Second Degree (Benjamin Davis Book Series 2)

by A. Turk

  She looked at several pictures of the sex toys found in Robyn Eden’s apartment in plain view as a result of the three search warrants. She pointed out four she claimed she actually used with Eden.

  When she got to Exhibit 146, she said, “This one was our favorite. I’d insert one side inside me, she’d insert the other side in her, and we’d meet in the middle.”

  Then Pierce asked the key question of the examination, “When did you last have sex with Robyn Eden?”

  “It was right before the July 4th holiday, on June 30th.”

  “Are you sure of that date?”

  “Absolutely. It was our last time. I’ll never forget it. Sex with Robyn isn’t something you’d forget.”

  “What, if anything, did you give Robyn in return for sex on June 30th, 2000?”

  “I gave her eight oxycodone pills. She loved those babies. She’d crush them up and inject them. She got a quicker and better rush. The mixture went right into her bloodstream.”

  “Did you ever see her inject herself?”

  “Many times.”

  “Where did she inject herself?”

  “She’d shoot up between her toes and in her groin.”

  Harrelson sighed with relief. The critical testimony was in evidence. In his mind reasonable doubt existed. Who supplied the oxycodone and who injected Robyn Eden were now disputed facts. The jury should acquit on the murder charge.

  Pierce finished up quickly. The critical points had been made. The waters had been muddied.

  Steine got up and tried to cross Nix. Yes, she was a drug dealer. Yes, she traded sex for drugs. Jill Hoskins, the young DA, left the gallery to get Nix’s computerized rap sheet. Before Steine’s cross ended, she’d handed it to him.

  “You’ve been arrested, correct?”

  “Yes, several times.”

  “You were arrested on October 4th for distribution of narcotics?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you faced serious jail time, fifteen years?”

  “Yes.”

  Harrelson didn’t like this line of questioning. All he could do was sit there.

  You received immunity in that case, right? You turned on the drug dealer that sold to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you’re a snitch?”

  “Yes.”

  On redirect Pierce pointed out that when Nix acted as a snitch, she did it for the state of Tennessee. “You snitched for Mr. Steine and Mr. Davis’s client?”

  “That’s right.”

  Tanner called it quits for the day. He wished the jury a good evening and warned them not to discuss the case. He promised that their service would end soon. Court would resume two days hence because of another pressing matter for him. It had been a good first day for the defense. The liar was convincing.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  A BIG DECISION

  Tuesday, February 20, 2001

  It was a beautiful morning for court to be recessed in Middle Tennessee when Charlie, his father, and Harrelson met with Pierce in her office. Everyone was in good spirits, especially Charlie. Judge Tanner had another criminal matter to attend to, so everybody got the day off. Pierce looked at the day off two ways. Either they were losing momentum, or the jury had an opportunity to chew on yesterday’s testimony. She rationalized that the delay was a positive development.

  Charlie thought the first day of the defendant’s proof went exceptionally well, and everyone praised Pierce for the job she’d done so far.

  The purpose of the meeting was simple. They were to answer the question, should Charlie testify?

  It was Pierce’s office, and she was the trial lawyer, so she went first. “As I see it, you’ve beaten the murder charge. There is reasonable doubt as to who supplied the oxycodone. If the jurors find that’s what killed her, then they should acquit. We still intend to present contradictory medical evidence that it was the accumulation of hydrocodone and filler that caused her death. That should create even greater reasonable doubt. My best argument comes from the state’s own medical examiner, Davenport. According to him, she was going to die anyway, and she took the child with her. No one on that jury feels any remorse for her. I’m of the opinion that to secure a not guilty plea on the murder charge, we don’t need Charlie’s testimony. Reckless homicide is a different story. I think the jury right now will convict on that count. Sorry, but I do.”

  Charlie didn’t like that opinion one bit. He didn’t mean to, but he yelled at Pierce, “That’s not fair! I loved her and tried to save her. Daniels played on my heartstrings. She said, ‘If not for Robyn, then the child.’ My only crime was that I didn’t get her into rehab.”

