Irresistible Impulse (31 page)

Both Butch and Marlene were to remember this particular Christmas in elegiac terms, as a calm before the storm. Indeed, it seemed in retrospect almost to live up to the seasonal hype. The Ciampis were less operatic than usual, the babies were charmingly cute, Lucy discovered that being the big sister of twins had certain advantages, in that she was included, as impresario, in their act (the cousins changing their clothes, amid giggles, and seeing whether anyone could tell), brother Dom went early into stupor, and Marlene could tell her mother that she had not missed a Sunday mass all year.

On the day after Christmas, the Karps usually held an open house for friends and neighbors, but this year the co-op association was putting in a real elevator. This labor had begun at a time of maximum inconvenience, mid-December. It meant that their loft, being on the top floor and the location of the original industrial lift engine, which had to be removed, was the site of considerable construction and strewn with immense pieces of apparatus.

They did, however, go to the annual New Year’s Eve party thrown by V.T. Newbury at his Murray Hill brownstone. Although Taittinger poured like water, the affair was as decorous as a cotillion compared to what went on at the Ciampis’, and made an interesting change. Butch and Marlene sipped, ate shrimp and paté, conversed with numbers of V.T.’s astounding range of friends and relations. At V.T.’s party you could find an expert on slime molds, the CEO of a major bank, a defrocked orthodox priest, a diva, a man who lived alone on an island in the Queen Charlottes and only returned to civilization for this one event, the recipient of the Yale Poet’s Prize for that year, a man who lived upstairs and was in ceiling tiles, a welterweight contender, a Hungarian diplomat, and, apparently, as Marlene saw, the world’s premier female cellist.

“Edie!” Marlene cried, “you look great!” She glanced around. “Is Wolfe here?”

“I gave him the night off. It’s New Year’s Eve. Besides, I have Anton to protect me.” She clutched the arm of the reedy violinist standing next to her.

Marlene smiled uncertainly at Anton, who looked as though he might need some protection himself, and said, “Well, I haven’t heard anything from you, and Wolfe’s reports are terse to the point of nonexistence. I presume—”

“Oh, that’s all over,” said Edie breezily. “He still sends those notes, which I dutifully turn over to Wolfe, but nothing else. My life has been completely transformed. Besides, after we’re married, we’ll be living in Europe most of the year.”

“You’re getting married?”

“In June.” She hugged the violinist’s arm tighter and beamed. “We’re keeping it rather dark. The parents are inclined to make a fuss.”

“Well, I won’t tell,” said Marlene. “In fact, I’ll be glad to get Wolfe back. How come you’re here, by the way? I didn’t know you knew V.T.”

Edie smiled. “Oh, everybody knows V.T. I was at school with his cousin.” Suddenly she blushed, reached out awkwardly, and clutched Marlene’s hand.

“Gosh, Marlene, I can’t tell you how
ashamed
I am at the way I behaved after the concert! After how you tried to help me and—”

“Well, that’s all right,” said Marlene, patting her hand. “As I once said, I have a thick skin. At least we found out who the guy is.”

“Oh, no, Marlene. It can’t possibly be Vincent Robinson.”

“Why not?”

But the reason why not was never pursued, because at that moment Karp, who was standing with his back to her, spun around and said, “Excuse me, did you say Vincent Robinson?”

Which was how they found out that Marlene’s prime suspect for stalker-of-Edie was also Karp’s prime suspect for killer-of-Evelyn Longren.

The trial resumed its weary pace in January, although that grim month was more to Karp’s liking than the former gay season. The jurors had been distracted by family thoughts, thinking about what to get for Aunt Emma instead of concentrating on the evidence, and beyond that there had been the danger that, under the influence of the Yuletide spirit, they might be inclined to New Testament mercy rather than Old Testament justice.

As the prosecution’s case unfolded, Waley remained passive, rising only for perfunctory cross-examination and hardly objecting at all. The press, which had maintained a strong interest in the case, commented on this. The TV stations had talking-head lawyers on at night to render their opinion of what Waley was up to. Wait, they admonished: he’s biding his time, the fireworks will come.

Meanwhile, Karp constructed his typical careful case, a rising arc of evidence from the general to the most detailed testimony. First the crime scene, with photographs. Waley made the usual objection on the grounds that these were inflammatory and was overruled. The jurors got to see Jane dead. The cop who had found the body was brought forth to give his stilted testimony. He performed well on both direct and on cross, in which Waley merely brought out the position and condition of the body.

