Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan), page 21
“Yes,” Keera said. “But that was before Covid and the overcrowding problem, and before the US Attorney’s federal lawsuit accusing Ms. Bernstein of misrepresentation and fraud to PDRT investors and the general public, making her notorious.”
Greene addressed Thompson. “She would be confined, Counselor. I would ensure the State has access to the cameras within the building and that Ms. Bernstein wear an ankle bracelet to ensure she does not leave the building.”
“Your Honor, there’s no precedent for granting home confinement in a murder-one case.” Thompson sounded exasperated, and with good reason.
“Not under ordinary circumstances,” Greene said, still looking to be debating the various issues. “And this is not an ordinary case or ordinary times.” After another long moment, Greene continued, “I’ll make my ruling. The defendant shall pay a bail bond of two million dollars, to be deposited to the court repository. Upon doing so, she shall be confined to her condominium and monitored with an ankle bracelet. Ms. Bernstein, you understand you are required to surrender your passport and your driver’s license?”
“Yes,” Jenna said.
“And that you cannot leave your building, for any reason?”
“I do.”
“And if you violate the court’s confinement order, for any reason, you will forfeit the bail money and be jailed in the King County jail until adjudicated. You understand that also?”
“I do.”
“Then I am going to grant the defense’s motion for bail under the terms set forth in my order. Defense counsel will prepare that order based on this morning’s hearing and present it to me for approval by the end of the day.”
Keera never had a case with bail set so high, but she wasn’t about to protest. She’d done something this morning she never thought possible. She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein, who also looked stunned by the amount, but pleased by the result, knowing from the first trial, perhaps, when Patsy did not secure bail, that Jenna had pulled a rabbit out of her hat. John Bernstein gave Keera a nod.
“Anything else from the State?” Judge Greene asked.
Thompson, still looking visibly stunned, said, “No, Your Honor.” He did not sound happy.
“Ms. Duggan?”
Keera leaned over, turning her head and whispering to Jenna, emboldened by the morning events. “Since you’re not going to be confined to the King County jail, I would suggest you waive your right to a speedy trial.”
Jenna shook her head. “I want this behind me as soon as possible.”
Keera didn’t agree, but it was what it was. “Your Honor, Ms. Bernstein does not waive her constitutional right to a speedy trial and requests the court set a case-scheduling conference to be held within the next seventy-two hours to set this matter for trial. Defendant further requests the court hear its motion to discover the police evidence forming the basis for the charges leveled against her.”
Thompson said, “Your Honor, the State has no objection to the setting of a case-scheduling conference and will have the police file delivered to defense counsel this afternoon.”
“Very well. Thank you, Counsel. If there is nothing else? We are adjourned.” Greene rapped her gavel once and left the bench.
Jenna turned to Keera. “Am I free to go?”
“Not until bail has been posted and you have been fitted with an ankle bracelet. Then the marshals will escort you to your condominium.”
Keera wasn’t sure what she had expected, a thank-you perhaps, but she should have known better. She knew Jenna better.
Jenna simply turned to the officers, who reapplied her handcuffs and escorted her from the courtroom.
Chapter 24
Late afternoon, after Keera ensured bail using Jenna’s parents’ home, and Jenna was fitted with an ankle bracelet, she escorted Jenna back to her condominium along with the US marshals. As a condition to her bail, Jenna’s visitors were limited to King County jail visiting hours, except for Keera, who could meet with Jenna at any time as counsel of record. All visitors were required to sign in and out, and the State had access to the register to ensure the conditions of parole were being met.
Jenna’s focus had been on Patsy, where he was and whether he would defend her. Keera provided vague responses to Jenna’s questions to protect his privacy. “I told you, Jenna. He’s going to be away for some time. He needs to take care of some medical issues.”
When Keera didn’t elaborate, Jenna became specific. “His drinking?” she asked.
“That’s not something I’m at liberty to talk about, and I won’t,” Keera said, refusing to let Jenna get under her skin. “For the time being you’re going to have to be happy with my counsel.”
“Will he be back for trial?”
“I don’t know, but as we both told you, Patsy has cut back trying cases. And, since you refused to waive time, I suspect the trial judge will set the trial quickly.”
“Do we know who that judge will be?”
“No. But it won’t be Judge Greene. The arraignment judge is never the trial judge. We’ll know soon enough.” She could have said: We won’t be that lucky again. But she refrained. “Before we go further,” Keera said, “I want to discuss my representing you.”
Jenna didn’t verbally or physically respond.
Keera pressed on. “After I get the evidence, I will make a decision on how best to defend you. I will discuss that with you, but I will not allow you to dictate the defense. Is that agreed?”
Jenna looked insulted. “Meaning I have no input in my own defense?”
“I’ll listen to you, but when it comes to how best to try this case, my decisions will be final.”
“Or?”
“Or I withdraw now and help you secure other counsel.”
Jenna looked to be chewing nails. “You don’t leave me much choice.”
“On the contrary, the decision is entirely yours,” Keera said. And she meant it. If Jenna told her to walk, she’d do so without regret. What she wouldn’t do was allow Jenna to manipulate her.
