A Darkness More Than Night (27 page)

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Authors: Michael Connelly

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BOOK: A Darkness More Than Night
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Langwiser introduced a photo taken by a fingerprint technician as an exhibit and it was shown to the jury.
“To accomplish the latter explanation you offered, the person would have to be lying in the bed, would he not?”
“It would seem that way.”
“Face down?”
“Yes.”
Fowkkes stood to object but the judge sustained it before the lawyer uttered a word.
“You are going too far afield with suppositions, Ms. Langwiser. Move on.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
She referred to her pad for a moment.
“This print on the victim’s bed, didn’t that make you think the person who left it should be considered a prime suspect?”
“Not initially. It is impossible to tell how long a print has been at a specific location. Plus we had the additional factor that we knew the victim had not been killed in her bed, but rather taken to the bed after being killed elsewhere. It appeared to us that the location of the print was not a place that would have been touched by the killer when he put the body in the bed.”
“Who did these prints belong to?”
“A man named Allan Wiess, who had dated Ms. Krementz on three prior occasions, the most recent date being three weeks before her death.”
“Did you interview Allan Wiess?”
“Yes, I did. Along with Detective Edgar.”
“Did he acknowledge ever being in the victim’s bed?” “Yes, he did. He said he slept with her on that last occasion that he saw her, three weeks prior to her death.”
“Did he say he touched the bed board in the location you have shown us where the fingerprints were located?”
“He said he could have done it but he did not specifically remember doing it.”
“Did you investigate Allan Weiss’s activities on the night of Jody Krementz’s death?”
“Yes, we did. He had a solid alibi.”
“And what was that?”
“He told us he was in Hawaii at a real estate seminar. We checked airline and hotel records as well as with the seminar’s producers. We confirmed he was there.”
Langwiser looked at Judge Houghton and said that it would be a good time to take the morning break. The judge said it was a little early but granted the request and ordered the jurors back in fifteen minutes.
Bosch knew she wanted the break now because she was about to move into questions about David Storey and wanted them clearly separated from all the other testimony. As he stepped off the witness stand and went back to the prosecution table, Langwiser was flipping through some files. She spoke to him without looking up.
“What’s wrong, Harry?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not crisp. Not like yesterday. Are you nervous about something?”
“No. Are you?”
“Yeah, the whole thing. We’ve got a lot riding on this.”
“I’ll be crisper.”
“I’m serious, Harry.”
“So am I, Janis.”
He then walked away from the prosecution table and out through the courtroom.
He decided he would get a cup of coffee at the second-floor cafeteria. But first he stepped into the restroom next to the elevators and went to one of the sinks to splash cold water on his face. He bent fully over the sink, careful not to get water on his suit. He heard a toilet flush and when he straightened up and looked in the mirror he saw Rudy Tafero pass behind him and go to the sink furthest away. Bosch bent down again and brought more water up and held it. Its chill felt good against his eyes and eased his headache.
“What’s it like, Rudy?” he asked without looking at the other man.
“What’s what like, Harry?”
“You know, doing the devil’s bidding. You get any sleep at night?”
Bosch walked over to the paper towel dispenser and tore off several sheets to dry his hands and face. Tafero came over and tore off a towel and began drying his hands.
“It’s funny,” Tafero said. “The only time in my life I had trouble sleeping was when I was a cop. I wonder why that was.”
He balled the towel in his hands and threw it into the wastebasket. He smiled at Bosch and then walked out. Bosch watched him go, still rubbing his hands on the towels.

 

 

