Show of Evil

by William Diehl

  'What the hell…' he mumbled under his breath.

  'I think we're in trouble,' Stenner said.

  'We were in trouble when she took the case,' Vail answered.

  Judge McElroy lowered her head and peered over her glasses at Venable.

  'Well, Ms Venable, this is a surprise. Welcome back.'

  'Thank you, Your Honour,' Venable answered.

  'Are we ready to proceed?' the judge asked.

  'Quite,' Venable answered.

  'We were prepared to seek a postponement because of Ms Venable's injuries, Your Honour…'

  'That won't be necessary,' Venable answered. 'The defendant is prepared to answer the charges.'

  'The State is ready, Your Honour,' Shana Parver stammered as Flaherty dug into his briefcase and began pulling out files.

  The judge looked down at her agenda sheet.

  'This is an arraignment, correct?'

  'Yes,' Parver answered.

  'Any motions before we proceed?'

  'Your Honour,' Venable began, 'if it please the court, the defence asks that we be permitted to introduce one witness for the defence.'

  'Before we even start?' the Judge said.

  'We will seek bond for the defendant, Edith Stoddard, Your Honour. She has been incarcerated for almost two months without relief. We would seek permission for a character witness to appear in her behalf.'

  'Your Honour…' Parver began, but the judge raised her hand and cut her off.

  'Just one minute, Counsellor,' she said, and to Venable, 'who is this witness, Ms Venable?'

  'Her daughter, Angelica, Your Honour.'

  'Your Honour, this is highly irregular,' Parver snapped back. 'This is an arraignment. We are prepared to present grand jury findings supporting the state's contention that Mrs Stoddard committed the offence of first-degree murder. There can be no bond.'

  'Your Honour, there are extenuating circumstances in this case,' Venable countered. 'My client has no previous criminal record. She was a valued executive secretary for years and has supported a daughter in college and a husband who is a paraplegic. Certainly the court and the prosecution can not object to hearing her daughter's plea. Fifteen minutes, Your Honour, that's all we ask?'

  Judge McElroy leaned back in her chair and took off her glasses.

  'I assume the defence is prepared to enter a plea,' she said, staring down at Venable.

  'Yes, Your Honour.'

  'And you want to introduce this witness before the prosecution makes its presentments?'

  'I think it would be appropriate to do it now,' Venable answered.

  'Huh,' McElroy said. She picked up a pencil and tapped the point on a pad for several seconds. 'Well, I agree with the prosecution. It certainly is an unusual departure from normal procedure. On the other hand, I do not wish this court to appear without compassion. Ms Parver, I'm going to overrule your objection. Keep in mind there is no jury here. The question of bail rests with my discretion.'

  Although she was angry, Parver realized it would be foolish to stir the judge's wrath this early in the game.

  'Yes, Your Honour,' Parver said.

  'Thank you. All right, the defence may call its witness,' she said.

  'Defence calls Angelica Stoddard.'

  Angelica Stoddard was pale and nervous. Her hands were shaking as she took the oath and sat down in the witness box. Her eyes were fixed on Venable as she wheeled her chair to the front of the courtroom. Edith Stoddard stared suspiciously at Venable.

  'Just relax,' Venable said softly. 'I know you're nervous but this will only take a few minutes. Give your name, please.'

  'Angelica Stoddard.'

  'How old are you, Angelica?'

  'Twenty-one.'

  'And where do you reside?'

  'In Chalmers Dormitory. I attend Chicago University.'

  'And how long have you been attending college?'

  'Three years.'

  'What kind of grades do you make, Angelica?'

  'I have a 3.2 going into my senior year.'

  'An A-student?'

  'Well, yes. I've made a couple of B's, but mostly A's.'

  'You have a scholarship, do you not?'

  'Yes. It pays tuition and books.'

  'And who pays your room and board?'

  'My mother.'

  'Mrs Edith Stoddard?'

  'Yes.'

  'What is your father's name?'

  'Charles. Charles Stoddard.'

  'Is your father employed?'

