Rosie bores in. “How well did you know her?”
“Pretty well. She wasn’t holding up very well. She was nervous about my case and she had stomach problems.”
“Did you know she was expecting a baby?”
Her eyes open wide. “No, I didn’t,” she says. “She really wanted to have children.”
Our attempts to elicit additional information about Maria’s personal life are met with silence. It’s hard to decide if she’s withholding information or she simply doesn’t know.
Rosie asks her where she met Father O’Connell.
“At mass at St. Boniface.” It’s the magnificent church in the heart of the Tenderloin. She reads the look of surprise on Rosie’s face and says, “Just because you take your clothes off to pay your bills doesn’t mean you aren’t a good Catholic.”
Quinn might have a different view. We’re getting to the good stuff and Rosie nods to me. It’s time for the priest-voice. I ask, “When did Father O’Connell start making advances?”
“Shortly after we met. He asked me if I would come to him for private counseling about my drug problems. At the end of one of my sessions, he hugged me and told me he was proud of me. That was the first time he touched me. He did it again the next time I saw him, then he tried to kiss me. I told him it wasn’t appropriate. He pretended to agree with me, but he did the same thing the following week.”
“Why did you keep going to see him?”
Her eyes turn down and says, “Because he was my priest. I know it sounds strange, but I didn’t want to let him down. Then he started showing up at the theater and following me home.”
Dear God. A priest who was also a stalker. “Why didn’t you report him?”
“He said he would tell the cops that I had solicited him. He was a well-known priest and I work at the Mitchell Brothers–who do you think they would have believed?”
Easy answer. “How long did this go on?” I ask.
“Almost a year. Then he started hitting on one of the younger girls at the club and I decided I needed to do something.”
If she’s telling the truth, Ramon’s mentor was even more evil than he was portrayed in the press. “We’d like to talk to the other woman.”
“You can’t. She disappeared about six months ago.”
Uh-oh. “Is she still alive?”
“We think somebody paid her to leave town, but nobody knows for sure. A lot of people in this neighborhood disappear and there isn’t much the cops can do about it. Nobody takes attendance around here.”
I’ll ask Roosevelt about it. “So you went to Ms. Concepcion for help?”
“Yes. She was willing to handle my case for a contingency fee and she was realistic about the fact that it was going to boil down to my word against Father O’Connell’s. He was popular and had friends in high places. He also had the full backing of the archdiocese. Their lawyers are going to portray me as a drug addict and prostitute who is making wild accusations.”
I ask her about the possibility of a settlement.
“Maria and I talked it over, but we decided not to accept anything out of court. You may find it hard to believe, but I didn’t file the lawsuit for the money. I did it to expose Father O’Connell for what he did and I’m prepared to donate any judgment to the battered women’s shelter. This is about doing what’s right.” Her eyes fill with tears when she says, “My father was abusive and there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn’t going to let the archdiocese get away with covering up this monster’s acts.”
“We understand they upped their settlement offer on the night Ms. Concepcion died.”
“They did.”
“To what?”
“A million dollars, but I turned it down. I told you this case isn’t about money.” She looks at her watch and stands. “I really have to get to work,” she says.
I throw up a Hail Mary pass. “When did Ms. Concepcion tell you about the final settlement offer?”
“On the night she died.”
“What time was that?”
“Around ten-thirty.”
I can hear the audible gasp from Rosie’s lips. If Doe is telling the truth, she spoke to Concepcion a half hour after Ramon left her apartment.
Chapter 31
“I Think We Can Do Business”
“Our case against Father Ramon Aguirre is air tight.”
— Inspector Marcus Banks. KGO Radio. Thursday, December 11.
My eyes are now boring straight into Doe’s when I ask, “Are you absolutely sure about that time?”
There is no equivocation in her voice when she says, “Yes.”
Yes! I try to temper my excitement when I quickly recognize a practical evidentiary problem. “We have the records from Ms. Concepcion’s cell and home phones for that evening,” I say, “and there was no record of an outgoing call to you.”
“She called me from a payphone.”
Huh? “Why?”
“She was afraid her phone was bugged.”
It’s a legitimate concern. “Where did you take the call?”
“At a payphone at the club.”
