Apex Predator

by J. A. Faura

  Upon being released from jail, Steven went directly home. More than anything he wanted to take a long, hot shower and to prepare himself something to eat at his own house. Zeidler had wanted to meet at the firm to talk about the case, but Steven had not budged, so they would be meeting in his living room. Now, with cold drinks in front of them, Zeidler, Drew and Steven prepared to discuss the nuts and bolts of what would be Steven’s defense.

  Max began, “Well, Steven, I think we are all in agreement that the crux of this case is going to have to deal with your mindset at the time the crime was committed. You’ve confessed to the shooting, the method and the intent, so for all intents and purposes, we can almost stipulate to all of that so we can get to the matter at heart.”

  Steven took a sip from his iced tea, “And what do you think is the matter at heart?”

  Max looked over at Drew for some help, but got none, “The matter at heart is the why. The motive is clear, going through what you went through, but what made you take matters into your own hands and kill Riche is what is at the heart of this. We have been researching temporary insanity defenses, heat of passion defenses, and not guilty by reason of insanity.

  “Your behavior after the shooting makes for a great foundation for making any of those arguments. The things you saw, the loss of your daughter, all point to the fact that you snapped and lost touch with reality, but believed you were doing the right thing all along.”

  Zeidler was standing and pacing now. Drew and Steven were just watching him.

  He was on a roll, “That’s why you came in and confessed. It fits perfectly.”

  Loomis waited for Zeidler to finish, put down his glass, and asked, “So if I understand what you are saying, you want to mount a defense where experts will get up on the stands and say that because of everything that happened to my family and me, I lost track of reality and that while I was in this state of ‘temporary insanity’ I shot Donald Riche, but afterwards, once I came out of it, I was the same great guy I have always been. Does that pretty much cover it?”

  Zeidler had stopped pacing, “There are many nuances and technical aspects to it, but yes, that’s what we will be arguing.”

  Steven looked down at the coffee table and then back up, “Mr. Zeidler, Max, I appreciate your expertise and your efforts, but I have no intention of claiming that I was insane while I did this, temporarily or not. I have no intention of saying that I did not know that what I was doing might be breaking a law.

  “I plan on stating that it was my full intention to shoot Donald Riche in the way in which I did and that it was my intention to kill him.

  “I also plan on stating that I planned on doing this in advance and made arrangements to procure the weapons to do it with.

  “I plan on stating that I did all of this by myself with no assistance from anybody, and I plan on stating that throughout the entire episode, I did not have a single break with reality.”

  Zeidler’s mouth dropped open as if he was about to say something, but no words came out. Drew sat motionless, stunned. This had to be the only time he had ever seen Max Zeidler left speechless.

  He jumped in, “Steven, what you are basically saying is that we won’t be having a trial to argue anything, that you are guilty of every one of the charges the state is accusing you of, and that the only thing for us to do is to try to argue to get the lightest sentence possible.

  “You have basically taken every element we could have made an argument about out of play and left us with absolutely nothing to present to any jury to convince them of your innocence, actually forget about innocence, to convince them that there might be mitigating circumstances! If we do not bring in your state of mind, then it is very likely that the judge would not allow us to bring in anything relating to what Riche did to your daughter or any of the other little girls.”

  Zeidler was still perplexed, “What did you want an attorney for? To hold your hand while you said ‘Yes, I am guilty of first-degree murder’?”

  Steven listened to both of them with a touch of amusement. Truth be told, he should have been more forthcoming with them, but with everything else going on, he needed them to at least get him through the arraignment and the bail hearing.

  “Gentlemen, please sit down. I understand everything you are saying, but you are mistaken. I do intend to fight these charges through a jury trial and I do intend to claim that I am not guilty of first-degree murder. This is not a pipe dream or some sort of a delusion. I have thought about it very carefully and I have done the research. This case is winnable.”

  Drew and Zeidler looked at each other and wondered whether their client had lost touch with reality.

  Very gently, Drew sat next to Steven and spoke to him, “Steven, how exactly do you figure you can argue you didn’t do it when you walked into a police station and said that you actually committed the murder of Donald Riche and you are now telling us that you meant to do it and that you planned for it?

  “All of those things, Steven, are precisely what make you guilty of first-degree murder, so how exactly would you expect us to argue that you are not guilty?”

  Now it was Steven’s turn to stand, “Incorrect, Drew, incorrect! I most certainly did not state that I was guilty of the murder of Donald Riche, I made a statement that I had been the one that had shot Donald Riche.”

  Drew was now more confused, “Okay, so you are saying that you confessed to shooting and killing Donald Riche, but that it doesn’t mean you committed murder? Well, Steven, I’ll bite, what the hell are you saying, exactly?”

  This was the essence of what Steven Loomis had set out to do, so he had to be cautious to explain it exactly as he had thought it and researched it.

  “In order to be convicted of a crime, all of the elements of that crime have to be present, correct?” Drew nodded,

  “That’s right.” Steven went on, “So to be convicted of first-degree murder, according to how the law is written, one human being must intentionally kill another human being with malice aforethought or premeditation. If any of those elements are not met, then you can’t be convicted of that crime, is that right?”

