Unspeakable Prayers: WW II to Present Day (Thaddeus Murfee Series of Legal Thrillers)

by John Ellsworth

  Thaddeus returned to the courtroom and found Lodzi still in his seat.

  "Didn't you have to pee?"

  Lodzi smiled. "I did, you just didn't see me. You were busy talking to Miss VanMeter. What did she have to say?"

  "She was very willing to talk about the case. She said she could imagine a scenario where you did two years in prison."

  "I'm glad she can imagine that, I sure as hell can't."

  "I took the liberty of turning down her overture. I knew you would never agree to incarceration no matter what."

  "You knew right. They're going to have to drag me kicking and screaming back to any mode of incarceration. I promise you, Thaddeus, it won't be pretty."

  "Are you ready for cross examination? She's going to be very rough with you."

  "Tell her to take her best shot. I've told the truth here today and nothing will change. As a lawyer, I believe at this point it's all a matter of interpretation. And believability. If the jury believes I was under the reasonable apprehension of imminent death, then they'll set me free. If not, off I go, kicking and screaming."

  "That about sums it up. Anyway, good luck to you."

  Thaddeus had never before wished a client good luck before cross-examination. He felt like it was the kiss of death. But there was nothing he could do about it.

  Trial resumed.

  When Lodzi was settled into the witness chair, Rona VanMeter walked up to the podium. She waited for the judge's nod, which would indicate they were back on the record. Finally it came, and she checked her notes one last time.

  "Mr. Ashstein, my heart goes out to you. I'm sure the jury's heart goes out to you too. You have suffered beyond anything any of us could ever imagine. We're all sorry for that. But what is happening here today, you have brought that on yourself. I know you told us how you went to the U.S. Attorney some 40 years ago and requested Janich Heiss be extradited. We're all sympathetic to you in that it did not happen. A living, breathing monster was allowed to remain at large. The system failed you, and it failed the American people. But none of that changes the reality that you then took the law into your own hands. In America we're taught from the time we are children we don't take the law into our own hands. Even if we feel justified, we simply don't do it. For those among us who do, trials, such as yours, will result. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Sir?"

  "I do. Thank you for your sympathies."

  "Let me get right to the heart of the matter. Which is the phone call you told us you walked in on. You heard Janich Heiss from around the corner of the door which opened onto the kitchen, correct?"

  "That is correct."

  "When you first came back inside the building, were you able to hear at that time what was being said on the phone?"

  "No. It wasn't until I was just around the corner from Heiss that I could make out what was being said."

  "So he could have been talking about God only knows what when you first came in, isn't that true?"

  "Yes."

  "He could have been talking about someone other than you when you first came inside, isn't that true?"

  "That's true. But then I heard him use my name. And I heard him say they were going to kill me."

  "Please don't volunteer information such as you just did. Please try to answer only what is asked, yes or no."

  "I apologize. I'm a lawyer and I should know better. But my natural inclination is to try to explain my predicament. I'll try to refrain."

  "Thank you. Now help me set this up. At the time the phone call is being made, your friend, Kaleb Rajski, has just murdered two of Heiss' associates, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "And you and Mr. Rajski have forced him to bury his friends, isn't that right?"

  "Yes."

  "So you can imagine, he was hugely upset. Wouldn't that be true?"

  "Yes."

  "And he was also very likely frightened, wouldn't you agree?"

  "Agree."

  "So anything you overheard him saying would have to be judged in the light of his great emotional distress, correct?"

  "Probably so. Yes."

  "So isn't it possible, when you heard him mention your name and then mention killing you, it was really his emotional state talking?"

  "I suppose that's possible. However, that's not the way I took it."

  "No, that's true. You decided he was passing a death sentence on you, isn't that true?"

  "That would be true."

  "So you simply reacted to what you thought the situation was, correct?"

  "Correct."

  "And you could have been wrong in your appraisal of the situation, isn't that right?"

  "No, I knew what was being said and I knew Heiss meant every word of it."

  "You knew what you knew, I don't doubt that. However, what you knew could possibly have been wrong, correct?

  "Anything's possible."

  "You could have totally misunderstood, and he might have only been saying he wished you dead, not that he was going to kill you, correct?"

  "I heard what I heard. He said they were going to kill me. They were planning it."

  Rona VanMeter looked at the jury and let what she had been suggesting sink in. Some were visibly with her; some were more reserved. But she had made her point: what Lodzi acted on was information that possibly was wrong. Still, she hadn't shown them how it was wrong, so she was just guessing too.

  "I'm going to go down a different path with you right now, Mr. Ashstein. Is that all right?"

  "I guess only time will tell."

  The jury smiled at that response. So far, Thaddeus could tell they were hanging on every word. Every nuance might mean something, and they were determined to miss none of it.

  "Let's start with this. Let's start with the proposition none of what you say happened in the kitchen happened at all. Let's start with the proposition Heiss never did say he was going to kill you. Let's start with the proposition you're simply making all that up in order to stay out of jail. You understand those propositions?"

