Grass Roots (44 page)

Now Keane had to decide what to do next. It was nearly dark out now, but he was in no shape to start sneaking around, peeking into windows; not while he was on crutches. He could call the Atlanta PD and demand a raid on the place, but it was outside the city limits and would have to be coordinated with the Marietta police. If he was wrong about this guy, he’d humiliate himself and use up whatever goodwill he might still have in the department.

Or he could sit here and wait.

He waited, increasingly hungry and needing a bathroom badly, until after eleven, when the lights went out in the apartment. Tired and sore from sitting in the car so long, Keane drove home. He would come back in the morning and wait the man out. Sooner or later, he’d have to leave the apartment, and then Keane could get a closer look, maybe nail him. Right now, though, he needed a toilet, some food, a drink, and some sleep.

at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Will got into a car with Tom Black. He was a little fuzzy, having spoken to two civic clubs and done six telephone interviews with radio stations around the state, all after a full day of the trial. This morning, before court, Tom had scheduled a sausage-and-biscuits breakfast hosted by a Greenville women’s club.

“The news is not good this morning,” Tom said immediately.

“Our most recent poll, taken this past Sunday, shows us stalled at fifty for Calhoun, forty-seven for you, and three percent undecided.

The TV stuff has brought us that far. We didn’t seem to actually get hurt in the debate, but we didn’t help ourselves much either.”

“I don’t know what else to do,” Will said.

“We’ve put everything we could scrape up into TV; my every moment between now and next Tuesday is scheduled; what haven’t we done?”

“I don’t know,” Tom said.

“We’ve got something new in this poll, though. Moss did an extra layer of questions for all the people who say they’re voting for Calhoun.

Turns out, eight percent of his voters say they’re voting for Calhoun only because they suspect you of being a homosexual That’s enough to give him the election.”

“Oh, no,” Will groaned.

“I thought we had put that to rest a long time ago.”

“Not when Calhoun keeps harping on it all the time.”

“Maybe if
were on trial for murdering Sarah Cole instead of Larry Moody, that would convince the doubters.”p>

“Only if you were convicted,” Tom said wryly. He pulled into a convenience store.

“I want to get a paper,” he said. Moments later, he came back, grinning.

“Maybe this will help.” He tossed the paper to Will.

On the front page was a photograph taken on the courthouse steps, a close-up of Will and Charlene Joiner. She was looking up at him, her chin tucked down, her eyes lifted. The effect was riveting.

“Christ,” Will said, “this is all I need.” The photograph made him very uncomfortable. Since Katharine Rule’s reappearance on the scene, he had been feeling increasingly guilty about his fling with Charlene, and even more worried that it might come to light.

Tom laughed.

“Don’t knock it; we need it. You know, yesterday Kitty predicted that Charlene was going to become the media star of this trial, and now I believe it.

That girl photographs even better than she looks in person, and that ain’t bad. Charlene ought to be in the movies.

You notice, they managed to get a nice profile of her tits in that shot.”

“Well, Charlene is something of a wild card in this trial; she’s my best hope for convincing the jury that Larry Moody would have no desire to rape Sarah Cole, not with Charlene at home.” He stopped speaking and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.

“Oh, shit,” he moaned, “I think I’ve just figured out why Larry is charged only with murder, not rape.”

“Why?”

“Because of Charlene. I think I’ve underestimated Elton Hunter. He knows Charlene is Larry’s alibi, but he knows I’ll try to make her a sort of sexual alibi, too. He’s going to do everything possible to keep rape out of this.”

“Then what’s he going to use for a motive?”

“I don’t know,” Will said glumly.

“I wish I did.”

elton Hunter called the sheriff and elicited his testimony on the arrest and identification of Larry Moody and the removal of the carpeting from his van. Will had no objections to the testimony, and the sheriff stepped down.

“The State calls Dr. Edward Rosenfeld,” Elton Hunter said.

A handsome man in his thirties took the stand and was sworn.

“Doctor,” Hunter began, “how are you employed?”

“I am an associate director of the Georgia State Crime Laboratory,” the doctor replied.