  Zeidler was still in shock, Drew was nodding, “But that’s precisely our point, Steven, you have voluntarily fulfilled all of those requirements with the statements you have made, do you understand that? If we don’t talk about your state of mind, there isn’t anything to talk about, nothing to argue.”

  Steven took a couple of seconds. He knew what he was about to say was going to really cause a reaction, “No, Drew, that’s not exactly right. I believe that I am not guilty of first-degree murder because I do not believe that what I shot was a human being.”

  He said it calmly and completely deadpan, looking directly at both lawyers. Max and Drew just stood and looked at him, neither one knowing how to respond. Both of them were clearly looking for something to respond with.

  It was Max to speak first, “Excuse me? Did you just say that you don’t think you are guilty because you didn’t kill a human being?”

  Steven answered, “That is exactly what I am saying.”

  Now Max broke out of his trance, “Well, that’s it, that proves that you were temporarily insane when you did it. That is exactly what we will argue, that you were so affected that you believed you weren’t killing a human being.”

  Steven remained calm and once again tried to explain, “I don’t think you understand, Max, that is what I still believe now. I was not and I am not insane, I simply intend to argue that Donald Riche was not human, and if he was not human then I can’t be convicted of murder, that’s what I was asking about just now. If all of the elements of the crime aren’t there, then I can’t be convicted of it, you just confirmed that.”

  Now Drew jumped in, “Steven, you are right, if all the elements are not there, then you can’t be convicted, but that refers to those things that can be in dispute: Were you the human being doing the killing? Was there premeditation? Was there
intent? What was the motive?

  “All of these things are the things that are argued in a trial. They are things that after hearing the evidence a jury can decide on. What you are talking about is a concrete fact, it is not something that a jury can decide on.”

  Now it was Steven’s turn to get animated, “Why the hell not? I have done the research and I had people help me do the research, and there has never been an argument in court about what constitutes a human being in this context, so there has never been a legal finding in this context.”

  While Drew and Max were still in shock, he proceeded to explain the science, his conversations with Leonard, the research that Schultz had done on the involuntary human responses to lying, everything. When he was finished, he sat back down and waited for Drew and Max to respond.

  Max was the first one to speak, “Well, it’s original, I’ll give you that. Do you have anything stronger than iced tea somewhere? I think I need a drink.”

  Steven smiled and walked over to the wet bar where he got a bottle of single malt Scotch and brought it back to Max, who thanked him and poured himself a healthy drink. Drew had been contemplating asking Steven whether he was joking when he’d started explaining his position, now he was glad he hadn’t. He wasn’t quite sure how to proceed, but he did know that this was not their average defendant, not in the least. This was an intelligent, successful, senior executive who also happened to be an ex-Navy SEAL, not to mention a top 10 percent graduate from Annapolis, and if he believed he had enough information to make this argument, Drew was willing to cut the guy some slack.

  “Steven, do you understand what you are saying? You saw the man, you know he was alive and that he was physically human, that he reasoned. You know that he was born and grew up and became whatever he became the way you and I became what we became.

  “You can’t expect that anyone is going to think of him as anything other than human. It just hasn’t happened, even with all of the other people that have done horrible things before him. As demented as their acts have been, they have been tried and punished as men, as human men.”

  Steven was resolute “I understand that, Drew. I’m not stupid and you don’t have to talk to me like a child. You’ve now spent some time with me, you know my past and you know about my family. Do you really think I would do something like this without thinking about it, without doing research?

  “I know this isn’t something that has been done before, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been. And I also know that the determination that what we consider to be human is no longer human is made every day. Every time someone whose heart is still beating and who is still breathing is unplugged from a machine keeping them alive. Someone is making that decision, family, doctors, judges, and every time that decision is made it is a human being making it about someone they no longer consider to be human.”

  Zeidler broke in, “But they are doing it because they are dead! Because their brain is no longer functioning, whatever made them human is no longer there.”

  Steven became more animated, “Exactly! So we can agree that whatever it is that makes us human is not held within the physical body, that it is held in the brain and it controls how we live our lives.”

  Drew answered, “Yeah, I think we can all agree that once the brain is dead, what is left is just a collection of organs. But you do know that there are those who don’t even believe that the human soul is gone even though the brain is dead and that they protest and condemn those who they consider to be taking a human life.”

  Zeidler was now visibly shaken. In all the time Drew had known him, he had never seen Zeidler lose his composure, but he was clearly losing it now.

  “What the fuck are we talking about? What does any of that have to do with what you are saying? Riche wasn’t brain dead and there wasn’t any determination made by any family or doctors to end his life. You blew his goddamned brains out from two blocks away! He was walking and talking before you did it! In our society, in our world, that is murder!”

  Now it was Steven’s turn to get more animated, “No, it isn’t! That’s exactly what I’m saying! It can’t be murder if what I killed wasn’t human, and I will go to my grave believing that! I have put my life and my family’s future on the line to prove it in a court of law, and if you can’t or won’t accept it, then I obviously need new attorneys.

