Warning: Table './reads2019/sessions' is marked as crashed and should be repaired query: DELETE FROM sessions WHERE timestamp < 1589900804 in /var/www/reads2019/includes/database.mysql.inc on line 135
Read First degree - By David Rosenfelt 5 Page 85 Book Online,First degree - By David Rosenfelt 5 Page 85 Free Book Online Read

First degree - By David Rosenfelt Page 0,85

objection. Satisfied that I've gotten what I need, I call FBI agent Albert Connolly.

Connolly had been mentioned in the FBI report as one of the agents involved in the surveillance of Petrone's people and therefore of Dorsey. There is really nothing I want to get from Connolly; I am merely questioning him so that Hobbs will not realize that he is being targeted. When Hobbs is asked the same questions that he has heard asked of Connolly, he will be less likely to realize that we are laying a trap.

So, with Hobbs and Cindy Spodek watching from the gallery, I have Connolly identify himself and describe his role in the Petrone investigation.

With a glance at Hatchet, I tell Connolly, "I am not interested in the details of your investigation. I am simply trying to get your knowledge and impressions of Lieutenant Dorsey. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," he says.

"Good. Had you known or had any contact with Lieutenant Dorsey before you encountered him on this investigation?"

"No, I had not."

"Did you have occasion to have any direct conversations with him during the investigation?"

"No."

I take him through his observations of Dorsey during this investigation. My questions are brief and designed to elicit quick responses, since there is a very real danger that Hatchet will intervene.

Connolly says that he really hadn't had much occasion to watch Dorsey, nor had he had much knowledge of his activities. Clearly, Dorsey was involved with members of organized crime, in ways that his police bosses would not have approved.

"Are you familiar with a man named Roger Cahill, who also goes by the name Geoffrey Stynes?"

"I am not."

I let Connolly off the stand, and Dylan does not cross-examine. Instead, he calls for a bench conference, during which he again asks Hatchet to stop "this unproductive waste of the court's time." Since it is out of earshot of Hobbs, I promise that I will not call four of the seven witnesses I brought in today and will end the parade after only two more, Agents Hobbs and Spodek. Hatchet accepts the compromise, and I call Darrin Hobbs to the stand.

I can count on zero fingers the number of times I've seen witnesses knowingly make self-incriminating statements. I would love trials to be like the one in A Few Good Men. I could get Jack Nicholson on the stand so he can scream, "You can't handle the truth!" at me and then, in a rage, admit his own guilt. But I never get that lucky, and I'm not going to get that lucky with Hobbs. He will incriminate himself only if he doesn't believe he is doing so; he will expose himself to danger only if he is unaware that the danger exists.

"Good morning, Agent Hobbs."

"Good morning."

"As I told Agent Connolly, I am not interested in the details of your investigation. I am simply trying to get your knowledge and impressions of Lieutenant Dorsey. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"You were in charge of the investigation which included Lieutenant Dorsey. Is that correct?"

"He was a peripheral figure."

"I understand. Had you known or had any contact with Lieutenant Dorsey before you encountered him on this investigation?"

Hobbs doesn't even flinch; the son of a bitch lies through his teeth. "No, I had not."

"Did you have occasion to have any direct conversations with him during the investigation?"

"No."

"How about since then?"

"No."

As with Connolly, I ask Hobbs a few quick questions about Dorsey's activities during the investigation. My final question is, "Are you familiar with a man named Roger Cahill, who also goes by the name Geoffrey Stynes?"

"No, I am not. Other than what you've told me and I've read in the paper."

"Thank you," I say. "No further questions." I want to add, "I've got you, you son of a bitch," but I control the impulse.

Dylan again declines to cross-examine, and I surprise him and Hobbs by asking Hatchet to keep Hobbs present and available for recall this morning. I can see a flash of worry across Hobbs's face, but he still has no real idea of the hole he has just dug for himself.

"Call Cindy Spodek."

Cindy rises and walks to the witness stand, passing Hobbs on the way and staring him right in the eyes. If he didn't know he was in trouble before, he should now.

"Agent Spodek," I begin, "who is your immediate superior at the FBI?"

"Special Agent Darrin Hobbs."

"The man who preceded you to the stand?"

"Yes."

"Were you present in the courtroom during his testimony?"

"Yes, I was."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see

readonlinefreenovel.com Copyright 2016 - 2024