He went back to his report. The autopsy results were not yet in but Cisco was betting on blunt-force trauma being the cause of death. At the moment, time of death was listed as between 8:30 and 8:50 A.M. There was a receipt in Bondurant’s pocket from a Joe’s Joe four blocks away. It was time-stamped 8:21 A.M. and investigators figured the fastest he could have gotten from the coffee shop to his parking space in the bank garage was nine minutes. The 911 call from the bank employee who found his body was logged at 8:52 A.M.
So estimated time of death had an approximate twenty-minute swing. It wasn’t a lot of time but when it came to things like documenting a defendant’s movements for the purpose of alibi, it was an eternity.
Police interviewed everyone who was parking on the same level as well as all of those who worked in Bondurant’s department at the bank. Lisa Trammel’s name came up early and often during these interviews. She was named as an individual Bondurant had reportedly felt threatened by. His department kept a threat-assessment file and she was number one on the list. As we all knew, she had been served with a restraining order keeping her away from the bank.
The police hit the jackpot when one bank employee reported seeing Lisa Trammel walking away from the bank on Ventura Boulevard within minutes of the murder.
“Who is this witness?” I asked, zeroing in on the most damaging part of his report.
“Her name is Margo Schafer. She’s a bank teller. According to my sources she’s never had contact with Trammel. She works in the bank, not the loan operation. But Trammel’s photo was circulated to staff after they got the TRO against her. Everybody was told to be aware of her and to report it if she was seen. So she recognized her.”
“And was this on bank property?”
“No, it was on the sidewalk a half block away. She was supposedly walking east on Ventura, away from the bank.”
“Do we know anything about this Margo Schafer?”
“Not now, but we will. I’m on it.”
I nodded. It usually wasn’t necessary for me to tell Cisco what to investigate. He moved on to the second part of his report, the search of Lisa Trammel’s house. This time he referred to a document he pulled from a file.
“Lisa Trammel volunteered—their word—to accompany detectives to Van Nuys Division about two hours after the murder. They’re claiming she was not placed under arrest until the conclusion of an interview at the station. Using statements made during that interview as well as the eyewitness account of Margo Schafer, the detectives obtained a search warrant for Trammel’s home. They spent about six hours there looking for evidence, including a possible murder weapon as well as digital and hard-copy documentation of a plan to kill Bondurant.”
Search warrants designate a specific window of time during which the search must take place. Afterward, police must in a timely manner file a document with the court called a search-warrant return that lists exactly what was seized. It is then the judge’s responsibility to review the seizure to make sure that the police acted within the parameters of the warrant. Cisco said the detectives Kurlen and Longstreth had filed the return that morning and he had obtained a copy through the clerk’s office. It was a key part of the case at this point because the police and prosecution weren’t sharing information with the defense. Andrea Freeman had shut that down. But the search-warrant request and return were public records. Freeman could not stop their release. And they gave me the best look at how the state was building its case.
“Give us the highlights,” I said. “But then I want a copy of the whole thing.”
“This is your copy here,” Cisco said. “As far as—”
“May I please get a copy, too?” Aronson asked.
Cisco looked at me for permission. It was awkward. He was silently asking if she was truly a member of the team and not just a client hand-holder I had brought in from the department-store law school.
“Absolutely,” I said.
“You got it,” Cisco said. “Now, the highlights. As far as the weapon goes, it looks like the detectives went into the garage and took every handheld tool they could find off the workbench.”
“So they don’t know what the murder weapon was,” I said.
“No autopsy yet,” Cisco said. “They’ll have to make wound comparisons. That will take time but I’ve got the medical examiner’s office wired. When they know it, I’ll know it.”
“Okay, what else?”
“They took her laptop, a three-year-old MacBook Pro, and various and sundry documents relating to the foreclosure of the home on Melba. This is where they might piss the judge off. They do not specifically list the documents, probably because there were too many. They mention just three files. They are marked FLAG, FORECLOSURE ONE and FORECLOSURE TWO.”
I assumed that any foreclosure documents Lisa had at home were documents I had given her. The FLAG file as well as the computer could hold names of the members of Lisa’s group, an indication that the police were possibly looking for co-conspirators.
“Okay, what else?”
“They took her cell phone, one pair of shoes from the garage and here’s the kicker. They seized a personal journal. They don’t describe it beyond that or say what was in it. But I’m thinking that if it’s got her ranting against the bank or the victim in particular, then we’ll have a problem.”
“I’ll ask her about it when I visit her tomorrow,” I said. “Back up for a second. The cell phone. Was it specifically stated in the warrant application that they wanted her phone? Are they suggesting a conspiracy, that she had help killing Bondurant?”
“No, nothing about co-conspirators in the application. They’re probably just making sure they cover all possibilities.”
I nodded. Seeing the moves the investigators were making against my client was very helpful.
“They’ve probably filed a separate search warrant seeking call records from her service provider,” I said.
“I’ll check into it,” Cisco said.
