The Cogan Legend (31 page)

Charles, who never saw Poll Soll until that moment, was surprised by his appearance.   His first thought was,
he's the murderer?
  He looked at Tom and whispered, “This pathetic man murdered Rachel?”

“He may look pathetic, but don't let his looks fool you.  It took us six days and luck to find this man; he nearly escaped capture,” Tom reminded him.

“Bailiff, bring in the potential jurors,” Judge Gerhard said.

It was an all man jury pool.  The prosecution nor the defense really didn't care who was on the jury so selection didn't take very long.  Until he saw Poll Soll walk into the courtroom, the defense attorney had no idea what type of defense to prepare.  Then it hit him: no one would believe this pathetic man could murder anybody.  

Poll Soll never looked up. He just sat and stared down at the table; he was certain of his fate.    

After jury selection, the judge ordered the prosecutor to give his opening statement.  

Mr. Hoffman walked in front of the jury and began, “Gentlemen, I'm about to prove to you that the defendant is guilty of the murder of Rachel Miller.  He and his brother both took part in this heinous crime, and I will prove that not only did he murder Rachel Miller, but he also murdered his brother.  I have testimony from witnesses.  I have the murder weapon with her blood on it.  Before this trial ends, there will be no doubt in your mind that he killed Miss Miller.  You will only come up with one verdict: guilty.”

The chatter in the courtroom became loud. “Silence!” Judge Gerhard hit on the desk with his gavel.  “Remember what I said.”      

Until that point, Poll Soll did not realize the extent of the crime for which he was being tried.  Now, he was sure he was going to hang.  

“Mr. Brandt, proceed.”  

He slowly walked to the jury box. “You all saw this man walk into the courtroom.  He could barely make it.  All you have to do is look at this man, and you can see physically he is incapable of any crime, let alone murdering two people.  He can hardly walk.  I will prove that he didn't have anything to do with this murder.  I will prove that the murderer is still out there, and therefore, you can't possibly convict this man.  I will prove there is only one conclusion: not guilty.”  

Jury selection and the opening arguments took all morning, and at noon the Judge dismissed for lunch.  He wanted the jury back by exactly one o'clock and without discussion among themselves.  

Charles, Phillip, Tom and Lewey all had lunch together.  Charles was still in disbelief over the defendant and said, “I hope the prosecutor presents his case to convince the jury he's guilty.  Based on appearance alone, he could get off.”  He looked at Phillip.  “Are you sure this man committed this crime?”   

Phillip could sense Charles was concerned, so he point blank told him, “He did it, Charles. There's no doubt in my mind.  You'll see as the trial progresses, and he'll hang for it.”

“Okay, I believe you.”  

After lunch the Judge ordered the prosecution to present his case.  “Mr. Hoffman, call your first witness.”

Mr. Hoffman strode to the front of the room, stuck his thumbs in the pockets of his expensive-looking vest and puffed out his chest.  He looked at the jury sadly before glancing at the crowded courtroom.  “I call Mr. Lewey Hess.”

Lewey rose to his feet feeling a taste of nausea in his throat.  Despite his statement the previous evening, he hadn't seen Poll Soll do anything. Circumstances conspired to place him at the scene and if he wasn't guilty as sin, why didn't he tend to the other victims as well?  Why run off with the evidence and the other defendant?

Hoffman stood in front of the podium as the oath was administered and then turned to face the jury for his opening question.  
“
Mr. Hess, are you familiar with the area called the Cogan?”

“Yes,” Lewey was grateful for an easy question.

“Mr. Hess, how many times have you been through the Cogan?”  

“Including the trip to the trial, five.”  

Hoffman smiled as if he'd been caught attempting to steal a cookie from an open cookie jar. “Did you ever see the defendant in the Cogan?”  

“Yes.”  

“Mr. Hess, did you ever see his brother in the Cogan?”

“Yes.”  

Brandt rose to his feet. “Objection Your Honor, his brother is not on trial.”  

