Woman with a Gun

by Phillip Margolin

  “Oh? Who are you with?”

  “Well, actually, I’m with two friends from law school, Nancy Hong and Ronnie Ireland. Our firm is Hong, Moran and Ireland.”

  “Haven’t heard of it.”

  “I’m not surprised. We’re small and we don’t do much criminal law.”

  Jack frowned. “Have you been practicing for a while?”

  “No. We all graduated from Boalt Hall four years ago. Nancy and Ron are from Oregon and they convinced me to move up here.”

  “Aren’t you a little inexperienced to be handling a death penalty case?”

  Kathy blushed. “I explained that to Mr. Kilbride, but I represented a friend of his successfully in a criminal matter and he insisted that I handle his case. I did win a manslaughter trial in Washington County a few months ago.”

  “There’s a big difference between handling a manslaughter case and trying an aggravated murder with a potential death penalty,” Jack said, hoping that he sounded wise beyond his years.

  “So I’m learning. Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself and get a copy of the indictment and the discovery.”

  Jack leaned back. “It won’t do you much good. I’ve got Kilbride nailed.”

  Jack wasn’t bragging. He saw the Kilbride case as a slam dunk. That opinion was based on an objective evaluation of the facts, as he saw them. There were two victim eyewitnesses to the shooting, and Bernie Chartres had been terrific in the grand jury. To say that Jack was overconfident about his chances in Kilbride would have been an understatement. His overconfidence explained why he spent so little time thinking about possible problems with his case.

  “You have way more experience then I have,” Kathy conceded with a shy smile, “so you’re probably right. But I won’t be able to advise my client until I’ve read the police reports.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll give you everything we’ve got. When you’ve gone through the discovery, let’s talk.”

  “So you might entertain a plea?”

  “Right now, Kilbride can plead to aggravated murder and take his chances in the penalty phase.”

  “You won’t consider life without parole?”

  Jack shrugged. “Make the offer and I’ll take it to my boss. He has the final say in capital cases, but I’ll probably oppose leniency. Your client gunned down a human being in cold blood because he didn’t like some low-level dealers selling minute amounts of coke in his bailiwick. Kilbride is a vicious thug and the world will be better off without him.”

  Kathy didn’t defend her client and Jack thought she looked scared like any lawyer would be who was handling a death case for the first time and was starting to realize that she was out of her depth.

  “Thank you for your time. I’ll get back to you when I finish going through the discovery,” Kathy said.

  Jack flashed what he hoped was a winning smile. “I’ll look forward to it. It’s been nice meeting you.”

  Kathy stood and turned, presenting Jack with a wonderful view as she walked out of his office.

  CHAPTER TEN

  On the day set for the trial in State v. Kilbride, Jack showered, shaved, and donned his best suit. He wanted to make a good impression on the judge and jury, but impressing Kathy Moran was his first priority. He considered a guilty verdict and, most probably, a sentence of death to be a done deal. Getting Kilbride’s lawyer in the sack was an ongoing project that had become a bit more challenging because of the lack of contact he’d had with Kathy after their first meeting. She had filed the motions all defense lawyers filed in death cases—constitutional challenges to the statute, motions to suppress, and the like—so Jack had seen her in court. But he hadn’t had a real chance to talk to her because she’d left court with her client and gone directly to the jail after each hearing. Jack assumed he’d have a good chance to turn on the charm during plea negotiations, but, strangely, Kathy had not followed up on the possibility of a plea. Jack might have spent time wondering why she had not pursued a plea if he weren’t so preoccupied with wondering how Kathy’s breasts would feel when he cupped them or how smooth her thighs would feel when he stroked them.

  The Honorable Albert Haber had been assigned the Kilbride case. The judge was tall and thin with steel gray hair and an iron temperament. He had been a prosecutor before going on the bench and he was definitely a law and order jurist. On the other hand, he was a stickler for the law and followed it regardless of where it led him. Haber demanded that attorneys come to court prepared and on time, and he would take them to task in front of the jury for the slightest deviation from proper decorum.

