Murder in the Hotel: A Daniel Swift Mystery
Page 5
“Alright Daniel,” she said. “I’m sitting on a park bench down the street from my apartment. Why all the cloak and dagger stuff?”
“Things here have taken a strange turn. I wanted to talk to you about what we need to do next.”
Daniel filled her in on what had happened with the extradition and their suspicion that the office had been bugged. He told her he would call in the morning and tell her a story to see if it got back to Detective Barclay and the District Attorney, George Slater. The next morning, the men checked out early and headed to the airport to catch the next flight back to Key West. Before getting on the plane, Daniel called his office.
“Daniel Swift, Attorney-at-Law,” Kristie Starr said in her perky, upbeat voice. “How can I help you?”
Hearing her voice made Daniel smile, no matter how often he heard it. “It’s Daniel. I’ve come across some new evidence I think we need to check out.”
Daniel explained to Kristie that David Oprah was Bill Levy’s former partner, and he believed David Oprah and Sean Harpo to be one and the same. He said that Bill had a strong financial motive to kill his old partner.
“Bill was being blackmailed by him,” Daniel said. “That’s why he was giving him money.”
“You’re kidding!” Kristie said in a convincingly shocked voice.
Chapter 15
When Jason and Daniel returned to Florida, they went directly to the law office. Kristie was waiting for them, purse in hand.
“Any word from the…” Daniel started to say when Kristie put her fingers over his lips. He gave her a strange and confused look.
“You owe me lunch, and I want to go out,” she said leaving the office. Jason looked at Daniel, shrugged and followed Kristie out of the office. Daniel walked out, locked the door and met Kristie at his car. Jason planned to a little digging after lunch and drove separately.
“Ok, Ms. Starr, where would you like to go to lunch?” he asked.
“Not relevant. Well, actually, I would like to try that new sushi bar on Coastal.”
“I find your answers confusing, but that is where we will go,”
They sat down at a table in the corner at Samurai Sushi and ordered. “Okay Kristie, spill it. What is going on?”
“Well, it turns out your story was more than just a story,”
“What does that mean?” Jason said. “You have to remember that we are guys and sometimes can be dense.”
Kristie laughed before continuing. “The story that Daniel called and told me yesterday to see if there was somebody listening in at the office is true,” Kristie said. “I don’t know how you coincidentally came up with the David Oprah devious doppelganger idea, but it’s actually what happened.”
“How did you find this out?” Jason asked.
“A police officer who is a little sweet on me told me that the autopsy report came in,” Kristie said. “Of course they always print dead bodies, but do not always have to use those prints for identification purposes. When there was nothing coming back on Sean Oprah, they ran the prints. The funny thing was they did not expand the print search to include David Oprah until this morning.”
“What police officer is sweet on you?” Daniel asked.
“That’s what you took from that?” Kristie asked, rolling her eyes. “Doesn’t matter, Daniel. What matters is that when they ran the prints, they were a match for David Oprah.”
“And that there is someone from the prosecutor’s office illegally getting information from our office,” Daniel said. Kristie nodded. “See, I listen,” he said, smiling at her.
“What are the odds that your story would be true?” she said.
Daniel and Jason looked at Kristie before giving each other a look. Kristie picked up on something, but she was not catching on.
“Okay boys,” she said. “What is going on?”
“It was not my story,” Daniel told her. “It came straight from Bill Levy. He recognized the man in the hotel room as his old business partner.”
Daniel told Kristie the rest of the story - how the men found a large haul of gold and David wanted to keep it all for himself. He told her about how Bill had managed to shoot David first, thought he was dead and cleared out of Tennessee.
“That does not sound promising for an acquittal. Why didn’t you tell me all of this on the phone yesterday? And what did you find out about the office?
“That’s my cue,” Jason said, finishing his last bite of lunch and standing to leave. “I’m going to go find out how Barclay happened to be in the same place at the same time as you twice now.”
After Jason had left, Daniel and Kristie continued their discussion. He explained that if someone was listening, he only wanted them to know about the connection, not the why. They finished their lunch, and Daniel asked Kristie to go back to the office and wait for Lindsay.
“Be careful what you say,” he added. “There may be unauthorized ears listening.”
“I will. Did you ever suspect my house?”
“No,”
“Then why did you make me leave my apartment to call you?”
“Just to see if you would,” Daniel said, smiling.
Kristie frowned at him and playfully hit him on the shoulder. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“I’m going to head over to the jail and wait for Bill. He is supposed to be getting back to Florida this afternoon.”
“You do have other clients, you know.”
“I know,” he replied. “That’s why I have you.”
She rolled her eyes at him before getting back into the car. Daniel dropped her back at the office and headed to the jail. The desk sergeant, who was much friendlier and familiar than the one in Atlantic City, told him that Bill had arrived just before lunch. Daniel said he would be back in about an hour, and the desk sergeant told him that would be plenty of time. Daniel decided it would be a perfect time to clear his mind with a walk on the beach. About thirty minutes into his walk, he heard his name being yelled from across the beach. Daniel looked up to see Jason running toward him.