  The sad thing was, Charlie really believed that. He’d convinced himself of that lie. Everyone else in the room, even his own father, knew Charlie was guilty of something.

  “I want to testify. I can convince them to let me go free. I’ve suffered enough.”

  Instead of responding to Charlie, Harrelson asked the right question: “If convicted of the second count, what could Charlie expect as a sentence?”

  “It’s hard to say. Maybe two or three years and he’d serve about two-thirds of his sentence. It would be at a minimum-security facility, so it wouldn’t be too bad.”

  Charlie lost it again, “I’m not going to jail for two years! Father, do something.”

  Señor Garcia looked straight into Charlie’s face and, with harshness in his voice, chastised his son, “I’ve shielded you from all your mistakes. You’ve used really bad judgment. Ms. Pierce has done an exceptional job defending you. She even got some outside help from Harrelson and my wallet, but you’re not innocent. You need to make the smart decision and listen to Ms. Pierce. She knows what she’s talking about.”

  Harrelson had been following the exchanges and added, “Charlie, if you’d been represented by a public defender and didn’t get that outside help, you’d be going to jail for at least twenty-five years. Quit while you’re way ahead. Finish the trial, don’t testify, and take your medicine like a man. If you testify, you could potentially screw this up. Davis or, even worse, Steine will destroy you on the stand. Pierce will be picking up the pieces on redirect. Don’t do it, boy. Don’t waste all this hard work and money. Who knows? You could get as little as a year and serve only nine months.”

  Pierce agreed that such a sentence was a possibility.

  Charlie sat there thinking. All three of his advisors were adamant against his testifying. Each of them had the reasons, and the arguments were pretty consistent. He was ahead in the game, his testimony wasn’t necessary, and it could be disastrous.

  Charlie announced he wanted to think about it.

  Pierce acknowledged that if he elected to testify, she was prepared to go forward. The last thing she said to him was, “It’s your call, Charlie. I’ve given you my best advice and my honest opinion, but it’s your life, not mine or Harrelson’s. You think about it and let me know before tomorrow morning, so I can prepare to put you on the stand.”

  After the meeting, Pierce got a phone call from Dan asking to see Carter for the upcoming weekend. She explained that she was still in trial and he’d have to wait until it was over. He wasn’t happy with that answer. He started whining loudly about his rights as Carter’s father. She couldn’t stop him from seeing her son. He’d drag her into court. She’d be a defendant, not a lawyer. She didn’t give a damn about his threat. As he spoke she became more determined to keep him from seeing Carter. Dan seemed equally determined to spend time with his son and enter Pierce’s life again.

  From her perspective the day went from bad to worse. After she spoke to Dan, Charlie Garcia called to say that he wanted to testify.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  HIS OWN WORST ENEMY

  Wednesday, February 21, 2001

  Before going to the courthouse, Pierce tried to persuade Charlie that his testimony interfered with her strategy. It was just plain stupid. Why take the risk? Even if there was a guilty verdict as to reckless
homicide, there’d still be a two-year appeal.

  Pierce speculated with more authority than she should have, “I can get Tanner to continue your bond and home detention. He’ll probably increase the bond a million or two, but what do you care? Your father is willing to invest a couple more million for your freedom. You know you’re costing a fortune. I’m not cheap, Harrelson certainly isn’t cheap, and your father’s paying all the expenses, including renting your house. It all adds up. Please don’t screw this up.”

  Charlie looked thoughtful and shook his head no.

  Pierce changed gears mid-thought. She had to. She walked over to the courthouse. Charlie was escorted each morning by a deputy sheriff.

  Judge Tanner began the morning with a pep talk. The jury needed encouragement. Pierce took that time to analyze where she was with the jury. It was all on her. Her associates were at the office making her money. She didn’t want to share the recognition with anyone. Like Charlie Garcia, she required absolute control. They were too much alike.