Gerhard did not look at the defense lawyer but he did intone, “Sustained.”  

Hoffman smiled again as if to say,
what difference does that make to us?  We know the truth.
“Mr. Hess, do you know where the defendant lived?”

“Yes.”

“Did he live in the Cogan?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“We stopped at the livery stable to get food and water for the horses on our first trip to Sunbury, and his house was right next to the livery stable.”

“But how do you know he lived there?”

“His brother told me.”

Brandt rose wearily to his feet, hand raised.  His look was one that told the jury,
let's play this honestly
.  “Objection Your Honor.”   

Gerhard shook his head. “Overruled, go on.”  

Hoffman continued. “Did the defendant see the two ladies with you, Rachel Miller and Ann Fairchild?”

“Yes!”

“What did he do?”

“He stared at Miss Fairchild the entire time he fed and watered the horses and never took his eyes off her.”  

Brandt rose and looked at the jury. “Objection, Your Honor. Is staring at a pretty girl a crime?”  

The jury laughed as Brandt hoped they would.

Judge Gerhard admonished them with a look.  

Hoffman continued, ignoring the objection. “Did Miss Fairchild mind that he stared at her?”

“Yes, she told me never to stop there again; both girls were scared, and I was scared, too.”

“If everyone was scared, why did you continue going through the Cogan?”

“It is the shortest route to our destination; it cuts off a day of travel to Mr. Fairchild's lodge.”

“Mr. Hess, did you see those men again?”

“Yes, that same night we saw the defendant's brother at the inn in Herndon.”

“Was the defendant with him?”

“No.”  

“Did his brother see you and the ladies?”

“Yes, he walked over to our table and offered to buy us a drink, but I refused.”

“Were the ladies scared?”

This time the defense attorney leapt to his feet. “Objection, Your Honor.  Leading the witness.”

“Sustained.” The judge glanced over busy eyebrows. “Ask the question but don't lead the witness, Mr. Hoffman.”

“How did the ladies react?”

“They were frightened, of course.” Lewey bit his lip.  He felt terrible that he hadn't protected Rachel better than he had.

Hoffman stuck a thumb in a belt loop. “How many travelers did you meet in the Cogan?”   

Lewey nodded. “In five trips I never saw anyone else.”

Hoffman walked to his table and pulled a pipe from under a stack of papers, tamped tobacco in it and lit it before proceeding. “So, on all five of your trips did you pass his house?”

“His house is no longer there; it burnt to the ground, but on four of the five trips to and from we passed his house, yes.”

“Did you always try and get through the Cogan as quickly as possible?”

“
Yes.”

“So you always had the horses going faster through that area because you wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Hess, the day of the murder did you see Poll Soll, the defendant, when you passed his house?”

“No”

“So it's possible that he and his brother were waiting further up the road to ambush the coach?”

“Yes.”  

Brandt sprang to his feet. “Objection, Your Honor, this is opinion, hearsay, guessing.”  

Frowning at Hoffman, the judge said, “Sustained.”  

Undeterred, Hoffman turned to Lewey. “Mr. Hess, on the day and approximate time of the murder did you see or meet any other travelers or any other strangers coming or going through the Cogan?”     

“No, sir.”

“No one?”

“No one.”

“Mr. Hess, can you tell the jury what you can remember from the day of the murder?”

“As I said, I always had the horses going faster than normal through there.  When we had gone a good distance beyond his house a shot rang out.  I looked back and saw Lieutenant Matter fall from his horse, so I pulled up the team.  Before I knew what had happened, I was knocked unconscious; that's all I remember until I came to.”

“After you came to what did you see?”

“I managed to pull myself up, but my eye was swollen and bleeding. Then I saw the two girls in the coach; Miss Fairchild's clothes were torn and ripped off; she hardly had anything on.  They were both on the floor, and Miss Fairchild was holding Rachel in her arms crying.  I climbed in the coach and grabbed blankets and covered both girls.  That is when I saw Rachel's wound.”

