First degree - By David Rosenfelt Page 0,72

it."

Peterson just nods in resignation, and Hobbs turns and walks out, with Spodek behind him. It's a victory for us, but whether it will turn out to be a meaningful one will depend on what Hatchet finds in the file.

DYLAN HAS SOME FINISHING TOUCHES TO COVER before he rests his case. These take the form of fact witnesses, basically noncontroversial, who will provide information to round out and support the prosecution's theories.

First up is the 911 operator who received the anonymous tip alerting the police to Oscar Garcia's guilt, information that proved erroneous.

The tape is played in court, though I've of course heard it many times. It's a female voice, masked somewhat by some computer or electronic technique. Dylan's theory is that the caller was Laurie, and he buttresses his contention by pointing out that the caller referred to Oscar as a "perpetrator." It's a term, in Dylan's view, that a cop or ex-cop like Laurie would be likely to use.

I have an expert prepared to testify that, computer enhancement techniques being as advanced as they are, the original voice could be female, male, or a quacking duck. There's no sense questioning the prosecution's witness about it at this point, so I let her off the stand with no cross-examination.

Next up is the police officer who found Dorsey's gun in Oscar's house during the execution of a search warrant. Since Oscar has been cleared, and since Laurie has been placed near Oscar's apartment, this supports the theory that she planted the gun there as part of her frame-up of poor Oscar.

Once again there's little I can do with this witness, other than to get him to confirm that Laurie's fingerprints were not found anywhere in the apartment. I'm sure the jury would consider Laurie, as a former cop, too savvy to have left any prints, so I don't accomplish much.

The parade continues with Rafael Gomez, a police officer who found the gas can in Laurie's garage and who testifies that the gas/propane residue in it is the same mixture as that used to set Dorsey's body on fire. While that is no doubt true, his testimony at least gives me an opening to score some points.

"Officer Gomez, were there any fingerprints on the gas can?"

"No, sir. Wiped clean."

"Really? So you think she was stupid enough to leave this terribly incriminating piece of evidence in her own garage but smart enough to wipe off the prints?"

"Well ..."

He's unsure, so I push the advantage. "Maybe she figured the police wouldn't be able to figure out whose garage it was?"

He thinks for a moment and comes up with a pretty good answer. "Maybe she didn't wipe it. Maybe she was wearing gloves. To keep the gas off her hands."

"Is the gas dangerous to touch?" I ask.

"No, but some people--"

I interrupt, and Dylan doesn't object, even though he should. "Where did you find the gloves?"

"We didn't find any gloves."

"But you said you conducted a full search of the premises," I point out.

"We did, but there were no gloves. Maybe she threw them away so we wouldn't find them."

"Under the theory that Ms. Collins would get rid of the gloves but keep the can of gas?"

"I can't say what she would do" is his fairly lame response.

"Is that what you would do?" I press.

"I wouldn't murder anyone."

"You and Ms. Collins have that in common," I say. "No further questions."

I've done with Officer Gomez exactly what I've done with many of Dylan's witnesses, no more and no less. I've shown that if, after the murder, Laurie had done the things Dylan has alleged, then her behavior was illogical. The problem is that there is no reason a jury should expect someone who has decapitated and set fire to a police officer to act logically. In effect, I am saying, "She couldn't have committed this bizarre crime because if she did, look how strangely she acted afterwards." In this case, strange behavior fits neatly with the crime and could be taken as an indicator of guilt, rather than as exculpatory.

Dylan's last witness is retired Paterson police captain Ron Franks, probably Dylan's best friend on the force. Though Franks retired more than a year before the Internal Affairs investigation that Laurie instigated, Dylan's purpose in calling him is to present the positive side to the victim.

It makes sense. We have been tearing Dorsey down as best we can, and Dylan certainly knows that will be a big part of our defense. The worse Dorsey looks, the less compelled