The Burning Man (27 page)

Peter had his back to the jurors, but he had stolen a glance at them when he was setting up his notes on the bridge table the hospital provided. They seemed uneasy so close to a person who had been horribly burned.

Peter appreciated how the jurors felt. He remembered his temporary feeling of disorientation when he saw his father in intensive care for the first time. Hospitals were unpleasant places and patients were graphic reminders of human frailty.

"Mr. Booth, are you feeling well enough to talk to the ury?" Becky O'Shay asked with unctuous concern.

Booth nodded. It had been agreed that he could respond with a nod or shake of the head to questions that could be answered yes or no.

"Good. If you want to rest for a while please let me know and I'll ask the judge for a recess. Dr. Farber will also be here during the questioning. Do you understand that you can talk to him at any time, if you need to?"

Again, Booth nodded.

"Okay. Now, even though you are recuperating from your terrible burns in this hospital in Portland, you are technically a prisoner awaiting trial in jail on various charges relating to narcotics, are you not?"

Booth nodded.

"After your arrest, were you placed in the Whitaker County jail?"

Booth nodded.

"Was Gary Harmon in the same jail?"

Booth's head turned slowly until he was staring directly at Gary. Then he turned back toward the prosecutor. Though it took only seconds, the action seemed to take forever.

"Yes," Booth rasped. Several jurors seemed disturbed by the way Booth's voice sounded.

"How long have you known Mr. Harmon?"

"High ... school."

"Can you estimate the number of years?"

"Six ... seven years."

"Were you friends in high school?"

Booth nodded.

"So, Mr. Harmon would trust you."

"Objection," Peter said. "Leading."

"That is a leading question, Mr. Hale. Now, I am going to permit more leading than I normally would because of Mr. Booth's condition, but I think this is too important an area to permit it. Why don't you rephrase the question, Ms. O'Shay."

"Very well, Your Honor. Mr. Booth, describe your relationship with Mr. Harmon."

"Gary ... was my ... friend."

The effort to get out this halting sentence seemed to exhaust Booth. He closed his eyes and rested while O'Shay asked the next question.

"Dia Mr. Harmon appear to have other friends when he was in jail in Whitaker?"

"No," Booth answered, his eyes still shut. "Seemed lonely. Gary ... stayed by self."

"Did you talk to Mr. Harmon in jail?"

Booth nodded.

"In the course of these conversations did he ever discusshis case?"

Booth nodded.

"Tell the jury how that happened."

Booth took a deep breath. His eyes opened and he slowly turned his head toward the jurors.

"First time I saw Gary in yard, he seemed ... glad to see me. Excited. We just talked. When I asked about murder ... he said he didn't.. . didn't kill girl ..

Booth paused and sipped from a straw in a plastic water bottle. The jury waited. Booth turned back to them.

"I was ... a friend. He could trust me. He was nervous. Scared. Later, he told me the truth. He said ... he killed her."

i "Did he just come out and confess?"

"No. It wasn't ... first time. First time we talked, he said he didn't. Next day ... he was upset. I told him he didn't have to be afraid. If ... he wanted to get something ... off chest.. ." Booth took a deep breath. "Gary was scared ... He needed to tell ... someone."

"What did he need to talk about?"

"Mistake. Girl at bar insulted Gary. He was confused.

IJ He attacked wrong girl. Then ... too late."

"So, the defendant thought Sandra Whiley was another girl who had insulted him in a bar and he told you he killed her by mistake."

Booth nodded.

"Tell the jury the defendant's description of the I murder."

Booth drank some more water and gathered himself.

His testimony was obviously exhausting him. Booth was ;1 "Ip" generating so much sympathy that Gary would be dead J. and buried by the end of the hospital session if something dramatic did not happen.

"Gary tried to get date with ... girl at Stallion. She said no. Gary .. . kept after her. She called him stupid ... Made him angry. Gary grabbed her. Yelled at her.

"Gary said he ... ran away. Still mad. Ran to his ... house. Got hatchet. Went back to Stallion."

"Did the defendant say that anything happened on his way back to the Stallion?"