  “Are the parties ready to proceed?” Haber asked as soon as he took the bench.

  “Jack Booth for the State, Your Honor. We’re ready.”

  “Kathy Moran for Mr. Kilbride.”

  Jack looked across the room at the defense table. Kathy was wearing the same suit she’d worn to his office and she looked just as stunning. Gary Kilbride was also wearing a suit. It was charcoal gray. The fabric at the shoulders and sleeves strained against his bulging muscles. Kilbride had a large head and black hair he wore short and tight to his skull. His eyes were an unsettling gray color and his nose was crooked, like that of a boxer with poor defensive skills. Kilbride caught Jack’s eye and grinned. He looked way too cocky, which was fine with Jack. He’d enjoy wiping the smirk off the killer’s face.

  “Okay,” Judge Haber said. “Let’s call in the jury.”

  It was not unusual for jury selection in a death penalty case to go on for days with both sides asking potential witnesses question after question in an attempt to determine if they could count on the jurors to deliver a prosecution or defense verdict during the penalty phase. Jack was shocked when Kathy asked few questions and jury selection was over by the end of the day, but he chalked up her ineffective voir dire to inexperience. Handling capital cases was a specialty, and even attorneys with vast experience trying noncapital homicides were not equipped to handle a death case without special training.

  Jack realized that he would have an excellent excuse for asking Kathy to dinner when the case was over. He could volunteer to do a postmortem and act as a mentor, thus gaining her trust and making the other steps in his planned seduction much easier.

  Court recessed after the alternate jurors were chosen and it reconvened in the morning with both sides giving their opening statements. Jack took an hour during which he outlined his case. Kathy took fifteen minutes and spoke about burdens of proof and the reasonable doubt standard, never mentioning a single piece of evidence or one witness that might clear her client. Jack suspected that she had spoken in generalities because no such witness or evidence existed. He was feeling supremely confident up to the point where his first witness was sworn.

  “I have a motion for the court,” Kathy said after the first officer on the scene told Judge Haber that he would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

  Judge Haber peered at Kathy through his wire-frame glasses. He did not look pleased to have the orderly presentation of evidence interrupted.

  “Mr. Booth hasn’t asked a single question, Miss Moran. What motion could you possibly make?”

  “One best heard out of the presence of the jury, Your Honor,” she said as she strode over to the dais and handed the judge her motion and the very thick memo in support of it. While Haber was reading the motion, Kathy walked over to Jack. When she handed him his copy of the motion, she looked down as if she were embarrassed.

  “Bailiff, please take the jury out,” Judge Haber said when he had finished reading the motion and memo.

  Jack didn’t hear the judge. He felt light-headed. By the time he had finished the memo he thought he might throw up.

  “All right, Miss Moran, let’s get this on the record.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor. You heard Mr. Booth outline his case. I have attached to my memo the discovery provided by the State. Almost all of it was covered in Mr. Booth’s opening statement. I assume he has no surprise witn
esses who would add to what he told the jury because he would not be able to present a surprise witness without violating the discovery rules.

  “The basis for my Motion for Judgment of Acquittal is simple. Mr. Kilbride is prepared to stipulate that Mr. Booth’s witnesses will say what he told the jury they would say in his opening statement and that his physical evidence will prove everything he said it would. It is our position that all of Mr. Booth’s evidence when taken in the light most favorable to the State cannot support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

  “Let me sum up the State’s evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Mr. Kneeland was definitely murdered in room one oh seven of the Weary Traveler Motel, but none of the eyewitnesses who shared the room with Mr. Kneeland were able to identify any of the people who committed the murder.

  “A witness has unequivocally identified Mr. Kilbride as the killer. This witness is his alleged accomplice, Bernard Chartres. Other than Mr. Chartres no witness or piece of evidence is able to connect Mr. Kilbride to the shooting. And that is the problem for the State.

  “Oregon Revised Statute 136.440 defines an accomplice as ‘a witness in a criminal action who, according to the evidence adduced in the action, is criminally liable for the conduct of the defendant’ under certain circumstances defined in ORS 161.155 or ORS 161.165. This would include aiding and abetting. In his opening statement, Mr. Booth contended that Mr. Chartres aided and abetted Mr. Kilbride in the commission of this felony.