24
Bosch could feel the coffee working in his blood. The second wind was coming. The headache was easing. He was ready. This would be how they planned it, how they had choreographed it. He leaned forward to the microphone and waited for the question.
“Detective Bosch,” Langwiser said from the lectern, “did there come a time when the name David Storey came up in your investigation?”
“Yes, almost immediately. We received information from Jane Gilley, who was Jody Krementz’s roommate, that on the last night of Jody’s life she had a date with David Storey.”
“Did there come a time when you questioned Mr. Storey about that last night?”
“Yes. Briefly.”
“Why briefly, Detective Bosch? This
was
a homicide.”
“That was Mr. Storey’s choosing. We attempted several times to interview him on that Friday that the body was discovered and the next day as well. He was difficult to locate. Finally, through his attorney, he agreed to be interviewed the next day, which was Sunday, on the condition that we come to him and conduct the interview in his office at Archway Studios. We reluctantly agreed to do it that way but did so in the spirit of cooperation and because we needed to talk to this man. At that point we were two days into the case and had not been able to talk to the last person known to have seen the victim alive. When we arrived at the office, Mr. Storey’s personal attorney, Jason Fleer, was there. We began interviewing Mr. Storey but in less than five minutes his attorney terminated the interview.”
“Was this conversation tape-recorded?”
“Yes, it was.”
Langwiser made the motion to play the recording and it was approved by Judge Houghton over Fowkkes’s objection. Fowkkes had asked the judge to simply allow jurors to read his already prepared transcripts of the short interview. But Langwiser objected to that, saying that she had not had time to check the transcripts for accuracy and that it was important for the jurors to hear David Storey’s tone and demeanor. With the wisdom of Solomon the judge ruled that the tape would be heard and that the transcripts would be handed out anyway as an aid to the jurors. He encouraged Bosch and the prosecution team to read along as well so they could check the transcript for accuracy.
BOSCH:
My name is Detective Hieronymus Bosch of the Los Angeles Police Department. I am accompanied by my partners, Detectives Jerry Edgar and Kizmin Rider. The date is October 15, 2000. We are interviewing David Storey in his offices at Archway Studios in regard to case number zero-zero-eight-nine-seven. Mr. Storey is accompanied by his attorney, Jason Fleer. Mr. Storey, Mr. Fleer? Any questions before we begin?
FLEER:
No questions.
BOSCH:
Oh, and, obviously, we are recording this statement. Mr. Storey, did you know a woman named Jody Krementz? Also known as Donatella Speers.
STOREY:
You know the answer to that.
FLEER:
David . . .
STOREY:
Yes, I knew her. I was with her last Thursday night. It does not mean I killed her.
FLEER:
David, please. Answer only the questions they ask you.
STOREY:
Whatever.
BOSCH:
Can I continue?
FLEER:
By all means. Please.
STOREY:
Yes, by all means. Please.
BOSCH:
You mentioned that you were with her on Thursday evening. This was a date?
STOREY:
Why ask things you already know the answer to? Yes, it was a date, if you want to call it that.
BOSCH:
What do you want to call it?
STOREY:
Doesn’t matter.
(pause)
BOSCH:
Could you give us a framework of time that you were with her?
STOREY:
Picked her up at seven-thirty, dropped her off about midnight.
BOSCH:
Did you enter her home when you came to pick her up?
STOREY:
Matter of fact, I didn’t. I was running very late and called on my cell phone to tell her to come outside because I didn’t have time to come in. I think she wanted me to meet her roommate — another actress, no doubt — but I didn’t have the time.
BOSCH:
So when you pulled up she was waiting outside.
STOREY:
That’s what I said.
BOSCH:
Seven-thirty until midnight. That is four and a half hours.
STOREY:
You are good at math. I like that in a detective.
FLEER:
David, let’s try to get this done.
STOREY:
I am.
BOSCH:
Could you tell us what you did during the time period you were with Jody Krementz?
STOREY:
We covered the three Fs. Film, food and a fuck.
BOSCH:
Excuse me?
STOREY:
We went to the premiere of my movie, then we went to the reception and had something to eat, then I took her to my place and we had sex. Consensual sex, Detective. Believe it or not, people do it on dates all the time. And not just Hollywood people. It happens across this great country of ours. It’s what makes it great.
BOSCH:
I understand. Did you take her home when you were finished?
STOREY:
Always the gentleman, I did.
BOSCH:
Did you enter her house at this time?
STOREY:
No. I was in my fucking bathrobe. I just drove up, she got out and went inside. I then drove back home. Whatever happened after that I don’t know. I am not involved in this in any way, shape or form. You people are —
FLEER:
David, please.
STOREY:
— completely full of shit if for one fucking moment you think —
FLEER:
David, stop!
(pause)
FLEER:
Detective Bosch, I think we need to stop this.
BOSCH:
We’re in the middle of an interview here and —
FLEER:
David, where are you going?
STOREY:
Fuck these people. I’m going out for a smoke.
BOSCH:
Mr. Storey has just left the office.
FLEER:
I think at this point he is exercising his rights under the fifth amendment. This interview is over.
The tape went blank and Langwiser turned it off. Bosch looked at the jury. Several of them were looking at Storey. His arrogance had come through loud and clear on the tape. This was important because they would soon be asking the jury to believe that Storey had privately boasted to Bosch about the murder and how he would get away with it. Only an arrogant man would do that. The prosecution needed to prove Storey was not only a murderer, but an arrogant one at that.
“Okay, then,” Langwiser said. “Did Mr. Storey return to continue the interview?”
“No, he did not,” Bosch answered. “And we were asked to leave.”
“Did Mr. Storey’s denial of any involvement in the murder of Jody Krementz end your interest in him?”
“No, it did not. We had an obligation to investigate the case fully and that included either ruling him in or ruling him out as a suspect.”
“Was his behavior during the short interview cause for suspicion?”
“You mean his arrogance? No, he —”
Fowkkes jumped up with an objection.
“Your Honor, one man’s arrogance is another man’s confidence in his innocence. There is no —”
“You are right, Mr. Fowkkes,” Houghton said.
He sustained the objection, struck Bosch’s answer and turned to the jurors to tell them to ignore the remark.
“His behavior during the interview was not cause for suspicion,” Bosch began again. “His being the last known person to be with the victim was cause for our immediate attention and focus. His lack of cooperation was suspicious but at this point we were keeping an open mind about everything. My partners and I have a combined total of more than twenty-five years’ experience investigating homicides. We know that things are not always what they seem.”
“Where did the investigation go next?”
“We continued all avenues of investigation. One of those avenues was obviously Mr. Storey. Based on his statement that he and the victim had gone to his home on their date, my partners filed a search warrant application in Municipal Court and received approval to search David Storey’s home.”

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