“And, as such, did you conduct the autopsy of Sarah Cole and supervise the forensic investigation into her murder?”

“I did.”

“How did Sarah Cole meet her death?”

“She was strangled, manually.”

Hunter held up his hands.

“You mean, someone put his hands around her throat and choked the life out of her?”

“Yes.”

“Doctor, did you and your technicians examine a large piece of automotive carpeting removed from Larry Moody’s van?”

“Yes.”

Hunter went to the defense table, picked up a plastic bag containing a black sweater, and removed it from the bag.

“Is this the sweater Sarah Cole was wearing when her body reached your morgue, one with a label from Rich’s department store?”

The doctor examined a tag attached to the sweater.

“It is.”

“Is there any connection between this sweater and the carpet you examined?”

“Yes, we found fibers on the carpet matching those from the sweater and fibers on the sweater matching those of the carpet.”

“A double match?”

“Yes. A double match.”

“That increases your certainty that this sweater and the carpet had come into contact?”

“It does.”

“What else did you find on the carpet?”

“Well, an attempt a not very successful one had been made to clean the carpet, but in addition to the fibers from the sweater, we found samples of blood, of type A positive blood.”

“And what was the blood type of Sarah Cole?”

“Type A positive.”

“And what do you conclude from all this evidence?”

“I conclude that Sarah Cole was in the back of Larry Moody’s van, and that she shed blood there.”

“The prosecution enters the carpet and the sweater as exhibits one and two.” Hunter turned to Will.

“Your witness,” he said.

Will stood and walked around the defense table, his mind racing.

“Doctor, had Sarah Cole had sexual intercourse shortly before her death?”

“Objection!” Elton Hunter was on his feet.

“Irrelevant The defendant is not charged with rape, only murder.”

“Your Honor,” Will said, “the prosecution has introduced evidence of blood on the van carpet and implied that it is the blood of Sarah Cole.

Since Dr. Rosenfeld has testified that she was strangled, an act not usually associated with the shedding of blood, I think we’re entitled to know where the blood came from.”

“Then ask the witness where it came from,” the Judge said.

“Objection sustained. The jury will disregard any reference to rape, since the defendant is not charged with that crime.”

“All right, Doctor,” Will said resignedly, “why do you believe Sarah Cole bled in the back of the van?”

“Because she had been struck several times in the face, and she had bled from the nose.”

At least. Will thought, the word “rape” had been introduced into the courtroom. The jury would not forget it.

“Doctor, let me take your points one at a time. You contend that fibers from the carpet in Larry Moody’s van were found on the clothing of Sarah Cole, is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Doctor, is that carpet in Larry Moody’s van unique?”

“I … I don’t know.”

Will picked up a document from the defense table.

“Well, let me enlighten you.” He handed the document to the doctor.

Rosenfeld looked it over.

“Will you tell the court who signed the document?”

“It appears to be the production manager of the General Motors assembly plant in Doraville, Georgia.”

“Thank you. Now, will you read the text?”

Dear Mr. Lee:

In reply to your letter of January 2, I can give you the following information about the van. The model you mention is the most popular van in the Chevrolet line.

In the model year you mention, we built 38,000 of these vans, in four colors. The color you mention. Sierra Brown, was the most popular of these colors, being used on 24,200 of the vans manufactured. The same carpet, from the same manufacturer, was used in all the brown vans. Our records indicate that 1,703 of the brown vans were shipped to dealers in the state of Georgia.

“Thank you. Dr. Rosenfeld. Your Honor, we enter the document as defense exhibit one, and a copy of the records of the Meriwether County Tax Commissioner, indicating that thirteen identical vans are registered in Meriwether County, as defense exhibit number two.”

Will turned and took a black sweater from the defense table and handed it to the doctor.

“Doctor, I show you a black sweater with a Rich’s label. Would you say this sweater is identical to the one found on Sarah Cole’s body?” He also handed the man the prosecution’s sweater.

The doctor examined the two sweaters.

“They would appear to be identical.”

“Thank you. Doctor.” Will handed both sweaters to the clerk.