  “ORS 136.440 goes on to say that ‘a conviction cannot be had upon the testimony of an accomplice unless it is corroborated by other evidence that tends to connect the defendant to the commission of the offense.’ If the court listened carefully to Mr. Booth’s opening statement and read all of the reports provided in discovery, you would be forced to conclude that only the testimony of the alleged accomplice Bernard Chartres connects Mr. Kilbride to the incident at the motel. No other witnesses place him there, nor does any forensic evidence like DNA, fingerprints, hair, or fibers.

  “Therefore, taking the evidence the State will produce in its most favorable light, any trier of fact would be forced to conclude that the State had failed to meet its burden.”

  When Kathy sat down she did not look at Jack. Jack didn’t notice. He was stunned.

  “What do you have to say, Mr. Booth?” Judge Haber asked.

  Jack was speechless. He couldn’t think. Finally, desperately, he asked for time to read and research Kathy’s motion carefully. Judge Haber granted his request, but everyone in the courtroom knew that Gary Kilbride was going to walk because of Jack Booth’s incompetence.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The debacle in State v. Kilbride marked the end of Jack’s ascent in the district attorney’s office. Gary Kilbride walked because Jack had screwed up, and Jack was so overwhelmed by self-pity that he forgot about his witness. Three months after the end of the trial, Bernard Chartres went missing. Two months after that, his body was found off an old logging road by hikers. He had been tortured before he was killed. Oscar Llewellyn broke the news to Jack, who drank himself unconscious and didn’t show up for work for two days.

  Then, nine months after Kathy Moran ran him out of court, a phone call from Detective Llewellyn presented Jack with an opportunity for revenge.

  “Hey, Jack,” Llewellyn said. “I’m glad I caught you.”

  “What’s up, Oscar?”

  “Grab a quick bite to eat. Then get back to your office by seven tonight. I have someone who wants to talk to you.”

  “Why can’t they come over now?”

  “They don’t want to be seen?”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t ask so many questions. Just be in your office at seven. You won’t be sorry.”

  Other than the cleaning crew, there were few people working in the district attorney’s office at seven o’clock. At 7:05, Oscar Llewellyn ushered a slender Chinese woman into Jack Booth’s office. Jack figured her age at late twenties or early thirties. She was dressed in a gray skirt and wore a matching gray jacket over a rust red blouse. The woman looked upset.

  “Nancy Hong, meet Jack Booth.”

  The name sounded familiar but Jack couldn’t remember where he had heard it.

  “Miss Hong has something to tell you,” Llewellyn said when they were all seated.

  Hong sat with her hands clasped in her lap. She looked very uncomfortable.

  “I wish I wasn’t here,” Hong said, “but the situation has become intolerable. Detective Llewellyn was the chief investigator in one of my cases and I came to trust him. That’s why I went to him.”

  “What did you want to tell me?” Jack said.

  “It’s about my law partner Kathy Moran.”

  Bingo! Jack thought. Hong, Moran and Ireland was Kathy Moran’s law firm. Jack had tried to forget about Kathy. When her name came up in a conversation its very mention elicited feelings of anger, shame, and embarrassment.

  Hong looked down at her lap. Her shoulders were hunched. When she looked up, anger had overcome any discomfort she felt.

  “Kathy is a criminal, Mr. Booth. She’s a drug user and an embezzler. I’ve tried to reason with her, but she lies. I can’t trust her.” She paused. “Coming here was a last resort.”

  “Can you go back a bit?” Jack asked. “Can you start at the beginning?”

  Hong nodded. “Kathy, Ron Ireland, and I met at Boalt Hall during our first year in law school. We were in a study group. Ron and I are from Portland. When we graduated we talked Kathy into coming to Oregon and starting a law firm. She’s very smart, brilliant. We were very excited.”

  Hong shook her head. Her distress was obvious.

