Try Fear - By James Scott Bell Page 0,60
trial. I thought of Pick McNitt, and his rant against Good morning. Maybe I’d call Pick as a witness, just for entertainment.
“What is your current position?” Radavich said.
“I am a detective-two with the LAPD.”
“Describe what that is, please.”
Zebker looked at the jury. “There are three detective ranks in the department, three being highest. As a detective-two, in addition to conducting the investigation of crimes, I also provide supervision in the training of detective-ones.”
“So you actually train detectives in proper crime scene procedure?”
“That’s right.”
“How long have you been a detective?”
“I’ve been a D-two for three years, before that a D-one for six years.”
“Where are you currently assigned?”
“Hollywood Division.”
“In your capacity as a detective, approximately how many homicides have you worked?”
“Oh, I’d estimate two hundred, including those I helped other detectives on in one way or another.”
“Referring now to the night of January thirtieth of this year, were you notified about a homicide?”
“I was.”
“At what time?”
“I was called at home a little after eleven p.m.”
“And what time did you arrive at the scene?”
“Eleven-forty-five.”
“Did you meet a police officer at the scene?”
“Yes, I met Officer Baron and asked him to brief me.”
“Were the criminalists there?”
“SID arrived about five minutes after I did.”
Radavich signaled to his assistant, who moused at his keyboard. Up popped a photo of the interior of Carl’s apartment on the flat-screen monitor set up for the jury. “Showing you now People’s Exhibit One, do you recognize the photograph?”
“Yes. That is a photograph of the crime scene, apartment 102.”
“Did you see any signs of a struggle in apartment 102?”
“No.”
“Any drawers pulled out?”
“No.”
“Signs of a burglary?”
“No.”
“What did you do next?”
“I entered the kitchen and saw a white male, deceased. He was seated in a chair at the kitchen table.”
“Did you find a suicide note?”
“No.”
“Any signs of struggle in the kitchen?”
“No.”
“Which would lead you to believe what?”
I objected. “That calls for speculation, Your Honor.”
“This is a veteran detective of the LAPD,” Radavich said. “Surely his training and experience is more than mere speculation.”
“Go ahead, Mr. Radavich,” Judge Hughes said.
“You may answer the question, Detective.”
“Leads me to believe he knew the killer.”
“What did you do next?”
“I began to process the crime scene.”
“Was the defendant present at the scene?”
“Yes, along with his mother.”
“Did you question them?”
“No. The mother was distraught, and I thought it best to let the defendant take her home.”
“Did you question any other potential witnesses?”
“Yes.”
“You may refer to your report. Who was the first witness you interviewed?”
Zebker opened the notebook he’d brought with him to the witness chair. “That would be Ms. Alana Phong.”
“And who is she?”
“She lives in apartment 104.”
Radavich had another picture brought up, this one a map of the apartment building, with the apartments numbered.
“Showing you People’s Two, sir, is that an accurate representation of the scene?”
“It is,” Zebker said.
“Please give us the substance of what Ms. Phong told you.”
“Objection,” I said. “Hearsay.”
“Goes to state of mind,” Radavich said.
“Overruled,” Judge Hughes said.
“She told me that there had been loud music playing in the apartment next to hers, when she got home sometime after nine. She let it go, she didn’t complain, she put on her noise-canceling headphones. She didn’t think much of it because it had happened before, and he, meaning the victim, Carl Richess, never kept it up that long. But this time he did. Eventually she started pounding on the wall. When that didn’t get any response, she went outside and knocked several times on the door. Finally, she called in a complaint.”
“Did Ms. Phong give you any other information?”
“Yes, she offered that the victim’s brother, the defendant, had been there in the past, and that the two of them had had loud arguments.”
“Objection,” I said. “I doubt the woman used the term ‘defendant’ when talking to the detective. I move to strike.”
“That’s just my paraphrase,” Detective Zebker said.
The judge said, “The witness will not speak when there is an objection pending.”
“Sorry, Your Honor,” said Zebker.
“Overruled,” said the judge.
Radavich said, “Did you interview the defendant?”
“The following morning, yes.”
“Where was this?”
“At his townhome in Woodland Hills.”
“Did you consider him a suspect?”
“At that time, no.”
“Please give us the substance of that conversation.”
“I asked him to talk to me about his relationship with his brother and he seemed nervous. I told him to take his time, and then he asked me what this was all about and if he was a suspect.”
“Did he offer that first? That he might be a suspect?”
“Yes. He used the word ‘suspect’ first. I told him he wasn’t a suspect but that I wanted to