"He saw girl. Thought she was ... girl from bar." -The one who insulted him?"

Booth nodded.

"Where did he see her?"

"Near entrance to ... park."

"Was this the main entrance to Wishing Well Park that leads to the Wishing Well Memorial?"

Booth nodded again.

"What did the defendant say he did after spotting this woman?"

"He threatened her. She backed into the park." Booth paused and took a sip of water. "Gary grabbed her.

They struggled. She had ... necklace. Gary ... grabbed her .. . by the necklace. It came off. She broke away."

Booth paused again. "Ran to the well."

"Who ran to the well?"

"The girl."

"Then what happened?"

"Gary threw away ... the necklace. Ran after her.

Caught her."

"Did he say what he did after catching her?"

Booth nodded. He stared at the jury'he killed her."

"Did he say how many times he struck her or where?"

Booth shook his head. "He was ... upset. Crying.

Gary just said he ... hit her. More than once."

"What happened after the defendant hit Miss Whiley with the hatchet?

"She was ... dead. He stood over her. That's when he saw he killed the wrong one."

"What did the defendant do then?"

Booth sipped some water before continuing his testimony.

"He was scared. Ran away."

"What did the defendant do with the hatchet?"

"Put it in storm drain ... near college."

"And after that?"

"Gary went to the Ponderosa."

"That's a bar?"

Booth nodded.

"Did the defendant ever express remorse for killing Sandra Whiley?"

"He was sorry."

Sorry Booth looked at the jury and waited a beat before saying, "Sorry he killed the wrong girl."

"Was anyone else present during these conversations between Mr. Harmon and yourself?" Peter Hale asked, when court resumed after a twenty-minute recess.

Booth shook his head.

"So, the jury has only your word that Mr. Harmon made this confession."

Booth did not answer.

"You stand to benefit greatly from your testimony, don't you?"

"I don't ... understand."

"Well, let's start with the drug charges you're facing.

You were arrested holding two garbage bags containing a total of twenty kilos of cocaine, weren't you?"

"I ... didn't ... know..

"Your Honor, will you instruct Mr. Booth to answer 1% the question, please?"

"Yes, Mr. Booth. You must answer yes or no, if you can."

Booth ran his tongue across his lips, then nodded.

"And you had just been given the twenty kilos by Rafael Vargas, an enforcer for a Colombian drug cartel?"

Again, Booth nodded.

"Agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration made the arrest, did they not?"

Booth nodded. -Which means you're facing charges in federal court?"

Booth nodded again.

"Has your lawyer told you that under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines you will most likely be sentenced to more than ten years in prison if you are convicted for possession of that much cocaine?"

... don't have ... a lawyer."

see. But you know the possible sentencep, "Yes."

"Did Ms. O'Shay tell you about that sentence?"

The question caught Booth off guard and he could not help looking at the prosecutor.

"Don't ... remember."

"That's interesting. You would think you would remember the person who told you that you were going to spend ten years in prison."

Peter paused and Booth said nothing.

"You're not worried about spending any time in prison, are you, Mr. Booth?"

"What do ... you mean?"

"Why don't you tell the jury about the deal you're going to receive for testifying?"

"No deal."

"Are you telling this jury that you're not going to receive any benefit from the prosecutor or the federal government for testifying against Gary Harmon?"

"No deal."

"Are you going to trial to contest the narcotics charge?"

"Don't know."

"If you plead guilty or go to trial and are found guilty, do you think Ms. O'Shay will put in a good word for you with the judge at sentencing?"

"I hope so."

"You know so, don't you, Mr. Booth, because you and Ms. O'Shay have a deal worked out already."

"Asked and answered, Your Honor," Becky said quickly. "Mr. Booth has already explained that he is testifying without any promise of assistance from MY office or the federal prosecutor."

Peter could not believe this. There was obviously a J deal. O'Shay and Booth had to be lying.

"Do you want this jury to believe that you are testifying out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Didn't want to," Booth managed. "Gary is my friend. But . Booth shook his head slowly. "That girl. To kill her like that. What if Gary was free ... and killed again?" Booth paused. "Couldn't have that ... Vill on conscience."

