Gene’s face was within six inches of Soper’s. He spoke softly. “Who killed Bullet?”
“I don’t know.”
“Wrong answer,” Gene said loudly and grabbed his collar.
“I…I don’t know. I thought it was Conner like everyone else.”
His brother pulled his arm back with a doubled fist.
“Gene!” JP yelled. “Let me talk to him.”
Gene lowered his arm and let loose of Soper’s collar. JP moved in as Gene stepped aside. Even though JP was still mad at Gene for starting this ruckus, for a second, JP enjoyed the “good cop, bad cop” routine with his older brother. They hadn’t done it since they were little kids, and even then, it was mostly Gene protecting him. Now he felt like he had to protect Gene. But JP didn’t know how far Gene would go with this. He still wasn’t sure it wasn’t all a big game to him. Maybe this was just a show to cover what Gene had himself done.
“Did you kill Bullet?”
“No,” Soper said.
“Was it Rankin?” JP asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Rankin yelled.
“I wasn’t with you every minute. I don’t know. I just know I didn’t do it.”
“You ass,” Rankin mumbled. “You had more reason to kill him than I did. At least I wasn’t lusting after his girlfriend.”
“What do you mean?” JP turned to Rankin.
“Nothin’.”
JP spun back to Soper. “Is he talking about Muriel?”
“I guess.”
“What does he mean?” JP asked.
“Muriel’s a nice lady, and I didn’t like the way Bullet treated her. That’s all.”
“Enough to kill him?”
“No,” Soper said, shaking his head and wrinkling his brow.
“Did you know there was a gun in the house?” JP asked.
Soper hesitated for a second. “Everyone knew the gun was there. Roxy always wanted everyone to know how tough her husband was. She bragged about it.”
“What did she say?” JP asked.
“She said Gene had a gun, a snub nose. She said he was always a tough guy. She didn’t know for sure what happened, but she was convinced that Gene killed someone with that gun when he was just a kid.”
Gene pounded his fist on the side of the truck.
“Take it easy,” JP said. “I don’t need any more dents.” He turned back to Soper. “Did you ever see the gun?”
“Yeah, just before Gene came back. Roxy brought the box out, opened it up, and took out the gun.”
“What kind of box was it in?”
“Just an old shoe box, pretty beat up. It had rubber bands around it, but most of those broke when she started to take them off.”
“What did she do with it?”
“She showed it to us, then put it back in the box. Andy wanted to buy the gun from her, but she said she couldn’t sell it because Gene would be furious.”
“Was that the only time you saw it?”
“Yeah, but she talked about it sometimes. I figured Gene was carrying it when he was home.”
“Did you ever see Gene with the gun?”
“No, I just figured he’d have it on him.”
“Did you ever see anyone else with the gun besides Roxy?”
“No,” Soper said, but not before he flinched slightly.
Chapter 37
Sabre and JP sat in the back of the courtroom as Morgan’s case was called. Bob was at the counsel table. Next to him sat Roxy and her attorney, Richard Wagner.
“I understand the mother is going to enter a plea,” Judge Hekman said. “Is that correct, Mr. Wagner?”
“That’s correct, Your Honor.” Wagner stood up. “She’s accepting jurisdiction, but would like to set disposition over to another date.”
“Will it be contested?”
“Possibly.”
“Are you asking for a trial date?”
“No, Your Honor. We have reason to believe the case may settle before then, but I can’t be certain. My client is already involved in parenting classes and is waiting for the social worker to set up therapy for her. Her household has changed considerably. With Bullet gone, his friends left as well. The father and his buddies are no longer at the house, and Conner is in custody. The only people remaining in the home are my client and her mother.”
The judge looked at County Counsel Linda Farris. “Has the mother been visiting Morgan?”
“There have been two visits arranged for her. She appeared for both, but she was late for the Sunday one and missed half the visit.”
“Was it set too early? Or was she in church?”
“It was at noon, Your Honor, and the mother overslept.”
Hekman looked at Roxy. “Is that correct, ma’am?”
“Yeah, but I had trouble sleeping that night. I had a migraine, and every time I’d get to sleep, the neighbor’s dogs started barking. It was morning before I finally got to sleep.”
Judge Hekman shook her head and addressed Wagner, her attorney. “Counselor, make sure your client understands the importance of visiting her daughter—and on time.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The judge heard the plea and set the case for a dispositional hearing to decide where Morgan would be placed. JP had already agreed to keep her if she wasn’t returned to her mother. He didn’t want her placed into foster care, but that would all be decided at disposition. In the meantime, the temporary orders were to leave Morgan with him. He was used to having her around, and for the first time, he realized how hard it would be when she left.
“What are you going to do now?” Sabre interrupted his thoughts.
“Gene’s meeting me at home to hopefully narrow the suspect list. Unless you need me to go to Conner’s 707 hearing.”
“There’s nothing to be gained by that. Your time is better spent finding out who really killed Bullet.”