Next the medical examiner. Cause of death was defined in detail. Waley wanted to know if the medical examiner had found evidence of hypertension or atherosclerosis. He had. On redirect, Karp had to establish that Mrs. Hughes’s condition was not immediately life-threatening.

Then came a quartet of forensic specialists who talked about fibers, blood, flesh, and dyes for three days. Waley barely stirred during this time. He appeared more concerned with his client, as well he might have been, for young Rohbling seemed to be deteriorating as the trial progressed. Each day, as the officers brought him in, his step was slower, almost limping, his head hung lower, his face was more wan and blotchy, with what appeared to be yellowing bruises at the temples. His hair was even more unkempt, sticking out at all angles in the style of the late Stan Laurel. Karp wondered if this was a ruse to garner sympathy and thought briefly of going to the judge with a complaint, but what, after all, could he say? And he knew very well what Waley would say: that his client was fit for a rubber room and not much else. He looked crazy because he was crazy. So, stalemate in that corner. The witnesses who tied Rohbling to Hughes came next. Waley shined them on.

It was March before Karp had Detective Gordon Featherstone on the stand, his last witness, the prize witness. As on a TV show, the audience was now going to hear how the detective caught the bad guy. Featherstone looked the part too. He was a blocky, cordovan-colored man in his late forties with a brush mustache and close-cropped hair whitened on the sides. His voice was deep, strong, and confident. When the detective took the stand, Karp could sense the subtle vibration of renewed interest from the jury box.

Karp took him through the investigation from the beginning so that the jury could see how the evidence, which they had just heard certified by experts, appeared to the working detective, and how it led inexorably to the confrontation with the disguised Rohbling at the bus stop.

They came to the famous blue suitcase. Here it was: Karp raised it high, like a holy relic. The jury was allowed to paw it. Featherstone described the denial of ownership by Rohbling. No mistake about that. Karp had him repeat Rohbling’s words so that they would stick in the jurors’ minds. Now came the Opening of the Suitcase. The childish ceramic dish was displayed, entered as evidence, handled by the jurors, the affectionate message from the little girl read out in the detective’s deep clear baritone, the unscheduled sob from the mother of that little girl, sitting in the courtroom to see justice done for her own slain mother, the jury rapt.

Karp, on a roll, thinking, no, he’s not going to let me get away with this, but giving it a shot:

“Detective Featherstone, do you recognize this object?”

Karp held high a crocheted doily.

“Yes, I do. It was found in the suitcase.”

“And did you determine who the original owner of this object was?”

“Objection!” Waley was on his feet. “Irrelevant and immaterial, and tending to the inflammatory, Your Honor.”

Peoples frowned and motioned the two counsels to approach the bench.

“Where are we going with this, Mr. Karp?” asked the judge.

“Your Honor, we feel the jury should know that the defendant had in his possession four physical objects belonging to four other elderly black women found dead under unusual circumstances,” said Karp.

“The circumstances were hardly unusual, Judge,” said Waley. “The four women to which counsel adverts were ruled by the medical examiner to have died of natural causes. This is a purely inflammatory move with no relevance to the case at hand.”

“Your honor, you admitted the entire contents of the suitcase as evidence,” replied Karp. “That the defendant was carrying the possessions of four other recently dead black women speaks to the character and habits of the defendant.”

“Very well,” said Peoples. “Mr. Karp, you may present your evidence. Mr. Waley may bring its relevance into question on cross if he desires. Proceed, Mr. Karp.”

A nice little win, thought Karp as he went back to his place. He took Featherstone through the souvenirs Rohbling had taken from his victims, each time asking the detective to describe the woman and her current status, and receiving the answer, elderly, living alone, in Harlem, and dead. He did not pursue the issue of how they had died. Unless the judge instructed them otherwise, the jury would, without further prompting, easily deduce that Rohbling had a habit of visiting elderly black ladies, none of whom had survived his visits.

