by Parnell Hall
“All right, look, Vaulding,” Steve said. “Let’s back up and start over. Just for the time being, do me a big favor by pretending you actually believe I came here to talk rather than plead my client out.”
“I fail to see the point,” Vaulding said.
“You’ll never see it if you don’t get beyond your current position. Now then, stop denying your inclination to listen to a plea-bargain, and it may dawn on you you’re not hearing one.”
“What am I hearing?”
“You subpoenaed my expert, Veronica Dreisson.”
“That I did.”
“When we go back into court, do you intend to put her on the stand?”
“I most certainly do.”
“What do you expect her to testify to?”
“I see no reason to disclose that in advance.”
“You’ll have to, if I charge you with abuse of process. You’ll have to state what you intend to prove.”
“Yes, but I don’t think you’re going to do that.”
“Why not?”
“As much as you might love to do that, as much as you might feel you’d have a chance of embarrassing me, maybe even of making the charge stick, I’m gambling right now you wouldn’t be that keen on giving me the opportunity of making a speech.”
“So, you thought of that,” Steve said.
Vaulding shrugged. “Hey, give me a break. Considering the case, my opening argument was sketchy at best. We’ve had half a hundred twists in the evidence since then. None of which benefit your client. You think I wouldn’t love to stand up and summarize that evidence under the guise of stating what I intend to prove? It’s just you and me talking here, Winslow, but you think I wouldn’t take that shot if I got it? The jury won’t hear me, but the press sure will. And just between you and me, there are a lot more voters read the paper than sit on that jury.”
“Gee, that never occurred to me,” Steve said.
“I’ll bet,” Vaulding said. “You wanna know my intention? My intention is to go straight back into court and call Miss Veronica Dreisson to the stand.”
“Now, there’s another thing,” Steve said, “that I promised my secretary I’d take up with you.”
Vaulding frowned. “What?”
“The word Miss. These days it’s Ms. But that can wait. Right now I’d like to stop you from making a big mistake.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
“Listen,” Steve said. “Remember when you first called me into your office? You told me about your talk with Dirkson. And you said you didn’t necessarily buy his line.”
“This is true, and I don’t. But the situation is a little different here. Your client’s guilty and that’s the bottom line. Your client’s guilty six ways from Sunday. He bought the murder gun, for Christ’s sakes.”
“That remains to be proven.”
Vaulding waved it away. “Oh, sure, sure. By the time you get him on the witness stand, I’m sure you’ll have thought up some great explanation. But it’s no go. You know and I know he bought it. You know and I know he’s guilty. Now I don’t care if there’s some technicality, some legal loophole, some circuitous route by which you think you could get around all that and get your client off. If you can, bully for you, but I’ll take my shot. He’s guilty and I’m not giving ground. I got enough to nail him, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“Can we get back to your phone call with Dirkson?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“You say you don’t buy his line, but it’s different this time because my client’s guilty. Now, assuming there ever was a phone call from Dirkson—assuming that wasn’t just a ploy to keep me in your office while you served the search warrant and grabbed the file—”
Vaulding’s eyes flicked momentarily, but he maintained his superior smile.
“Assuming you actually spoke to Dirkson,” Steve said. “He may have told you I’m tricky, I’m fast, I pull unorthodox shit in court, you gotta watch out for me, I’m dramatic, I’ll grandstand, I’ll steal the press—that’s just for starters and I’m sure Dirkson could do a better job of it.
“But there’s one thing I’ll bet he didn’t say—that I ever sold him a bill of goods. Now, you can call him and ask him if you want, but here’s what he’ll have to say.”
Steve held up two fingers. “I talked to him two times during a case. Like I’m talking to you. One time he listened. As I advised, he dismissed the case, called in the press and took the credit. The other time he didn’t listen. That case blew up on him in court.” Steve shrugged. “Tough break. But in both cases, he’d have to admit I gave him the straight goods.”
“Yeah, but it’s different,” Vaulding said. “Those clients were innocent.”
Steve sighed. “We’re talking in circles here. Forget the innocent or guilty for a moment. I know that’s hard for you to do, but, hell, you’re an elected official. Think newspaper headlines. You’ve been getting ’em, all right, but they aren’t the kind that win elections. What you need here is a victory.”
Vaulding frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“We’re separating the men from the boys here, Vaulding. This case is gonna break, and it’s gonna break soon. When it does, there’s gonna be a huge amount of publicity. My question right now is where you fit into it. Would that be the front-page picture of the grinning D.A. expounding his theory of the case? Or is your name only going to be seen by the people who turn to the inside page and read the one-line blurb, ‘District Attorney Robert Vaulding could not be reached for comment’?”
Vaulding stared at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m making you an offer. It is a limited offer. Today’s special. In fact, it is a one-time-only offer. When we walk out of here that offer will be withdrawn. Frankly, I don’t expect you to take it, but I make it anyway. So when this is all over and you’re licking your wounds and feeling all pissed off over what a slick son of a bitch I turned out to be, you’ll have to admit I gave you your chance.
