Presumption of Guilt (29 page)

T
hey had sat through three days of the prosecution’s case. Three days of hammering away at Molly’s confession with very little else of substance. The medical examiner testified that the victims had been bludgeoned with a heavy object and then stabbed multiple times with a six- to seven-inch nonserrated knife. Dani got him to admit that, based upon the depths of the contusions from the heavy object, it was more likely wielded by a person weighing more than Molly’s 112 pounds, although, he added, “adrenaline can give someone unexpected strength.”

The crime-scene investigator testified as to the state of the master bedroom and their search for evidentiary clues. “No fingerprints were found other than the family’s,” she said. Under Dani’s questioning, she admitted that she’d found no forensic evidence that tied Molly to the murders. Unlike Molly’s first trial, Dani got in testimony that the shower and sink drains had been tested for blood residue and none was found.

A lesser parade of schoolmates than at the original trial testified about statements Molly had made about her parents but admitted during Dani’s cross-examination that they’d made similar statements about their own parents during high school, yet none had murdered them. Given Frank Reynolds’s complicity in the county jail scandal, Finn wasn’t called by the prosecution this time around.

This morning began the defendant’s case. Dani had her witnesses lined up and ready. Her most important witness, Molly, would take the stand last.

With the jurors seated and the judge on the bench, Dani called Josh Cosgrove. He was dressed for the occasion in a navy pinstriped suit and strode to the stand with an air of confidence. Once seated and sworn in, Dani ran through his credentials: a Yale Law School graduate, fifteen years at the US Attorney’s Office, the last four as chief of the criminal division.

“Mr. Cosgrove, did there come a time when you learned that one of the victims, Joe Singer, had been involved in criminal activity?”

Eric Murdoch stood up. “The county concedes that Joe Singer had been involved in criminal activity. There’s no need for testimony on that subject.”

Dani turned to the judge. “Your Honor, the jury has a right to hear the details of that activity and the others involved in it. Since two of those people have pending criminal charges, I’m sure Mr. Murdoch is not conceding their guilt.”

Judge Silver nodded, then looked at the witness. “You can answer the question.”

The court reporter read it back to Cosgrove and he answered, “Yes.”

“Would you describe that activity?”

Cosgrove leaned forward in his seat and turned toward the jury box. “Joe Singer and his partner, Quince Michaels, won the bid to construct the Hudson County jail, back around fourteen years ago. With the acquiescence of Frank Reynolds and Mary Jane Olivetti—they were the ranking Democrat and Republican on the county legislature’s appropriations committee—they submitted fraudulent invoices for more than thirty-five million dollars over the actual cost of building the jail.”

“And did Mr. Singer and Mr. Michaels pocket that entire sum?”

“No. Together, they received fourteen million dollars over their expected profit for building the jail.”

“And how do you know this? Did Mr. Michaels tell you?”

“Michaels died in a suspicious boat accident five months ago. But he’d told his widow about the scam, and she provided bank records from the Caribbean bank where they stashed the money and an agreement which showed that both Singer and Michaels were the owners of that account.”

“Did Mrs. Michaels tell you what happened to the rest of the money?”

“She knew others were involved but didn’t know who.”

“Has the US Attorney’s Office arrested anyone else in connection with this fraud against the county?”

“Yes. Two months ago we filed criminal charges against Frank Reynolds. He’s since entered into a plea agreement and is serving a one-year sentence in a federal prison.”

“Did Mr. Reynolds know who else pocketed the remaining money?”

Murdoch called out, “Objection. Hearsay.”

“I’ll rephrase. As a result of information you received from Mr. Reynolds, did you indict anyone else for stealing funds related to the building of the county jail?”

“Yes. The grand jury issued indictments for theft and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds against Judge Alan Bryson and Sheriff John Engles.”

“And what is the essential allegation of that indictment?”

“That together with Quince Michaels, Joe Singer, and Paul Scoby, they bribed or blackmailed Hudson County legislators Frank Reynolds and Mary Jane Olivetti in order to defraud Hudson County of more than thirty-five million dollars. They did this by using fraudulent invoices to overbill for the construction of the Hudson County jail.”