“What are your chances of getting him tried as a minor?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got some good arguments. There’s new legislation that isn’t in effect yet, but it might help. And frankly, Conner getting beat up without provocation just might put us over the top.”
“They don’t know why that inmate started pounding on him?”
“No idea. Conner didn’t even know him. Maybe it was a gang initiation thing. The boy is a gang member. His father’s in Donovan, and he’s a gang member too. Who knows why boys do what they do, and nobody’s talking.”
~~~
Before Gene arrived, JP did a little investigation into Calvin Greene, the gang member who beat up Conner in the Hall. He was not surprised at what he found. He wrote the list of suspects on his whiteboard, then sat back and studied them. When Gene knocked, JP answered the door.
“Come on in. I just finished the suspect list. I’m hoping we can narrow it down.”
“Okay.”
“You know Conner has his 707 hearing today?”
“That’s right,” Gene said. “Do you think he’ll win it?”
“They’re tough, but Sabre thinks they have a chance.”
“I hope so. He’ll never survive in real prison. He’s too much like his Grandma Delilah.”
“She was a good lady,” JP said softly, then quickly changed the subject. “Do you know a guy named Otis Greene?”
Gene looked JP straight in the eye. “Maybe.”
“What kind of debt did you get repaid?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t BS me. Otis Greene has a son named Calvin, the kid who attacked Conner. It must’ve been a doozy of a debt for him to put his son in jeopardy to repay it. You had Conner beat up, didn’t you?”
“I did what I had to do.”
“You’re crazy. It could’ve backfired and got Conner in more trouble.”
“You told me he had to look weak or vulnerable. I knew exactly what Conner would do. He’s not a fighter.”
�
��Is this how you justify what you did? If he serves time as a minor for your crime, you don’t have to feel so guilty?”
Gene clenched his fist but didn’t say anything for a few seconds. When he spoke it was in a calm, soft voice. “How about if we figure this out so you can stop blaming me?”
JP considered calling Sabre to tell her what Gene had done, but decided against it, afraid it might hinder her at the 707. He sat down at his desk and looked at the list of names on the whiteboard. Gene sat on the sofa doing the same. Neither of them too happy with the other. JP had written every possible suspect on the board:
Gene
Conner
Judd Soper
Andy Rankin
Donna Pinnick
The Professor
Dean
Lucky Len
Roxy
Muriel
Derek Bloome
Ginny Bloome
Ben
Emily
Morgan
“Nice list, Jacky, but why is my name at the top?”
“Because you’re still my number one suspect.”
“So, they are in order? I’ll tell you again, I didn’t do it.” Gene pounded the arm of the sofa. “Why would I be helping you find the killer if I already knew who it was?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe to throw me off your trail, so you can pin it on someone else? That stunt you pulled last night was a prime example. I doubt we’ll get anything more out of those two clowns.”
“I’ll get something out of them if you let me,” Gene muttered. His voice grew louder and more disturbed. “You still have Conner at the top. So he’s your second choice?”
“No, but I need to leave him there because the evidence is against him.”
“I just don’t want you wasting time looking at us when you could be finding the killer.”
JP stared at Gene. “I don’t believe you’ve been completely forthright with me. What I don’t know is whether you’re covering for yourself or for Conner.” JP shook his head. “I wouldn’t have you around, helping me, if I didn’t really need your insight on some of these suspects.”
“I wouldn’t be here if my son wasn’t in the Hall, so I guess I need you too. Let’s figure this out, then we can go back to being estranged brothers again.”
JP strode up to the whiteboard and crossed out Lucky Len. “I think it’s safe to cross him off since he has an alibi.”
“Why is Morgan on the list?” Gene asked.
“She had access to the gun and reason to hate Bullet. Although she’s very resourceful, by all accounts, she was never at the scene of the crime.” JP crossed Morgan off, then Dean too. “I think we can stop wasting time with him. From all we’ve learned, he’s unlikely.”
“You still have a pretty long list.”
“Now that we know Roxy showed the gun to Soper and Rankin, the suspect list could include anyone that has ever been in the house, making this list meaningless.” JP stood back, looked at the whiteboard again, then turned to Gene. “Unless you have a better idea, it’s all we have to work with. We need to whittle away at it, until we get it narrowed down.” He crossed off Emily and Ben. “From what Sabre discovered, those two are unlikely.”
“I’ll see what I can find out about Donna and the Professor,” Gene said. “Maybe we can get them off the list.”
“Just stay away from Soper and Rankin. I’ll deal with them.”
“Whatever you say, little brother.”
“I mean it, Gene. You’ll end up back in prison, or worse—dead.”
“I’ll be back in prison soon enough anyway.”
“You’re so damn pig-headed.”
“We’re both from the same gene pool,” his brother said. He pointed to the whiteboard. “You can take Ginny off. She has no motive. She didn’t even know Bullet. The only reason I was staying at her house is because she was doing a favor for her brother.”
JP crossed Ginny off the list.
“While you’re at it, you might as well take Derek off,” Gene added. “I’m not saying he wouldn’t kill Bullet, he probably could have. But there is no way he would let Conner go down for it.”
