BASCOTT. Uh. Well, yes, I think we all made that assumption.
'Yeah!' St Claire said aloud. There it was. Maybe the folks in Gideon weren't too far from the truth. It was the same combination of letter and numbers that the killer had put on Linda Balfour's head. St Claire frantically read ahead. What does it mean? he wondered. Did they ever figure it out?
VAIL And that is as far as you took it, correct? BASCOTT. It takes years, sometimes, to break through, to decipher all these subtleties.
VAIL In other words, you really didn't have time to examine all the facts of Mr Stampler's problems, did you?
VENABLE: Objection, Your Honour. Defence is trying to muddle the issue here. The doctor has stated that it might take years to decipher this symbol, as the counsellor calls it. We are here to determine this case on the best evidence available. This line of questioning is completely irrelevant. The numbers could mean anything - maybe even an insignificant phone number.
VAIL Then let the doctor say so.
JUDGE SHOAT. Rephrase, Counsellor.
VAIL Doctor, do you think this symbol is relevant?
BASCOTT. Anything is possible.
But St Claire found the answer to his question in another skirmish between Stenner and Vail.
VAIL … I have only one more question, Lieutenant Stenner. You stated a few minutes ago that this crime was premeditated. You said it unequivocally, as a statement of fact. Isn't that just another one of your unsupported allegations, sir?
STENNER: No, sir, it is not.
VAIL: Well, will you please tell the court upon what evidence you base that supposition?
STENNER: Several factors.
VAIL: Such as?
STENNER: The symbols on the back of the bishop's head.
VAIL: And what about the symbols, Lieutenant?
STENNER: They refer to a quote from a book in the bishop's library. The passage was marked in the book. We found similar markings in a book retrieved from Stampler's quarters in the Hollows. Some highlighter was used and we can identify the handwriting in both books as Stampler's.
VAIL: Lieutenant, why do you believe these markings on the victim's head prove premeditation?
STENNER: Because he planned it. He wrote in blood, on the victim's head, the symbol B32.156. B32.156 is the way this book is identified, it's a method for cataloguing the books in the bishop's library.
VAIL: And what does it mean?
STENNER: It is a quote from the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. 'No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.'
VAIL: What is the significance of that quote?
STENNER: It is our belief that Stampler felt betrayed by Bishop Rushman, who made him leave Saviour House. His girlfriend left him, he was living in a hellhole. He felt the bishop was two-faced. So he put this symbol in blood on the victim's head to add insult to injury.
VAIL: I think you're reaching, Lieutenant…
STENNER: We proved it to my satisfaction.
VAIL: Well, I guess we should thank our lucky stars you're not on the jury, sir…
St Claire's pause was doing double time. He wrote on his pad: 'What happened to the bishop's books?' But he kept reading until the trial came to its startling conclusion.
VENABLE: You have quite a memory for quotations and sayings that appeal to you, don't you, Mr Stampler?
STAMPLER: I have a good memory, yes, ma'am.
VENABLE: Are you familiar with Nathaniel Hawthorne's book The Scarlet Letter?
STAMPLER: Yes, ma'am, I know the book.
VENABLE: And does the phrase 'B32.156' meaning anything to you?
STAMPLER: (No response.)
JUDGE SHOAT. Mr Stampler, do you understand the question?
STAMPLER: Uh, I believe those are the numbers that were on the back of the bishop's head, in the pictures.
VENABLE: Is that the first time you ever saw them?
STAMPLER: I reckon.
VENABLE: And you don't know what the numbers mean?
STAMPLER: I'm not sure.
VENABLE: You mark passages in books that appeal to you, do you not?
STAMPLER: Sometimes.
VENABLE: You marked passages in the books in the bishop's library, didn't you?
STAMPLER: Sometimes.
VENABLE: Your Honour, I'd like this marked as state's exhibit thirty-two, please. State's 32, a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter from Bishop Rushman's library, was so marked.
VAIL: No objection.
VENABLE: Recognize this book, Mr Stampler?
STAMPLER: I reckon that's from the bishop's library.
VENABLE: Mr Stampler, I ask you, did you or did you not mark a passage on pate 156 of this copy of The Scarlet Letter - indexed by the number B32?
STAMPLER: Uh.
VENABLE: I'll be a little more direct, Mr Stampler. Are you familiar with this quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter: 'No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true'? Do you recognize that, Mr Stampler?
STAMPLER: Uh.
VENABLE: Do you recognize it? B32.156. Doesn't that strike a bell, Mr Stampler?
STAMPLER: I don't.
VENABLE: Mr Stampler, did you memorize that passage and print those numbers on the back of the bishop's head when you killed him?
VAIL: Objection.
The defendant Stampler suddenly screamed and jumped over the railing separating witness from examiner, attacking Ms Venable.
STAMPLER: You lying bitch! Try to kill me.
At this point, defendant Stampler has to be overpowered by guards and the bailiff. There was general disorder in the courtroom.
JUDGE SHOAT. Order! Order in this courtroom!