“Has there been a trial in that case?”

“No. It’s still pending.”

“Why hasn’t Paul Scoby been indicted as well?”

“He was arrested and released on bail. We had arranged to put him into protective custody, but before our men got to him, he was murdered.”

“So, let’s make sure I’ve got this straight. Joe Singer was part of a group of men who either were known to have defrauded the county or who were arrested for defrauding the county and whose charges are still pending. Of those men, Joe Singer and Paul Scoby were murdered, and Quince Michaels’s death was ruled suspicious. Is that correct?”

Cosgrove turned toward the jury and somberly answered, “That’s exactly right.”

Dani took a step back. She wanted the jury to take in the testimony they’d just heard. After a moment, she turned back to Cosgrove and said, “Thank you. No further questions.” She walked back to her table and sat down. Melanie, sitting next to her, scribbled on a notepad, “Great job. No one could convict Molly now.” Dani wished that were true. She had too much experience with juries to believe results were ever predictable.

Murdoch stood up and approached the witness.

“Mr. Cosgrove, did you uncover any evidence that any of the men involved in this scheme murdered, or arranged to have murdered, Mr. and Mrs. Singer?”

“No, not yet. But we’re working on that.”

“Please confine your answer to the question asked,” Murdoch said, his jaw clenched tightly. “Have you arrested anyone in connection with the murder of Paul Scoby?”

“No.”

“To your knowledge has any arrest been made in connection with the death of Quince Michaels?”

Cosgrove shook his head, then caught himself and answered, “No.”

“Do you have any information which shows that these deaths were related?”

“Not at this time.”

“In fact, isn’t it true that Paul Scoby’s house was burglarized as well?”

“The house appeared to have been ransacked. It’s unclear whether anything was taken.”

“So, Mr. Scoby’s death could have been attributable to a home break-in gone bad, isn’t that so?”

“It’s possible.”

“With respect to Mr. Michaels’s boat accident, has the coast guard ruled out the possibility that the gas line was tampered with by Mr. Michaels himself?”

“They ruled it was suspicious.”

“I must remind you to answer my questions. Have they ruled out the possibility of deliberate tampering by Michaels as a way to commit suicide?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“So, let me recap. Mr. and Mrs. Singer were murdered twelve years ago, Mr. Michaels’s boat exploded as a result of a gas leak that the coast guard hasn’t ruled out as a suicide, and Mr. Scoby was murdered during what could have been a burglary, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Thank you. I have no other questions of this witness.”

Dani stood up. “Just a few more on redirect,” she said. She approached the witness box. “To your knowledge, were any attempts made on Mr. Reynolds’s life?”

“Yes, when our agent arrived to take him and his wife into protective custody, an armed man was firing his weapon into their home and attempting to enter it. Our agent thwarted the murder attempt on the Reynoldses.”

“And when did this attempt occur?”

“The same day that Paul Scoby was murdered.”

“Were FBI agents dispatched on that day to bring Mr. Scoby into protective custody?”

“Yes, but when they arrived, he’d already been murdered.”

“Now let me once again recap. Mr. and Mrs. Singer were murdered twelve years ago while the state was investigating improprieties in the cost of building the jail; Mr. Michaels’s boat exploded after his wife was told by investigators for the Help Innocent Prisoners Project that he was suspected of stealing money from the county. Mr. Scoby was murdered after he had been arrested for his theft of county monies, and an attempt was made on Mr. Reynolds’s life after he confessed to his role in the crime and on the same day Mr. Scoby was murdered. Is that correct?”

“That about sums it up.”

“Thank you. You can step down.”

Judge Silver looked up at the clock. “I think this is a good time to break for lunch. Let’s resume in ninety minutes.”

Dani knew she was a worrier. Over lunch, Melanie and Tommy were confident that she’d scored a bull’s-eye with Cosgrove. Molly sat quietly, clearly unsure what to think. Dani couldn’t shake the fear that it wouldn’t matter to the jury that Joe Singer had been caught up in something despicable. Unless Dani could tie one of the participants in that scheme to the Singers’ murder, the jurors would fall back on Molly’s confession.