“The best I can do is offer. What you do after that is entirely up to you. But here’s the situation. We’re at an impasse. You can either walk into court right now, put my expert on the stand and give her a thorough grilling. Or you can take a deep breath, put your prejudices aside and listen to what I have to say. And I have to tell you, right now I’m so fed up with this case, I don’t really care which.”
Steve shrugged.
“O.K. Your move. What’s it gonna be?”
47.
ROBERT VAULDING’S FACE WAS grim. He looked around the courtroom at the spectators, the reporters, the jurors, the judge, and finally up at the elderly, white-haired woman he had just installed on the witness stand. She was smiling slightly and looked utterly serene and placid, giving the impression of being one of those elderly women who is totally sweet but also slightly dotty and scatterbrained. For a second it flashed on Vaulding, my god, am I doing the right thing? He took a deep breath, plunged ahead.
“Ms. Dreisson?” he began, remembering Steve Winslow’s admonition.
It was not his day.
Veronica held up her hand. “One moment, young man. Dreisson is my married name. Not my maiden name. My late husband, Arnold, was a Dreisson. I do not think that he would like to see his name become a Ms. I am Mrs. Dreisson, if you please.”
Vaulding took a breath, and seemed to roll his eyes heavenward for a split second before smiling and saying, “I stand corrected, Mrs. Dreisson.”
The newspaper reporters, frustrated at having called in instructions to hold the front page for a plea-bargain that had not materialized, scribbled gleefully. It was clear this little old lady would make a feisty witness.
“Tell me, Mrs. Dreisson,” Vaulding said, “what do you do?”
Veronica smiled. “I don’t do anything. I retired more than twenty years ago.”
“Yes, but you seem a quite active woman. Aside from any business or profession, is there any hobby or special
interest that occupies your time?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And what would that be.”
“Guns.”
“I beg your pardon? Did you say guns?”
“Yes, I did, young man,” Veronica said. She added, “Do you have trouble hearing?”
That produced a laugh in the courtroom.
Vaulding never cracked a smile. “No, I do not,” he said. “But I wanted to be sure the jurors heard you. Your hobby is guns?”
“That’s right.”
“You collect guns?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You are still actively involved in doing this?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How many guns do you own?”
“Between two and three hundred.”
That produced a reaction in the courtroom. Judge Hendrick banged the gavel.
“Between two and three hundred? Of different makes and models?”
“Well, I should think so,” Veronica said. “It would certainly be silly to have two hundred of the same gun.”
“Then you are familiar with different types of firearms?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you consider yourself an expert?”
Veronica smiled. “I consider myself knowledgeable on the subject. In the past I’ve been employed as an expert.”
“In the past?”
“Yes.” Veronica squinted at him. “Let me see. Would that be before you were born?”
That question produced a roar of laughter. The reporters were eating Veronica Dreisson up. They couldn’t have asked for better copy.
Vaulding just stood and took it. “But you are knowledgeable on the subject of guns?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Tell me, have you ever had occasion to examine the guns of the defendant, Russ Timberlaine?”
“Yes, I have. Just last night.”
“Last night?”
“Yes, of course,” Veronica said. She cocked her head. “Isn’t that why I’m here?”
“Yes, it is, Mrs. Dreisson, but it is necessary that we get these things in the record. Had you ever seen Mr. Timberlaine’s guns before last night?”
“As to that, I can’t recall.”
“Well, had you ever met Mr. Timberlaine?”
Veronica smiled. “That’s why I can’t recall. I must admit I have a better memory for guns than for faces.” She looked over at the defense table. “I sit here looking at him and the face is indeed familiar. And now he’s wearing a suit and has his hair pulled back off his face. I seem to recall a young man with long hair and a cowboy outfit. That is probably him. But I couldn’t swear to it.” She gestured to the witness stand. “And here I can only say what I can swear to, is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, there you are.”
The remark got another laugh.
Vaulding took a breath, forged ahead. “You don’t know if you’ve seen the guns before, but you did see them last night?”
“That’s right.”
“How did that happen?”
“I went out to his mansion and looked at them.”
“Who took you there?”
“Mr. Taylor.”
“Would that be Mark Taylor of the Taylor Detective Agency?”
“That’s right.”
“He took you out there?”
“Yes, he did.”
“And who let you in?”
“A nice young man. I don’t recall his name, but he opened the door and went and got Miss Timberlaine.”
“That would be Carrie Timberlaine, Russ Timberlaine’s daughter?”
“That’s right.”
“She showed you Russ Timberlaine’s guns?”
“She tried to, but they were locked up.”
“Did she have a key?”
“No, she did not.”
“So you couldn’t see the guns?”
“No. She went and found the nice young man, and he came and unlocked the cases.”
