Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

Honor," I said gleefully.

  "In the meantime, Ms. Waters. Call your next witness."

  At this point in our case I had to connect the dots, so to speak. I'd shown that part of the Almatech security team was in Dallas the two days before the fire. I'd established that they were near Chester Brown's house. It was clear they were capable of building and installing a complex triggering device to set the Brown fire, and they'd kept their visit to the Collin Commons neighborhood a secret. Now what I needed to do was inform the jury of the intense rivalry between TI and Almatech and explain Chester Brown's critical role in developing stealth technology. Robin Sylvester took the stand and testified on all these points and more.

  "So, how did the death of Chester Brown impact Almatech?"

  "Well, because TI doesn't have Chester Brown anymore Almatech's competitive advantage has improved dramatically. Brown was the backbone of the stealth technology team and it will take them years to find the talent necessary to make them competitive again in this area."

  "So what does that mean in dollars and cents?" I asked.

  "Millions. As you probably know these defense contracts are very lucrative and whenever the bids go out the competition is intense and often bitter. Brown's death was the best thing that could have happened to Almatech all year. In fact, thirty days following Brown's death TI stock had dropped 22% and Almatech Life Systems, Inc. had gone up 17%"

  Francis came back on cross exam and got Sylvester to admit he had no knowledge of any plot by Almatech or anyone else to kill Chester Brown. He hammered the point that corporate competition, especially for government contracts, is often intense and bitter but that rarely does such competition result in physical violence. He reminded the jury that this was America where free and spirted competition was a way of life.

  I didn't object to Francis' speech because it didn't matter. The jury had gotten my message. I could see it in their faces. They weren't stupid. They knew that when millions of dollars were at stake businessmen, hell anybody, might resort to violence and murder to get their hands on it. After Sylvester stepped down the judge called a short recess. Although there was a chance the jury might vote for acquittal now, it was only a fifty-fifty proposition and I didn't like those odds. I needed one last witness to shift the momentum in my direction. The problem was I didn't have any more witnesses that could really contribute anything. I could call Walter Stanley, but that was risky, particularly since he was such a wimp.

  During the break I decided it was time to unleash Simon Barber. He met me in the parking garage where we could talk freely.

  "You got your story ready?" I asked.

  "You bet. It's ready to go to press.'

  "Good. I'm going to recall Marty Ramirez and hit him with the Golden Cab receipt. Do you have anything else for me?"

  "Yes, as a matter of fact my source came across something quite interesting."

  "What's that?"

  "It seems that Marty Ramirez and Ruth Willis know each other."

  "What? You've got to be kidding."

  "No. My source found her name and telephone number on the back of an envelope in his trash can."

  "That's pretty careless. Your source must be pretty close to Colonel Walls to have access to his trash."

  "Not that close, really, but she does have a key to his office. I guess since you're about to stick your neck out I should tell you. My source works in the secretarial pool at Almatech. She's been there for years, and accordingly, is invisible to them."

  "Why would she stick her neck out for you like this?"

  "I met her when I was doing a story about the merger of Almatech and Varden Enterprises many years ago. She'd been with Varden for almost ten years when the merger took place. Unfortunately she was a few months short of vesting and lost her pension as a result. She was very bitter. They didn't pay secretaries very well at Varden but she'd stayed on because the pension and fringe benefits were good. Unfortunately, Almatech didn't have much of a pension and paid secretaries even less than Varden. She was so bitter, I decided to befriend her and help her out financially."

  "I see. So, what do you think it means?" I asked. "Do you think they are involved?"

  "It's possible, but it would be difficult due to the distance between them."

  "Okay, call your editor and tell him to go ahead with your story. Then let's go back upstairs and shake things up a bit."

  It suddenly all made sense to me. I couldn't wait to get Ramirez back on the stand. He was a lying scumbag and I wanted to let the world know it. After Barber had made his call, we returned to the courtroom. Bart was talking to the court reporter when I walked in. I assumed he was getting my evidence marked for submission to the court. I looked for Stan but he wasn't anywhere to be found. It irritated me that he'd miss such an important moment. I wanted him to see this. Damn him!

  The door suddenly opened from behind the bench and the bailiff yelled, "All rise!"