When the court was called into session, Dani called Finn Reynolds to the stand. Finn entered the courtroom hesitantly, but upon seeing Molly, smiled at her, then quickly took his seat.

“Mr. Reynolds, please describe your relationship with Molly at the time of the murders of her parents.”

“She was my girlfriend.”

“And are you the father of her child?”

Finn nodded.

“Please speak your answers for the court reporter.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Did you testify for the prosecution at Molly’s first trial?”

Finn nodded again, then caught himself. “I did.”

“What did you say at that trial?”

Finn described his earlier testimony.

“Now, most boyfriends wouldn’t have offered that information to the man trying to lock up his pregnant girlfriend. Were you angry at Molly?”

“No.”

“Did you believe she murdered her parents?”

“No.”

“Then please tell the jury why you testified against her.”

“I wanted to protect my father, Frank Reynolds.”

“And why did you think your father needed protection?”

“Because I’d picked up the phone a few weeks before the Singers were murdered and overheard Judge Bryson tell him he had to convince Joe Singer to keep quiet or someone would shut him up. He said otherwise Joe would ruin things for everyone, including my father. I knew my father was involved in something bad.”

“Thank you. No further questions.”

Murdoch stood up at his table and asked just one question: “On this phone call, did anyone say that Joe Singer would be killed if he didn’t stay quiet?”

“Not in so many words.”

“That’s all. You can step down now.”

Dani had managed to track down several of Molly’s closest high school friends, and they counteracted the testimony of other classmates that Molly hated her parents. One by one, Dani paraded them up to the witness stand. One by one they testified that they had all complained about their parents from time to time, Molly no more than the others. One by one they spoke about it having been obvious that Molly loved her parents. Murdoch merely rolled his eyes and tapped his fingertips on the table throughout this testimony, never choosing to cross-examine any of them.

When the last classmate had been called, it was past five o’clock, and the judge recessed for the day. Tomorrow Dani would call Derek Deegan to the stand, her expert on false confessions, and then finish with Molly. She would return to the courtroom prepared for battle but had a worried feeling that she was armed with confetti instead of bullets.

C
HAPTER

50

T
he first witness that morning had been the psychiatrist who’d examined Molly after the murders. He testified that Molly exhibited no homicidal thoughts or sociopathic tendencies. Murdoch did little to counteract his findings. The rest of the morning had been spent eliciting testimony from Derek Deegan. He expanded on his testimony from Molly’s first 440 hearing, describing numerous instances of homicide convictions based on confessions that were subsequently overturned when DNA evidence proved the defendant was innocent. He then explained to the jury the techniques used with Molly that could have led to her false confession. Murdoch scored a few points on his cross-examination when he got Deegan to admit that the techniques used with Molly more often led to an accurate confession. Now Dani would close her case with Molly.

“I call Molly Singer to the stand.” Molly stood up from the defense table and slowly made her way to the witness box. She wore a cream-colored skirt with a sapphire-blue blouse. “No black,” Dani had warned her. “I don’t want you to look like you’re in mourning.”

After Molly was sworn in, Dani started with the question uppermost in the jurors’ thoughts. “Did you murder your parents twelve years ago?”

Molly turned to the jury box and, with her voice steady and firm, answered, “I did not.”

“But you told the police you did, isn’t that right?”

“During hours and hours of questioning, I repeatedly said I hadn’t. That I didn’t know anyone who’d hurt my parents, but I certainly wouldn’t have.”

“If you didn’t murder them, why did you sign a confession that you had?”

“You have to understand. I was seventeen years old. I’d just found my parents dead in their beds. I’d been taken in for questioning and was all alone. Over and over the detectives told me I was responsible, that I didn’t remember because of the Ambien I’d taken. They called it a blackout. One of them—the nice one—kept telling me it was the fault of the drug. That I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t blacked out. He said I would feel better if I admitted it. If I didn’t confess, I would carry the guilt with me forever. If I did confess, the jury would understand and go lightly on me.”