this.”

“No...but I think you deserve a little recognition after all that, sir.”

“I told you, I'm not some celebrity lawyer yet, even if the papers say otherwise. I was just doing my job, what any good prosecutor should have done.”

“Maybe, but somehow I don't think any other attorney could've done what you did.”

“Tell you what, there's still work to be done, so when every criminal in the city has been put away and I'm retired, then I'll let you call me sir, alright?”

It was her following laugh, more than the conversation itself, that let me know my supervisor had arrived.