“At least I always know where to find you when I can’t find you,” Jason said. “I found out how David Oprah tracked down Bill.”
“Do tell,”
“Apparently he hired an old PI named Jake Keenan. He runs out of Atlantic City and gives my profession a pretty bad name.”
“Why?” he asked. “What does he do?”
“Well, he does the run-of-the-mill cheating spouse and deadbeat gambler, but rumor has it he provides extra service for the right customer. He supposedly has two different kinds of business cards, and the special card is what gets you the special service.”
Chapter 16
Over the next few weeks, Daniel and Kristie met with Bill daily to complete their trial strategy. They discussed theories of the case, what witnesses to call and other possible suspects. Daniel had encouraged Bill to demand his right to a speedy trial, and Bill had agreed.
“Remember when I told you that there was no tactical advantage to not waiving extradition?” Daniel asked Bill. “Well, there is a tactical advantage to pushing forward with a speedy trial. The prosecution is still chasing its tail with all the strange revelations about this case. We don’t want them to come up with any clear theories a jury can grab onto. Speaking of theories, are you sure you still do not have those letters from David Oprah?”
“No. I told you that I threw them away. I didn’t want any evidence linking me to him.”
The night before the trial began, Daniel met one last time with David to make sure he knew the plan and to bring him something to wear to court. He held up gray slacks with a white, freshly pressed long-sleeved shirt and black tie.
“Lindsay picked this out,” he said. “Well, with some advice from Kristie.”
The next morning Daniel met Bill in a small conference room reserved for attorneys and clients. They walked into a courtroom full of potential jury members. Bill sa
t quietly taking notes as each side presented their voir dire.
After selecting the jury, District Attorney Slater gave his opening statement to the court. He laid out his case by telling the story of Bill Levy and David Oprah, how they were business partners and how David had previously tried to kill the victim.
“He left him for dead once,” Slater said. “This time he finished the job. The defendant will try to convince you that the victim was blackmailing him, but there is no actual evidence of that. The only reason David Oprah changed his name was to protect himself from the defendant. At the end of this case, I am confident that you will find Bill Levy guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.”
After Slater had finished, Daniel gave his version of events. Daniel pointed out that the prosecutor failed to mention an important part of the story.
“David Oprah double-crossed my client by pulling a gun on him first. Mr. Levy is not a killer, but David Oprah gave him no choice.”
Detective Barclay was the first witness for the prosecution. He entered the courtroom wearing a coat and tie, and when he took the witness stand his large body barely fit. As usual, when testifying at trial, the detective put on his most earnest persona. Gone was the smart-alecky attitude. After he introduced himself and gave his educational and investigative background, Slater began asking questions directly related to the case.
“Detective Barclay,” the prosecutor began. “What led you to Mr. Bill Levy as a suspect in this murder case?”
Barclay explained that he initially received an anonymous tip about Bill Levy’s involvement as well as his previous relationship with the victim. He did some additional investigation and found a witness from the Windswept Inn who identified the defendant as the person leaving the hotel room at the time of the murder.
“What steps did you take to determine where the defendant was on the evening of the murder?” Slater asked.
“I spoke with a witness at the Windswept Inn. It was the janitor, Mr. Tony Pachaeo,” the detective told the court. “I provided him with a photo lineup. He identified the defendant as the person leaving the hotel room at the time of David Oprah’s murder. I also subpoenaed the cell phone records for Mr. Bill Levy after obtaining and confirming his number.”
“Your honor,” Slater said, picking up a stack of paper from the table in front of him. “I move that these properly and legally obtained cell phone records of the defendant, Mr. Bill Levy, be entered into evidence.”
“No objection,” Daniel replied. He understood the phone record would likely show Bill’s location at the hotel on the night of the murder. Since Bill had already admitted it, there was no reason to quibble over the phone records.
“They shall be so admitted,” the judge stated.
“What did you learn from those records?” Slater asked the detective.
“When reviewing those records, I determined that there was a phone call on the night of the murder from Mr. Bill Levy to Ms. Lindsay Gill,” Barclay said.
“And who is Lindsay Gill?” Slater asked
“She is the wife of the defendant, and was also with him in the Atlantic City hotel room when he was arrested,”
“What time was the phone call?”
“It was at approximately 9:27 p.m. and lasted for less than five minutes,”
“Were you able to determine from the cell phone records where Mr. Levy’s phone was located at the time in question?”
“I was. Based on the pings off the cell towers in the area, the phone company determined that Mr. Levy’s phone was within less than a mile from the Windswept Inn. They shared a report on this with me, and I included it with the phone records that have been admitted into evidence.”
“Did you also review the autopsy report in this case?”
“I did.”
“What was determined to be the time of death?”
