Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4

  *****

  Sarah might have been happy about her breakthrough but I had mixed feelings. If the baby had been a stillborn, she would have been off the hook. However, the autopsy report on the baby had already indicated the baby’s lungs contained particles of feathers from the pillow. She had breathed and Sarah had now confirmed that. But the fact that someone was at the apartment, knocking on the door, meant there was still a possibility that Sarah was innocent and someone else killed her baby. I immediately picked up the phone to inform Snake.

  "Harry. I’ve got good news!"

  "Good, we need some. What you got?"

  "I just finished talking to Sarah. Apparently Dr. Gerhardt hypnotized her and found out that someone was at the apartment on the night of the murder."

  "Oh really, that is good news," Snake said. "What did the crime lab report say about fingerprints?"

  "They found a lot of different prints, Sarah, Michelle, Greg, Richard Stein and several unidentified ones."

  "Good, I'll check with the lab and see if they've been able to identify any of the other prints yet," Snake said. "You need to check with all the neighbors and see if they saw anybody."

  "Okay, so what do you think overall?" I said.

  "Well, best case–we have the real killer. Worst case–we have a witness. At least we're better off than we were yesterday."

  "True."

  "Unfortunately I see the press has already convicted our client," Snake said.

  "Yeah, it looks that way," I replied.

  "Well, public opinion can change. A high profile case like this is kind of like a football game. The momentum shifts throughout the game. All we need is a fumble or an interception and who knows what might happen," Snake said.

  "I suppose, but as I recall when Hudson was at A & M he didn't turn the ball over too often."

  "True enough, but this is a different ball game. Hudson may be an All-American on the field but in the courtroom he's just another amateur. He'll fumble, I promise you, he'll fumble."