Page 97 of Fifty-Fifty

‘Of course,’ said Soames.

Even if that weren’t true, that was the answer you got from every cop in the city when you asked that question. No cop is going to admit a suspect said anything significant without first being given their right to remain silent. If they didn’t have their rights read to them, the statement was largely inadmissible.

Soames would never admit to talking to a suspect without them being

Mirandized.

‘Are you sure both defendants had been arrested and Mirandized before you spoke to them at the scene?’

‘I am one hundred percent certain,’ he said, with a degree of satisfaction. He had delivered this affirmative answer with a smug smile to the jury. Little did he know, he’d just handed me his heart on a plate. I wouldn’t rip it from him yet. I had to wait until the right time.

‘Detective Soames, you consider the statements made by the defendants at the scene to be significant, yes?’

‘Correct.’

‘I thought so. You seem to be implying that because Alexandra and Sofia did not ask you if their father was still alive, that means they killed him?’

‘It’s a logical conclusion.’

‘Let us remind ourselves here that the prosecution maintain there is evidence against both of these defendants. If one defendant makes a significant statement to you, at the crime scene, well, isn’t that vital evidence for the prosecution case?’

‘Yes.’

‘You knew this was important evidence when you wrote it down in your notebook at the scene, didn’t you?’

‘I guess I did.’

‘And given that it’s so vital, you didn’t think to include it in your deposition or give copies of your notebook to the prosecutor so they could be disclosed to the defense teams?’

‘I gave all relevant information to the DA’s office.’

‘But not a copy of the relevant pages from your notebook?’

He paused.

If he lied and said yes he could jeopardize the credibility of the prosecutor; if he told the truth then he had no way of knowing what kind of blind alley I was

leading him down.

‘I must’ve overlooked my notes. I don’t think I gave a copy to the District Attorney’s office.’

‘You don’t think you did? The former mayor of New York City is lying dead, torn to pieces in his bedroom, you have two suspects in custody, according to you both of them made significant statements, and you don’t think you handed

over a note of those statements? Either you did, or you did not. Which is it?’

Soames cleared his throat, tried to regain some composure, then looked to the jury and said, ‘I did not.’

It was my turn to hit the pause button. Let that sink in for the jury. It was a minor point, but I wanted to let it chew up the furniture for a while.

‘Are you incapable of conducting a basic investigation, Detective Soames?’

He didn’t bother to look at the jury for his answer, he shot it straight back at me with a little heat on the return.

‘My record speaks for itself. My department has one of the highest homicide clearance rates in this city, or any other city for that matter.’

‘Then as an experienced and talented investigator you wouldn’t make such a basic error of not handing over vital information to the DA’s office?’

‘I guess …’