On cross-examination, Waley showed for the first time in this trial why he was considered one of the half dozen greatest masters of that art. To Karp’s surprise, he ignored the four other dead women. Instead, he was doing an impression of an attorney who, confronted by an overwhelming case, was simply going through the motions of a defense. His demeanor subdued, his voice just loud enough for the jury to catch, Waley took Featherstone almost apologetically through some minor clarifications of his direct testimony. What time of day was it when you first saw the defendant? How far away? What was the weather like? How many people were at the bus stop? What was it about the defendant that caught your attention? Something not right about him? Pray elaborate. The detective elaborated. Waley was fascinated. With care and respect, he helped Featherstone elucidate what had enabled him, passing in a car by a crowded bus stop, to pick Rohbling out as the man they wanted. Unlike the average counsel on cross, Waley was building up rather than tearing down the credibility of the opposing side’s witness. Karp understood what he was doing but still could not see the payoff, nor was there a legitimate way for him to object; the material was legitimate, and he was not harassing the witness. And Peoples was hell on frivolous objections.

“Now, Detective Featherstone,” said Waley, “you’ve told us in impressive detail how you intuited that the defendant was not what he appeared to be. At that moment, how long had it been since you had learned from forensic evidence that the man you sought was a white man disguised as a black man?”

Featherstone paused judiciously. He was relaxed now, not on guard at all, and he answered, “Ten days.”

“Very good. Tell me, Detective, had you ever had a case like this before, this sort of disguise on the part of a homicide suspect?”

“No, this was a first.” A faint smile.

“Unique, in other words.” Returning the smile. “Was it hard to believe at first, from your detective experience, I mean?”

“Oh, sure. But the evidence was pretty conclusive.”

“Right. And what did you think of the man you were pursuing? What sort of person did you think you were after?”

Blithely, Featherstone swung at the breaking curve, the fabulous knuckleball that Waley had been winding up for since the trial had started. He said, “Oh, we thought he was a total nut case, crazy as a b—”

“Objection!” cried Karp, but he also had waited too late to swing. “Calls for a conclusion.”

“Your Honor,” said Waley, “the witness is a senior police officer of vast experience. His opinion as to the mental state of the defendant was germane to the conduct of his investigation.”

“The witness is not a forensic psychiatrist—” Karp put in heatedly, but Peoples forestalled him, saying, “I’ll allow the testimony. Please go ahead, Mr. Waley.”

Waley nodded, paused for three beats, turned to Featherstone. “You were saying, sir, crazy as a—?”

“Bedbug,” said Featherstone, grimacing now.

“Crazy as a bedbug,” repeated Waley slowly, with relish, now using the full power of his remarkable voice. “Thank you, Detective. I have no further questions.” He walked back to his seat, seeming four inches taller than when he had started. The jury, Karp saw with a sour feeling in his stomach, was entranced, enchanted, by the transformation. And Karp was stymied; his big witness, whose expertise had been elaborately complimented by even the defense, had declared that the cops thought the defendant was crazy. And Karp could not clarify on redirect either—far from considering it, he wished that the bulk of Featherstone would resolve itself into a dew and vanish right now, taking with it from the jury’s mind these last disastrous minutes.

Feeling lame, he dismissed the witness and said, “Your Honor, that concludes the prosecution’s case.” It then being close to four-thirty, the judge declared the court in recess until the following day, at which time they would resume with the case for the defense.

“That was worth a year of law school, my son,” said Karp around a corned beef sandwich to Terrell Collins. They were in Karp’s office, assessing the damage.

“You mean his cross?”

“I do. The way he softened Featherstone up? Jesus, Gordon’s been a cop for eighteen years, he
knows
not to say stuff like that on the stand. Hell, he softened me up. He fed us that little win over the suitcase evidence, we get to show Jonathan’s a serial killer, we’re feeling good, here’s our witness, our last witness, the case is on a clear arc, he’s lying completely low, and so we forget. He wanted us to forget, the bastard.”

“Forget what?”

“That he doesn’t care how bad we make Rohbling look, or how guilty. He’s going to walk him on insanity. And so instead of focusing our whole attention on
that
, we let him allow our major witness to say that he thought the defendant was nuts, just at the end of our case in chief. And of course, Peoples, the prince of fairness, allowed it when he really shouldn’t have, because just a few minutes before, on direct, he gave us a big one, which was just how Waley played it to happen.” Karp crushed his sandwich paper into a ball and flung it at the wastepaper basket he kept perched on a bookcase. It brushed the front rim and spun out, falling to the floor. They looked at each other. No one in the office had ever seen Karp miss a shot to his wastebasket; Karp himself could not remember ever having missed. He stood and retrieved the paper and dropped it in.