  'No. My father is paralysed from the neck down.'

  'And he lives with your mother?'

  'Yes.'

  'So, your mother is the sole support of both you and your father, is that correct?'

  'Yes.'

  'And until recently, she worked at Delaney Enterprises?'

  'Yes. Mister Delaney fired her.'

  'Who takes care of your father during the day?'

  'We had a nurse who was also our housekeeper. She came at eight in the morning and left at five.'

  'So your mother takes care of him from eight on?'

  'Yes. Except when she has to… had to, work at night. Once or twice a week I went to the house when she had to work after five.'

  'So you both take care of him.'

  'Yes, but mainly my mom watches… watched over him.'

  'And have things changed since your mother's arrest?'

  'Yes. Our nurse quit. The insurance wasn't enough to cover her wages anyway.'

  'And do you take care of your father now?'

  'Yes. I dropped out of school and moved back to the house.'

  'So when your mother lost her job, it changed your lifestyle radically, is that true?'

  'Yes.'

  'And this happened when your mother was arrested?'

  Angelica nodded and stared down at her lap. 'Doctor Saperstein - he's my father's doctor - says we should put him in a nursing home.' She began to cry and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

  'Can you afford that? I mean, if your insurance doesn't cover the nurse, how could you afford a nursing home?'

  'I will… would get a job. Sell the house…'

  She stopped for a moment, stared down again, and seemed to gather her composure. Then she looked up and her expression had changed from sorrow to anger.

  'It's so unfair…' she said, then hesitated for a moment and looking straight at Edith Stoddard, her voice stronger and her eyes flashing, she said. 'It's unfair because my mother didn't kill Delaney, I did! She confessed to protect me!'

  The judge was jolted back in her chair. Venable seemed shocked. Edith Stoddard leapt to her feet.

  'That's a lie,' she yelled. 'She's trying to protect me! I killed Delaney, I confessed to killing Delaney. The police have my confession on record. Stop this now!'

  'No, you stop it, Mama,' Angelica yelled back. 'I was the one he kept in bondage. Since I was eighteen. He held your job over my head. He threatened me…'

  The courtroom was in bedlam. Parver was on her feet. 'Objection, Your Honour, objection'

  Venable stammered: 'Your Honour, I had no idea…' Naomi turned to Vail. 'Holy shit!' she whispered. But Vail did not answer. He stared at Venable with absolute awe.

  'It's true,' Angelica Stoddard screamed. 'I went there that night to plead with him to give her job back and he forced me to…'

  'Objection, Your Honour,' Parver yelled.

  McElroy slammed her gavel several times. 'Quiet in this courtroom,' she demanded, her eyes flashing with rage. 'Quiet, NOW! Counsellors - in my chambers, now. This court is in recess.'

  'Excuse me, Your Honour, may we have ten minutes before you meet with the attorneys?' Parver asked.

  Judge McElroy still flushed with ire, glanced at Venable. 'All right, allll-right,' she snapped. 'Fifteen minutes, ladies. Then I'll see you both in chambers.'

  She fled the bench.

  Vail looked across the room at Venable, who held her hands out at her side as if to say, I'm just as confused as you are. Vail s
miled at her and shook his head.

  Vail led Parver, Naomi, St Claire, Stenner, and Flaherty into a small holding office beside the courtroom.

  'Okay, Shana,' Vail said after pulling the door shut, 'now what're you going to do? Punt or play?'

  She looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'I'll be damned if I know. I can't even figure out what the options are.'

  'Do you think Venable planned this, or is she just as surprised as we are?' Naomi asked.

  'I don't think she planned it,' Vail said. 'But I think there's a chance she knew it was going to happen.'

  'Shock defence,' Flaherty said.

  'Theatre of the law,' Vail answered.

  'You should know,' Stenner said. 'You pulled the same kind of stunt on Jane ten years ago.'

  'Maybe so, Abel,' Shana agreed, 'but who do we deal with? What's your gut feeling? Which one of them did it?'

  Stenner made a practical decision. 'The mother did it. The other way is too convoluted.'

