Page 51 of Witness 8

I left them in Kate’s office, ignored the ton of files and paperwork on my desk and made for the coffee machine. It came from my old office. The timer no longer worked, and the hot plate wasn’t as hot as it used to be, but, on the plus side, I had never cleaned it. Didn’t matter what kind of blend you put in, all the coffee that filtered into the bun flask tasted the same. I liked it that way.

No one else used this machine but me. I brewed a pot. Drank half of it quickly.

I put down my cup. Found that I was absently twirling a pen in my hand – tumbling it between my fingers and over my knuckles. It helped me think.

The pen stopped moving. I went back into Kate’s office.

All three of them were still in there, waiting for me. Harry was going through the discovery documents we’d received from Castro. He picked up a page, and a curious look crept over his features.

‘What’s this latent-print expert’s report from Mr. Bude?’ asked Harry.

‘It’s a dud,’ said Kate. ‘There was a palm print on the gun. They couldn’t match it to our client – said it was only a partial print and not enough for identification.’

Harry rubbed the top of his head. He often did this when he was thinking. Like he was Aladdin rubbing a lamp and hoping a genie, or an ingenious idea, might pop out at any moment.

‘Let me see that DNA analysis,’ said Harry. Kate moved files on the desk, handed the report to Harry.

‘Look at this,’ he said, and gave the report back to Kate.

‘What am I looking at here, Harry? It’s the DNA analyst’s report. It confirms the DNA found on the gun belongs to John Jackson.’

‘Yes, but look where they took the sample from.’

I moved beside Kate, read the preamble to the DNA report.

‘He got the DNA from the partial palm print on the lifting tape, not from the gun itself,’ said Kate.

Due to the advances in DNA analysis, forensic techs can now extract DNA samples from the tape that lifts palm prints or fingerprints, rather than swabbing the object upon which the print was found.

‘So what?’ I said. ‘Does it matter if he took the DNA from the gun or the partial palm print? The print expert says the latent partial print is a palm, and it’s too small an area for comparison.’

‘Now you’re thinking logically,’ said Harry. ‘That’s the mistake. Think about it. Why do we have this palm print report in the first place? It doesn’t help Castro.’

‘He has to call the latent-print expert because the DNA came from the print on the lifting tape. He needs the print expert to testify that he took that print from the gun. If he wants to use the DNA evidence, he has to use the palm-print evidence.’

‘Exactly,’ said Harry. ‘Otherwise, Castro would bury this latent-print report, like he’s buried some of the statements we haven’t seen yet. There’s something here. Something important, but I can’t see it yet.’

‘I’m not sure I follow, Harry.’

‘How is it possible that someone can leave their DNA behind in a palm print, but that same palm print doesn’t match their palm. That’s like me touching this desk,’ and at this point Harry placed his hand on the desk. ‘So I leave behind my DNA, which is extracted from the print tape, but I don’t leave behind my actual palm print? That’s not possible. Something doesn’t make sense here.’

‘It makes sense if there’s not enough of the palm print to analyze for comparison purposes,’ said Kate.

‘You mean, it makes sense if we believe Castro,’ I said.

‘There’s something in this,’ said Bloch.

Kate said, ‘Maybe, but right now Castro has a rational explanation, and we don’t. That means we don’t have shit to throw. Keep thinking, Harry. But try to find a way to get the statements that he hasn’t yet given us. I bet the cops interviewed Todd Ellis and Brett Bale. It was the talk of the neighborhood that they were involved with the victim. I’ve filed a discovery motion, but Castro can kick that can down the road for months.’

Harry looked at me, said, ‘Eddie, have you had enough coffee yet?’

I nodded, said, ‘I have a plan to get those interviews of Ellis and Bale too. It’s not perfect, but it should work. Harry, go talk to some of your brother judges.’

‘They’re not my brothers any longer. I’m retired, remember?’

‘You still have some friends in there. Are any of them trustworthy? I mean, could they keep a secret?’

‘Maybe one or two. The rest are just like other lawyers – gossips.’