Chapter 34
State vs. Cochran
The phone records didn't turn up any calls between Margie and Laura Bell, so our defense strategy was shaky at best. Our only hope was that we could trip them up during cross examination. Many times catching a witness in a lie would lead to the revelation of other truths or at least lessen their credibility with the jury. After careful analysis, we decided our best shot would be with Laura Bell since we believed she was just a player and not the mastermind behind the scheme.
It took a day and a half to pick the jury, so testimony started Tuesday afternoon with the prosecution putting on various witnesses to establish the crime scene, cause of death, and murder weapon. It was the afternoon of Wednesday, February 15, 1984, when Margie Mason took the stand. Thornton led her through the events from Cochran's appearance at her front door to her discovery of the body when she came home from the Rendezvous Club. Her testimony was quite convincing, and the jury gave me a hard look when I took her on cross.
"Ms. Mason. You testified that you and Lucy Patterson went to the Rendezvous Club after the movie and had a few drinks before going home," I asked.
"That's right."
"Did you drink alone?"
"No. A couple of guys joined us."
"Can you tell us who they were?"
"No."
“So, you hadn’t met them before?”
“No.”
“And you didn’t ask them their names?”
“No. I didn’t want to know their names. They were just a couple of guys that I’ll probably never see again.”
"Okay. You testified that you arrived at the club at nine, right?"
"Yes."
"So, how long did you drink with the two men?"
"Forty-five minutes to an hour?"
"So you left between nine forty-five and ten?"
"Yes."
"Were you alone when you left?"
"Yes."
"Was Lucy alone when she left?"
"I don't know. I didn't follow her."
"Did you ask her about it later?"
Margie hesitated. "No. . . . I mean--I might have. I don't remember."
"Isn't it true that you called her the next day and she admitted to you that she took one of the men home with her?"
"I'm not sure. She might have but it's none of my business, so I wouldn't have pressed it."
"Lucy Patterson is a married woman, isn't she?"
"Yes."
I picked up one of Margie Mason's telephone bills that we had subpoenaed and handed it to her. She picked it up and studied it. "Now I've just handed you what's marked as Defendant's Exhibit 7, and I would ask you to identify it."
"It's one of my telephone bills."
"In fact it is the Southwestern Bell Telephone statement for October 1983, isn't it."
"Yes."
"Now, would you look at the highlighted call on October 20, 1983."
"Yes."
"Do you recognize the number?"
Margie began to squirm. She looked at the jury and then took a deep breath. Finally, she said, "So what if I called Lucy."
"So, that entry does show a call from you to Lucy Patterson?"
"Yes."
"And that call was made a 5:32 AM, isn't that right?" I asked.
"I guess."
"So what was so important you had to call Lucy at that time of day?"
"I didn't sleep that night. Luther had been killed. I probably didn't realize it was so early."
"Or did you call her to make sure she could provide an alibi?"
"No. No way."
"You threatened her, didn't you? If she didn't provide you with an alibi you would tell her husband about her infidelity, right?"
"Objection!" Thornton yelled. "Argumentative."
"Overruled," the judge said.
"Do you know a woman by the name of Julie Iverson?"
Margie thought for a moment. "I'm not sure."
"She works at the Sunset Strip."
"Oh, that Julie. Yes, I'm afraid so."
I ran her through her first confrontation with Julie. She didn't deny any of it. Then I asked if she ever saw Luther and Julie together after that day."
"No, I don't go to strip clubs."
"You didn't go to the Sunset Strip on Monday, October 20th of last year looking for Luther?"
"No."
"You know Ms. Mason the Sunset Strip has valet parking attendants. I've got one who is prepared to testify that he saw you that night. Do I need to bring him in?"
"Okay. . . . So, maybe I did go looking for Luther. He was depressed with all the shit the Golden Dragon partners were putting him through. I just wanted to be with him to console him."
"But instead of consoling him you found him with Julie Iverson, didn't you."
