Corrupted Read online

  “I remember this, we watched this.”

  “Yes, we wanted to see if there were any witnesses, or anybody doing anything suspicious, like running down the street, as if they were running from the alley. We were trying to substantiate Jason’s story that he was framed, too.”

  “Right.”

  “But we couldn’t.” Bennie watched the numbers of the time clock running at the bottom of the frame, before the murder. A shadowy figure appeared on the screen and started walking down the street, away from the camera, but the picture was so grainy, it was hard to tell what they looked like.

  “So there’s somebody, but that’s before the murder.”

  “Right.” Bennie remembered having gone over this and why they rejected it before. “And we dismissed that person as a witness, because Jason said there was no shouting during the fight. There was nothing to hear, so there was nothing to follow up on.”

  “Right.”

  “Now, watch. I think I remember there was somebody.” Bennie and Lou watched the screen and stopped the video when 11:15 passed. “So this is roughly when the murder occurred. We can double-check it later and run the videos side by side, but I can’t run two videos at the same time on the same screen and I want to keep going.”

  “You don’t need to, I follow you. Jason enters the alley at eleven fifteen and he’s in there right now.”

  “Correct.” Bennie watched the screen, and another shadowy figure appeared. “There we go. Who is that person? What’s that about?”

  “It doesn’t look like somebody running away from a murder or any kind of fight in an alley. That’s why we didn’t think it mattered. Someone walking calmly down a street.” Lou leaned away from the screen to see it better. “I wish you could enlarge that.”

  “Let me try.” Bennie enlarged the video as much as she could, but they still couldn’t tell what the figure looked like, except that it appeared to be carrying something.

  “Doesn’t look like they were in the alley, Bennie. Not with a package.”

  “We don’t know that. It’s at least possible. Something could be in the package, something relevant, for all we know.”

  “So ask Jason. Confront him with it.”

  “He’ll lie. He’s a knucklehead, like you said. I’m just trying to save him from himself.”

  Lou paused, thinking it over. “So how exactly do you think it went down in the alley?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to find some better videotape.” Bennie turned to him. “You have buddies on the force you can call, don’t you?”

  “You know I do.”

  “So maybe you could get us some new videotapes. Go call a few of them. We got videos from Dunbar, but ask them which traffic cams there are on Yearling, around the block from Dunbar. Or ask them which of the stores on Yearling have good surveillance video cameras. See if you can rustle up any more videos that show Yearling at the relevant time.”

  “I suppose I could ask around.” Lou rose, hitching up his pants.

  “Also stop by the Mayfair Bar & Grill and ask some questions. See if you can find out if Richie made any enemies there, like maybe that guy he pulled the paring knife on.”

  “You really believe in this kid, don’t you?”

  “Yes. He’s Richard the Strong.”

  “Well, okay.” Lou reached for the bag of takeout. “I’m Lou the Hungry, and I’m taking my lo mein.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  Darkness fell outside the conference room, but Bennie forked garlicky sautéed vegetables into her mouth and watched the video of the figure walking down Yearling, for the umpteenth time. The more she watched the video, the more she thought she was onto something. Maybe there really had been a third person in the alley, but she had no idea who. She kicked herself for missing it before, but she hadn’t come up with her revelation about Jason’s pattern of behavior until she’d heard Doreen’s testimony. She fought the impulse to go see Jason and ask him, but she wanted more information before she confronted him. If she went prematurely, he’d just deny it, and she’d have shown her hand.

  She slurped down a peapod dripping in sauce, eyeing the video files that filled up her laptop screen. The Commonwealth had turned over seven videos from Dunbar Street, and Lou had managed to get ten more via blue magic. Bennie thought again that if people knew how often they were filmed in public, they would never leave the house. She wondered if any of the other videos showed the unidentified figure entering the alley, but there was only one way to find out. She dropped her fork inside the take-out container, set it aside, and got to work.