  The judge finished his talk, and despite her anxiety, Pierce dug deep and mustered absolute determination. She rose and said, “The defendant will testify.”

  The importance of the moment was not lost on the jury. They’d seen enough TV to realize that a defendant didn’t usually testify; it had something to do with an amendment or something. No one in the courtroom knew whether Garcia would testify. Judge Tanner started thinking of what issues the testimony of this witness might give rise to. Davis thought about his cross-examination, and so did Steine.

  Pierce watched Davis and Steine huddle in the corner. She’d given them something to think about.

  Morty squeezed Davis’s right arm. It was a loving gesture. “Look, Ben, this is your moment. To get our murder charge to stick, you need to knock this guy out. You can do it; he’s so arrogant. Just keep the pace fast and his ego will get ahead of his brain and he’ll slip up. If I haven’t told you lately, I’m very proud of you. Now murder this arrogant son of a bitch.”

  Pierce intentionally started slowly with Charlie. She knew he’d be on the stand all day and probably several hours tomorrow. She downplayed his background, just as Davis did with Daniels. His education and training were above reproach.

  He described in some detail how he got to Nashville. He didn’t mention the breach of contract, and Pierce hoped that Davis wouldn’t. He did admit to two sexual harassment suits that were settled without admission of any guilt. He admitted that he surrendered his Tennessee medical license, but there was no finding against him, only the claims of the two women. He said, “I elected not to get in a long, drawn-out fight. I had my New York medical license, and I wasn’t remaining in Tennessee anyway. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. I didn’t know I’d be defending myself against a murder charge.”

  He also bitterly testified how the New York licensing board suspended his New York medical license without any hearing or opportunity to defend.

  His life was ruined. “I’ve lost everything, including Robyn. I know the jury’s heard some strange things about our relationship, but I did love her. She was an addict long before she met me. She was in love with herself, and I like to think with me also. She went through all of the surgeries voluntarily, and I accommodated her. It was good for business since she sat out in reception.”

  Pierce spent the next thirty minutes discussing Charlie’s relationship with Robyn, through his eyes.

  “After I left Nashville, Robyn joined me in New York. She was a great singer. I loved to listen to her. She occasionally got a gig at a club and played three or four nights. Then the headaches started, cluster headaches right above her eyes. She wasn’t faking. They were very real. I prescribed hydrocodone twice until I realized she was abusing it. The last time was the 1999 Derby weekend.”

  Pierce stole Davis’s thunder on several damaging points. She hoped he’d skip some of them now. Charlie testified why they separated but explained that he couldn’t live without her. She felt the same way, and they’d get back together and then she’d use.

  He told what happened at the 1999 Derby. That weekend he was trying to get her into rehab, but he failed. She wound up in the hospital instead. He took pretrial diversion rather than go to trial. He didn’t admit he’d done anything wrong.

  Pierce had Garcia describe what their relationship was like during their separation. She moved into evidence eighty-six e-mails from 1997 through June 2000 in support of their loving relationship. Pierce had Garcia read seven and then stated that the rest would be available for the jury to read during deliberation.

  “Look, she was ordering pills online. I’d didn’t sell her or give her any drugs other than the ones I testified to earlier. She played doctors and could get drugs on the street. She also had real medical problems. Her headaches were real, and so were her anxiety attacks.”

  He testified that he pleaded with her. He warned her she was going to kill herself.

  Under Pierce’s questioning, he described the long July 4th weekend. He explained that during that time, he didn’t go into the master bathroom. Robyn must have taken his shaving kit in there. All they did was have sex, eat takeout, and watch movies. They also videotaped or took cell phone pictures of themselves.

  He admitted he wasn’t an angel. He’d smoked pot before and abused alcohol. He abused sex. He was addicted to her. He was addicted to Viagra. He had to take it to keep up with Robyn. He didn’t corrupt her; she used drugs and engaged in weird sex before they ever met.