Margie just stared at me.
"Your Honor. Would you instruct the witness to answer the question?"
"Ms. Mason, you must answer the question," the Judge said.
She sighed. "Yes. He took her to a motel."
"A motel. He took her to a motel. . . . So what did you do?"
"Nothing. I figured he was under a lot of stress and just needed to get away from everything."
"Now, that's not true, is it?"
"Objection!" Thornton yelled. "Argumentative."
"Sustained."
"Weren't you livid?"
"No."
"Don't you have a bad temper?"
"Objection!" Thornton yelled. "Irrelevant."
"Your Honor," I said. "She testified she wasn't upset about seeing Luther take another woman to a motel. I have a right to impeach that testimony."
"Overruled," the judge said.
"Thank you. You have a bad temper, don't you?"
Margie didn't answer.
"I can call your ex-husband to testify if need be. He'd be happy to tell about how you trashed his dental office when you found him screwing his receptionist."
"Objection!" Thornton yelled. "Counsel is testifying."
"I'm sorry. Let me rephrase."
"Ms. Mason--"
"Ms. Waters," the judge said. "In my courtroom when an objection is made, you will wait for a ruling before you proceed. I warned you about disobeying the rules. If there is any further violation of proper courtroom procedure you're going to find yourself behind bars at the conclusion of the case."
"I apologize, Your Honor."
The judge nodded and then said, "Objection sustained."
I turned back to Margie and continued, "Ms. Mason. Did you trash your husband's medical office after you found him having intercourse with his secretary?"
"I wouldn't call it trashing. I just kicked over a few things."
"Didn't you react the same way when you found out Luther was cheating on you?"
"I was in my car. There weren't any pots to break."
"No, but it got you thinking about revenge, didn't it?"
"No."
"You didn't go to Laura Bell and tell her about Luther's betrayal?"
"No."
"You didn't offer to kill Luther--"
"Objection, Your Honor. There is no foundation for this line of questioning. Margie Mason is not on trial here."
The judge said, "Ms. Waters. Unless you have some evidence to support this line of questioning I can't let you proceed."
"Withdraw the question," I replied. "No further questions."
"All right," the Judge said. "We will recess until tomorrow morning at 9AM."
Everyone stood up as the judge left the courtroom. I looked at Jim and shrugged. Stan walked up from where he had been sitting in the gallery.
"That went pretty well," Stan said. "She admitted she knew about Julie. She tried to act reasonable and restrained but I don't think the jury bought it. They've got to be wondering about her now."
&nb
sp; "I hope so," Jim said. "I just wish we could find someone who saw them together plotting the murder."
"Fat chance," I said. "They could have met anyplace. A bar, a restaurant, or even the public library. Who knows?"
"Well, if we can't prove they met before the murder, maybe we can get them together now," Stan mused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I've got an idea. We'll need Luther's old boss, Mr. Walsh to help us."
"What are you talking about?"
Stan explained his plan to me. I thought it was worth a shot so Stan contacted Walsh. He reluctantly agreed if it would help find out who really killed Luther. Since we had to be in court at nine the next morning we had to work fast. Stan called a client, Monty Dozier, a security guard he had done some work for. Dozier owed Stan money so he asked him to help us out and said I'd credit his time towards his bill. He agreed, so Stan asked him to follow Margie and instructed him to take pictures if we were able to get Margie and Laura Bell together.
Stan and I briefed Walsh on our plan and gave him a tape recorder and a transmitter to put in his coat pocket. With this setup we could hear and record any conversations between Walsh and Laura Bell.
Thick dark thunderclouds hung overhead as Walsh drove up to Margie's house. It had been raining all day but now a ray of sunlight was shining through a momentary crack in the clouds. Half of a rainbow could be seen in the distance. I wondered if we would find the pot of gold today or just get another drenching from Mother Nature. Walsh got into his car and drove to Laura Bell's apartment. He parked in front, went upstairs and knocked on the door. The door opened quickly. We made ourselves comfortable in my Camry which we'd parked down the street out of sight.