"Did it bother your conscience when you lied to Mr. I Harmon at the Stallion by telling him that Karen Nix I wanted to go out on a date with him?"

"Not me. Chris Mammon told Gary ... about girl."

"But you went along with it?"

Booth nodded.

"You've known Mr. Harmon since high school?"

Id Booth nodded again.

"Then you know he's mentally handicapped?"

Booth hesitated before nodding.

"And knowing this, you went along with Manurion's cruel joke?"

Booth ran a tongue over his lips. "Didn't want to. Felt bad."

"Oh? Does that mean that the witnesses who said you were laughing hysterically at Gary's discomfort were mistaken?"

Booth did not answer.

"You enjoyed tricking and teasing Mr. Harmon, didn't you?"

"No," Booth rasped, but he did not sound conti vincing.

And you had no difficulty lying to Gary to gain your ends at the Stallion, just like you have no trouble lying to this jury about what Gary said to you to save yourself from a federal prison sentence.

"Objection," O'Shay shouted. -Sustained," judge Kuffel said.

"Then I have no further questions, Your Honor."

Peter replayed Kevin Booth's testimony over and over during the five -hour ride from Portland to Whitaker and he always came to the same conclusion. Booth sounded as if he was telling the truth and Peter's cross-examination had not given the jury any reason to disbelieve him.

His cross-examination of Booth had been as disheartening as his cross-examination of Dennis Downes. Neither witness had been broken because Peter was not sure how to cross-examine effectively. He'd had few chances to examine witnesses and his inexperience in court was killing him.

Peter considered going to the office and working on the case, but he was too depressed and tired. Then, he thought about going home, but he did not want to be alone. Finally, he decided to visit Donna and he felt better immediately. He had really enjoyed being with Donna the other night. It had been one of the few times since the trial started that he had been able to relax.

Donna was attractive, but Peter tried not to think of her in that way because she was Steve's wife. He tried to think of her as a friend. Someone he could talk to. Someone he just enjoyed being around.

Peter hoped he would find Donna alone, but Rhonda Kates opened the door when he knocked. Rhonda had also proved to be a good friend. She had been great about helping Donna. When he saw her, Peter smiled warmly.

"Hi, Rhonda. Is Donna here?"

"She's freshening up."

Peter noticed that Rhonda looked as though she was getting ready to go out.

"What's up?"

"Donna's moving back to her folks' house. I was going to drive her."

"I'll do it. I have some stuff I have to go over with her about the trial."

"Okay. How is the trial going?"

Peter stopped smiling. "Not good," he said.

The bathroom door opened and Donna walked out.

She looked surprised to see Peter. Then, the look of surprise changed to a welcoming smile.

"Rhonda tells me you're going to your folks."

Donna sobered. "I'm sick of hiding. I didn't do anything wrong. Steve did. My brother is on trial for his life and Steve is not going to keep me from being in court to support him."

"Are you going to tell your folks what happened?" Peter asked.

"Yes. I've decided that I have no reason to feel ashamed."

"Good for you. If you want me to, I'll take you to the farm. I can fill you in on the case while we're driving."

in Donna hugged Rhonda and thanked her for putting i her up.

"What happened at the hospital?" Donna asked as soon as they were on the road. Peter recounted Booth's testimony.

"Do you think the jurors believed him?"

"I don't know. What scares me is that he seemed to be telling the truth. And he was so pathetic." Peter shook his head. "The poor bastard could hardly talk."

"Didn't your investigator find anything you could use against Booth?"

"Pullen has been a disaster."

"I thought he was supposed to be good."

"That's what Steve said, but I haven't seen any evidence of it. I can never find the guy. His reports are useless. The few times I have gotten in touch with him, he's been working at his brother's body shop instead of rking on the case."

wa -why don't you fire him and hire someone new?"

"It's too late. We're in the middle of the trial."

The road to the Harmon farm followed the river. It was a pretty stretch lined with elm and maple trees.