  'I say the mother,' Flaherty said. 'But I think the daughter was involved with Delaney, just as she said she was , on the stand, and the mother killed him to set her free. All this can come out in discovery. I say we postpone the arraignment and go back to the drawing board.'

  'The daughter did it and the mother's covering for her,' St Claire said. 'I don't care how convoluted it is.'

  'I think Angelica did it,' Parver agreed.

  'I think Edith did it for a lot of reasons,' Naomi said. 'They're both giving the same story, both say the other one knew nothing about it, they have the same motive, the same opportunity, and neither one of them has an alibi,' Stenner said.

  'That's ridiculous,' said St Claire. 'We got Stoddard's fingerprints all over the weapon.'

  Vail stared at the ceiling. 'Why wouldn't Stoddard's fingerprints be all over the weapon, it's her gun?' he asked of nobody in particular.

  'How about the bullets?' Flaherty asked.

  'Same story,' Vail said. 'It's her gun. Naturally, she loaded it.'

  'And the daughter?' asked Flaherty. 'How about her prints?'

  'She'll say she wore gloves,' Shana said. 'If she wants to stick with her story.'

  'Indict 'em both, see if we can break one of 'em down before we get to court,' suggested St Claire.

  Vail laughed. 'Oh sure, I can see that. What do you think the grand jury will say if we go back in there and tell 'em we want to indict two people because we're not sure which one committed the crime?'

  'I think it's a setup,' said Stenner. 'Either they were in it together or they're confusing the issue now.'

  'Can we crack one story?' said Flaherty. 'Find a chink in Edith Stoddard's story and see if the daughter stays, with the wrong yarn?'

  Shana Parver shifted uneasily in her chair. She stared down at the floor but said nothing.

  'Okay, Parver,' Vail said. 'What's bugging you? Out with it.'

  'I think,' she started, hesitated for a moment, then went on, 'I think he deserved what he got no matter who shot him.' That quieted the room down. They all looked at each other, then back at Shana.

  'Let me ask you all something,' said Vail. 'Do any of you think Edith Stoddard would willingly have become involved in Delaney's sex games?'

  'Why?' Shana asked.

  'Because that may be the key to this whole mess,' Vail said. 'Delaney shined to the daughter and dazzled her. Look, she's a kid, all of a sudden she's getting attention from her mother's boss who is a big shot in town. He lures her in, the next thing you know he's playing kinky sex games with her. She doesn't tell anybody, certainly not her mother. Delaney was naked when he was hit. Supposing he was with the daughter and Edith Stoddard came in and caught them. She goes off the wall, pulls the gun, and drops Delaney. Then she hustles Angelica out of there, dumps the gun and splits. The next day during Johnson's interrogation, she realizes she can't buffalo the pros so she cops to the crime, says she lost it because Delaney got rid of her, and hopes it will end there. That way she protects her husband and her daughter.'

  'Pretty good scenario,' Stenner said.

  'Except we know the truth,' said Flaherty.

  'Do we?' St Claire offered. 'All we know is that Delaney was one sick son of a bitch and whoever whacked him knew about his closet full of goodies. Either way, he comes off in court as a greaseball and the ladies get the sympathy.'

  'Gonna be hard to get a unanimous decision on this,' Naomi said. 'If half the jurors are women, they'll hang that jury up for ever.'

  'I think Naomi's right,' Vail said. 'The question here is, what do we want. Do we want to put Edith or Angelica Stoddard away for the rest of their lives?'

  'Compassion?' Stenner said, eyeing Vail.

  'Expedience,' Flaherty offered. 'I say make the best deal we can, otherwise she may walk.'

  'Shana?' Vail said. 'It's your call.'

  'First-degree manslaughter. Ten to twenty.'

  'Venable won't buy it,' said Vail. 'She'll take her chances with the jury.'

  'You're overlooking Edith Stoddard,' said Shana. 'She doesn't want to go to trial. She sure as hell doesn't want what happened in the courtroom this morning to be repeated. Her whole thing now is to protect her daughter and her husband.'

