“I need you guys to work something out because I can’t go on like this.”
Decker spoke before anyone else could. “Ideally, what do you want to happen, Casey?”
Halpern thought a moment. “Ideally, no charges because I didn’t do anything. I certainly didn’t have anything to do with Dana Berry or whatever her name is. I don’t even know her.”
“That’s ideally,” Decker said. “What are you willing to live with?”
“I don’t know because I don’t know what you guys have in mind.”
His lawyer spoke to Message. “What do you have in mind?”
“Give us something to work with,” Melinda said.
Decker interrupted. “Casey, what can you live with?”
“I don’t want any jail time, that’s for sure. I didn’t do anything.”
“You helped Cameron Snowe.”
“I took his phone call and then I called Pallek. I thought Pallek was going to pick him up and take him back to the colleges. That’s it.”
“I can believe that,” Decker said. “It’s not Dana Berinson that’s troubling you, it’s something else.” When Halpern didn’t answer, Decker said, “Cameron Snowe doesn’t have a moral barometer, but you do. I could tell the moment you walked through that door.”
Melinda Message said, “Casey, if it’s a case that I think warrants no jail time—maybe probation and community service—I can make the recommendations to the judge. But I can’t do anything until we hear what you have to say.”
“That’s the problem,” Borstein said. “Once you hear what Mr. Halpern has to say, we no longer have any bargaining chips.”
“Like Casey said, this isn’t about Dana Berinson,” McAdams said.
Decker said, “If he says he took a phone call from Snowe and then called Pallek to help Snowe out—pick him up in the car—I’m willing to believe that.” He turned to Melinda Message. “How about we deal with Dana Berinson’s attempted murder if he gives us something in return?”
“As in drop the charges?” Halpern said. “I’ll go with that.”
“Nothing will be dropped until you tell us what you know,” Melinda asked.
Halpern whispered to his lawyer, who nodded. “It’s about Delilah Occum.”
“Okay,” Decker said. “You want to tell me about it?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since you guys picked me up. It’s a sign.”
And then he began his recitation.
“I was there—at the party when Cameron and Delilah got into a fight. They were both drunk and when Cameron gets loaded, he can be loud and abrasive. Delilah, who was no angel, I’m just saying, was also hammered. They started with words, but then the fight became a little physical. She was poking him in the chest. He flung his arm to push her away and wound up hitting her in the chest. She stalked off. It should have ended there, but he was still angry.”
“Cameron was still angry at Delilah,” Decker said.
“That’s what I’m saying. He stuck around at the party for maybe another minute or two, but then he ran after her.”
“So he left the party,” McAdams said.
“Yeah, but not for too long. He came back around twenty minutes later.”
“So he wasn’t with you and your friends the entire time.”
“No, we were covering for him.” He closed his eyes. “It was a dumb thing to do but once you hear the whole story, maybe you’ll understand why I did it.”
Decker said, “Good that you’re telling the truth. Please go on.”
“Yeah. Where was I?”
“Cameron left to go after Delilah.”
“Yeah, he was gone for about twenty minutes. Then when he came back, I asked him where he’d been. He told me he went after Delilah. He said that she was really agitated and he was trying to calm her down. Then suddenly she said she didn’t feel well. He said she threw up and passed out . . . which I can totally believe. There were more than a few times that I found Delilah passed out on the floor of a party or in someone’s bed.”
“What did you do when you found her passed out?” Melinda asked.
“Nothing. She’d eventually wake up and go.” He turned to McAdams. “Don’t say that never happened to you, right?”
McAdams said, “No one is interested in me, Casey.”
Decker said, “Let’s get back to the party. What did Snowe say he did after Delilah passed out?”
Halpern sighed. “Nothing. Snowe said he just left her there to sleep it off.”
“Left her where?”
“Outside not too far from her dorm behind some bushes. He said he watched her for a moment, then she rolled over and started snoring. He went back to the party and then sometime in the evening, he hooked up with Eloise Braggen. I saw them leave together so that part is probably true.”
“Okay,” Decker said. “Tell me what you did.”
“We left the party together—the guys, some girls, and me—and went back to my dorm and we continued to party there for another two, three hours. You know, drinking and fooling around. People started to pair off—Snowe with Eloise, for instance—and everyone was gone by about three in the morning. I didn’t pair off with anyone. I waited until they left and then I went to bed.”
“Where was Marcus Craven?” McAdams asked.
“Marcus had hooked up with Jennie Malley. I guess they went to her dorm and he spent the night there.”
“Okay. Go on.”
“Anyway, about an hour after I had gone to sleep, Snowe comes crashing into my space and shakes me awake. He was freaked, totally panicked.”
“This is about four in the morning?” Decker asked.
“About. Maybe a little later.”
“So he wasn’t with Eloise Braggen the entire night.”
“He sure wasn’t with her when he woke me up. I was real groggy, trying to sleep off my own hangover. Snowe was pale. He was sweating beer and fear. It took me a few minutes to understand what he was saying.”
Halpern paused. Everyone waited.
