Cold Fear

by Rick Mofina

  The old man himself. Pissed off. The senior partner. Cohen glanced at the stack of photocopies on the passenger seat next to him. Copies of the county attorney’s old summary of Emily confessional letters.

  He switched off his phone. No, he was not calling back.

  Tom Reed’s news story was effective beyond his expectations, accomplishing exactly what Hood needed: attention to the questions that needed to be raised, to the injustice that was about to be committed at midnight. Cohen would embark on the next stage of his struggle, one that may cost him everything. He had to halt the execution.

  Cohen reflected on his days at Harvard, brooding along the Charles River, or hopping a train downtown to Fenway while grappling with philosophy or ethics problems. If a good man does nothing when confronted with a moral wrong, what is lost? It was just theory. Academic posturing. He had expected the only time he would face such a question was during a law exam.

  Not in reality.

  In his heart, he knew Hood should not be executed. Lane knew that, too. The principal that had guided Cohen was now a legal certainty that compelled him. If he was a moral man, he must take action. Or he could never face himself again.

  A Montana Highway Patrol Officer was now directing Cohen to turn away from the main gate to Glacier National Park.

  “We’re limiting traffic at this entrance, sir. What is your business here?”

  Cohen identified himself. The officer sent him to park with the press vehicles. Precisely where he wanted to go. The press camp was in full force.

  Cohen grabbed his stack of photocopies and searched for the podium that had become familiar to the nation and the world following the story of Paige Baker. She was still missing, according to the latest update from the rangers. While weaving his way to the microphones, Cohen handed out his sheets to every newsperson he saw. Word spread at the speed of sound. Network field producers, reporters, photographers, encircled Cohen, advising him to hold off starting his news conference for fifteen minutes for technical reasons, peppering him with prep questions, talking at once. Cohen did not see who was asking what.

  “You Hood’s lawyer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Spell your first and last name.”

  “You’re giving a press conference?”

  “Why did you come?”

  “Well, I--”

  “Hold it--” Someone was shouting on his cell phone to New York, “Well, get them out of the meeting. We found him! He’s right here--”

  “What are you going to say, David?”

  “I think that’s clear by what’s already come out. We’re talking life and death here.”

  “Good, OK,” a bearded man with a southern accent shouted. “Everyone, we’re going with the lawyer in ten.”

  Radios and cell phones became intense with staccato conversations as more people gathered around Cohen. A helicopter passed overhead.

  Soon dozens of TV news and newspaper cameras were trained on Cohen as he stood at the microphones, licking his dried lips, realizing he had no choice. This has to be done. There’s no turning back.

  “Go ahead,” someone said.

  “No, wait!” Someone was on a radio phone. “OK.”

  Cohen nodded, hand on hips. He was wearing a faded denim shirt and khakis; his tanned face was stubbled with a day’s growth; his hair, just the right amount out of place, made him look like the idealistic, anguished attorney he was. Eyes staring honestly into the cameras. The networks loved it. Cohen cleared his throat and explained who he was, answering rapid-fire questions.

  “I am calling on the governor to reconsider his position on the fate of my client, Isaiah Hood, whose execution is set to go ahead at midnight tonight.”

  The questions started at once. Still cameras clicked.

  “Why?”

  “On what basis, Mr. Cohen?”

  “What’s your reason for…”

  “In light of evidence that has surfaced showing the connection of Emily Baker to my client, showing the documents that never surfaced at trial or in subsequent appeals--”

  “You’re referring to her so-called confessional letters?”

  “Yes, and given the circumstance we’re seeing played out before us--”

  “Sir, are you are implying that Emily Baker murdered her sister?”

  “No. What I am saying is look at this profoundly disturbing evidence. We have always maintained reasonable doubt permeated this case, that his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence. Now we have only hours before my client is executed. I am pleading for relief here so we can sort things…”

  Some seventy floors above downtown Chicago, Abe Gold and other senior partners of Cohen’s law firm were watching, with apprehension, the boardroom’s large television.

  “What the hell is he doing?” said one of the partners. “Did we know this was coming, Abe? Did we know any of this crap was coming?”

  Gold shook his head. The intercom on the boardroom phone buzzed.

  “Mr. Gold, a Mr. Jackson, for the Montana attorney general’s office.”

  “Yes,” Gold said, eyes fastened to the news conference.

  “Abe, what is this shit?” Jackson said from Helena. “Call in your kid now. Phone him right now! We’re contemplating filing a complaint with Washington, charging him with obstruction.”

  Gold said nothing, weighing the situation. While he was upset that David had not advised the firm, he admired Cohen’s spine, recalling his own days of youthful fire.

  “Mr. Jackson, am I to understand Governor Nye will grant our client relief until these serious issues raised by Mr. Cohen are addressed?”

  Jackson hung up.

  Gold almost smiled.

  “I think the other guy blinked,” he said.

  The boardroom phone rang again.

  “The U.S. attorney general’s office in Washington, Mr. Gold.”

