J.D. Trafford - Michael Collins 02 - No Time to Die (17 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Kermit had seen the dogs on Animal Planet. That’s where he had gotten the idea. He’d been talking with the dog owners for about a week, but he needed Michael on board. All it took was some money, and, as soon as he got the “big dough ball” from Michael, Kermit got the dogs.

He watched them with a big smile on his face. The dogs were going nuts. Two handlers tried to keep them under control. Another three men trailed behind. They all walked a patch of ground underneath a large cypress tree on the edge of a soy bean field. It was about 10 miles west of Jesser, near where Tommy Estrada’s body had been found.

Whenever the dogs barked, circled, and started to dig, a handler would shout. Then, another man would run up behind them and put a small flag into the ground.

Kermit stood off to the side with a very young reporter for Miami’s Seven News. Kermit had called every newspaper and television station in town that morning. They had all laughed at him except Seven News. The reporter had just started. A few years back she had been third place in the Miss Florida beauty pageant. After graduating from Florida State, her rich daddy had gotten her this job. When Kermit called, the news producer had been ecstatic to get her out of the office and out of his hair.

“Can you believe this?” The reporter’s blue eyes danced every time a flag went into the ground. “This is network,” she said. “This is my break.”

She grabbed Kermit’s arm and gave it a squeeze.

“Easy honey, I bruise easy.” Kermit’s eyes were dancing too. He loved the chaos. “So I got you the story, now what’s the plan?”

“We call the police, but get some footage before they get here.” She started to count the flags, and then turned back to Kermit. “We have to get the footage first, and then we’ll go down to the courthouse. That’s where you have your witness, right?”

“
Right-o, slim.” Kermit watched the dogs go nuts again,

The reporter squealed as the handler called for another flag. It wasn’t a professional, detached reaction, but it was honest. She started to count the flags.

“What is that? Are there like, 10 dead bodies out there?” 

Kermit shook his head.

“Don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it’s just one body that’s been cut up into a bunch of pieces.”

“
Cut up!” The reporter gave Kermit’s arm another squeeze. “That’s even better.”

###

Michael took the whole morning. Every attorney liked to hear themselves talk, but this delay was deliberate. This was Kermit and Michael’s plan. They needed time to get the cadaver dogs out to the site where
Miggy saw Maus and the spirits. Neither Michael or Jane were comfortable with just putting Miggy on the stand without some corroboration.

As Judge Delaney told them the day before, he was striking Antonio
Sanz’s testimony. The jury would be instructed to disregard his testimony related to Deputy Maus and were prohibited from considering any testimony he gave.

That was now the law of the case. And Michael took the first part of the morning putting his objections to the ruling on the record as well as laying a detailed “offer of proof” for any appeal.

An “offer of proof” was done outside the presence of a jury. During an “offer,” an attorney described the testimony that would have been given absent the judge’s decision to exclude it.

Michael stood at the podium with 15 pages of notes. As he continued on, Harrison Grant kept coughing and shifting in his seat. He tried to express to the court that he was both bored and annoyed with Michael’s speech. Judge Delaney didn’t look much happier, but the judge knew enough not to prevent Michael from finishing. If he interrupted an offer of proof and didn’t allow Michael to finish, Judge Delaney knew that he would be flipped on appeal. Then he’d have to do the whole trial over, and he definitely did not want that.

Michael turned the page, ignoring a room full of people shooting daggers at him with their eyes. Then he glanced up at the clock. It was five minutes to 10:30. Time to wrap up.

“
In conclusion, Your Honor, the testimony of Mr. Sanz is just the first piece in the plaintiff’s case. These are facts. These are real events that a reasonable jury could use to conclude that Jolly Boy and its executives knew what was going on or created an environment in which they were deliberately ignorant of Deputy Maus’ conduct. By knowing or ignoring these facts they are negligent in the wrongful death of Tommy Estrada.”

Michael collected his papers and walked back to his seat. He looked at Jane, hoping for some reassurance, but Jane didn’t look at him. She had been quiet all morning.

“Okay.” Judge Delaney stared at Michael. “That was incredibly thorough.” He spoke with sarcastic tone. “Off the record, let’s try and be a little less thorough in the future.”

Judge Delaney looked at his watch, and then looked back at the attorneys.

“We’ll take our morning break, round up the jurors, and then continue with testimony for the rest of the morning.”