“He had a key?”
“Yes, he did.”
“He showed you the guns?”
“That’s right.”
“Who was present when you examined the guns?”
“Mr. Taylor, Miss Timberlaine and the young man with the key.”
“That would be Martin Kessington?”
“If you say so. I don’t know his name.”
“At any rate, you examined the guns.”
“Yes, I did.”
“How many did you examine?’”
“I don’t know. Forty or fifty.”
“Was that all of them?”
“No, it was not.”
“Why did you stop?”
“The police arrived and made me stop.”
“I see. And did they ask you what you were doing?”
“Yes, they did.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“Well,” Veronica said. “You have to understand I was rather upset. After all, they did make me stop my inspection.”
“I’m sure we can make allowances,” Vaulding said. “What did you say?”
“I told them it was none of their business.”
“You refused to answer their questions?”
“Of course I did. They had no right to ask.”
“You’re answering my questions.”
Veronica looked at him as if he were an idiot. “I’m in court,” she said. “I’m required to answer.”
Vaulding nodded grimly. “That you are, Mrs. Dreisson. Tell me, in those forty or fifty guns you examined, did you find anything that you considered significant?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And what was that?”
“At least five of the guns I examined were fakes.”
That answer produced a low rumble in the courtroom. People looked at each other.
Vaulding frowned. “Fakes? What do you mean?”
Veronica looked at him. “You don’t know what the word fake means?”
“Yes, but in terms of a gun. What do you mean, a fake gun? A gun is either a gun or it isn’t.”
Veronica looked at him. “Come, come, young man. I mean they were not the guns they were supposed to be. The guns are rare and valuable. They are particular guns. They have a history of ownership that increases their value. When I say these guns are fakes, what I mean is, that in all these cases a rare and valuable gun had been taken and a cheap imitation of the same make and model had been left in its place.”
“I see. You say five of these guns were fakes?”
“At least five. That’s the best I could tell. You must understand, it was late, I’m old, and my eyesight is not what it used to be. And I did not have any equipment with me. But there were at least five I was sure of.”
“Five substituted guns?”
“That’s right.”
Vaulding’s smile was skeptical. “Come, come, Mrs. Dreisson. Do you mean to tell me that, never having seen them before, you were able to examine fifty guns in the space of what?—half an hour?—and pronounce forty-five of them genuine and five spurious?”
Veronica stuck out her chin and narrowed her eyes. “You do have trouble hearing, don’t you? I just got through telling you the best I could tell was that at least five of the guns were fake. That doesn’t mean I pronounced forty-five guns genuine. If you asked me, I did see genuine guns, but as to how many, I certainly could not say. But, if you’ll pardon me, what does it matter? I would think you would be more concerned with the five guns proven to be false.”
Vaulding opened his mouth, started to say something, thought better of it and closed it again. That action produced a laugh in the courtroom. Judge Hendrick banged the gavel.
“All right,” Vaulding said. “Let’s talk about the guns that were false. When you examined the guns, did any of the people present point those guns out to you?”
“The fake guns, you mean?”
“Yes, of course
.”
“No, they did not.”
“Did you point them out to them?”
“No, of course not. I don’t do things piecemeal. I had no intention of saying anything whatsoever until I completed my examination.” She raised her chin. “Which I was not permitted to do.”
“I see. And who asked you to make this examination? Who sent you out to the Timberlaine mansion?”
“Why, Mr. Winslow.”
“Mr. Timberlaine’s attorney, Steve Winslow?”
“That’s right.”
“He hired you?”
“Hired is the wrong word. I am no longer a professional. As I told you, I retired long ago. He did not hire me. He asked me if I would go out there and I agreed to.”
“But it was Steve Winslow, the attorney for the defense, who asked you to go out there and look at the guns?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And you did so?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You went out there, examined the guns, and found five of them to be fake.”
“That’s right.”
“So the reason you went out to the Timberlaine mansion was to see if there were any fake guns in his collection?”
Veronica’s eyes widened. She shook her head. “No, I did not.”
Vaulding frowned. “You did not?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, I knew that when you started asking questions.”
That sally produced a roar of laughter. Vaulding stood, took it, and when it subsided, said, “Tell me, Mrs. Dreisson, why did you go out to Timberlaine’s mansion, if not to examine his gun collection?”
“Oh, it was to examine his gun collection. That was a part of it. I just wasn’t looking for any fake guns. That was a sort of bonus.”
“But you were looking for something?”
“Oh, yes, indeed.”
“Could you tell us what that was?”
“Certainly. One moment, young man.”
Veronica Dreisson snapped open her purse. She fumbled inside a few moments, took out and held up a small metallic object.
“You see this?” she said, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger and extending it for Vaulding to see.
Vaulding looked, saw what she was holding was a metal tube about two and a half inches long and about half an inch in diameter. “What’s that?” he asked.