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The Gods of Guilt(110)

By:Michael Connelly


“No, I’m not saying that. I don’t have an opinion on it. I said that we don’t know who was in possession of her phone at that moment. Therefore, I can’t sit here and say with certainty that it was she who made the call.”

I shook my head in a feigned show of frustration. The truth was I was elated by Whitten’s response.

“Okay, Detective, then let’s move on. Did you ever investigate this call or Gloria Dayton’s connection to the DEA?”

“No, I did not.”

“Did you ever inquire as to whether she had been an informant for the DEA?”

“No, I did not.”

I could tell Whitten was about to blow his cool. He wasn’t getting any protection from Forsythe, who, without valid objection in hand, was hunkering down in his seat, waiting for the damage to end.

“Why not, Detective? Doesn’t this strike you as one of those ‘valid avenues of investigation’ you spoke of earlier?”

“First of all, I knew nothing about the subpoena at that time. And second, informants don’t call the main number of the DEA. That would be like walking through the front door with a sign on your back. I had no reason to be suspicious about one quick call to the DEA.”

“I’m confused now, Detective. So are you now saying you were aware of the call and just not suspicious of it? Or, as I think you just said a few minutes ago, you didn’t even recall checking out that number or the call. Which is it?”

“You’re twisting what I say around.”

“I don’t think so, but let me rephrase. Before testifying here today, did you or did you not know that a call from the victim’s personal cell phone had been placed to the DEA one week before her death? Yes or no, Detective?”

“No.”

“Okay. So then it is safe to say you missed it?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But you can say whatever you want.”

I turned and looked back at the clock. It was eleven forty-five. I wanted to take Whitten in another direction but I wanted to leave the jurors with Gloria’s phone call to mull over at lunch. I knew if I suggested to the judge that we take the lunch break now I would end up in lockup with my client for the next hour.

I turned back to Whitten, needing to string things out at least another fifteen minutes. I looked down at my notes.

“Mr. Haller,” the judge prompted. “Do you have any more questions for the witness?”

“Uh, yes, Your Honor. Quite a few, in fact.”

“Then I suggest you get on with them.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” I said. “Uh, Detective Whitten, you just testified that you did not know that Gloria Dayton had been subpoenaed in a case involving Hector Moya. Do you recall when you found out?”

“It was earlier this year,” Whitten answered. “It came to light through the exchange of discovery materials.”

“So, in other words, you learned of the subpoena she received because the defense told you, correct?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do with the information once the defense furnished you with it?”

“I checked it out as I check out all leads that come in.”

“And what did you conclude after checking it out?”

“That it had no bearing on the case. It was coincidental.”

“Coincidental. Do you still feel that it was coincidental now that you know that Gloria Dayton’s personal cell phone was used to call the DEA in Los Angeles less than an hour after she was served with the subpoena in a case that accused her of planting a gun on a DEA target?”

Forsythe objected to the question on multiple grounds, and Leggoe had her pick. She sustained the objection and told me to rephrase the question if I wanted to get it in. I simplified and asked again.

“Detective, if you knew back then on the day of Gloria Dayton’s murder that a week earlier she had called the DEA, would you have been interested enough to find out why?”

Forsythe was on his feet again before I finished the question and jumped in right away with his objection.

“Calls for speculation,” he argued.

“Sustained,” Judge Leggoe said without giving me the opportunity to argue.

But that was okay. I no longer needed Whitten to answer. I liked how the question hung out there like a cloud over the jury box.

Sensing it was the right time to pause, the judge called for the lunch break.

I moved over to the defense table and stood next to my client as the jury filed out of the box. I felt as though I had recovered from the Trina Trixxx fiasco and was back on top. I glanced out to the gallery and saw only Moya’s men in the public seats. Cisco had apparently not come back from escorting Trina Rafferty home. And Lorna was nowhere to be seen.