“The time of death was determined to be between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.”
“Thank you, Detective. I have no more questions at this time.”
The judge motioned to Daniel to begin his cross-examination. He approached the witness stand and asked the detective for the phone records. He returned to his table and reviewed them briefly to give him some additional time to gather his thoughts.
“Detective Barclay, did you do any investigation into the victim and his past?” Daniel asked.
“Yes,” the detective answered. “I tracked down some people who knew David Oprah. After recovering from the gunshot in Tennessee, the victim moved from Johnson City to New York.”
“And where is it your understanding that Mr. Levy arrived in after his departure from Johnson City?”
“Also New York.”
“Would it be reasonable to assume that David Oprah was following Bill Levy?”
“I would not have any idea,” he said. “New York is a big town. Lots of people end up there.”
“What happened when Mr. Oprah arrived in New York?” Daniel continued.
“He married Kate Paglio. Then the two moved around a bit before ending up in Key West very recently. They had a small apartment near the hotel where the victim was murdered.”
“Have you been to their apartment?”
“You know I have. You saw me there.”
“Objection, your honor. This witness is being nonresponsive.”
“Detective, please just answer the questions as they are asked,” the judge admonished Barclay. The detective nodded and turned back to the defense attorney.
“Yes, I have been to that apartment. I spoke with Kate Paglio.”
“And did she give you any information that might be pertinent to this case?”
“No, she did not,” the detective answered.
“Did she indicate why her husband would be frequenting a hotel when they have an apartment only a few miles away?”
“She said someone asked him to meet him there, but she did not say who it was.”
“Speaking of the hotel, did you speak with the manager of the Windswept Inn?”
“I did.”
“Did he describe the man that rented the room at the Windswept Inn?”
Barclay nodded and offered the description the manager had provided, which matched David Oprah to a tee. He was taller, had darker hair and could typically be seen wearing the same baseball cap.
“That does not sound like my client at all. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like Mr. Oprah. Would you agree with that?”
“The description does tend more towards David Oprah, yes,” he admitted.
“I have no answer for that other than sometimes witnesses make identification mistakes,” the detective said. “But cell phone towers do not.”
“I have no more questions of this witness, your honor.”
The court excused Detective Barclay. The prosecutor then called Tony Pachaeo, the janitor and handyman at the Windswept Inn. Mr. Pachaeo introduced himself and gave a little background. He had been working at the inn for more than ten years. He was a long-time resident of Key West and had a family.
“Now Mr. Pachaeo, on the night in question, did you happen by the room where the murder took place?” Slater asked.
“Yes I did,” Pachaeo answered “There was a broken pot on the patio, and I was cleaning up the mess. The sidewalk to the dumpster goes right near the room.”
“What did you see?”
“I saw a man leaving the room,”
“And do you see this man, the man you saw leaving the hotel room where the murder occurred, in this courtroom today?”
“Yes I do,”
“Would you please point him out by an article of clothing that he is wearing?”
“He is wearing the white long-sleeved shirt and black tie,” Pachaeo said, pointing to Bill Levy.
“Mr. Pachaeo, I am pointing to the defendant, in this case, Mr. Bill Levy. Is this the man you saw coming out of that room?”
“Yes sir,” he answered. “It sure is.”
“Mr. Pachaeo, what time did you see Mr. Levy leaving the hotel room?”
“It was at 8:36.”
“That is a very exact time. How can you be so certain?”
“I always carry my pocket watch with me. It used to belong to my grandfather. Anyway, I happened to look at my pocket watch right when he was leaving.”
“My client has stated that he did not arrive at the hotel until 9:15 p.m., but you are saying that you saw him there at 8:36. Can you explain the discrepancy?”
“No, other than your client is wrong.”
“You testified that you were carrying a broken sand jar to the dumpster when you saw Mr. Levy, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Pachaeo answered.
“What type of sand jar? How big was it? Was it the size of a mason jar or a large vase?”
“Oh no, not a mason jar,” Pachaeo said with a smile. “It was the size of a very large vase.”
“And you were carrying it in several pieces?”
“Yes, it was broken into about five or six pieces,”
“That must have been a little difficult to juggle to keep from hurting yourself.”
“It was, but I had gloves on.”
“So you were carrying several pieces of a large broken ceramic vase while wearing gloves when you claim to have seen Mr. Levy,” Daniel began. “But it is your testimony that you were able to pull out your pocket watch at the same time.”
“I… uh… I,” Pachaeo began to stammer.
“I have no more questions your honor,” Daniel said with a dismissive tone.
The judge excused the witness and adjourned the court for the day. He admonished the jury members not to discuss the case with anyone. Questions were flying through Daniel’s mind. The evidence thus far pointed to Bill’s guilt. There were a few time discrepancies, but at this point, things looked bleak. He did not let on what he was feeling to Bill. Instead, he told him the day had gone well, shook his hand and said that he would see him the next day.