I can’t think of any reason why she would be making this up, but her background puts her credibility into question. Pete’s moles at AT&T will be able to identify any payphone-to-payphone calls to the Mitchell Brothers last Monday night, but it will be impossible to prove Concepcion was on the line without an eyewitness. Then again, if we can demonstrate she was still alive after Ramon left, we may have hit the defense attorney’s mother lode.
I ask her if she answered the phone at the club.
“Yes.”
“Was anybody else around?”
“No.”
So much for a corroborating witness there. “What exactly did she say?”
“That the archdiocese had upped its offer to a million dollars. I told her I wasn’t interested and I went back to work.”
Ever the consummate professional. Maybe we can find a witness at the other end. “Where was she?”
“I don’t know, but it was difficult to hear her because it was noisy.”
She may have been in a bar or restaurant near her apartment. The obvious choice is Eduardo’s. “How long did you talk to her?”
“Less than a minute. That was the last time we spoke.”
“Have you talked to the police about this?”
“Yes. I spoke to Inspector Johnson and Inspector Banks earlier today.”
Roosevelt didn’t mention it. It’s unrealistic to expect him to call every time he receives information that may be helpful to us, but this could create a substantial hole in his case. I ask, “Are you willing to testify about this?” I’m just being polite. If she refuses, we’ll send her a subpoena.
“What’s the big deal?”
I explain that Ramon left Concepcion’s apartment at ten o’clock. “If you talked to her at ten-thirty, it means she was alive after he left.”
“She was definitely alive at ten-thirty.”
Excellent answer.
She arches an eyebrow and says, “I guess my testimony is pretty important to your case.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then we have some interesting issues to discuss, don’t we?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Are you willing to make it worth my while?”
We could serve her with a subpoena and end this discussion right now, but it may impact her willingness to testify. “We’ll represent you on the solicitation charge,” Rosie says.
“Are you willing to represent me if I want to bring legal action against my father?”
“Yes.”
“And are you willing to help me find a new job and another place to live?”
“Yes.”
The worldly prostitute is now a key witness in a murder case. She extends a hand and says, “I think we can do business.”
Chapter 32
“You Can Look, but You Can’t Touch”
“Highest quality adult entertainment in
a safe and clean environment. Continuous show times.”
— Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater
My brother is chewing on a toothpick as we’re standing beneath the marquee in front of the Alcatraz Hotel. “This case is over, Mick,” he says. “You just won.”
“If Jane Doe is telling the truth,” Rosie adds, “Concepcion was still alive after Ramon left her apartment. That’s more than enough for reasonable doubt.”
Not so fast. “Ifshe’s telling the truth,” I say, “and if the jury believes her.”
“Why would she lie?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to hold off on buying the champagne for now.”
Pete asks, “Why are you always so pessimistic?”
It’s my proper Catholic upbringing. “I’ve seen a lot of cases go sideways long before the charges are dismissed. They may know something that we don’t. It isn’t over until Ward and McNulty say it is.”
“We need to talk to them,” Rosie says.
“We will as soon as we can corroborate Doe’s story,” I say.
“At the very least,” she says, “we ought to get her to sign a declaration that she received a phone call from Concepcion at ten-thirty that night.”
The unbending voice of caution. We’ve assigned Terrence to keep an eye on Doe, but if something happens to her or she changes her mind, we’ll want some record of what she told us tonight. We’ll write something up as soon as we get back to the office, then we’ll see if we can get her to sign it. We still have to deal with the small matter of Concepcion’s unborn baby.
I turn to Pete and say, “I need you to do a little research over at the Mitchell Brothers.”
His eyes light up. “Hands-on research?”
He’s a few credits short of a masters in political correctness. “You can look, but you can’t touch.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’ll tell Donna.”
“Exactly what do you want me to do?”
“I need you to get the numbers of every payphone in the building, then I want your mole down at AT&T to identify any calls around ten-thirty last Monday night.”
“Can I use a little muscle to get backstage if I have to?”
“Finesse and bribery are always preferable, but do what you have to do.”
# # #
I’m in my car heading toward archdiocese headquarters to give Ramon the good news when my cell phone rings. “Mr. Daley,” Jerry Edwards rasps, “you’ve been withholding information. You didn’t tell me that Ms. Concepcion was pregnant.”
I need to get off the phone as fast as I can. “I just found out.”
He sigh is punctuated by violent coughing. He catches his breath and says, “It would be in your client’s best interest to come clean about this.”