“We enter the sweater as defense exhibit number three, and, as exhibit four, a copy of the business records of Rich’s department store, showing that some thirty dozen identical black sweaters were sold in seven Rich’s stores in the Southeast as part of a special promotion last fall, more than four dozen of them in the Atlanta store.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Lee,” the clerk said.

“Which is the prosecution sweater, and which is the defense sweater?”

There was a low chuckle from the spectators as Will helped the man sort the sweaters.

Will took a sheet of paper from the defense table.

“Now, Doctor, let us deal with the matter of the blood on the carpet.

Tell me, is type A positive a rare blood type?”

“No. It is the second most common type, after O positive.”

“So, we may assume that thousands of people in Meriwether County, male and female, have type A positive blood?”

“Yes, that would no doubt be the case.”

“And are you, Doctor, able to demonstrate that the sample of type A positive blood found on the carpet in Larry Moody’s van came from the body of Sarah Cole?”

“No,” the doctor sighed, “I cannot.”

“Now, Doctor, at the end of your questioning by the prosecuting attorney, you stated, and I quote, “I conclude that Sarah Cole was in the back of Larry Moody’s van and that she shed blood there.” We have shown that there are tens of thousands of vans like Larry Moody’s in the country, hundreds in the state, and more than a dozen in this very county, fibers from any one of which might have been found on Sarah Cole’s clothing; we have shown that Rich’s sold hundreds of sweaters identical to that of Sarah Cole;

and you have testified that thousands of people in this very county have the same blood type. Can you still support your statement?”

The doctor looked embarrassed.

“Perhaps I was too specific—still, the coincidence…”

“Coincidence is not your field. Doctor, science is. Scientifically, you cannot prove that Sarah Cole was ever in the back of Larry Moody’s van, can you?”

“No,” the man said.

“No further questions.”

Elton Hunter stood up.

“Redirect,” he said.

The Judge nodded.

“Dr. Rosenfeld, how long have you been in your present position with the Georgia State Crime Laboratory?”

“Seven years, my entire medical practice.”

“During those seven years, how many murders have you investigated forensically?”

“More than four hundred.”

“Based on your extensive experience as a forensic scientist in all these murder investigations, do you have any doubt whatsoever that Sarah Cole was in the back of Larry Moody’s van?”

“No doubt whatsoever.”

“That Sarah Cole was murdered in the back of Larry Moody’s van?”

“Objection!” Will said.

“Overruled,” the Judge replied.

“The question is for his opinion. Witness will answer.”

“No doubt whatsoever.”

Elton Hunter turned to the Judge.

“Your Honor, the prosecution rests.”

after the lunch break, Will stood in the courtroom.

“Your Honor, the defense calls Larry Eugene Moody.”

Larry Moody, dressed neatly in a suit, his hair cut, his mustache shaved off, took the stand and was sworn.

“Larry, what work do you do?”

“I repair furnaces and air conditioners for Morgan and Morgan.”

“On that Thursday afternoon before Sarah Cole was murdered, did you visit the Meriwether Counseling Center?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why?”

“They called the office and said their furnace wasn’t working. I squeezed in the call right before my last call of the day.”

“What work did you do there?”

“I replaced the thermostat.”

“Did you speak with Sarah Cole that day?”

“Yes, sir. She wasn’t very happy about the price of the thermostat, but I explained that it was the only one I had with me, and she paid me for it.”

“Larry, did you ogle Sarah Cole?”

“Sir?”

“Did you find her attractive?”

“Well, yes, sir, she was a real attractive lady. I had seen her around town before.”

“Did you make any advances to her that day?”

“No, sir.”

“When you left the Counseling Center, where did you go?”

“I had one more call scheduled. I went there and serviced a furnace, cleaned the filters, that sort of thing.”

“And when you finished there, what time was it?”

“Just before six.”

“And what did you do then?”

“I went home.”

“Was anyone at home with you?”

“Yes, Charlene Joiner, my girlfriend, got home just after six.”

“Did either you or Charlene leave your home at any time that evening?”