Judge Delaney got up, and the bailiff instructed everyone remaining in the courtroom to rise. The court was in recess.

###

Jane sat back down in her chair. Michael looked over at her.

“
Not coming?”

Jane slowly folded her arms across her chest and shook her head.

“I’ll just stay here; you can take care of it.”

Michael cocked his head to the side.

“You feeling okay?”

“
Not really,” Jane said. She looked over at Michael. “This just isn’t how I thought it would be. That’s all.”

“
Hang in there,” Michael said. “Maybe DOJ will come around even if Judge Delaney doesn’t let Miggy testify.”

He put his hand on Jane’s shoulder. “You needed to give the DOJ time, and that’s what we’re doing. That’s all we’re trying to accomplish.”

Jane nodded, although she was the one who needed the delay. She needed the time to make up her own mind.

###

Outside the courthouse, Michael walked across the street to a bench while he read the text messages from Kermit. He stopped, re-read the last one, and then looked up. He smiled at
Miggy, who had been waiting for him. Miggy was clean. His hair was trimmed and combed. He wore khakis and a polo shirt, and he almost looked normal.

“
Is it time?” Miggy asked.

“
Showtime,” Michael said. “You look great.”

“Kermit made me look like a fashion model.”

Miggy giggled, and then squirmed a little in his new outfit. It was clear that he wasn’t used to wearing clothes that actually fit.

“You know we’ve got a lot riding on this.” Michael sat down next to him. “We need you to pretend you don’t hear the voices. Can you do that?”

“Kermit told me to be a regular dude like him.”

Miggy
looked at Michael, not realizing the absurdity of his last statement.

“
I’ll keep it like we practiced.” Miggy twirled a few strands of his hair.

“
Great.” Michael typed the number for Kermit on his cell phone. A few seconds, and then Kermit answered. “Everything still a go?” Michael listened, nodding. “When are they coming down to interview Miggy?” He listened, and then hung up. “Are you going to talk about the spirits?” Michael asked Miggy.

Miggy
shook his head.

“
Kermit told me not to, so I ain’t talking about no spirits today.”

“
Good.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“The plaintiffs call Miguel Vatale to the stand.”

Miggy
didn’t get up. He wasn’t used to being called Miguel. He hadn’t been called Miguel Vatale since elementary school.

Michael turned to the seats in the back of the courtroom. He made eye contact with
Miggy, and gestured for him to come forward.

Miggy
stood, and then made his way to the witness stand. Before he sat down, Judge Delaney made him swear to tell the truth and gave Miggy general instructions about how the questioning would proceed.

“
So you understand?” asked Judge Delaney.

Miggy
nodded.

“
Yes.”

“
Good.” Judge Delaney smiled. “You may sit down.”

Judge Delaney turned to Michael.

“You may proceed with this witness.”

“
Thank you, Your Honor.” Michael looked at Jane, who was still lost inside herself, and then turned to Harrison Grant. Finally, he scanned the faces of the jury. It was the first time they had been in the courtroom that day, and they looked ready for the case to move forward.

Looking at
Miggy, Michael felt his pulse quicken. There was a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew what Miggy was going to say, but he wasn’t sure how Judge Delaney would react. The judge had been clear: no surprises. Now there was about to be a big surprise. It might cause a mistrial. It might result in sanctions. It might destroy their credibility with the jury. It might do nothing at all. Michael had no idea.

Miggy
had talked about spirits and ghosts so often over the past year that it had become a joke among Michael and Jane. But Kermit wore them down, telling Michael and Jane to give Miggy a chance; they had to listen to him; it could help the case.

Michael and Jane had thought about it, and then laughed. Kermit had been brainwashed, they thought, but Kermit wouldn’t let it go. “Hear him out,” Kermit had asked them. “Just listen to what he has to say.”

And finally they did, because they didn’t have any other options. That decision had been the moment when the case turned.

“
Mr. Vatale, could you tell the court where you live?”

“
Jesser.” Miggy smiled at the jury, and some of the jurors actually smiled back. The friendly response was probably out of sympathy. Michael was okay with that.

“
Are you employed?”

Miggy
shook his head.

“
No,” he said. “Was at one time, but not now.”

“
You’re unemployed?”

Miggy
nodded.

“
I have some substance abuse issues.”