"Hello," Laura Bell said.
"Hi, I'm Clifford Walsh, Mid-America Life Insurance Company."
"Yes, please come in."
"How are you today?" he said.
"As good as can be expected, you know . . . under the circumstances."
"Yes, it's always difficult when you lose someone you care for."
"Well, Luther and I were getting a divorce, but he was the father of our child, Betsy. We'll miss him."
"At least he had sense enough to buy an adequate amount of insurance to take care of you and little Betsy."
Laura began to weep and said, "Yes, he really loved Betsy and I think he still loved me. He didn't want the divorce. It was me, it was my doing."
"Huh," Walsh said as he pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket and handed it to Laura. "Well, here's a cashier's check for $50,000. This was the group term policy. The supplemental life policy proceeds should be here in a few more days."
"Oh, all right. I sure appreciate you taking the time to fill out the application for me and coming out to my place to bring me this check. I would have got around to it myself eventually, but--"
"It's no problem. You know at Mid-America we believe good service is important, particularly in time of tragedy like the loss of a loved one."
"Well, thanks again."
Walsh stepped outside. He shook Laura's hand and then walked to his car. He got in and drove off. Paula and I waited and watched down the street. Betsy came out of her house five minutes later, got into her car, and drove off. We quickly began to follow her at a safe distance. She drove for awhile and then turned into a branch of Republic Bank. Getting out of her car, she looked around as if concerned about someone tailing her. Not seeing us, she went into the bank. We waited outside.
Laura left the bank ten minutes later, got back into her car and drove to the Granada Theater. She parked in the theater parking lot, bought a ticket and then went inside. Paula and I got out of the car and walked into the theater. Our private investigator was already in the lobby. He told us Margie had gotten there a few minutes earlier and went into the lobby. We watched Laura Bell enter the theater. She made her way to the right aisle door, opened it and went inside. She hesitated a moment apparently waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then she walked down the aisle, found Margie Mason and sat down. We sat a few rows behind them and Monte took a seat near the door.
"Hi," Margie whispered.
"Hello," Laura replied.
"You got the package?"
"Uh huh, no problem."
"Good, I really need it. I'm totally broke."
Laura pulled an envelope out of her purse, handed it to Margie and said, "Mr. Walsh said he'd have the rest in a few days."
"Good."
Suddenly there was a flash of light, then another and another. Margie and Laura Bell jumped up and bolted for the exit but not before the Monte Dozier got a couple good shots of them leaving.
Before we went home, we asked Monte to keep an eye on Laura Bell until we could put her on the stand later in the week. If she really had conspired with Margie to kill Luther, she might just think about running. We couldn't let that happen now that she was critical to Jim's defense.
On Thursday the prosecution called Jim and Pam Blaylock to explain to the jury Jim's motive for allegedly killing Luther. Thornton artfully led them through all of the pain and tragedy of the Golden Dragon Partnership. He even had Pam in tears a couple of times recalling Luther's dirty tricks. I didn't do much on cross as Jim's motive was clear, and denying it would have looked foolish. At noon on Friday, Thornton finished putting on his case.
I thought the judge would recess the case until Monday, but he didn't. He told us to proceed. I called our private detective and took him on direct exam.
"Please state your name?"
"Monty Dozier," he said.
"Mr. Dozier. Did you have an occasion to--"
"Objection, Your Honor. This witness is not on the witness list."
"Your honor," Paula said. "Mr. Dozier is a rebuttal witness. He was just retained a few days ago. His testimony will establish a relationship between Margie Mason and Laura Bell."
The gallery stirred. Thornton glared at Paula.
"All right," the judge said. "Objection overruled. Proceed."
"How are you employed, Mr. Dozier?" Paula asked.
"I'm a private detective."
"And were you hired to follow Margie Mason on Wednesday night?"
"Yes, I was."
"And did she go anywhere that night?'