“A wound?  What type of wound?  Could you determine the weapon?”

“A knife, it was lying on the floor beside them.”

Hoffman paused for dramatic effect and then strode to the table in front of the bench. He picked a knife from the items in evidence and waved it in the air.  “Mr. Hess, is this the knife that you saw lying on the floor of the coach?”

Lewey looked it over for a second and then said, “Yes, the Lieutenant took it out of the coach and put it in his saddle bag.”  

“So Miss Miller was stabbed, and Miss Fairchild's clothes were ripped?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Hess, what would you say the intent was?”

“Poll Soll meant to rape the girls.”

Brandt, hoping to stop the runaway train, stood. “Objection.  Speculation.”  He had to speak loudly to be heard as the courtroom began to buzz.

Gerhard shook his head. “Overruled, go on.”  He glared at the audience and banged his gavel.  “Silence!”  The murmuring receded.

“Mr. Hess, didn't you say that the defendant stared at Miss Fairchild and never took his eyes off of her when you stopped on your first trip?”

“Yes.”

“And didn't you say the day of the murder you didn't pass or see any strangers, no other travelers while you were going through the Cogan?”

“Yes.”

“No more questions. Your witness.”  

Brandt rose to his feet and stood behind his table. “Mr. Hess, on the day of the murder did you see the defendant anywhere in the Cogan?”

“No.”

“Did you see his brother anywhere in the Cogan?”

“No.”

“Did you see the defendant or his brother shoot the Lieutenant?”

“No.”

“Did you see either one of them at the scene of the murder with a knife in their hand?”

“No.”

“You never saw the defendant at all that day did you?”

“No.”

“Because the defendant stared at Miss Fairchild it meant he wanted to rape and then kill her?”

A moment passed until Lewey answered, “He scared her.”

Brandt turned to the jury, but spoke to Lewey.  “Have you ever been scared, sir?”

“Yes.”

Brandt turned.  “But you're alive.”  He lifted his hands.  “No more questions.”

Gerhard banged his gavel. “The court will now dismiss until tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.”

 

 

The next morning at nine o'clock, the bailiff summoned the court to order and the judge, with a glance at the impaneled jury, turned his attention to the prosecutor. “Mr. Hoffman, let's get started.  Please begin.”  

Hoffman rose to his feet, glanced at the crowded gallery and solemnly intoned, “I call Lieutenant Phillip Matter to the stand.”

A ripple of anticipation caused the judge to bang his gavel.  He glared at the crowd but said nothing when the murmuring died abruptly.

Hoffman approached the witness stand after Lieutenant Phillip Matter was duly sworn in.  “Lieutenant, how long have you been a soldier at the fort?”

“I'm in my third year, sir.”

“In those three years have you ever seen the defendant?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know his name?”

“No.”

“How can you say that you've seen this defendant before?”

“His walk is unforgettable.”

“And, when you saw him previously, do you recall if he was alone or with someone?”

David Brandt rose to his feet startling the audience. “Objection, Your honor.  Relevance?”

Judge Gerhard didn't wait for Hoffman to respond. “Overruled, Mr. Brandt.  Let the prosecutor ask his questions. I can see no harm in them.”

Brandt frowned and sat down. Members of the audience looked at each other, curious as to why Brandt had objected to the prosecutor's benign question.

“Please restate your question, sir,” Phillip replied when Hoffman waited for a response.

“Was the defendant alone or with someone when you saw him previously?”

“He was usually with someone, sir.”

“Can you describe that individual?”

“Your honor,” Brandt interrupted, clearly annoyed with the line of questioning.

“Overruled.”  The judge looked at the lieutenant. “Go on, answer the question.”

“He was tall and rough-looking, with a long deep scar across his left cheek.  He had long greasy graying black hair, and his teeth were rotten when he smiled.”

“Were you ever able to determine who this man was?”

“His brother.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.  Judge Gerhard banged his gavel once lightly.

Hoffman smiled and continued. “Lieutenant, had you ever seen his brother before?”