So it was the symbol on the back of Rushman's head that had set Stampler off on the witness stand. The case had obviously been settled in the judge's chambers. When the trial reconvened, Shoat had announced that an agreement had been reached between the state and Vail. Aaron Stampler was sent to the state mental hospital at Daisyland until such time as the state rules that he is capable of returning to society.'
What was settled in chambers and why? St Claire wondered as he started to gather up his notes. A methodical man, he arranged them in order, scanning each of the pages as he put them in a file folder. Then he stopped for a moment, staring down at a section from early in the testimony. Suddenly his mouth went dry.
My God, he thought, how could I have missed that!
And where the hell is Aaron Stampler now?
Thirteen
Jane Venable stared south from her thirtieth-floor office window in the glass and steel spire towards the courthouse and thought about Martin Vail. It had been a long time since she felt such passion or been as comfortable with a man. Throughout the day she kept having flashbacks of the night before, fleeting moments that blocked out everything else for an instant or two. Now, staring into the late-afternoon mist in the direction of the courthouse, she wondered if Vail was having the same kind of day.
God, I'm acting like a high school girl, she thought, and shrugged it off.
But she had a brief to be filed and she decided to take it herself rather than have her secretary do it. Then she would drop in on Vail. Why not? Her memory jumped back to an afternoon ten years earlier when Vail had shown up unannounced, in the same office that was then hers; how she had suddenly realized while they were talking that she was breathing a little faster and paying more attention to him than to what he was saying. Ten years and she still remembered that brief encounter when she had first realized that she was attracted to the rough-and-tumble, sloppy, shaggy-haired courtroom assassin.
He had slicked up a bit since then: the hair was a little shorter and his suits weren't so bagged-out, but the cutting edge was still there, just under the surface. Even as a prosecutor he was a
gambler, unlike most of the lawyers she knew, who were more concerned with how close to the corner of the building their office was and what kind of car to move up to next.
What the hell, we started something, I'll be damned if I'm going to let it fizzle.
Then she laughed at herself.
Fizzle! It hasn't even started yet. What's the matter with you?
Aw, screw you, she said to herself.
She stuffed the brief in her attache case and headed out the door.
On the fourth floor of the Criminal Courts Building, Abel Stenner burst out of his office and raced towards Naomi's desk.
'My God, Abel, what set you on fire?' she asked.
'Is he busy?' Stenner asked, ignoring her question.
'He's on the phone with - '
'Won't wait,' Stenner cut her off, and entered the office with Naomi trailing close behind. Vail was sitting in his chair with his back to the door, blowing smoke into the exhaust fan. He wheeled around when Stenner entered, took one look at his chief investigator, and knew something was up.
'I'll call you back,' he said, and put down the phone.
'They made a bust in the Delaney case,' Stenner announced.
'Already? Who?' Naomi asked with surprise.
'His executive secretary. Fifty-three years old. Crippled husband, daughter in college.'
'Sweet Jesus. How did they nail her so quickly?' Naomi said.
'Shock must've been on the case,' Vail answered.
'You're right. Called me from his car. They had just Mirandized her and she came out with it. Said it twice. "I killed him." They're bringing her in now. Murder one.'
Vail whistled slowly through his teeth.
'Why'd she do it?' Naomi asked.
'That's all I know. Maybe we ought to head down to Booking.'
They breezed out of Vail's office. Shana Parver was deep in a law book as Vail and Stenner passed her cubbyhole. Vail's rap on the glass startled her.
'C'mon,' said Vail.
'Where?'
'Downstairs.'
Edith Stoddard cowered as Shock Johnson and Si Irving led her through the wave of press that swarmed towards her when she got out of the car. They brought her into the booking office just as Stenner, Vail, and Parver got off the lift, which was directly across the hall from the entrance to Booking. Three TV crews, several photographers, radio interviewers, and reporters crowded through the doorway as they brought Stoddard in. Her hands were cuffed behind her and she seemed terrorized by the media and the police and the grim surroundings. Her eyes flicked from one group to another. Detectives crowded around a railing that separated the desk from the hallway to see who the celebrity was. The press shoved microphones in her face, yelled questions at her, jostled for space, while TV cameras scorched the scene with searing lights.
Shock Johnson led the stunned and frightened woman towards the booking desk as she looked around in bewilderment, flinching every time a strobe flashed, cowering under the blistering TV lights, while the press screamed at her. At that moment, Eckling appeared from a side room and took his place beside the tiny, trembling woman, displaying her like a big-game trophy. Vail watched the feeding frenzy with disgust.
'Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?' Shana Parver said.
'That son of a bitch is turning this into a freak show,' said Vail, and he charged into the room followed by Parver and Stenner.
In the back of the crowded room, Jane Venable eased her way into the crowd of newshounds. She watched the scene with disgust, then saw Vail charge the crowd and grab Shock Johnson by the arm. 'What the hell's he doing?' Vail demanded.
'I got nothing to do with this circus,' Johnson said. It was obvious he was disgusted. 'She's a nice little lady, Marty. We were giving her Miranda. She interrupted and says, "I killed him. I killed him." '
'You sure this confession is legit, Shock?'