"Yes, she went to the Granada Theater."
"Did she meet anyone there?"
"Yes, she met Laura Bell."
The crowd erupted in conversation. The judge banged his gavel and said, "There will be no conversation during examination of witnesses. Bailiff, if anyone can't keep quiet escort them out of the courtroom. The bailiff nodded.
"I'm going to show you Defendant's Exhibits 8-13," Paula said and handed a stack of photos to the witness. "Can you identify these photos?"
"Yes, I took these Wednesday night at the Granada Theater. They show Margie Mason meeting with Laura Bell."
Paula took the photos and showed them to Thornton. Then she said, "Your Honor, we request that Defendant's Exhibits 8-13 be admitted.
Thornton looked up and said, "Objection," Your Honor. These are irrelevant. Margie Mason and Laura Bell are not on trial here.
"Overruled."
"Pass the witness," Paula said.
Thornton jumped up. "And how is it, sir, that you just happened to be at the Granada Theater on Wednesday night?"
"You hired me to follow Margie Mason and take pictures if she met up with Laura Bell."
"I see. What made you think Margie Mason would be meeting Laura Bell?" Thornton asked.
"Objection." Paula snarled. "That's irrelevant."
"Overruled, I would like to hear the answer to that question," the judge said.
"I don't know. You didn't tell me that."
Thornton gave the witness a puzzled look. The judge said, "Any further questions, Mr. Thornton?"
"No, Your Honor."
"Redirect?" the
judge asked.
"No further questions," Paula replied.
"Very well," the judge said. "Call your next witness."
I stood up and said, "The defense calls Laura Bell."
The Bailiff escorted Laura Bell into the courtroom. She looked scared as she quickly made her way to the witness stand.
"Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes," she said.
I started out slowly with Laura asking her simple questions about her background, her marriage to Luther, their child and the onset of their marital difficulties. Then I asked her about the night they broke up.
"Tell us about your last night with Luther?"
"What do you mean?"
"You had an argument, right?"
"Yes, I discovered he had been unfaithful again."
"So you were angry?"
"Yes, of course I was. I told him to get out."
"Did he leave?"
"Eventually."
"After you pulled a gun on him?"
The crowd stirred. The judge sat up straight and glared at the gallery. Laura Bell lowered her head.
"I wasn't going to use it. I just wanted to scare him."
"So you pulled a gun on him and told him to get out, is that right?"
"Yes, and had he not left, would you have killed him?"
"Objection!" Thornton yelled. "Calls for speculation."
"Sustained."
"Your husband was in the insurance business, right?"
"Yes."
"Did he carry a lot of insurance?"
"Well, I don't know if you would call it a lot."
"Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, right?"
"I believe so."
I laughed. "I think that would qualify as a lot."
"Objection!"
"Withdrawn."
"Mrs. Bell. You testified your divorce was never finalized, right?"
"Yes."
"So, were you still the beneficiary of the insurance?"
"Yes, I was really surprised to learn that, but I guess I was."
"Have you already received some of that insurance money?"
Laura Bell's face turned stone grey. She shifted in her chair. The gallery waited for her response. She finally said weakly, "Yes."
"And when did you receive that money?"
"A few days ago."
"Wednesday to be exact, right?"
"I guess."
"Did you give any of that insurance money to Margie Mason?"
"No. Why would I do that?"
"Your Honor," I said. "May I approach the witness."
The judge nodded. I took the photos up and handed them to Laura Bell. She took a quick glance at them and then looked up.
"Is that you sitting next to Margie Mason?"
She nodded.
"You'll have to answer out loud so the jury can hear you and the court reporter can take down your answer."
"Yes. That's me with Margie Mason."
"And was that taken Wednesday night?"
"Yes, we were going to see a movie. Is that a crime?"
"No, of course not. But I'm curious how you and Margie became so close."
"Well, we're not that close."
"She's staying in your condo isn't she?"
"Huh?"