  ***

  In Montana, Maleena Crow slammed her palms on the steering wheel of her Jetta. Traffic had halted her progress near Glacier National Park’s main gate. En route to see the FBI, Crow had tuned in her VW’s radio and, to her surprise, caught the start of David Cohen’s news conference. Immediately, she was outraged.

  “How dare he do this!”

  The previous night, Nora Lam had advised her Emily Baker would be Mirandized before being questioned this morning. No other attorneys were available. Lam alerted Crow to return in case something developed with Emily. Did they know this Cohen character was going to pull this stunt? she asked herself as she abandoned her car on the side of a road and stormed toward Cohen’s press conference.

  A patrol officer chased her. ‘Miss, you can’t leave your car…”

  Crow hurried to the conference, elbowing her way through the throng of reporters, until she was standing next to Cohen, startling the news people. No one knew the striking woman in the jeans, T-shirt and pastel blazer holding a briefcase. She had the intelligent air of an official. Cohen was answering a question.

  “I think there is more than sufficient evidence and reason to re-open--”

  “Excuse me,” Crow said. “I think you’ve all been duped by some legal sleight of hand here.”

  “Identify yourself, please, miss!

  “I am Maleena Crow, attorney for Doug Baker. It is unethical and immoral for Mr. Cohen to direct this accusation at the Baker family at this time and in this manner.”

  “I disagree--”

  “Just let me finish, please, sir. You’ve had your say.” Tension and the cameras tightened on her pretty face. The networks were eating up the drama. “Your accusations, innuendo and implications are all hypothetical and circumstantial, and it is unconscionable for an attorney, even one of your caliber, to do this--”

  “There is disturbing and overwhelming evidence.”

  “Mr. Cohen, it is circumstantial at best and you are not privy to all the facts concerning the search for Paige Baker.”

  “Nor are you, apparently, Ms. Crow.”

 
; “I think you’ve crossed a line. There is a missing child and your accusations do not warrant a trial, not in court and not in the press--”

  A chopper was approaching, drowning out the news conference.

  As was the ritual with each approaching landing helicopter, the news cameras zoomed in to see who was aboard.

  This time they were rewarded.

  All the crews kept the audio rolling as Cohen and Crow argued.

  As if cued, FBI agents Tracy Bowman and Frank Zander stepped from the chopper, crouching as they each took an arm, escorting Emily Baker to the command center.

  The pictures told the story.

  Emily Baker was a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance and now her sister’s murder twenty-two years ago; meanwhile the clock ticked down on the life of a man who claimed to be innocent.

  SIXTY-ONE

  On her previous trip to the center, Emily regarded the news media as an ally. Now they had swollen into a ravenous force. She closed her eyes, gripping her knees as the chopper touched down.

  Oh Paige. Please come back to me.

  Agents Zander and Bowman escorted her to the center as dozens of cameras and press questions were aimed at her; the wind from the rotating blades thumped a sobering score. Above it all, Emily swore she heard someone shouting, “Did you kill your sister and daughter?”

  Inside the center, conversations stopped and heads turned as Emily and the agents, their steps echoing on the maple floor, swept by the search operations people. Everyone knew. Bowman signaled to another female agent and they entered the washroom with Emily. She was asked to leave the stall door open; later, they scrutinized her in silence as she washed her face.

  Zander entered the task force room, where the others were waiting. Mugs of fresh black coffee, thick closed file folders and clear notepads sat before them at large table. The tension was suffocating. He paced, stopping to stare at the large TV, taking in the soft sounds of the latest on the case from CNN. He tapped the corner of the monitor, then switched it to 00, the special channel Agent Clovis had set up. The screen was still black. He switched the set off as Maleena Crow arrived.

  “Have a seat.” Zander’s tone was neutral.

  Her chair scraped the floor. No one spoke. A search helicopter flew overhead. No one spoke of the surreal twists of the case. Even having Crow present before they went at Emily was unusual.

  The young lawyer reasoned that the FBI was striving to see that every aspect of their investigation, no matter how wrong-headed it was, went by the book and then some.

  Emily arrived with Bowman, who helped her to the same position she had taken before.

  “Would you like coffee or anything?” Bowman asked.

  “Just some water, please.” Emily cleared her throat.

  Bowman set a small plastic cup before her. Zander, folded his arms and began.

  “Emily Baker, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….”

  She bowed her head and wept softly.

  This was not real. What is happening? Is Paige dead? Where is Doug? Oh God.

  “You have the right to consult an attorney and have them present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?”

  Emily nodded slowly. Tears streamed down her face.

  “Please answer.”

  “Yes, I understand my rights.”

  “Knowing your rights, are you willing to answer our questions without an attorney present?”

  Emily stared at her cup, blinking through her tears, looking toward the window, the mountains, rubbing her nose and nodding.

  “Yes.”

  “Emily, no!” Crow was startled. “Emily, no! I advise you--”

  Emily was puzzled.

  “That’s enough, Ms. Crow, please leave us,” Zander said.

  “Who are you?” Emily asked. “Who is she?”

  Standing, Crow scowled at Zander, “I am Doug’s lawyer.”