  "I understand, and your propositions all fail. What I said, was actually said, and none of it is made up. I know all about the prison system, and I know all about the judicial system. Truth is paramount and that is why I have told the truth here today and to the detectives when they first came to me."

  "What proof do you have you're not lying?"

  "Only my word. The jury will have to judge my word."

  "Coming from a man who would say or do anything to avoid ever being imprisoned again, you haven't given us much to rely on, have you?"

  "I've given you the truth. I was always under the impression in a court of law the truth was sufficient."

  "That's fine, if you're telling the truth. But coming from someone who we know shot and killed someone, means your so-called truth is coming from someone who committed a crime. Granted, you are here seeking absolution by virtue of your self-defense claim. But the fact remains, you committed a crime in murdering Heiss, and you are now asking forgiveness by virtue of self-defense. Do you consider yourself a criminal?"

  "I consider myself a man who was defending himself against a known quantity. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind Heiss was coming after me, coming after my family, and coming after my friends. The man was an animal and would stop at nothing."

  VanMeter's head jerked up. She faced the judge, a disgusted look on her face for the first time that day—indeed, for the first time in the entire trial.

  "Your Honor, I would ask the entire answer just given be stricken and the jury instructed to disregard, as it is totally unresponsive to my question, which called for a simple yes or no answer."

  The judge nodded. "I agree. The jury is instructed to disregard the last answer and it is stricken from the record. Mr. Ashstein, you are an attorney, and you know the rules of evidence and procedure. Please respond only to what is asked and do not editorialize in my courtroom. Do you understand, sir?"

  "Sorry, your honor," said Lodzi. He looked down
at his hands and shifted uncomfortably in the witness chair. "Sorry, Counsel."

  Rona VanMeter was only just getting started.

  "Again, Sir," she said, "Do you consider yourself a criminal?"

  "No."

  "You killed someone with a gun. Now you're asking to be forgiven because it was self-defense. Doesn't that sound like a crime was committed, to you?"

  "Technically, it was a crime."

  "Your Honor—"

  "Mr. Ashstein, just answer yes or no. Do not explain again. Your attorney will let you explain on re-direct. The jury is instructed to disregard that last answer, 'technically it was a crime.'"

  "Mr. Ashstein, there was a murder?"

  "Yes."

  "And murder is a crime?"

  "Yes."

  "And you caused that murder?"

  "Yes."

  "So you committed a crime?"

  "Yes."

  "So, that makes you a criminal, correct?"

  "Tech—"

  "Objection!" cried Thaddeus, before it could go any further. "Calls for a conclusion of law."

  "Sustained. Please move along, counsel."

  VanMeter sifted through her notes top-to-bottom. She was allowing the last exchange to settle in. Including the fact he had all but admitted he was a criminal. Then she continued.

  "Now, whether you're technically a criminal or not, your word to us becomes suspect because of what you have riding on the outcome here, correct?"

  "No."

  "You don't think the jury should take what you say with a certain degree of suspicion?"

  "No. I think they should believe me. No one has testified other than what I've said."

  VanMeter looked up at the judge.

  "Your question was argumentative, counsel," the judge said to VanMeter. "Please move along. The court feels you've exhausted this avenue."

  She turned back to her quarry.

  "Mr. Ashstein, what was it that made you pull the trigger that day?"

  "Hearing a threat against me and my family and my friends."

  "Have you ever reacted to a threat against you before?"

  "No."

  "In your entire life?"

  "I can't think that I have, actually."

  "So this would have been the first time you reacted to a threat?"

  "Yes."

  She nodded.

  "What was it about this threat that set it apart from other threats?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, was there a gun pointed at you in furtherance of the threat?"

  "Not that I could see."

  "Well, when you could see, did Mr. Heiss have a gun?"

  "Not in his hands. But he had access to guns. Plenty of them."

  "But at the moment you shot him, he wasn't holding a gun on you?"

  "No."

  "Was he coming after you in any way?"

  "Meaning?"

  "Was there a move toward you with his body?"

  "No, he didn't see me there."

  "And if he didn't see you, we could assume that at the moment he spoke, he had no intention of immediately acting on that threat, correct?"

  "I thought he meant to."

  "But it wasn't an immediate threat because he didn't even know you were there, correct?"

  Lodzi looked at Thaddeus. Then he looked at the jury.

  "He didn't know I was there, no."

  "So, my point is, he had no intention of acting against you immediately, correct?"

  "Objection," said Thaddeus. "Foundation. My client can't have known Mr. Heiss' state of mind."

  "Sustained. Your point has been made counsel."

  Rona VanMeter allowed a small smile to play across her mouth. She evidently agreed, the point had been made Lodzi couldn't have been feeling an immediate threat because there was no gun, no overt movement toward him, and no present intention to kill by Heiss as Heiss didn't even know he was there. She shook her head and shuffled her papers.

  "I think I'm finished here, Your Honor."

  "Very well, counsel—"—speaking to Thaddeus now—"Do you have re-direct?"