“Apparently he went back to check on Delilah, make sure she was okay or had left to go to her dorm . . . I forgot what he said exactly.” He looked down. “What I do remember real clear is that he said she was at the same spot where he had left her and she wouldn’t wake up. He kept shaking her. Finally, he realized she was dead.”
Decker said, “That must have woken you up real quick.”
“Scared the shit out of me. I, being a jerk, said, are you sure? He said he thought so because she wasn’t moving or anything. And he couldn’t feel a pulse. I told him to call an ambulance and the cops. He said that he couldn’t do that without looking guilty and that we had to think of something.”
“Cameron said that he couldn’t call the cops without looking guilty.”
“Yes. I said he needed to call the cops. I didn’t want any part of being his alibi or anything. But then he begged me to go look at Delilah to make sure she was dead. I said I wasn’t gonna have any part of that. But he looked so pathetic. I finally told him I’d go back with him, but eventually we’d have to call the cops. He said okay.”
“He dragged you into it,” McAdams said.
“Totally. I suppose I felt responsible a little because I didn’t go back and help Delilah initially. And even though she wasn’t my problem, I should have made sure she was sleeping it off somewhere safe. But then again, if someone had seen me carrying her, then they’d think that I did something. I was screwed no matter what.
“So . . .” He sighed. “So we went back to see if Delilah was dead or not. Halfway through—and I don’t know if this was real or fake—Snowe’s knees buckled. He began to barf. I felt sorry for him—idiot that I am. I told him to go back to the dorm and I’d check her out. I guess a part of me thought that Snowe was bullshitting and that Delilah was okay.”
He stopped talking. He looked faraway and haunted.
“Her eyes were open. I couldn’t tell if she’d been raped or not, but she had no pant
s on. I was about to get the hell out of there, but then out of nowhere, Dr. Pallek shows up. He’s staring at the body and staring at me. He looks at me and says, ‘You killed her.’
“And then I say, ‘Man, I just got here. And then I tell him about Cameron Snowe . . . that he woke me up in a panic. That he was the one who had left her in the bushes after she passed out. I told him I had nothing to do with it, that I was just gonna check on her. Then Pallek says, ‘No one is going to believe that.’”
Halpern paused.
“That was probably true. Everything I just told him sounded so stupid.”
“You were scared,” Decker said.
“I was terrified. And super pissed at Snowe who had roped me into this.”
He shook his head.
“I mean, why would I do anything to Delilah? Everyone saw Snowe arguing with her. Lots of people saw Snowe leave. Why would I hurt her? Pallek said the truth didn’t matter. I was here and Snowe wasn’t and I’d be held accountable.”
“Do you think Snowe set you up?”
“That’s exactly what I believed. But when I asked him later on, he claimed he didn’t even know Michael Pallek. It really didn’t matter. At that point, I was there and Snowe wasn’t and it looked terrible for me.”
“Must have put you in a panic.”
“Beyond any fear I’ve ever felt in my life. But even so—even with all this shit in my face—I was still going to call the police.”
“Smart thinking,” McAdams said.
“Except I wasn’t smart. Pallek gave me an out. He said . . .”
Halpern looked away and then looked back.
“Pallek said that he believed me and everything I said made total sense. It was Snowe who was arguing with Delilah. Everyone saw it. Then he added that it was stupid for him to ruin my life or Snowe’s life for that matter, because Delilah was dead and there wasn’t anything that anyone could do about that. He . . . he told me to go back to my dorm, that he’d take care of everything.”
“You must have been relieved,” Decker said.
“I was relieved . . . but I was still terrified and kind of suspicious. Like what was really going on? But . . . I didn’t stick around to ask questions. This wasn’t my problem.” He looked at Decker. “In the end, it became my problem. I dropped out of the colleges after it happened, went to New York, and finished up in Brooklyn. But every once in a while Pallek would call me . . . how was I, what was I doing. Never threatening me, but it was still very, very creepy.”
“Letting you know he was still around,” McAdams said.
“Exactly.” He covered his face. “I thought about what had happened with Snowe, Delilah, and Pallek all that night and all the next day. I couldn’t think about anything else. And the more I thought about it, the more I came to believe that Pallek killed her. But by the time I came to that definite conclusion, Delilah had been reported missing and I had no idea what Pallek did to her and with her. And I didn’t know for certain who had killed her. It still could have been Snowe or maybe she just died of the cold or she ODed—she was a druggie. So I just let it go. The one thing I do know is that I didn’t kill her.”
“I believe you,” Decker said.
McAdams said, “You know he—Dr. Pallek—and Dr. Carter were at the party.”
“Yes, I knew that. I think he even said that he remembered Snowe leaving the party after Delilah did. So that’s why he believed that I didn’t hurt her.”
“Did they come to a lot of parties?”
“I’d seen them at parties before. Everyone liked them . . . well, everyone liked Carter. I had a feeling that Pallek just came along for the ride. I know they are brothers-in-law. They hung out with each other a lot. Carter’s a great guy, but Pallek has always been a little creepy.”
