Page 67 of The Devil's Advocate

‘Next juror,’ said Chandler.

Another young woman took the stand. Younger than Imelda, and white. I glanced at Kate’s jury list. I knew her first name already – Sandy. She used to work at Gus’s Diner, and her non-VW deathtrap of a car was parked outside The Chanterelle.

It was Korn’s turn to ask questions.

‘Do you know any of the parties or witnesses in this case?’ he asked.

Sandy Boyette wore a white blouse, black pants and a red ribbon in her dark hair. She took a moment to think, showing she understood the question. She glanced at me. Fast. Half a second at most. Then said, ‘No.’

Korn went through the motions, but she was bulletproof. She said she had no moral objection to the death penalty, and it would be something she would consider if the defendant was convicted.

I whispered to Kate, ‘Let’s take her. No questions. No objections.’

‘I’m not sure about her,’ said Kate. ‘She’s not much older than the victim, they lived in the same town. I don’t think they could have avoided each other. She probably knew her, or knew of her, and she would identify strongly with the victim. That makes our job harder.’

‘Trust me,’ I said.

Kate nodded reluctantly and when it was time, we accepted Sandy as the last juror.

Two alternates were tacked onto the end in double-quick time, then the judge said, ‘We’ve spent more than enough time assembling this jury. We begin the trial day after tomorrow. Mr. Korn, Miss Brooks and Mr. Flynn, be ready.’

We left the court, and I had one question in mind.

Why did Sandy lie to the prosecutor by saying she didn’t know me?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

EDDIE

The room at The Chanterelle was beginning to feel smaller every time I walked in. It was past eight in the evening, and we had been hitting the case files all day. Bloch had been on the phone most of the day and Harry and I were reading and thinking. Kate was filling the room with notes and more paper than I knew what to do with. The case seemed to be expanding but we were no further on.

‘Any luck getting a hold of the pathologist, Farnesworth?’ I asked.

Bloch shook her head.

‘Okay, leave him to me. You get on Korn and stay on him until you get something we can use.’

Bloch nodded.

‘We need to discuss strategy for the prosecution witnesses,’ said Kate.

‘I know, but I can’t think straight right now.’

Harry got up out of the armchair, took a piece of paper and pinned it to the wall with a tack. He lifted a sharpie and began to make a list of prosecution witnesses.

‘Who have we got? The prosecution have Skylar’s father, Francis Edwards. He’ll testify either at the beginning or the end of the case. Something to get the jury’s blood up. Then the DA’s friendly medical examiner, Miss Price, to give the jury the gory details. Next, we’ve got the DA’s forensics expert, Cheryl Banbury. She confirms Andy’s blood was present beneath Skylar’s fingernails. We still don’t have a plan of attack on any of this. The owner of Hogg’s Bar is gonna tell us he saw Andy and Skylar arguing that night, and that’ll be all she wrote. Korn won’t need the jailhouse snitch, Lawson, or Sheriff Lomax to go through the signed confession from our client in order to get a conviction.’

‘On top of that, we have a poor jury,’ said Kate. ‘Even if we did have a counter-argument for the forensics, and the bar owner, we’re stuck getting Andy out of a confession. I just don’t see us winning this one, Eddie. I’m sorry, I think Andy is innocent, but I can’t see a way out of this.’

I nodded. ‘That pattern mark on Skylar’s head is important. The state’s medical examiner left it out of the report. That means it doesn’t suit the DA’s case, and I can’t figure out why. Why get that mark omitted from the report? It’s not as if it was missed, and it’s not because Andy wasn’t arrested with a ring like that one ; I’m sure Korn could have found one just like it and planted it on Andy. No, there’s something else. Something we’re not seeing.’

‘We’re not seeing the security footage from the gas station on the night of the murder, that’s for damn sure,’ said Harry.

‘Korn is so careful to cover his tracks,’ I said. ‘He breaks the rules, hides evidence that helps the defense, and I think he had something to do with Cody and Betty’s murders. Just look at the guy – he’s like a walking corpse. And he’s obsessed with the death penalty. No, if we’re going to take this guy down and save Andy, we have to play the game smarter, and dirtier, than Korn.’

I took out my cell phone, selected a contact and hit dial.

He answered fast. No hello, no pleasantries, he didn’t have time for it.