  “What!” Emily glared at Bowman. This is a betrayal. “You never…no one told me Doug has a lawyer. Has he been charged?”

  “Emily, do you want an attorney present?” Zander thundered.

  “No.”

  “No?” Crow was incredulous. “Emily I advise you--”

  “Get out now, Ms. Crow. You are interfering.”

  Emily slammed her palms on the table, her cup jumped without spilling.

  “Please. I just want to find Paige. I do not need a lawyer for that. I don’t care what they think or suspect. I do not care.” Eyes wide, she looked into her empty hands. “All I want to know is if I will ever hold my daughter in my arms again. I’ll answer any questions for that. Oh, please, I--” Emily covered her face with her hands. “Why does Doug have a…oh God…let me talk to my husband. Can I please talk to Doug?”

  No one answered her.

  “Emily, this is a mistake,” Crow called as she was escorted from the room. Zander closed the door behind her.

  Bowman passed Emily a tissue.

  The only sound to be heard in the room was Emily’s sobbing.

  Zander let several long tension-filled moments pass before he asked his first question.

  “Emily, it’s been five days since Paige disappeared. The rangers know that region. They have been scouring it relentlessly, even risking injury. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian officials are doing the same on the Canadian side of the park. Now, why do you suppose we have not found any trace of Paige or her dog? Why is that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Now, why is it we did not find out about your connection your sister’s death in the same region of the park, twenty-two years ago, and your connection to Isaiah Hood?”

  “It was a very painful part of my life. Very painful.”

  “So you admit keeping that from us when we asked you to tell us everything about your history, anything that might help us understand what happened to Paige?”

  “I did not even tell my husband. It was very painful. Doug will tell you. Has he told you?”

  “He has told us things.”

  “What things?” Where is he? There’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “What is the real reason you came to Montana with your family, Emily?”

  “To deal with my sister’s death, the deaths of my parents. My counselor told me if I was here when Isaiah Hood was executed, I could use his ending as a turning point, as a way to put it all behind me.”

  “Or try to get away with it again.”

  “What?” Emily began weeping. “I cannot understand…why--”

  Suddenly, a radio crackled.

  “This is Clovis to Zander. Over.”

  Zander reached for his radio, quietly acknowledging Clovis’s call from the crevasse.

  Clovis then reported: “All set to broadcast here. Over.”

  Zander moved closer to Emily.

  “You and Doug have been evasive and deceptive from the beginning. But here are the facts.” Zander was leaning on the table, his face inches from Emily. “We found Paige’s T-shirt. Bloodstained.” Zander thumped the table with his forefinger, causing Emily to flinch. “We found Doug’s ax. Bloodstained.” Zander thumped the table again. Emily raised her hands to her ears. “You and Doug tell us either one of you could have been alone with Paige for hours, unseen by anyone. What you’ve done is given each other convenient alibis that are difficult to challenge. Then we find disturbing questions have been raised about your involvement in your sister’s death in the very same area and in the very same fashion as Paige’s case.”

  “No.”

  “Only a few days before you came here, the San Francisco Police Department was called to your house. A neighbor reported Doug was violent.”

  “No, that was a misunderstanding.”

  “We also learned that a student at Doug’s
school has accused him of a violent outburst, of striking her, in the days before you came here.”

  “No. I didn’t know that--”

  Striking a student? Doug? No.

  “Twenty-four hours before Paige vanishes, your family is witnessed having a heated argument on the trail.”

  “That was about me. It had nothing to do with--”

  “And we found some blood, tiny drops of blood, and some of Paige’s hair near the mouth of a remote crevasse, just under two miles from your campsite. Soon we’ll put it all together and you can tell us what went wrong and how.”

  “Oh God.” Emily began shrieking. “She’s not d-d--”

  Zander switched on the room’s large TV, turning to 00, nodding to Bowman, who raised her radio to her mouth. “Go ahead, Clovis.”

  A blurring image began swimming on the screen, filled with static.

  “Can you hear us, task force? Over.” Clovis’s voice was tinny but clear.

  “We hear you fine. Go ahead, Rob. Over.”

  “OK, we’ve just set up and we’ll start lowering the camera. It’s going to take time. Over.”

  “Can you tell us anything at this point? Over,” Zander said.

  “Roger. We dropped a vapor probe. Early indications are there is definitely a body mass down there. Confirmed.”

  Zander’s eyes burned into Emily’s.

  Her face went white.

  SIXTY-TWO

  High atop the treacherous fissured cliffside of Sector 23, the ultra-soft hum of a lightweight gas-powered generator traveled throughout the glacial valley and alpine forests.

  Members of the FBI’s ERT worked quietly at the mouth of the crevasse where traces of Paige Baker’s blood and hair had been discovered.

  Special Agent Rob Clovis knew it was a critical procedure. The probe would determine the outcome of the investigation. He felt the weight of it on his shoulders. In twenty years of duty, he had been called out to work on some difficult FBI operations, but he had never attempted anything quite like this. He looked at his watch again. It seemed he was looking at it every five minutes well aware Frank Zander and the other investigators were counting on ERT.