  “It all started with that Kilbride case.”

  Jack’s face reddened. Hong noticed and she looked embarrassed.

  “Shortly after the case ended, Kathy’s behavior changed. She couldn’t stop bragging about her coup. She was giddy, revved up. I wrote off her enthusiasm to having won a big case in spectacular fashion. Then she started coming into the office late; she missed court appearances. Ron and I couldn’t figure it out. Then Ron began acting oddly.”

  Hong paused again. She was very upset. “Ron is married. He was married in law school to his college sweetheart. But he always had the hots for Kathy. You can see why. She’s gorgeous and she uses sex to get what she wants,” Hong said bitterly. “Ron found out what she was up to and she seduced him to shut him up.”

  “What did Ron find out?” Jack asked.

  “Kathy is addicted to cocaine. I think Gary Kilbride hooked her so he wouldn’t have to pay for her representation in his murder case. I know he never paid the entire fee. And Kathy’s been embezzling. She was our managing partner. She kept the books and paid the bills. We trusted her, so we never checked up on her. But I did after she started acting oddly. I don’t know how much she’s stolen but our bank accounts are very low.”

  “You said coming to me was a last resort.”

  Hong nodded. “I confronted her. She was defiant at first. She said there was nothing wrong with the books. She wouldn’t explain why she was missing work and court on a regular basis. So I cornered Ron and he broke down and confessed.

  “Ron and Kathy were working late one night and he walked in on her snorting coke in her office. He said that he was going to tell me. Kathy offered to fuck him if he kept quiet. Ron’s marriage hasn’t been great. He gave in to temptation. She even talked him into trying cocaine. Then she kept him on a string while she looted our accounts to pay for her habit. Ron’s wife found out about the affair and wants a divorce. The firm is probably going to break up. And it’s all her fault.”

  “Would you press charges if it meant Miss Moran would go to jail?”

  “At this point, yes. She betrayed me and she’s ruining Ron’s life. I worked hard to build our firm and she’s sent it straight down the toilet. I’m just praying she didn’t do anything that will lead to a malpractice suit.”

  “Can you pr
ove Miss Moran is embezzling funds?” Jack asked.

  “I had a friend who’s a CPA take a look at the books on a weekend when Kathy was out of town. The drugs must have made her overconfident and sloppy because she left a paper trail. I also found a Baggie in her desk and I brought it to Detective Llewellyn.”

  “The lab confirmed it’s cocaine,” Llewellyn said.

  “Okay, then. Let’s have a chat with Miss Moran,” Jack said.

  Hong and Llewellyn worked out a plan. Then the lawyer and the detective left. Jack had kept his demeanor businesslike until he was alone. Then he leaned back in his chair and smiled.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Detective Llewellyn arrested Kathy Moran at five in the afternoon and placed her in a holding cell in the offices of the police bureau where only police personnel would see her. Kathy demanded a chance to call a lawyer, but Llewellyn stalled so the frightened attorney could give her imagination a workout.

  Shortly before eight o’clock, the cell door opened and Jack walked in. He had looked forward to his confrontation with Kathy, but any sense of satisfaction melted away when he saw her. He remembered how vibrant Kathy had looked on the day they met. Now she looked skeletal and there were dark circles under her eyes. The lustrous blond hair Jack remembered looked lifeless, and Kathy was twitchy, shifting in her seat, tapping her foot.

  “I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances,” Jack said as he sat opposite her.

  “I’ll bet,” Kathy said. She wouldn’t look Jack in the eye.

  “You probably think I’m still upset about the outcome in Kilbride,” Jack said, “but I’m not. You taught me a valuable lesson and I’m grateful. I was too cocky and my ego got in the way. If I’d been less self-assured and a little more insecure I might have figured out that my case wasn’t anywhere near as good as it seemed.”

  Now Kathy did look up. Her expression was one of contempt.

  “Don’t try to play good cop, Jack. You can’t pull it off. And don’t lie to me. Everyone knows how badly I humiliated you. You were the laughingstock of the defense bar, and I hear your boss wasn’t too pleased.”