“Agreed,” Jenna said.
“And if I find that you’ve lied to me, I will withdraw from representing you. Is that also agreed?”
Again, Jenna’s jaw clenched. “Agreed,” she said.
“Good. Then I’ll get started,” Keera said.
Keera left the condominium and returned to her office, but only briefly. She met briefly with the two lawyers Ella wanted to hire to help out on her case files, and she filled in Ella on what had transpired in court that morning, much of which Ella already knew. Apparently, the news of Keera having secured bail for a murder-one suspect was circulating throughout the courthouse, the prosecutor’s office, and the defense bar. Most thought it an unsubstantiated rumor, until the news media broadcasts confirmed it.
Keera ignored her phone, told Maggie to take messages, which didn’t make her sister happy, and escaped the office with JP Harrison. They drove to the Capitol Hill house Sirus Kohl had rented. As JP drove, Keera read the police report in her lap, not having had any time to yet read it while getting Jenna settled and checking in at the office.
“Getting bail for a murder-one suspect? I haven’t heard of any attorney doing such a thing. Not even Patsy,” Harrison said, looking over at her with a wry grin.
“It wasn’t any novel argument,” Keera said. “Covid has forced a number of changes in everyday life, and the court has had to adjust. Were it not for the overcrowding and the backlog of cases set for trial, not to mention lawyers claiming a lack of due process for their clients and filing motions for pretrial release and for speedy trials, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation.”
“Doesn’t matter. The news has already spread that you pulled off something not even the Irish Brawler accomplished.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have a long, arduous road to travel.”
“For a client who is a piece of work; isn’t she?” Harrison said. “Bail in a first-degree murder case and she never even said thank you.”
“You noticed,” Keera said.
“I noticed,” Harrison said.
“That’s Jenna. But I’m not going to let her get under my skin.” She told Harrison about her threat to withdraw if Jenna lied to her, and about Jenna agreeing to abide by Keera’s decisions.
“Will she?”
“We’re going to find out.”
Frank Rossi waited outside the Capitol Hill home. Harrison parked his BMW in the driveway beside an SPD pool car. The day was again glorious, with a high blue sky and the weather temperate. The peace and quiet of the neighborhood belied the violence that had taken place inside the home.
“Has anyone been inside the home since you were here, Frank?” Keera asked after greetings.
“No. The owner would like to get it rented, though he recognizes that could be difficult, given all the publicity.”
Rossi led them to the side door and removed the crime scene tape from the jamb. Keera and Harrison slipped on blue nitrile gloves and Tyvek shoe coverings. Harrison examined the doorjamb and the door.
“You didn’t note a forced entry in your police report,” Harrison said.
“We did not.” Rossi pushed the door in and stepped aside. “I’ll leave you two to your work. Call me when you’re wrapping up, and I’ll return to lock up.” He started down the driveway.
“Frank,” Keera said. Rossi turned back. “Thanks,” she said.
He gave her a nod before continuing to his car. When Keera turned to go inside, Harrison considered her with a queer expression.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” A thin smile creased his lips. “So, no signs of forced entry?”
“No,” she said.
“What was of interest in the police report?”
“Still going through it, but for one, Barry Dillard concluded the bullet that killed Erik Wei and the bullet that killed Sirus Kohl were fired from the same 9-millimeter handgun.”
Harrison, who had worked the Wei murder for Patsy, gave Jenna a knowing look. “Somebody still has the gun,” he said, stating the obvious.
“Now I know why Patsy pays you the big bucks,” Keera said. “It definitely adds another wrinkle to an already complex case; doesn’t it? But we don’t know that it was the gun Keera once owned, or a different gun.”
“You’ll keep the Wei killing out, I assume?”
“I don’t see the relevance, and admission would be highly prejudicial, especially given that Jenna was found not guilty of that crime. I’ll bring a motion in limine to prevent the State from mentioning or alluding to the Wei investigation or the trial, including any mention of the gun. I expect it will be granted. But it certainly makes you wonder; doesn’t it?”
“Indeed, it does. And our client? I assume she still claims she hasn’t seen the gun since she moved from Sirus Kohl’s house.”
“She does.”
“You get started,” Keera said. “I want to go through the rest of the police report in greater detail.”
The home held the metallic odor of blood, which stained the carpet in the television room and was spattered on the furniture. For the next few hours, Keera remained seated on a barstool at the kitchen counter studying the police report while Harrison measured the blood spatter and took copious photographs. Keera better understood what had led the police to arrest Jenna. The call detail records between two burner phones, purchased from the Target store in the University District and assigned to Sirus Kohl and to Jenna, included text messages between the two. On the night of his murder, Kohl had at least hinted about the deal he had with the US Attorney.
What goes around comes around.
What is that supposed to mean?
You shit on me in Wei’s trial. Time to return the favor.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Yeah. You do.
I took my attorney’s advice.
And I’ll take mine.
Can we talk?
We’ll see.
The police also had detailed Jenna’s walk to Volunteer Park shortly after she received the text messages, as Keera had known they would. And they had Bitchin Burritos’ photograph of Jenna in the park.