  Bennie began with the videos that the Commonwealth had turned over and clicked through video after video, freeze-framing when she was unsure of what she was seeing. All of the videos were the same. None of them even started videotaping before nine o’clock, which made sense. The detectives would have focused their investigation on the time of the murder and worked backwards, and they would have stopped as soon as they had seen video of Jason entering the alley.

  Bennie reached for her cell phone, scrolled to FAVORITES, and pressed Lou, who picked up after one ring. “Hi, did you find out anything?”

  “Not yet, I’m working on it,” Lou answered, over traffic noise in the background.

  “Okay, but I forgot something.”

  “Milk, eggs, butter?”

  “Find me some video from before Jason goes into the alley. Go back as far as you can.”

  “You mean earlier in the day?”

  “Yes. Whoever went out of the alley had to go into it.” Bennie flashed on something that Stokowski had said on the witness stand. “Remember, Stokowski testified that Richie always parks in the alley? If somebody knew he was going to park in the alley, then they could’ve gone in there to meet him, or even to ambush him.”

  “Okay, will do.”

  Bennie heard a beep on her phone, signaling that another call was coming through, and she checked the screen. “Lou, hold on, I’m getting another call, it’s DiNunzio.”

  “Take it. I gotta go. I’ll catch you later.”

  “Thanks. Bye.” Bennie swiped END CALL & ACCEPT with her thumb. “DiNunzio, what’s up?”

  “Bennie, have you been online recently? I’m just giving you the heads-up.” Mary sounded nervous. “I have us on Google Alert, and that reporter Karen just posted a story about your murder case.”

  “Great.” Bennie simmered. “If she reported anything that hurts my client, I’ll sue. The jury isn’t sequestered, and the last thing we need is a mistrial.”

  “The story isn’t about your client. It’s about you, personally.”

  “About me?” Bennie felt her gut tense as she navigated out of the video. “I thought she liked me. I gave her the interview.”

  “I’m really sorry John talked to the reporter. He’s sorry, too. He’s going to apologize to you.”

  Bennie’s heart started to thump. She went online, pulled up the front page of the paper, and spotted the Court News column. The headline read, HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A LAWYER SCORNED. The lede began:

  Superlawyer Bennie Rosato is defending her first murder case in years, and it may just be a coincidence, but the murder victim, Richie Grusini, happens to be the nephew of an old flame of hers, who ditched her over a decade ago, fellow barrister Declan Mitchell. Reliable sources reveal that the famously single Rosato had a romantic relationship with Mitchell, which he ended when things got dicey, since she was then representing his nephew’s bully, Jason Lefkavick, in a previous juvenile action.

  “Oh my God.” Bennie felt mortified. She’d had the press take shots at her before in print, but never about anything private. Now Mary would know about Declan and so would all the associates. Her friends would know. She’d never felt so embarrassed.

  “Bennie, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter. I know you took that case for the right reasons, and nobody’s going to believe a word of this, least of all me.”

  “I did take it for the right reasons!” Benn
ie shot back, stricken, as she read on:

  Lefkavick and Grusini have gone public as being caught up in the notorious Kids-for-Cash scandal that arose in Luzerne County. Lefkavick is currently standing trial for first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Grusini. When questioned by this reporter, Rosato admitted to having represented Lefkavick in the juvenile action, but neglected to reveal that she had been romantically involved with his uncle and ultimately rejected by him.

  “Bennie, if there’s anything I can do to help you, I’ll do it. If you’re still at the office, I can come over.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Bennie felt her face aflame. She realized what must have happened. Karen must have started digging, then Doreen had spilled the beans, or the other way around. Either way, Bennie’s love life, or lack thereof, was online. She thought of Declan, then unaccountably, of their baby. That must be why the story rattled her. Thank God nobody knew about that. She hadn’t told a soul.

  “Bennie, this is just gossip, nothing more. You know that, right? I mean, really.”

  “But if the jury reads it, it could affect the merits of the case.”

  “No it can’t. How?”