  Pierce showed him two photos of Robyn and a man. Both were naked, and the man was bent over Robyn.

  “Do you know the two persons in these photos?”

  “Robyn and Bobby Bowers. He’s a friend of Robyn, a real good friend.”

  Using the date stamp on the photos, Pierce established that the Bowers pictures were taken during one of Robyn’s separations from Charlie.

  She showed him the two pictures of Ron Harris and Robyn, taken before she ever met Garcia, that had already been introduced into evidence. Pierce asked that the four photos be passed to the jury. She then asked Charlie about the video. It wasn’t Robyn’s first. She’d made videos with him and with others. She lived for the camera.

  “You saw the tape. She was sick and had a headache. Can you imagine what she was like on a good day?”

  “Why did you make the video?”

  “It was her idea. She liked to watch them while we made love. As I said, we’d done it several times before. But that July 4th holiday was a sex marathon.”

  Pierce brought up that the video showed Robyn holding gauze by her groin. He admitted he suspected she was injecting some kind of crushed pill.

  Pierce didn’t like that last answer, but to fail to address that proof would have been a tactical mistake. She forged ahead. She asked what brought him to Hewes City for that July 4th holiday.

  “Senator Daniels asked me to come down to get her into rehab. She told me that Robyn was about ten weeks pregnant and that Robyn was killing herself and my child. I was shocked to hear that I was going to be a father. She admitted that she’d tried everything. I loved Robyn, so I agreed. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I tried my best to get her into rehab, but I was weak. It turned into a sex marathon, and she went into the bathroom to do drugs. I didn’t know what drugs she was doing, and I didn’t want to guess. I tried to save her. I performed CPR and brought her back, but it was too late. She died at the hospital.”

  Pierce took Charlie through the scene at the hospital. He described a hostile Detective Haber. It was now clear to him that he was a suspect. “No, she didn’t read me my Miranda rights.”

  Charlie ended his direct testimony with a condemnation of Dr. Peter Nichols and Davis, “I’m being prosecuted by the state, but I’m being persecuted by Mr. Davis! This is personal.”

  Pierce stopped for the day. Davis’s cross would be tomorrow. Direct went well, but Pierce knew that cross would be brutal.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

>   A CROSS-EXAMINATION

  OF A LIFETIME

  Thursday, February 22, 2001

  The day started with Charlie Garcia back on the witness stand. Davis wanted to draw blood quickly. “Mr. Garcia, you’ve testified that you wrote only two prescriptions of hydrocodone for Ms. Eden, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “In fact, over the years, you’ve prescribed several different types of drugs for her?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “That’s false testimony.”

  “Absolutely not!”

  “Well, isn’t it true in 1995 and early 1996 you performed several surgeries on Ms. Eden? After those surgeries, on almost a weekly basis you prescribed and she used various drugs?”

  “Yes, she was in pain after those surgeries.”

  Using Robyn’s chart from Nichols & Garcia, Davis established that Garcia injected her with Demerol eleven times.

  “You introduced Robyn to an IV needle?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Ms. Pierce has stipulated that according to Robyn’s medical records, her first IV use was in 1995 with a surgery you performed.”

  “Then I guess I did.”

  “According to her medical records in 1995–96, a four-month period, you prescribed hydrocodone five times for a total of one hundred fifty pills. That’s more than one a day?”

  “Your math’s right.”

  “You got her addicted to hydrocodone?”

  “That’s not fair. I prescribed that pain medication because she was in pain and suffering from severe headaches.”

  “At the 1999 Derby you went too far, and she wound up in the hospital and you wound up facing criminal charges?”

  “Again you’re not being fair. In a locked bathroom she injected one dose and then took the rest of the bottle. That’s what put her in the hospital.”

  “But you did know that she was an IV drug user more than a year before her death?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you were the one to introduce her to hydrocodone and IV use?”