"Doesn't the condo belong to you now that Luther is dead?"
"Well, technically, but I couldn't kick Margie out when she's still mourning."
"Oh, so is that why you let her keep the Cadillac and gave her part of the insurance proceeds?"
"Objection, assumes facts not in evidence," Thornton said.
"I'll rephrase."
"Did you give part of the insurance proceeds to Margie Mason? And I'll remind you, you're under oath."
"It was just a loan. She was broke. I felt sorry for her."
"How much did you give her?"
"$20,000."
There were several gasps of shock from the gallery and excited whispers. Several newsmen jumped up and scampered out of the courtroom. The judge banged his gavel. The bailiff stood up and glared at the gallery.
"Was that it or was it her cut for murdering Luther Bell?"
"Objection!" Thornton screamed.
"Overruled." Excited murmmers in the gallery broke out again. "Silence!" the judge screamed. Finally the room became quiet again. Thornton nodded to Laura Bell to answer the question.
"No. I just felt sorry for Margie. I understood how betrayed she must have felt after Luther left her with nothing."
"Betrayed? Did she tell you she caught Luther at a motel with a stripper a few nights before he was murdered?"
Laura Bell was breathing heavy now. She looked at the judge and then back at me. "No, I don't recall that."
"Are you going to be loaning more money to Margie when the rest of your insurance proceeds come in?"
"Oh, no. She's got enough." Laura blurted out and then froze. I looked at the jury hoping they were focusing on Laura Bell. Her expression was her confession and I prayed the jury had read it the way I had. Thornton didn't bother to cross examine Laura Bell. He probably figured it might make matters worse, as Laura Bell was shaking badly when she finally left the stand.
Fortunately, the judge recessed the case and told us to return at ten on Monday morning. I was glad to get a break, as it had been an exhausting week. I looked around for Stan but didn't see him, so I told Jim I'd contact him if anything came up over the weekend and then went back to the office.
Reporters mobbed me as I left the courthouse. "How did you know Laura Bell was going to meet with Margie Mason on Wednesday night," a reporter asked.
I smiled. "Her insurance agent tipped us off, so we had Mr. Dozier follow her on a hunch she'd meet Margie."
"Do you think the money exchanged was really a loan?"
I chuckled. "I seriously doubt it."
The crowd of reporters had me pinned in. I looked around for an avenue of escape and much to my delight saw Bart coming to my rescue. He muscled his way in, grabbed my arm and escorted me to the elevators.
"No comment," I said to the trail of reporters rattling questions at me. I stepped into the elevator and smiled back at them as the elevator door closed.
"Thank you, Bart," I said. "I don't know if I'd have ever made out of the courthouse had you not shown up."
"My pleasure," Bart said smiling. "Good job in there. Thornton is fuming."
"Good. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
"Let me buy you dinner tonight to celebrate."
"Well, I'm not celebrating yet. Thornton hasn't crossed yet and he's got the weekend to come up with a way to rehabilitate Laura Bell."
"True, but we can celebrate the fact that Thornton is having a bad weekend."
I smiled. "Sure, it would be good to get my mind off the trial for a few hours. You've got to get me to bed early, though. I'm got to be back on the job at eight tomorrow morning."
The elevator opened and we walked out into the parking garage where we were alone.
"That's okay. I'll fix you a nice breakfast in the morning, so you'll be very productive all day long."
"Breakfast. Why you dirty boy," I said feigning shock.
He grinned at me. "Don't worry. I plan to wear you out early so you'll sleep like a baby all night long."
"Oh, my. Gonna show me your smokin' gun, huh?"
"Absolutely."
"Pick me up at my apartment at 7:00."
We kissed and went our separate ways. It was nearly 5:30 p.m. so I went straight back to my apartment to take a bath and get ready for the evening of love making. Bart was great in bed and gave a massage to die for. As I was loitering in the bath I felt a wave a great satisfaction. I had done it. I was living my dream!
Cash Call, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 5 Page 34