  “Because it compromises my credibility.” Bennie felt heartsick. “I have to stand up in front of them and tell them that my client killed Grusini in self-defense.”

  “Bennie, you’ve talked to tons of juries in your time. You have credibility for miles, and the jury doesn’t decide a murder case based on what they think of the lawyers anyway.” Mary’s voice turned uncharacteristically authoritative. “We both know they decide on the facts and the witnesses. You’ve told me that yourself.”

  Bennie knew it was true. She’d given all the associates that lecture. Still, she fell silent as she read:

  Rosato has gone to great lengths to conceal her motivation for taking the murder case. She told her partner and associates at her law firm that she was court-appointed on the case. Yet a subsequent search of court records reveals that Rosato was not appointed to the case, raising major questions. Why is Rosato lying to her own employees? Is Rosato using the court system for revenge at her ex-boyfriend? If so, isn’t that a violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which lawyers are required to abide by?

  “Bennie, I can tell you’re reading it. You shouldn’t even bother.”

  “But the jury will know, and so will the judge, the prosecutor, and everyone—”

  “What will they know? So what?”

  Bennie swallowed hard. The initial shock of the exposure was subsiding, and she regained her footing. “You’re right. This isn’t about the case. I don’t think it will affect the case. It’s just juicy gossip.”

  “Exactly. It doesn’t affect the merits, even if the jury reads it.”

  “True, right.” Bennie couldn’t tell if she felt better or worse. She felt better because DiNunzio had made her feel better, but at the same time, she couldn’t believe she had gotten herself into a position in which she was being comforted by DiNunzio, whom she’d raised from a baby lawyer. “DiNunzio, listen, I didn’t keep it from you or the associates for any nefarious reason. I took the case to do right by the client, because I hadn’t before.”

  “You don’t have to explain it to me or anybody else. You want me to come back to the office? Everybody needs a girlfriend now and then.”

  Bennie didn’t know how to respond. She’d had friends and business acquaintances, but she’d never had a true girlfriend. She’d always been on her own. Even back in college, rowing crew, she always rowed a single scull. She just wasn’t a team player, and it had never bothered her before. She’d always believed that life was an individual sport, until now. “No, thanks, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  “I am, or I’m going to be.” Bennie’s attention was drawn to the next sentence in the article:

  Phil McGeer, President of the Criminal Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, stated, “Certainly, it would be a violation of our Canon of Ethics for a criminal defense lawyer to undertake a defense for a personal reason of his or her own, or for any other reason other than advocating the best interest of his or her client …

  Bennie cringed. She’d known Phil for thirty years. They’d served in the Young Lawyers’ Section together. Now he knew about Declan and was being bothered for dumb quotes to give credibility to snark. She closed the webpage in disgust and navigated back to the videos. “Okay, my pity party’s over. I have to get back to work. There’s too much at stake in this case to worry about dumb stuff.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need me? I can do research, draft briefs, prepare witnesses, whatever you need.”

  “DiNunzio, you did help me. Thanks for talking me through it. I really do feel better. I want to move on.”

  “That’s the spirit!”

  “Thanks. Now, let me go.” Bennie clicked on the first video.

  “Good luck and call me if you need me, any time of day or night.”

  “Good-bye, partner.” Bennie heard the words coming out of her mouth with new warmth. She ended the call and set the cell phone down and clicked on the first video, starting over.

  Bennie found herself engrossed in the video, though she had seen it so many times before. It was the first film that the Commonwealth had turned over, and the lighting and resolution were good enough to see a fair amount of detail, though there was no audio. She watched as Richie and Stokowski left the bar, walked to Stokowski’s car, then Stokowski got in the car and drove away. Richie took a right turn and walked down the street, raising his cell phone to his ear. He must have been talking to Zimmer, his girlfriend, whom he was going to meet later. Bennie remembered that Zimmer had testified that Richie sounded happy and upbeat on the phone.