“She gets the text messages on her phone, then does a walkabout to Volunteer Park, very close to the murder site,” Harrison said, reading over Keera’s shoulder. “I can see why they’ve moved forward, and why they didn’t think they needed a grand jury. But they do have a problem.”
“They can’t place her inside the house,” Keera said. “At least not yet. No witnesses. No fingerprints. And no DNA.”
“And no weapon,” Harrison said.
“And no weapon.”
“Circumstantial, certainly,” Harrison said, sitting on the adjacent stool. “I suspect they’ll argue the obvious—what are the odds Jenna just happened to take a stroll to Volunteer Park to get food on the night Sirus Kohl was murdered?”
“Even money, especially after she has a text tête-à-tête with Kohl about his going to the US Attorney,” Keera said.
“About that,” Harrison said. “Why would Kohl alert her? I’m presuming Jenna also could have gone to the US Attorney with information Kohl knew the LINK wasn’t commercially ready. So why would he let her know his intentions and have her maybe try to beat him to the punch?”
“Your presumption isn’t entirely accurate. I doubt the US Attorney would have accepted that deal from Jenna. They already had enough evidence to get Kohl,” Keera said. “He handled the company’s day-to-day operations and the LINK’s progress. It was Jenna they didn’t have, yet. And the documents Adria Kohl produced to the State, which she planned to take to the US Attorney, aren’t definitive about what Jenna knew and didn’t know. I can argue they’re subject to interpretation, and the State’s interpretation is biased.”
“What does Jenna have to say about the text messages?”
“I haven’t asked her yet.”
“And she didn’t offer anything either?”
“No, she didn’t,” Keera said.
“Hmm,” Harrison said. “Why would she not tell you?”
“I don’t know. It could be she didn’t send the texts, that someone else has that phone and set her up, or it could be Jenna’s always had a problem with telling the truth,” Keera said, and wondered if Jenna was already lying to her.
“That won’t help your case.” Harrison rose from his barstool seat.
“Kohl made a call shortly after the string of text messages to a different number. The police say that call was to his daughter, Adria, to confirm he intended to go forward with the meeting in the morning.”
“You sound skeptical.”
“Just wondering why he would feel the need to confirm the meeting.”
“People get busy. Plans and schedules change.”
“Or maybe he hadn’t been definitive about wanting the meeting.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“The PDRT employees we’ve spoken with paint Kohl entirely differently than Jenna painted him. Rather than controlling Jenna, they paint him as doting on her. What if those employees’ perceptions are more accurate? What if he truly loved Jenna and remained uncertain about fingering her for the misrepresentations?”
“Even after she pointed the finger at him for Wei?” Harrison sounded skeptical.
“I’ve seen men do some crazy things when it comes to love,” she said, thinking of Miller Ambrose and his inability to accept the fact that Keera had broken up with him.
“As have I,” he said.
“And Jenna is a master at manipulation.”
“Any indication Kohl called Jenna, or that she called him?” Harrison asked.
“No. None. Just the text messages.”
“Seems odd; doesn’t it?” Harrison said. “Seems the Jenna you describe as having known would have done more than send text messages to convince him not to make the deal.”
“The Jenna I know certainly would have. But . . .”
“What?”
“As you said, I doubt Jenna and Kohl were on speaking terms after she testified in Wei. Maybe she realized there was no point trying to speak to him?”
“Or maybe she did try to talk to him in person,” Harrison said.
“The reason for her walk to Volunteer Park?” Keera said. She gave it some thought, then added, “It does seem more like something the Jenna I know would do.”
“The prosecution will certainly make that argument,” Harrison said.
Keera made a mental note, then resumed flipping through the police report. “The police also sought CDR records from Adria Kohl’s telephone,” she said, referring to the call detail records. “Those records confirm Sirus Kohl made a call to Adria Kohl’s cell phone at 9:17. Seems like overkill.”
“What do you mean?” Harrison asked.
“I mean they could pull any text messages or email between the two of them from Sirus Kohl’s phone,” Keera said.
“Yes, but why not confirm through her records? Adria Kohl found the body,” Harrison said. “She was the person Sirus Kohl last telephoned. If it were my case, I would want to eliminate her. Any indication they did?”
“Eliminate her as a suspect?” Keera asked. “What motivation would she have had to kill her father?”
“I don’t know, but investigations are as much about eliminating suspects as they are about gathering evidence to convict, and in this instance, I would think Walker Thompson would want to eliminate any and all persons who you—or Patsy—might point the finger at. You want me to look into it, study her phone records?”
For law enforcement, getting phone records required appropriate legal authorization and the use of specialized tools to access the GPS data associated with the phone. Keera suspected Harrison, who no longer was technically “law enforcement,” worked with experts who specialized in digital forensics and mobile-device tracking and employed certain techniques and tools of questionable legality to obtain the records. She just didn’t want to know how he did it.
“Look into it. Let’s be sure. And find out what you can about her relationship with her father, and if she has any siblings.” She closed the file. “You about done here?”
