SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Gerard
and Holmes get out of the parked rental car and look up at the entrance to
Syracuse University.
“Very
impressive,” Holmes says with a look of approval.
“We’re
not here to admire the view, Agent Holmes! Let’s find this professor and get
this over with as quickly as possible, so we can get back to important
business.”
“Captain,
the search for Kimble has been terminated. And in this case, I agree with that
decision. Kimble’s profile indicates that whenever he’s recognized, he flees to
another location. We’re wasting our time. Besides, we have a chance here to
pick up some political capital. Let’s not blow it!”
Gerard
gives her a look of grudging agreement as he unfolds a map of the campus. He
scans the list of buildings for the location of the law school building. “E.I.
White Hall is off to the right. Let’s go.”
SYRACUSE LAW SCHOOL - E. I
WHITE HALL - AN ACADEMIC OFFICE
Gerard
and Agent Holmes are seated. Gerard looks around the room at the law books on
the shelves, and the papers scattered across the desk. A tall, lean, man
with greying
close-cropped hair walks briskly into the office, followed by two young men,
and extends his hand.
“Captain
Gerard. I’m Professor Jamison. I appreciate your taking the time to participate
in our mock trial.”
Gerard
stares at him with a sullen look. “Just what can we do for you, professor?”
“This is the culmination of our trial course,”
the professor answers enthusiastically.
“The law students get the opportunity to practice courtroom skills using
evidence from a real trial. Given the notoriety of this particular case, we’ve
opted to have the ‘trial’ open to the public.
To shorten the length of the proceedings, we’ve already selected the
jury from among students and staff on campus.” He gestures toward the two
students. “Mr. Young is our prosecuting attorney and Mr. Williams is heading up
the defense team.” The two students shake hands as Gerard introduces Agent
Holmes. Williams, a conservatively dressed young black man, shakes Gerards hand with an obvious lack of enthusiasm and moves
back into the background.
“Why
the Kimble trial?” Gerard asks, getting to the point.
“Death
row cases are the hot topic in legal circles right now. Especially those where
DNA evidence is used to prove innocence.”
“The
DNA evidence in this case proved Kimble’s guilt!” Gerard responds emphatically.
Williams casts him an angry look, while the prosecuting attorney looks
non-committal.
“Yes,”
Jamison agrees, ignoring the student’s reactions. “That’s what makes this case
such a challenge for the defense. My students were chosen randomly to work for
the prosecution or the defense. They’ve studied the past evidence and been encouraged
to find new evidence to support their case. Students from the summer drama
school class have also studied the case and will represent the witnesses. And
Mr. Williams has persuaded one of the original trial witnesses to testify for
the defense.”
“Who
would that be?” Gerard asks with his first sign of interest.
“Becca Ross, Dr. Kimble’s sister-in-law. You remember her?”
Gerard
frowns in disapproval. “You could say that. I’m surprised you would have an
ex-convict participate.”
“Well,
that’s true, but she has received an early parole and Mr. Williams has
persuaded me that she has some interesting new information to present that was
unavailable at the original trial. I like to reward my student’s diligence.”
Gerard’s face registers his opinion on anything Becca
Ross has to say. Jamison notices his expression and is struck by a new idea. “Of course…you could
provide a counterweight to her testimony…”.
“And
how could I do that?” Gerard inquires brusquely.
Jamison
tries to hide his eagerness. “As the officer in charge of the investigation,
you have the most intimate knowledge of this case. Rather than just providing
our students with first hand information, you could take the stand as a witness
yourself.”
Gerard
looks at him, incredulous at first, then obviously flattered. After a few
seconds of thought, he nods his head. “I’d be happy to.” Agent Holmes stares at
him in surprise.
“Excellent!”
Jamison exclaims, “The mock trial will be held in our new courtroom in MacNaughton Hall, the new extension to this building. Would
you like a tour? It was just completed in 1998, State-of-the art technology.
We’re quite proud of it.”
Gerard
nods his head and adds with mild sarcasm, “I think there are better uses for
our time.”
“Yes,
perhaps we should get to work with Mr. Young and Mr. Williams,” Kari adds
tactfully. “We can see the courtroom at the trial.”
“Of
course, these young lawyers must be eager to talk to you. I’ll let you get to
it. I’ll see you all at the trial next week. Monday, 9 AM.”