  The judge took the bench and Bart rushed over and took a chair next to me. When the gallery had quieted, the judge said, "Call your next witness, Ms. Waters."

  "Yes, Your Honor. We'd like to recall Martin Ramirez."

  "Very well, Bailiff, call Mr. Ramirez back to the stand."

  Walls stepped inside the courtroom and made his way to the witness stand. He didn't look too thrilled about being recalled, but he took his seat and forced a smile. I smiled back and asked, "Mr. Ramirez. I believe you testified earlier that Lisa Andretti and Colonel Walls came to Dallas on August 8, 1992 to work security for one of the Almatech board members who had meetings in Dallas?"

  "Yes, that's correct."

  "I'm going to show you what's been marked Defendant's Exhibit 22 and ask you to identify it."

  I handed Ramirez the paper. He looked it over and said, "Yes this is a copy of the invoice for our services for that trip."

  I nodded. "Does the invoice confirm that Colonel Walls and Lisa Andretti were the only two security officers to accompany the board member to Dallas?"

  Ramirez' eyes narrowed. "Yes, that's correct," he said slowly.

  "Where were you on August 8th and 9th, Mr. Ramirez?"

  His body stiffened. He looked at the judge and then to the jury. "I was at my home in Alexandria, Virginia," he finally said.

  "Yes, and I'm sure you have witnesses who could testify to that."

  He frowned and twisted his neck nervously. "I'm sure I could find someone, if need be."

  "Yes, a man in your business could arrange just about anything," I said coldly. "Mr. Ramirez, I'm going to show you what's been marked Defendant's Exhibit 41 and ask you to identify it."

  Ramirez took the paper and squinted. "I don't know. It looks like a receipt for a cab ride, but I've never seen it before."

  "It's from the Golden Cab Company of Dallas, Texas and is dated August 8th, right?"

  "That's what it says."

  "Can you tell from the receipt where the passengers were taken?"

  "Objection!" Francis exclaimed. "He said he's never seen it before. Calls for speculation."

  "Sustained."

  "Okay," I said. "You've never seen it before. I'll buy that. What's interesting about it is the number of passengers that were transported from Addison Airport to the Sheraton Hotel. It's says three passengers were transported."

  "Yes, Colonel Walls, Lisa, and the board member."

  "That would make sense, except the board member was transported to the hotel by limousine provided by the host company where he was having his meetings."

  Ramirez shrugged. "Then it must be a mistake."

  "Is it a mistake? Isn't it true that you were the third occupant of that cab?"

  "No. That's ridiculous. I didn't go to Dallas."

  "Do you know a woman named Ruth Willis?"

  Ramirez froze. His eyes narrowed. He rubbed his neck nervously. Finally he shrugged. "Sure, I've seen her name in the papers. Didn't she testify yesterday?"

  "Don't play games with us, Mr. Ramirez. You know Ruth Willis quite
well don't you? Didn't she hire you to kill Chester Brown?"

  The gallery erupted in conversation. The witnesses’ face reddened in indignation. Reporters began writing furiously. Francis jumped to his feet and glared at me.

  "Objection! Your Honor. "This is outrageous! Counsel is testifying and trying to mislead the jury. Move for an instruction to disregard."

  The judge frowned. "Ms. Waters. You know better than that. Ask a question and wait for a response."

  "Your Honor!" Francis moaned. “Will you instruct the jury to disregard counsel’s attempt to testify?”

  "The objection as to the form of the question is sustained. The jury will disregard counsel’s remarks. Ms. Waters. Do you have any further questions?"

  "Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Ramirez. Do you know Ruth Willis other than from what you've read in the papers?"

  Ramirez took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, we've met before."

  Ramirez stuck to his story about being at home in Virginia when the murders took place, but he did admit to a one night stand with Ruth Willis many years earlier. It was enough to give the jury pause. There were now two more likely persons responsible for the Brown murders. Whether it was Tim Willis killing them to get revenge or whether Ruth Willis had hired Marty Ramirez to kill Chester Brown out of anger, it didn't matter. Either was better than a barking dog. At least I hoped so. It was hard to predict what a jury would make from all of this, but I felt I'd done all I could to create reasonable doubt. Now the decision rested with the jury. After Ramirez stepped down, I rested.

 

  49

  Rescue

  Stan Turner

  After helping to