“Okay, anything else on the warrant?”
“The shoes. The return lists one pair of shoes taken from the garage. Doesn’t say why, just says that they were gardening shoes. They were a woman’s shoes.”
“No other shoes taken?”
“Not that they’re taking credit for. Just these.”
“You’ve got nothing about shoe prints at the crime scene, right?”
“I’ve got nothing on that.”
“Okay.”
I was sure the reason for the seizure of the shoes would become apparent soon enough. On a search warrant police throw as wide a net as the court allows. It’s better to seize as much as possible than leave anything behind. Sometimes that means seizing items that ultimately have nothing to do with the case.
“By the way,” Cisco said, “if you get the chance, the application makes interesting reading if you can get past the misspellings and grammar issues. They used her interview extensively but we already saw all of that on the disc Kurlen gave you.”
“Yes, her so-called admissions and his exaggerations.”
I stood up and started pacing in the middle of the room. Lorna also got up and took the search warrant from Cisco so she could make a copy. She disappeared into a nearby den where she had her office and where there was a copier.
I waited for her to come back and hand a copy of the documents to Aronson before I began.
“Okay, this is how we are going to do this. First thing is we need to get moving on getting a real office. Some place close to the Van Nuys courthouse where we can set up our command post.”
“You want me on that, Mick?” Lorna asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“I’ll make sure there’s parking and good food nearby.”
“It would be nice to be able to just walk to court.”
“You got it. Short-term lease?”
I paused. I liked working out of the backseat of the Lincoln. It had a freedom to it that was conducive to my thought processes.
“We
’ll take it for a year. See what happens.”
I looked at Aronson next. She had her head down and was writing notes on a legal pad.
“Bullocks, I need you to hand-hold our current clients and respond with the basics to new callers. The radio ads run through the month so we can expect no downturn in business. I also need you to help out on Trammel.”
She looked up at me and her eyes brightened at the prospect of being on a murder case less than a year after being admitted to the bar.
“Don’t get too excited,” I said. “I’m not giving you second chair just yet. You’ll be doing a lot of the grunt work. How were you on probable cause back at the department-store school?”
“I was the best in my class.”
“Of course you were. Well, you see that document in your hand? I want you to take that search warrant and break it down and tear it apart. We’re looking for omissions and misrepresentations, anything that can be used in a motion to suppress. I want all evidence taken from Lisa Trammel’s house thrown out.”
Aronson visibly gulped. This was because I was issuing a tall order. And it was more than grunt work because the task would probably mean a lot of effort for little return. It was rare that evidence was kicked wholesale from a case. I was simply covering all the bases and using Aronson on one of them. She was smart enough to see that and it was one reason I had hired her.
“Remember, you’re working on a murder case,” I said. “How many of your classmates can say they’ve done that yet?”
“Probably none.”
“Damn right. So next I want you to take the disc of Lisa’s police interview and do the same thing. Look for any false move by the cops, anything we can use to get that knocked out as well. I think there might be something here in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year. Are you familiar with it?”
“Uh… this is my first criminal case.”
“Then get familiar with it. Kurlen went out of his way to make it look like she came in for a voluntary interview. But if we can show he had her in his control, cuffs or not, we can make a case for her being under arrest from the start. We do that and everything she said before Miranda goes bye-bye.”
“Okay.”
Aronson didn’t look up from her writing.
“Do you understand your assignments?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then go to it, but don’t forget about the rest of the clients. They’re paying the bills around here. For now.”
I turned back to Lorna.
“Which reminds me, Lorna, I need you to make contact with Joel Gotler and get something rolling on this story. This whole thing might go away if there’s a plea agreement, so let’s try to get a deal now. Tell him we’re willing to go low on the back end for some decent up-front cash. We need to fund the defense.”
Gotler was the Hollywood agent who represented me. I used him whenever Hollywood came calling. This time we were going to go calling on Hollywood and proactively try to get a deal.
“Sell him on it,” I told Lorna. “I’ve got a business card in the car from a producer at Sixty Minutes. That’s how big this is getting.”
“I’ll call Joel,” she said. “I know what to say.”
I stopped pacing to consider what was left and what my role was going to be. I looked at Cisco.
“You want me on the witness?” he asked.
“That’s right. And the victim, too. I want the full picture on both of them.”
My order was punctuated by a sharp buzzing sound from an intercom speaker on the wall next to the kitchen door.
“Sorry, that’s the front gate,” Lorna said.
She made no move to go to the intercom.
“You want to answer it?” I asked.
“No, I’m not expecting anyone and all the delivery guys know the combination. It’s probably a solicitor. They walk this neighborhood like zombies.”
“Okay,” I said, “then let’s move on. The next thing we need to be thinking about is the alternate killer.”
That drew everyone’s undivided attention.
“We need a setup man,” I said. “If we take this thing to trial it’s not going to be good enough to just potshot the state’s case. We are going to need an aggressive defense. We have to point the jury in a direction away from Lisa. To do that, we need an alternate theory.”