OUTSIDE E. I. WHITE HALL,
THREE HOURS LATER
Gerard
pushes the door open and walks out onto the sidewalk. Turning to Kari, he says,
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Kari
looks at him. “You surprise me, Captain. I didn’t think you would be talked
into testifying based on an appeal to
your vanity. You're not going to get softball questions thrown at you like the
ones you got from Abe Eisenberg. Mr. Williams sounds like he’s got something to
prove. And its not just Kimble’s innocence.”
“Thanks
for the warning, Agent Holmes, but I’ve faced hostile defense attorneys before
and the facts in this case speak for themselves. The true facts, not the
distorted facts of an obviously prejudiced witness like Becca
Ross!”
Kari
replies, “Captain Gerard, I’ve asked you before and I’ll ask you again. Why are
you so convinced of Kimble’s guilt?”
Gerard
answers, “The jury was also convinced, Agent Holmes, in a real court of law.
This mock trial will not change that."
Kari
looks visibly upset at what Gerard has said.
"I’m not asking about the jury, I’m asking about you, especially
since we've uncovered new information about the coroner and the latest
developments with the gun found on Charnquist. Why
did you ask me to be on this task force? You want to be surrounded by ‘’Yes’
People. That's not me. I’ll see you back at the hotel.” She starts to walk
away.
Gerard
calls after her, “All right, Agent Holmes, let’s talk."
INSIDE
STARBUCK’S COFFEE
Kari
and Gerard are sitting at a table. No one else is in the place. Each has a very
large coffee drink in front of them. Kari is sitting back in her chair
contemplating what Gerard has just told her. Kari leans forward and says,
“Captain, I'm really sorry about what happened to Lenore. That stated, what
does this have to do with Helen Kimble's murder?"
Gerard,
offended by her remark says, “Agent Holmes, I am not going to sit back and
watch another rich guy beat the rap just because he’s rich.”
Kari
raises her eyebrows and says, “Captain, Richard Kimble was not born into
wealth. Maybe your view of the evidence
is distorted by what happened to your wife. You never went to grief counseling
when Lenore died, did you?”
Gerard
snaps, “I didn’t need therapy, Agent Holmes.”
Kari
replies, “Really? You have confused Richard Kimble with someone else. You
should consider therapy, Captain. It helps more than you know. If you don’t get
yourself together, you will ultimately lose everything! Alex sees your
obsession and it bothers her. It bothers her that you can't come to terms with
Lenore's death even though you married Sara. You remind me of my father,
Captain. My mother died when I was three. Dad remarried and had two more kids
but he was never close to me like he was with Ellen and Kyle. Don't make that
mistake, Captain. Alex is a great kid.
Moreover, seeing Richard Kimble executed is not going to bring back
Lenore nor will it change the fact that Jackson Menzies
III still walks around a free man."
Gerard
raises his eyebrows at the mentioning of the name Ellen, but then says
brusquely, “Alex will be fine. Why do
you even care? I heard you were a real
Ice Queen.”
Kari
says, “Captain, from the moment you set foot in the Kimble apartment, you made
this case about you. I hate to break it
to you but this case is about Helen Kimble.
Remember her? I'm sorry if always
remembering the victim makes me an Ice Queen but, you should know there are
some cases you can not work on objectively."
Gerard
says sarcastically, “Tell me then Agent Holmes, what cases can you never work
on objectively?"
Kari
replies very stoically, “A case where the victim is still alive.”
As
Gerard looks at Kari in puzzlement, she picks up her purse. “For the record,
you can put away a hundred more guys like Kimble and you still won’t feel
better about Menzies because he’s still out there.
I’ll walk back to the hotel. It's only a
couple of blocks.” Kari stands up and walks away, leaving Gerard looking in
deep thought.
Kari
exit’s the building and walks around the corner and stops. She pulls out her cell phone and dials a
number. The phone rings. “Hello?”
“Ms.
Hume? This is Agent Holmes.”
“Agent
Holmes? Is something wrong?”
“No
Ms. Hume but, I need you to do something for me. The diary that you gave me, I finished
reading it. It’s in my hotel room. I’m currently in Syracuse New York. I’ll call my hotel and tell them it’s OK for
you to enter my room. Here’s the
passages you need to copy to FedEx….”