Jimmy does as he is told. “Lassiter is a button man, the best there is. He’s a psycho, but if Lassiter wants you dead, you are dead. That’s it.”
“Does he work for Petrone?” I ask.
“Among others. He works for money. Sometimes it’s Petrone puttin’ up the money, sometimes it’s someone else. This time, I don’t know for sure . . . I swear. But Petrone is the best bet.”
There isn’t much more for us to get out of Jimmy, and the rest of the conversation centers around him getting us to collectively swear that we won’t reveal he talked to us. I agree and ask him to keep the secret as well, but even Marcus moans at the request. If Jimmy were to tell anyone he was here, he would effectively be committing suicide.
I take Kevin back to my house so he can get his car. On the way there, he says, “What do you think Marcus would have done?”
“You mean if Jimmy didn’t talk?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“I think he would have done whatever he had to. I think if they played a game of chicken a thousand times, Marcus would win every time.”
This answer doesn’t please Kevin very much. Kevin would prefer that trials and investigations play out the way they were drawn up in law school. The problem is, I don’t believe Marcus went to law school.
“But Marcus is on our side? He’s one of the good guys?” Kevin asks.
I shake my head. “We don’t find out who the good guys are until the jury tells us.”
“I think by then it’s too late,” he says. “Way too late.”
• • • • •
THE FIRST WITNESS Tucker calls is Officer Gary Hobart, the first policeman to arrive at the site of the Padilla murder. Usually, the initial patrolman is not a significant witness, as his function is mainly to secure the scene and wait for the detectives. In this case, Hobart is far more important because Daniel was on the scene when he got there.
“What was the defendant doing when you arrived?” Tucker asks.
“He was lying down on the stairs leading up to the pavilion. About two steps from the top.”
“Was he conscious?”
“Yes,” says Hobart. “He spoke to me.”
“What did he say?”
“That the killer called him . . . told him to come to the park.”
“Did he say anything about a murder that might have taken place there?” Tucker asks.
“No. He said he did not know what might be in the pavilion, that he was attacked on the steps. He thought he had lost consciousness.”
Hobart goes on to testify how he entered the pavilion, saw Linda Padilla’s body, and immediately secured the scene. He questioned Daniel briefly, before the detectives arrived and took over.
Tucker turns the witness over to me. There’s not much for me to go after, but I want to at least make our presence felt to the jury.
“Officer Hobart, how did you come to be in the park that night?” I ask.
“The dispatcher sent me there. They received a 911 call.”
“Who made that call? If you know.”
“I don’t believe the caller gave his name.”
“Was the caller there when you arrived?” I ask.
“No.”
“But this anonymous caller was on the scene that night? And saw what happened?”
He shrugs. “I really don’t know what they saw, or if they even saw anything.”
I nod. “Right. Maybe they didn’t see anything. Maybe they called 911 to report that nothing was happening at the pavilion in the park at one o’clock in the morning. And maybe your dispatcher sent you out to confirm that nothing was happening. Is that how you figure it?”
Tucker objects that I’m being argumentative, and Calvin sustains. Hobart switches tactics and talks about the vagrants in the park and how they would not want to give their names, for fear of getting involved. I’ve made my point, that there was someone else on the scene, so I move on. I bring out the fact that Hobart saw the wound on Daniel’s head and that there was significant bleeding.
“What is your responsibility once the detectives arrive?” I ask.
“To make sure the area remains secure,” he says.
“Do you brief the detectives on what you’ve learned at the scene?”
He nods. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“And you offer your impressions as well? If you think they are significant?”
“Yes.”
“You’re trained in these types of things?”
“Well . . . sure.”
“And whatever you tell them, you later put in a report?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I get a copy from Kevin, then hand it to Hobart and get him to confirm that it is in fact the report he submitted. “Please show me where in the report you voiced suspicions about Mr. Cummings.”
“There’s nothing like that in there.”
“So everything seemed normal to you? You didn’t suspect Mr. Cummings hit himself in the head?” I ask.
“No . . . not really. But I had other things to pay attention to.”
“And you left Mr. Cummings alone while you looked around?” I ask, the clear implication being that if he suspected Daniel of anything, he wouldn’t have left him unguarded.