I was aware of Aronson watching me as I spoke. I felt like a teacher in law school.
“What we need is a hypothesis of innocence. If we build that, we win the case.”
The gate buzzer went off again. It was then followed by two more long and insistent buzzes.
“What the hell?” Lorna said.
Annoyed, she got up and walked to the intercom. She pushed the communication button.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Is this the law offices of Mickey Haller?”
It was a woman’s voice and it sounded familiar but I couldn’t immediately place it. The speaker was tinny and the volume turned low. Lorna looked back at us and shook her head as though she was confused. Her address was not on any of our advertising. How did this person get to the front gate?
“Yes, but it is by appointment only,” Lorna responded. “I can give you the number to call if you want to set up a consultation with Mr. Haller.”
“Please! I need to speak to him now. This is Lisa Trammel and I’m already a client. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”
I stared at the intercom speaker as though I believed it to be a direct pipeline to the Van Nuys women’s jail—where Lisa was supposed to be. Then I looked at Lorna.
“I guess you’d better open the gate.”
Six
Lisa Trammel was not alone. When Lorna answered her front door my client walked through in the company of a man I recognized as having been in court during Lisa’s first appearance. He had been in the front row of the gallery and stood out to me because he didn’t look like a lawyer or journalist. He looked Hollywood. And not the glitzy, confident Hollywood. The other one. The Hollywood on the make. Either a toupee or amateur dye job on the hair, requisite matching fringe on the chin, wattled throat… he looked like a sixty-year-old trying without a lot of success to pass for forty. He wore a black leather sport coat over a maroon turtleneck. A gold chain with a peace sign on it hung from his neck. Whoever he was, I had to suspect he was the reason Lisa was walking free.
“Well, you either escaped from Van Nuys jail or you made bail,” I said. “I’m thinking that somehow, someway, it’s the latter.”
“Smart man,” Lisa said. “Everyone, this is Herbert Dahl, my friend and benefactor.”
“That’s D-A-H-L,” said the smiling benefactor.
“Benefactor?” I asked. “Does that mean you put up Lisa’s bail?”
“A bond, actually,” Dahl said.
“Who did you use?”
“A guy named Valenzuela. His place is right by the jail. Very convenient and he said he knew you.”
“Right.”
I paused for a moment, wondering how to proceed, and Lisa filled in the space.
“Herb is a true hero, rescuing me from that horrible place,” she said. “Now I’m out and free to help our team fight these false charges.”
Lisa had worked previously with Aronson but not directly with Lorna or Cisco. She stepped over and put her hand out to them, introducing herself and shaking hands as if this was all part of a routine day and it was time to get down to business. Cisco glanced over at me and gave me a look that said What the hell is this? I shrugged. I didn’t know.
Lisa had never mentioned Herb Dahl to me, a dear enough friend and “benefactor” that he was willing to drop 200K on a bond. This, and the fact that she hadn’t tapped his largesse to pay for her defense, did not surprise me. Her barging in all bluster and business, ready to be part of the team, didn’t either. I believed that with strangers Lisa was very skilled at keeping her personal and emotional issues beneath the surface. She could charm the stripes off a
tiger and I wondered if Herb Dahl knew what he was getting into. I assumed he was working an angle, but he might not understand that he was being worked as well.
“Lisa,” I said, “can we step back here into Lorna’s office and speak privately for a moment?”
“I think Herb should hear whatever it is you have to say. He’s going to be documenting the case.”
“Well, he’s not going to document our conversations because communications between you and your attorney are private and privileged. He can be compelled to testify in court about anything he hears or sees.”
“Oh… well, isn’t there a way of deputizing him or something to make him part of the legal team?”
“Lisa, just come back here for a few minutes.”
I pointed toward the den and Lisa finally started moving in that direction.
“Lorna, why don’t you get Mr. Dahl something to drink?”
I followed Lisa into the den and closed the door. There were two desks. One for Lorna and one for Cisco. I pulled a side chair over in front of Lorna’s and told Lisa to sit down. I then went behind the desk and sat down to face her.
“This is a strange law office,” she said. “It feels like somebody’s home or something.”
“It’s temporary. Let’s talk about your hero out there, Lisa. How long have you known him?”
“Just a couple months or so.”
“How did you meet him?”
“On the courthouse steps. He came to one of the FLAG protests. He said he was interested in us from a filmmaker’s perspective.”
“Really? So he’s a filmmaker? Where’s his camera?”
“Well, he actually puts things together. He’s very successful. He does, like, book deals and movies. He’s going to handle all of that. This case is going to get massive attention, Mickey. At the jail they told me I had interview requests from thirty-six reporters. Of course they didn’t let me speak to them, only Herb.”
“Herb got to you in the jail, did he? He must be relentless.”
“He said that when he sees a story he stops at nothing. Remember that little girl who lived for a week on the side of the mountain with her dead father after he crashed off the road? He got her a TV movie.”
The Fifth Witness: A Novel Page 5