Decker nodded, knowing another side of Carter. Two creepy guys finding each other, getting together. Halpern was still talking.
“. . . couldn’t exactly go accusing Pallek of anything. It would be his word against mine. I knew the police would think I had something to do with it. And since I didn’t know the real truth, I just decided to keep quiet.”
Decker said, “And then there were those creepy phone calls that Pallek made to you.”
“Yeah, but those eventually stopped.”
“Oh?” When Halpern nodded, Decker said, “Why do you think that happened?”
“Because I finally grew a set of balls.” A pause. “Like I said, Pallek told me to leave, that he’d take care of everything. And I guess he did because no one knew what happened to Delilah until Bogat.” He stopped talking.
“Go on,” Decker said. “There’s something else you want to say.”
Halpern looked at the ceiling then at McAdams, then at Decker. “You’re not going to believe me.”
“Try me, Casey. I’m a very reasonable man.”
“What happened next wasn’t reasonable.”
“If you keep it to yourself, it’ll eat away at you.”
“It’s not that. I just think you won’t believe me.”
“Now I am curious. What’s going on?”
Halpern said, “After Pallek told me to go and that he’d take care of everything, I ran back toward my dorm. But when I got there, I just didn’t feel right. I kept thinking that this was gonna bite me in the ass and despite everything, we should call the police. So I went back to Pallek—to discuss it with him.” He exhaled. “And then . . . oh God . . .”
“You’re doing great, Casey. What happened next?”
“I was still conflicted. That’s why I wanted to talk to him again.”
“I understand,” Decker said.
“When I approached—I was about ten yards away I guess—I saw that there was a body on top of Delilah. His pants were down. I could see his butt.” He covered his mouth. “I couldn’t absolutely swear it was Pallek, but I sure as hell knew what the guy was doing.”
“That’s revolting,” Melissa said.
“It was revolting,” Halpern said.
“Did he see you?” Decker said.
Halpern shook his head no.
“You have to answer out loud for the tape recorder.”
“No, at that time Pallek didn’t see that I’d come back.”
Decker said, “So after enough of those creepy calls, you finally confronted him.”
“Yeah, I told him what I saw . . . that he was on top of Delilah. There was this long pause and he said he had no idea what I was talking about and it would be good if we never brought up Delilah again. And I told him that I thoroughly agreed with that.”
“And the calls stopped.”
“Pretty much. Once in a while he checked in with me. But then once in a while, I also checked in with him. It’s like we were locked in some kind of sadistic dance.”
Decker said, “And what about Cameron Snowe? Do you think he put Pallek up to harassing you?”
“Sometimes I thought exactly that. Other times, I just thought Pallek was really weird.”
“Casey, if Cameron bailed on you multiple times, why did you help him when he called you about the car accident? Up to this point, all he’d ever done was screw you over.”
“You forget that we also shared the secret. Every time he needed something, he’d remind me that Pallek saw me and not him. And then I’d remind him that he was the one who fought with Delilah, not me. It was all real sick.”
“It’s good you finally got it off your chest.”
“I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I can’t deal with it anymore. It’s ruining my life. I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t think I deserve jail. But I can’t keep this in anymore.”
“And yet you called Pallek when Snowe was in trouble,” McAdams said.
“It wasn’t my idea. Cameron told me to call Michael Pallek. He helped us out before, maybe he’d do it again.”
“Cameron told us that you called Pallek on your own. That he was shocked to see Pallek drive up in his car.”
“That’s a total l
ie. Cameron texted me.”
Decker said, “Do you have the text on your phone?”
“Of course not. I erased it. And I’m sure he erased it on his phone. But if you check his phone records . . . my phone records also . . . you’ll see that he reached out to me before I reached out to Pallek. And like I said way before, I just thought that Pallek was gonna pick him up. I had no idea that there was another person involved in the accident and I had no idea that someone was gonna try to kill someone.”
He stopped talking and blew out air.
“And that’s why I’m here. I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t hurt anyone, and I certainly didn’t know anything about any attempted murder. I don’t even know the victim.”
Melinda Message said, “But you didn’t do anything to help Delilah when you had the chance.”
Halpern made a face. “All true.”
“And you helped Snowe,” Melinda said. “You helped him twice—with Delilah and with Dana Berinson.”
“I never killed anyone, and I never helped anyone kill anyone.”
Decker said, “Are you willing to take a lie detector test?”
A long pause. “What would you ask me?”
“If you killed Delilah or helped Snowe and Pallek kill Dana Berinson.”
“I didn’t.”
“If you take a polygraph and you pass, it would go a long way toward having the police believe you. You’re facing some bad charges right now, Casey. Passing it would only help your case.”
“Then sure, I’ll do it.”
“I’ll set up the questions myself,” Decker said. “I want to ask you something.”
“What?”
“You mentioned that Dr. Pallek and Dr. Carter used to show up at quite a few parties. Have you ever heard anything about Dr. Carter’s involvement in Delilah Occum’s murder?”
Bone Box Page 34