'She said she went in and he was taking a shower. She was standing in the entrance hall and he walked in naked and poured a drink. He saw her. When he saw the gun he put his drink down and she whacked him. Then went over and gave him the clincher.'
'What else did she tell you?'
'That's it. What I just told you is it. Marty, she's fifty-three. Got retired out early. Today was her last day. Has a crippled husband, a daughter in college, and Delaney dumped her for a thirty-year-old blonde bombshell. She bought a .38 three weeks ago, spent two weeks on a shooting range learning how to use it. She was standing right where Okie said she was when she popped him. And she flat-out confessed right after we Miranda'd her. What the hell more do you want?'
'Do you know what any good criminal attorney'll do with this? Displaying her like this, questioning her without an attorney present? We won't have a damn case left!'
Vail pushed his way to Eckling's side. 'Stop this right now,' he snarled in Eckling's ear. 'You're jeopardizing this case with this stupid stunt.'
'Goddamn it…' Eckling whispered back, but before he could go any further, Vail took Edith Stoddard gently by the arm and led her back into a sealed-off holding area with the press screaming questions at her as he led her away. The door shut out the sound.
'Oh,' she said, and closed her eyes.
Outside, as the press began to disperse, Venable headed towards the processing area. I know that woman, she thought.
Four years ago. Venable had settled an injury case for Delaney Enterprises. Edith Stoddard had been Delaney's private secretary. Venable remembered that she had felt very sorry for the woman. Her husband was a quadriplegic and she had a very bright daughter about to enter college. She had seemed weighed down by her world, almost self-effacing. It was in her face then, and it was worse now.
Venable could sense Stoddard's humiliation and fear.
A lot of people in this town will think she did the world a favour, she thought as he moved towards the security room.
Inside the quiet area, Vail said, 'I'm sorry, Mrs Stoddard, that was uncalled for.'
She stared up at him and the fear in her eyes was slowly replaced by stoicism.
'You're the new district attorney,' she said.
'Yes. And this is Shana Parver, one of my associates. I want Shana to explain your rights to you.'
'They read me my rights.'
'Yes, but I think you should understand what all this means.'
Eckling burst into the room. 'What the hell do you think you're -'
Vail grabbed his arm and shoved him into an empty interrogation room, slamming the door behind them.
'Listen to me, Eckling, this is not some dipshit drug bust, this woman's going to end up with the best pro bono attorney the judge can find and any defence advocate worth two cents is going to make hay of that circus you just put on.'
'She confessed, fer Chrissakes!'
'So what? Does the name Menendez mean anything to you? If those brothers can walk, this woman can ride out of here on a golden chariot - and you're gonna be pulling it.' Vail speared the air with his finger. 'This woman is innocent until a jury says she's guilty or until a judge accepts her plea. That's if she doesn't change her mind, which she probably will the minute a good lawyer grabs her ear.' He started to leave and then whirled back on the chief. 'By the way, this isn't the chief prosecutor talking anymore, Eckling, it's the DA. Get your head out of your ass.'
Vail left the room. Shana Parver walked over to him as two guards led Mrs Stoddard off to be fingerprinted and processed.
'She wouldn't listen. She insists she did it and she doesn't want a trial.'
'Does she know she'll end up doing life without parole?'
'I don't think she cares, Martin.'
Behind them, the door opened and Jane Venable entered the security room. Her eyes were ablaze. It was the old Jane Venable, spoiling for a fight.
'What the hell was that all about?' she demanded. 'Eckling pilloried that woman!'
'I know, I know,' Vail said defensively. 'I just chewed his ass about it. Do you know Shana Parver? Shana,
this is Jane Venable.'
'Hi,' Parver said. 'I feel like I know you, I've read the transcript of the Stampler trial several times.'
'I've had better days than that!' she said, glaring at Vail.
'What are you doing here?' Vail asked, then quickly added, 'I mean, I'm glad you're here but I'm, you know, surprised.'
'I came down to file a brief and saw the mob scene. I thought maybe they'd arrested the mayor or something.'
'Listen, Janie, you need to do that lady a favour,' Vail said.
'What do you mean?'
'She's determined to confess to killing Delaney. She doesn't have a lawyer. Judge Pryor will probably appoint one in the morning. In the meantime, Eckling's going to have her on the griddle as soon as they process her. If she makes a confession in there, I won't have any choice. I'll have to max her out.'
'Marty, I can't…'
'You can go in there and talk to this lady. Explain her options.'
Venable scowled at Vail. 'Just because I happen to walk in here, I get stuck - '
'You're the best there is and you're a woman. Maybe she'll respond to you.'
'Damn!' She blew out a breath, then walked across the room and back.
'Do you know any of the details?'
'That's moot. She needs somebody to hold her hand until she has a full-time lawyer. Give her that at least.'
'Christ, Marty, you're talking like a defence advocate.'
'Janie, she just lost her job. Her husband's lying in bed helpless from the neck down. Her daughter's in college and she probably can't afford to keep her there. Her whole world is unwinding around her. If she screws up now, she'll end up doing life without parole. That's what we'll ask for and we'll get it.'
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