  Thaddeus stood up.

  "Your Honor, could we recess fifteen minutes? I need to contact my paralegal before I can re-direct the witness. Just a housekeeping matter."

  "Very well, we're in recess. Fifteen minutes."

  Thaddeus remained standing while the judge floated down from his lofty perch and vanished through the wall into chambers. Lodzi stepped down from the witness stand and stood beside Thaddeus.

  "Well?"

  Thaddeus put his hand on the old man's shoulder.

  "I think you did very well. She scored the points she should have scored, but you didn't give her anything free. Well done."

  "Okay, thank you. I'm finding the restroom."

  "See you in fifteen."

  Thaddeus went into the hallway to the end opposite the restrooms. A member of the “Five at Ten” TV program headed toward him but he held up a finger and raised an eyebrow. "Give me five minutes, okay?" The reporter nodded and stopped. She had first dibs on Thaddeus, her posture said.

  The young lawyer hit the speed dial for Christine. She picked up immediately and said she knew he would call during the afternoon break.

  "How did it go, any luck with Julie?"

  "We're way down the road on that one, Thad. I found the grandson, Bibby. Father Meekins, it is now. He's considering testifying for us."

  "What?”

  "That's right. He actually heard the call Heiss was making at the moment he was shot."

  "You've served a subpoena?"

  "We both know I can't serve a subpoena. But I had one made up and gave it to him. It looks official as all hell."

  "Will that be enough for him?"

  "Can't say. He's a straight shooter and didn't exhibit any sympathies for the Nazi BS. We might have our man, here."

  "Great work, Chris. When will we know if he'll come back here?"

  "I'm going to call him later. I'll text you after."

  "Fair enough. Then I'm going to ask the court to recess so we can put the priest on first thing in the morning. We'll save our Lodzi re-direct for after the priest testifies."

  "Will the judge allow that?"

  Thaddeus removed his glasses and closed his eyes. "Unknown. But I can always ask. Always remember, it never hurts to ask a judge for anything. Sometimes they're like Santa Claus."

  "And sometimes it's a lump of coal in the stocking."

  "Chris, oh Chris. My dear, sweet pragmatist friend."

  "I'm just saying."

  "I know. Talk later. Bye."

  "S'long."

  No sooner had Thaddeus pocketed his phone than “Five at Ten” moved in.

  "Thaddeus, Gretchen Marks, ‘Five at Ten.’”

  "Sure. I know your show."

  The TV reporter nodded to her cameraman and the camera's red light instantly flashed alive.

  "We're standing with Thaddeus Murfee, attorney for accused Nazi-slayer Lodzi Ashstein. We're on afternoon break, in the hallway of the federal building, fifth floor, downtown Chicago. Mr. Murfee, your client's case seems pretty thin right now. It's only his word against the overwhelming evidence of death by assassination. Will there be additional testimony from additional witnesses?"

  Thaddeus smiled into the camera while maintaining a purposeful intensity, a look of great concern.

  "We won't be able to answer that until tomorrow. So stay tuned. But let me say this. Lodzi Ashstein was brutalized by the man he's accused of murdering. The man had just threatened his life and the lives of his family and friends. Now, in most cases, the law might require that you wait for an overt act before shooting in self-defense. But this case is different."

  "How so?"

  "Well, this case involves the shooting of a brutal murderer of Jews and gypsies; men, women, and children. When he said he was going to murder Lodzi, Lodzi had no doubt the statement was itself the first step in the direction of carrying out that threat."
<
br />   "That's an interesting twist. You're saying Heiss' words in and of themselves amounted to an overt act."

  Thaddeus smiled. "Wouldn't you take them that way? I mean if you had had your family of your youth murdered by this same monster? Think about it."

  The interview ended on that note when Thaddeus excused himself in order to return to court. As predicted, Judge Brant allowed the early recess and Thaddeus, with Lodzi in tow, left the courthouse. They parked underground at their building. They shook hands and made plans to meet at seven the next morning. Then they parted ways, as Lodzi was going to head on home.

  But then, just as Thaddeus was backing out, Lodzi pulled beside Thaddeus and rolled down his window.

  "You know, Thad, I'm not going back to jail."

  "I know. I totally understand."

  “I’ll shoot myself before I'll be imprisoned again. I'm old enough to mean that."

  "I know. In a way, I would understand if you did. I'm sorry to say that, but I would."

  "Well, now you know."

  "Yes, now I know."

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Turquoise took her break at 9:30 p.m. and headed for the alley to drink in the outside air. Any air was better than the kitchen air, choked as it was with the smells of frying, baking, and broasting. Turquoise was deep into her recovery and hadn't had a serious thought about using or abusing again. She had dropped most of her old circle of friends and now was hanging with girls and guys she met at her AA meetings. She hit one meeting in particular, downtown, at a Unity Church. It was the 5:30 Rush Hour Group, where she felt lonesome and isolated because almost everyone there had ten years on her. Still, she needed her meetings like a diabetic needs insulin, so she religiously attended every night.