“We are still gathering facts and we have nothing to say at this time.”
“Is your client the father of Ms. Concepcion’s unborn child?”
“We have no comment.”
“You’ll dig yourself an even bigger hole if you’re evasive.”
“I’m prepared to give you a quote right now.”
“I’m listening.”
“Father Aguirre did not murder Ms. Concepcion and he will be fully exonerated. We will provide the testimony of a witness that will conclusively prove Ms. Concepcion was still alive after Father Aguirre left her apartment last Monday night.”
“Who’s the witness?”
There is no reason to hide it. “Jane Doe.”
# # #
Pete calls me at the office at seven-thirty. “You got a minute, Mick?
“Yeah. How are things down at the Mitchell Brothers?”
“The early show was more tasteful than I had anticipated.”
“I’ll have to check it out one of these days. Did you call just to give me a review?”
“No, I called to tell you that there are two payphones in the theater. One is in the lobby and the other is backstage. My guy at AT&T checked on calls to both. We owe him a couple of six packs.”
I’ll take care of it. “And?”
“Doe’s story is checking out. There was an incoming call to the backstage phone at ten-thirty-one last Monday night that lasted forty-seven seconds.” He says there were no other incoming calls until after midnight.
“Was he able to tell where the call was originated?”
“A payphone by the front door at Eduardo’s Latin Palace.”
Bingo. “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”
Chapter 33
“Nobody Saw Her”
“Eduardo’s makes every effort to ensure your dining experience is a pleasant one. If you are dissatisfied with your food or service for any reason, please see our hostess.”
— Eduardo’s Latin Palace.
Pete points to a battered payphone in the entry vestibule next to the pick-up window in Lopez’s restaurant and says, “That’s it.”
With the proliferation of cell phones, it’s hard to find functioning payphones nowadays, and many that remain intact are in need of repairs. The beat-up wall model that may hold the key to our case fits squarely into this category. The phonebook holders are empty, the steel-encased cord is dangling by a thread and the emergency numbers and dialing instructions have been obliterated by black Magic Marker. Nowadays, if you want to reach out and touch someone, you really have to work at it.
The young woman at the podium has the requisite model-perfect qualities that fall somewhere between Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek. She flashes a radiant smile and tosses her silky black hair. “Party of two?” she asks.
“Yes, please.”
“Right this way.”
Pete and I follow her to a booth in the rear of the raucous eatery. It’s eight o’clock and the evening shift is filing in. I say, “We’re looking for Mercedes Trujillo.”
She’s still smiling when she says, “I’m Mercedes. Who’s asking?”
“Mike Daley.”
She’s flirting out of habit–it’s in her job description. “And who is Mike Daley?”
“Tony Fernandez’s brother-in-law.” And Ramon Aguirre’s lawyer.
I get the response I’m hoping for. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Daley.”
“It’s Mike.”
“Mike,” she repeats. She looks at Pete and says, “And who might you be?”
He gives her a big smile and says, “I might be Pete.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” As if she would have any interest in two middle aged guys with graying hair and expanding mid-sections.
I order a couple of beers and say, “We were hoping you could help us. We were trying to figure out if somebody we know came in to pick up an order last Monday night.”
The phony smile transforms into a pout. “We get a lot of customers, Mike.”
“She was a regular,” I say, “and we think you may have known her.”
“What’s her name?”
Here goes. “Maria Concepcion.”
The flirting stops. “You’ll need to speak to Mr. Lopez,” she says.
# # #
Lopez is eying us from the leather chair behind his desk. Trujillo is conspicuously absent, and his pronounced scowl indicates that he’s going to be the sole spokesman on matters relating to the Concepcion case. He strokes an unlit Cuban cigar and says, “I presume you’re looking for additional information concerning the matters we discussed last night?”
“We are.” And if you don’t cooperate, we’ll come back with a subpoena for a far less engaging visit. “Last time we talked, I mentioned that a call was placed to this establishment from Ms. Concepcion’s home phone at approximately nine-fifty-one last Monday night.”
He tries to sound cooperative. “I recall discussing it with you.”
“We were hoping you were able to determine who she talked to.”
“Mercedes.”
His forthrightness catches me off-guard. “You could have called us,” I say.
“And you could hav
e called us. I gave the information to the police. I presume they’re required to share it with you.”
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