“Why not?”
“Because he likes the kid. Besides, he owes me big time. I saved his life, not once, but twice.”
“Which is a good reason why he may have killed Bullet as a favor to you. Or to protect you if you were involved. I think I’ll leave him on the list for now.”
“Whatever you may think, Derek knows I love my son more than my own life.”
JP looked into his brother’s eyes, trying to see the good behind them, but all he saw was their father. Gene resembled Elvis a little too much, not only physically, but personally too. JP couldn’t get past it. “I wish I could believe that.”
Chapter 38
When Sabre walked into the delinquency courtroom for Conner’s hearing, the bailiff said, "Good morning, Ms. Brown. I'll get your client."
A few minutes later, the bailiff seated Conner next to Sabre at the defense table. He had a black eye, cut lip, and swollen face. Deputy District Attorney Benson sat to their left with the probation officer. Judge Gerald Feldman took the bench. When Feldman looked at Conner and studied his injuries, Sabre saw a moment of empathy pass across the judge’s face. Then he glanced at Conner’s arm in the sling. “Is it broken?”
“No, Your Honor,” Sabre said, “but his shoulder was dislocated.”
The judge’s face tightened. He was obviously not pleased with what had happened. “Are you ready, counselors?”
DDA Benson and Sabre both stated their readiness. Benson had initiated the fitness hearing. She alleged that the minor was at least fourteen years old and was charged with murder, an offense covered by Section 707 (b) of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
"Although Connor Torn is only fifteen years old, he’s charged with the heinous crime of murder," Benson began. “The evidence will show that Torn would not be amenable to the care, treatment, and training available through the juvenile facilities, based on the following criteria:
"Number one is the degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by Torn. He planned a very sophisticated crime. He was filled with rage, talked about killing him, then followed his victim and shot him.
"Second, the defendant would not have the time to be rehabilitated before the expiration of the juvenile jurisdiction if he were tried as a minor. We will present evidence through expert testimony to those criteria.
"Third, it is true that Torn has no previous delinquent history that we have been able to determine. However, the crime was premeditated and committed with no remorse.
"The fourth criterion is to show that previous attempts by the court to rehabilitate the defendant have been unsuccessful. However, since there have been no previous crimes for which he was convicted, there have been no attempts to rehabilitate.
“Which leads us to the fifth criterion, the circumstances and gravity of the alleged offense. It doesn't get graver than murder. And in order for this crime to have been executed, it would have taken very careful planning."
"Thank you, Ms. Benson," Judge Feldman said before the DDA could continue. “Now that we’re all aware of the requirements for a fitness hearing, let’s proceed. Please call your first witness."
"Of course, Your Honor," Benson said. "I would like to call Marcia Woolard."
A woman—about fifty-five with short blonde hair and oval glasses—took the stand, and the clerk swore her in.
"What is your profession, Ms. Woolard?" Benson asked.
"I'm a San Diego County probation officer, and I work with juveniles. Connor Torn is one of the minors on my caseload."
"Where did you receive your training?"
"We'll stipulate as to Ms. Woolard's training, Your Honor," Sabre said.
"Ms. Benson?" The judge looked over at the DDA.
"So stipulated." Benson turned to her witness. “How much experience do you have as a probation officer?”
“I worked
with adults for five years, and for the past twenty-two, I’ve been working as a PO in juvenile court.”
“And in that time, how many investigations have you done?”
“Over a thousand.”
“Have you specialized in any particular area?”
“Homicide.”
Sabre started to tune out. She wasn’t going to question the PO’s ability or her experience since neither was an issue. Woolard continued to testify, and Benson entered the probationary report into evidence.
“I stipulate to the report, Your Honor,” Sabre said. “As long as it’s not submitted for the truth of the matter asserted.”
Benson turned to her witness. “In your opinion, did this homicide appear to be planned in advance?”
“The victim, Carroll Hall, was badly beaten, then shot and left by the roadside to die. Perhaps it was a fight initially, or an act of passion, but at some point the suspect had to make decisions. Also, it appeared that Conner had to have followed or chased Hall to the hillside where he was shot.”
In her attempt to prove Conner’s unfitness for juvenile court, Benson continued to question Woolard to show that a homicide had been committed and that it took careful planning.
After a few more minutes, Sabre stood and began her cross-examination. “Carroll Hall had the street name of Bullet, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And that name was used throughout the report?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Bullet was a fairly large man, correct?”
“Yes.”
“According to the report, he was about five-eleven, weighed two-hundred and twenty pounds, and was very muscular, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And Conner Torn is about the same height, but nearly a hundred pounds lighter, right?”
“I don’t know his weight,” Woolard said.
“Would you say he is thin, Ms. Woolard?”
“Yes, he’s thin.”
“Objection,” the DDA said. “It appears that Ms. Brown is trying to fight the merits of the case and the factual issues, which should be left for the trial.”
The Advocate's Justice Page 14