Although most people would consider this admission to be terrible for
Miggy’s credibility, Michael had planned it. He wanted the jury to find out about Miggy’s mental health and various addictions upfront, rather than waiting for Harrison Grant to expose Miggy’s instability on cross-examination.

“
You’ve been in treatment?”

Miggy
smiled.

“
Many times.”

“
But you’re sober now, today?”

“
Thirty days sober.” Miggy looked up at Judge Delaney. “Not too shabby.”

Some of the older, female jurors laughed.
Miggy was charming.

“
Let’s turn our attention to the past,” Michael said. “It was last summer, a little over a year ago. Do you remember where you were?”

“
Outskirts of Jesser.” Miggy started to go into a long, random monologue, but Michael cut him off. He raised his hand, and Miggy stopped talking. “Specifically, you saw something that was very significant. Is that true?”

Harrison Grant stood.

“Objection, Your Honor, he’s leading this witness.”

Judge Delaney rolled his eyes. He gestured for Grant to sit down, and then overruled the objection.

“Mr. Collins may continue, but now that we’re getting into the substance of testimony, you need to be more careful.”

“
Yes, Your Honor.” Michael looked down at his notes. “What were you doing?”

“
I was getting high,” Miggy said. “I knew these guys in a farmhouse outside of Jesser. They grow some weed in the national park nearby, and they cook some stuff in their pole barn. I hitched out there, got some smack, and then hunkered in a field.”

“
What do you mean by ‘hunkered’?”

“
I had my smack. I found a quiet spot in a field. It was a break area for the workers.”

“
Kind of like a picnic area?”

Miggy
nodded.

“
That’s right. It had a table. I put down my stuff, and I sat down to shoot up.”

Miggy
shifted in his seat, uneasy. It was as if he just realized he had admitted to committing a crime, under oath, and in a court of law.

Michael continued, praying that
Miggy would remember not to talk about the spirits.

“
And then what did you see?” he asked.

“
I saw a guy pull up in a pickup truck. I thought it was weird. I mean, I’m in a field. Ain’t nothing around, and this guy stops. I’m thinking that maybe he saw me or something, but I don’t know.”

“
Was it a man or woman?”

“
It was a man,” Miggy said, glad that Michael had stopped asking him about his drug use.

“
And did you later figure out who this man was?”

Miggy
nodded.

“
It was Deputy Maus. He works for the Sheriff, but he also works for the farms, works for Jolly Boy, like an enforcer.”

Harrison Grant stood.

“Objection, Your Honor. May we approach?”

Michael and Harrison Grant approached the bench.

Judge Delaney leaned toward them.

“
Mr. Collins, what’s going on?”

Michael tried to look innocent.

“I’m just trying to put in my case.” 

Judge Delaney stared at him for a moment, then looked at Harrison Grant, and then back to Michael. “
Chambers.”

###

They returned to their seats. Michael and Jane sat down on the left side of Judge Delaney’s large oak desk. Harrison Grant and Brian McNaughten sat down on the right side of the desk.

Judge Delaney leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was tired.

“Tell me again what this witness is going to testify about?”

“
Mr. Vatale saw, on multiple occasions, Deputy Maus dig a grave, remove a body from the back of his truck or cruiser, and bury the body. We think that one of those times it was Tommy Estrada, since Mr. Estrada’s body was found in a nearby field. We’re building our case that Deputy Maus –”

“
Your Honor,” Harrison Grant interrupted. “You’ve previously ruled on this issue. Although I find it hard to believe that this testimony from a heroin addict is true. Deputy Maus is a police officer. He is not some sort of serial killer –”

“
Nobody said he was a serial killer,”Michael interrupted, “but he takes care of problems for Jolly Boy, including problem people.”

Grant shook his head.

“Ridiculous, and even if it is true, it proves nothing. Obviously Jolly Boy did not instruct this person to do this and there is no evidence that Deputy Maus murdered these people. Certainly, if that was the case, Mr. Collins and Ms. Nance would have reported that to the police.”

There was a knock at the door.

Judge Delaney raised his hand, stopping Grant from talking.

“
Hold that thought.” To the person on the other side of the door. “Come in.”

The door opened and it was Judge Delaney’s law clerk.

“Your Honor, I wanted to let you know that a camera crew is here.”