  Drew interceded, “Alright, Steven, alright. Let’s for the sake of argument assume that we move forward with this argument. How exactly do you think we are going to get in front of 12 people and argue this? How do you think we are going to shape a legal argument?”

  Zeidler calmed down a bit, “Listen, kid, this is a bit too much, even for me. If you want to take this on, I will back you, but it’s going to be you out in front, and I think we can both agree that if this turns into a fiasco, we’re going to have to part ways when it’s over.”

  He didn’t say it as a threat, and Drew didn’t take it as one, “Fair enough, Max.”

  He turned back to Steven, “Alright, Steven, so you were going to explain to me how exactly you think this argument can be made.”

  Steven went on, “There’s not much to it. I told you, I believe that there is enough science to put in front of 12 people to make this argument. I’m not saying they’re going to agree, gentlemen, I’m simply saying the argument can be made. The law is a fluid thing, changing almost every day. I’m sure that there are precedents set every day, and I’m sure you have both been a part of cases where you knew it was a long shot to take it to trial, but you did it anyway.”

  He had them both on that one. The fact was that he had probably picked the perfect team to make his argument and every one of them knew it. They were the perfect mix of brilliance and experience and of dash and strategy, and they were both charismatic as hell.

  Max, engaged again, spoke next, “Alright, Steven, we’re going to back you up on this, but first we have to agree to a couple of things. First, we’re going to speak with your guy at Queens College and whomever else we can find to learn more about this science, and if we find serious issues with it or if we learn any of these people are quacks or nuts, you let us handle it our way. Second, if the judge makes the decision to not even allow this argument to go forward, you let us handle it our way.”

  Steven nodded, “As long as you present the argument to the judge and give it your best shot.”

  Max stood up to leave, “Wouldn’t do it any other way. Okay, kid, we have a lot of work to do. I’m going to call ahead and get our people on this and see what they can find out. You look up any cases dealing with anything remotely similar. Steven, we’ll be in touch.”

  Steven got up with them and as he was walking them to the door, gave them another heart attack, “Gentlemen, I would also like to put out a statement about what I am planning to argue.”

  Both lawyers stopped in their tracks and Drew asked the question for both of them, “You mean you want to put out a press release?!”

  Steven smiled, “No, nothing like that. I want to explain everything I just explained to you guys to someone who will tell the story straight, no spin, no angle, just the science and what I am arguing. You know what the press has been like since I made my statement to the police, you saw them at the courthouse. Can you imagine the stories that will come out once I let the world know what I am thinking?”

  Drew and Max looked at each other. It wasn’t a bad idea. It would at least get people talking and the court of public opinion giving their verdict every single day, a verdict that was very likely to favor them.

  Max spoke next, “Do you want me to make some inquiries with some of my media contacts?”

  Steven shook his head, “No, I want this to come from me, to not have anything to do with your firm. Otherwise it will seem like just some legal stunt. It’s probably still going to be taken that way, but I don’t want it to be any worse than it has to be.”

  Both lawyers nodded, shook his hand and went on thei
r way.

  Everything happened much faster than he had ever expected. He had called Grady to ask him about any reporters that he had worked with before and that he trusted. He had told the detective he wanted a print reporter, it didn’t matter if they were staff or freelancers, he just wanted someone who could write a story without spin and without trying to sell it, simply telling the story. Grady had given him Felix Garcia’s name. He’d been a bit wary about Garcia’s age, but after he had read some of his stuff, including what he had written about Riche and the shooting, he knew why Grady had recommended him. He wrote well, not too dry, but not too flowery either. He had a keen ear and paid close attention to details, details he used to make sure that in the end, once the piece had been read, it hit home, and he did it all with no unnecessary spin or angle.

  Loomis had met with Garcia two days after his meeting with his attorneys. They’d had lunch at Loomis’s condo, where Felix had basically pushed his way through the throng of reporters, cameras and trucks amassed in front of Steven’s building. They’d spent four hours talking, sometimes about the case, about his daughter and the shooting at the courthouse, and sometimes just talking about each other’s lives.

  By the time they were done, Steven knew he had made the right decision. Felix had been earnest in his questions but not too solicitous. He was a professional, a rising star in his field and it showed, but he was also human and that showed too. He had shared parts of his life with Steven, not to curry favor or to try to get him to say more than he was comfortable saying, but simply because that’s where the conversation led them. He knew he had chosen well because of the young man’s competence, but more than that because at the end of their time together, Steven liked him as a person and that was no small compliment.

  Three days later, when the feature story had been printed on the front page, his opinion had been confirmed. The piece had been complete, it included the basic story about the Riche case, the shooting, what Steven had explained about his reasoning and the science behind it, all well-researched and with enough details about him and his family to make the story human without making it sound sappy. The resulting fallout from it had taken everyone by surprise. The amount of media coverage that resulted shocked even seasoned players like Zeidler and District Attorney Neill. Virtually every newscast and talk show around the country had covered the story since it broke, but now it wasn’t a daily thing, it was an hourly thing. Every conceivable form of media was represented. Twitter had no fewer than 13,000 hashtags about the story with more than 300,000 tweets an hour flying in every direction. The media blanketed his house, the law firm, the courthouse, every location even remotely associated with the case.