  Bennie froze the video, remembering something strange. The video that Martinez had shown today had begun when Richie was on Dunbar Street. He hadn’t been talking on the phone then. So Martinez had chosen a video from when Richie wasn’t on the phone, though he put Zimmer up to testify about a phone call that Richie had made to her. Bennie thought it didn’t square. She pressed PLAY and watched the video of Richie walking to the end of Pimlico, then turning the corner onto Dunbar. Bennie noticed something she hadn’t before; Richie swiped the screen with his thumb, without breaking stride. She recognized what he was doing only because she had just done it herself with Lou, when Mary’s call had come in.

  Bennie rewound the video, then hit PLAY, and watched carefully. Richie’s action was unmistakable. He’d swiped the screen of his glowing phone with his thumb. He had been on the phone, but another call had come in, and he had taken the call. She got up, hurried around to the other side of the table, and rummaged through the evidence boxes until she found a copy of Richie’s phone records, which Martinez had turned over to her. She’d read them over when she first got them, but now they took on a new significance.

  Bennie scanned the phone records, which were a corporate iteration of a common phone bill, issued pursuant to a Commonwealth subpoena, with a list on the right of the times of the incoming or outgoing calls, their duration, and the phone numbers of the caller. She scanned the list until she got to the bar fight, which occurred at 11:00, then Richie was thrown out, and Bennie could see that there was an outgoing phone call at 11:04. She scanned across for the phone number—267-555-1715. That was the first call that Richie made coming out of the bar, and the record showed it lasted five minutes. There was a second phone call at 11:09, but it was incoming, lasting three minutes. The phone number of the second call was 215-555-2873. The Philadelphia area code was 215, and 267 was given to more recent cell phone numbers.

  Bennie blinked, mulling it over. So there had been two calls, not one, before Richie was killed. One of those calls had been to Renée Zimmer, who testified on the stand about it, but Bennie didn’t know who the other caller was. It could have been anyone, even his killer. Maybe Jason really had been framed. She hustled the phone records back to her laptop, watched the video, and
matched the time of the first call to the phone records, by using the time clock on the video. Richie pressed his phone at the very moment the 215 call came in, ending the first call to the 267 area code. Bennie had been correct.

  She didn’t know whether the 215 or the 267 number was Renée’s and thought about calling them to see who answered, but then she’d be busted. Then she remembered that Renée had testified that Richie had called her earlier, at seven o’clock, so Bennie scanned the earlier calls and spotted an outgoing call to the same number, 215-555-2873, at 7:02 P.M. That meant the 215 number was Renée’s, and the 267 call was the unknown caller.

  Bennie got online and found a webpage for a reverse cell phone lookup. It wasn’t a free service, so she went digging in her purse for her credit card, plugged it into the website, and searched the 267 number. The answer popped onto the screen. Declan P. Mitchell, Esq.

  Bennie blinked, surprised. It wasn’t what she’d been thinking, but it made sense. Declan was probably the only other person who knew the true significance of Richie getting into a bar fight with Jason, so Richie would probably call Declan right after the bar fight. Doreen would have known as well, but Richie wasn’t close to her, no matter what she’d testified to in court.

  Bennie processed the information. Martinez had put Renée on the stand to testify that Richie was upbeat after the bar fight, thus refuting that he was in a murderous state of mind. But Renée wasn’t the only person Richie had spoken with, and she wasn’t even the first person, facts that Martinez deliberately omitted. On the contrary, Martinez had implied the opposite to the jury. Bennie would almost have admired the sharp practice, if it hadn’t been against her client.

  Bennie reasoned that if Martinez hadn’t called Declan to the stand, then Declan must have had a different conversation with Richie. But there was only one way to find that out, and it was risky. Besides, she didn’t know if she had the heart for it, especially after the online revelations about them. The office phone started ringing on the credenza, interrupting her thoughts. It had to be the press calling, undoubtedly in response to the news story about her and Declan. She ignored the call, returned her attention to the laptop screen, and got back to work.