Judge Delaney shot Michael Collins a look. Then he waved the clerk to come further into his chambers and shut the door.

“What do they want?”

“
They would like to set up a camera to record Mr. Vatale’s testimony. They’re doing a story about the Jolly Boy graveyard.”

“
The Jolly Boy graveyard?”

The clerk nodded. His face concerned. The clerk knew that his boss wouldn’t be happy. Judges hated cameras in the courtroom almost as much as they hated surprises during trials. Every judge preferred to toil away in anonymity. Less publicity meant more job security.

“Your Honor, I strongly object.” Harrison Grant, for the first time, exhibited true concern. “This false testimony shouldn’t be broadcast to the world. It would damage the reputation of one of Florida’s best corporate citizens, and –”

Judge Delaney held out his hand, again. He’d heard enough from Harrison Grant.

“What’s the story about?”

The clerk waited a second, hoping that Judge Delaney didn’t really want him to say it in the presence of the attorneys.

“Come on,” Judge Delaney. “Out with it. What’s the story?”

“
The reporter said they were out at this field with cadaver dogs, following up on a tip from Mr. Vatale. They found a lot of bodies or body parts. Nobody knows for sure, but the police have the area sealed off. She says that they’re going to interview Mr. Vatale when he’s done, but they want some footage of him actually testifying.”

Michael’s heart skipped a beat.

Out of desperation and largely to get Kermit to shut up, he had given Kermit money to hire a guy that trains cadaver dogs for rescue teams. When the cadaver dogs confirmed that Miggy was telling the truth that morning, Michael violated a half-dozen court rules and another half-dozen canons of professional ethics. He withheld the information from Harrison Grant. He didn’t call the police right away.

Judge Delaney looked at Jane Nance.

“Did you know anything about these dogs?”

Jane didn’t say anything. She just shook her head.“But I bet you did,” Delaney said to Michael. “Certainly Mr.
Vatale did not hire cadaver dogs and orchestrate a news crew coming into my courtroom.”

Judge Delaney took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ve got a number of concerns.”

Judge Delaney’s speech was steady, but his face was flush. A vein was popping out of his head.

“Mr. Collins, did you know about this television crew? And more importantly, did you disclose any of this to Mr. Grant?”

“
The dogs were part of our ongoing investigation, and all we did was tell the news crew what we were doing. I had no idea what the dogs were going to find. It was just part of our due diligence. We couldn’t ethically call Mr. Vatale without honestly believing his testimony was true. And we didn’t actually think we were going to call him as a witness until yesterday, although he had been disclosed. It all unfolded very quickly this morning.”

Harrison Grant edged up in his seat, prepared to be the voice of reason. When Michael took a breath, Grant stepped in.

“As you ruled yesterday,” Grant said, “there is no connection to these alleged acts and the defendant.”

“
But the alleged acts seem to be piling up,” said Judge Delaney. He had calmed down, and now he was thinking about the camera crew and how his decisions would be interpreted by the media. He had a reputation to protect. Although he wasn’t supposed to take public opinion into consideration, he was up for re-election in the fall.

“
Here’s what I’m going to do.” Judge Delaney put his hand down on his desk, collecting his thoughts. “I am not going to rule on the objection at this time. Mr. Collins, you will call the remainder of your witnesses. I will tell the jury that Mr. Vatale may be called later in the trial. In the meantime, I will listen for direct evidence that Jolly Boy and its executives actually authorized Deputy Maus to do what you allege. If I hear direct evidence, then I’ll allow Mr. Vatale to testify and I’ll even allow you to recall any other witnesses that want to talk about Deputy Maus. If I don’t hear direct evidence about knowledge and causation that connects Jolly Boy, then I will not allow the testimony.”

Judge Delaney nodded his head. The decision was made.

“Do you understand? I want to hear a witness or see a document that connects the dots. I want evidence that Jolly Boy killed your client, not evidence that they employ a bad cop. You need to connect the dots. Understand?”

Michael looked over at Jane. Her head was down. Her hands were still clasped. Michael looked back to Judge Delaney. He nodded.

“I understand, Your Honor. Thank you, but we don’t have any more witnesses ready for the day. Can we start fresh tomorrow?”

Judge Delaney leaned back in his chair. He considered it. Figuring that the television crew wouldn’t come back for a second day, he nodded his head in agreement.