long way to get here, now what the hell is going on?”
She glances at an old desk phone and says, “He’s still talking to a judge.”
“Does he know I’m out here?” I demand, loud enough for him to hear.
“Yes. Now please.”
I sit down, wait ten more minutes, then walk to his door and knock loudly. Before he or she can say anything, I barge in and find Chad not on the phone but at his window, as if enthralled by the vibrant city below.
“We agreed on two o’clock, Chad. What the hell?”
“Sorry, Post. I was on the phone with a judge. Come on in.”
“Don’t mind if I do. I drove five hours to get here. A little courtesy would be nice.”
“My apologies,” he says sarcastically and falls into his large leather swivel. He’s about my age and has spent the last fifteen years prosecuting criminals, primarily cookers and peddlers of meth. By far his most thrilling case was Emily’s murder. Three months ago, as the clock ticked, he chased every TV reporter within sight and chatted about the burdens of his job.
“No problem,” I say and take a seat.
“What’s on your mind?” he asks and glances at his watch.
“We’ve done some DNA testing,” I say and manage to maintain my sour expression. What I want to do is get in his face with some serious smack. “We know who the real killer is, Chad, and it ain’t Duke Russell.”
He takes it well. “Do tell.”
“Do tell. We obtained a sample from the killer and matched it with one of the State’s pubic hairs. Bad news, Chad. You got the wrong man.”
“You tampered with our evidence?”
“Brilliant. You’re more concerned with my sins than with your own. You almost executed an innocent man, Chad. Don’t worry about me. I’m just the guy who’s found the truth.”
“How did you steal a pubic hair?”
“It was easy. You gave me the file, remember? A year ago, down the hall. For two days I sweated in that cramped little room and went through the evidence. One pubic hair stuck to my finger. A year has passed and no one here has even realized it.”
“You stole a pubic hair. Unbelievable.”
“Didn’t steal it, Chad. I just borrowed it. You refused DNA testing, so somebody had to do it. Indict me, I don’t care. You have bigger problems right now.”
He exhales as his shoulders sag. A minute passes as he collects his thoughts. Finally, “Okay, who killed her?”
“The last man seen with her before she was murdered. Mark Carter. They had a history from high school. The cops should have pursued him, but didn’t for some reason.”
“How do you know it’s him?”
“Got a sample.”
“How?”
“A beer bottle. He likes beer, leaves behind a lot of bottles. We ran to the lab and I’ve brought you a copy of the test results.”
“You stole a beer bottle too?”
“Indict me again, Chad, and keep playing games. Look in the mirror, man, and give it up. Your bogus prosecution is going down the drain and you’re about to be humiliated.”
He offers a goofy grin and gives me a prosecutor’s favorite line: “No way, Post, I still believe in my case.”
“Then you’re an idiot, Chad. But we knew that a long time ago.” I toss a copy of the report on his desk and head for the door.
“Wait a minute, Post,” he says. “Let’s finish the conversation. Assuming you’re telling the truth here, what, uh, what’s next?”
I sit down calmly and crack my knuckles. Duke will get out earlier if I can persuade Chad to cooperate. If he fights me, which prosecutors usually do, then the exoneration will take months instead of weeks.
“Here’s the best way out of this, Chad, and I’m not going to argue strategy here. For a change, I’m holding all the cards. There are six other pubic hairs. Let’s get them tested too, so we’ll know a lot more. If all seven exclude Duke, then he walks. If all seven nail Carter, then you have a new case on your hands. If you agree to the additional testing, then things will go smooth. If you block it, then I’ll file in state court, probably lose, then go to federal court. Eventually, I’ll get the testing done and you know it.”
Reality sets in and he is angry. He pushes his chair back and walks to the window, deep in thought. He breathes heavily, rolls his head around as his neck crackles, strokes his chin. What all of this produces should