  'You think she'll go for manslaughter one ?' Naomi asked.

  'I think Janey wants her client to walk out of this courtroom a free woman,' said Vail.

  'So?' Shana said.

  'So, I think it's time to make a deal,' Vail said.

  'And I think no matter what happens, justice is going to get another swift kick in the ass,' Stenner said.

  And it was the first time anyone in the room ever saw him smile.

  'What the hell are you pulling, Ms Venable?' Judge McElroy asked, scowling across her desk at Venable.

  'I swear, I had no idea she was going to say that,' Venable answered. 'She asked if she could be a character witness, to help her mother get bail.'

  'I certainly hope so. I don't take kindly to lawyers who try to turn my courtroom into a carnival.' Judge McElroy glared at her for a few seconds more.

  'You have my word,' Venable replied firmly.

  'All right,' McElroy said. 'What are we going to do about this mess?'

  'I think that's up to Ms Venable,' Shana answered immediately.

  'Me?' Venable said.

  'Yes,' Parver said. 'You can't defend them both. That means Angelica will have to get her own lawyer. Are you prepared in your defence to lay this off on Angelica Stoddard?'

  'What do you mean?' Venable answered, her voice getting edgy.

  'That's the only way you can walk Edith out of here,' said Parver. 'Either we assume Edith Stoddard is guilty and try to work something out, or you're going to have to convince your client that you should go after her own daughter. Only one of them's guilty.'

  'Then we'll go to the jury,' Venable snapped.

  'And wash all that dirty laundry in front of the press?' Shana answered. 'I don't think so. We still have a confession, Counsellor. Your client hasn't recanted that yet.'

  'No jury in the world will convict Edith Stoddard,' Venable said.

  'That isn't the point, is it?' Shana said.

  'What is the point?'

  'We have a clear case of premeditated murder. We have a powerful civic leader who has a lot of friends in high places. The only way to break that down is to drag Edith through the mud, too. Think about it.'

  McElroy leaned back in her chair, making a pyramid of her fingertips and leaning her chin on them. She smothered a smile. This Parver child was slick and tough, she thought. Inwardly, she admired both women. She stood finally.

  'If you two will excuse me,' she said, 'I'm going to step outside for a few minutes. I would like to think that when I get back we can resolve this problem.'

  She left the room.

  'Okay, what are you offering?' Venable said.

  'Manslaughter one. Ten to twenty. She could be out in six or seven years.'

  'Not a chance. I'd be betraying my client. We
'll take second degree. Five to ten.'

  'I can't do that.'

  'What does Martin want?'

  'This is my case, not his.'

  'He didn't make a recommendation?'

  'Nope.'

  Venable smiled. 'What a guy,' she said.

  'We agree on that,' Shana said, and finally smiled too.

  'So - what's the answer, Shana? We can wrap it up here and now.'

  'Your way?'

  'Hell, girl, you got me into this in the first place,' Venable said with a smile. 'I was perfectly happy sitting up in platinum city making a fortune. I think the question is, do you really want to go to trial on this?'

  Shana Parver did not answer immediately. She stared at the ceiling, as Vail often did, thinking. Finally she said, 'How about a compromise? Plead her guilty to first-degree manslaughter if the judge will agree to five to twenty. She could be out in three years.'

  'Minimum security prison?'

  'I have no problem with that.'

  Venable smiled and stuck out her hand.

  'Deal,' she said. 'You're a helluva lawyer, Shana.'

  'Look who's talking.'

  A few days after the arraignment, the governor of Kentucky ordered the state patrol to recover Stampler's body from mine shaft number five. Spring rains had washed away the snow, leaving behind a muddy oasis in the forest with the gaping hole, like a bull's-eye, in the centre of the timbers that covered the old lift shaft. A small crowd of Crikside residents stood in the periphery, watching with anticipation the way crowds will, although there was nothing much to see but a small crane with lights and a video camera that was lowered into the bowels of the Kentucky mountainside, and a half dozen state troopers staring at the video monitor. The mine shaft was empty.