The Third Victim Read online

  When Detective Anders was through testifying, Bergland called several more witnesses. Harry White described Whisper Lake and the cabins around it, Caleb White testified about how he found Meredith Fenner, and Dr. Nicholas Hayes told the jury about Meredith’s condition when she arrived at the hospital.

  After lunch, Bergland called the cook who had discovered Tonya Benson’s body in the Dumpster behind his restaurant and the dog walker who had found Patricia Rawls’s corpse in the woods at the rest stop. Dr. Sally Grace described her autopsy findings and testified to the similarities in the injuries to Rawls, Benson, Meredith Fenner, and Allison Mason before Judge Herrera recessed for the day.

  “How do you think it went?” Alex Mason asked anxiously as Regina and Robin packed away their papers after court recessed.

  “Very little the witnesses said implicated you,” Regina told him.

  “Who is Bergland calling next?”

  “Allison Mason,” Regina replied.

  And that’s when your troubles begin, Robin thought.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  On the way back from court, Robin grabbed some sushi to go for supper, then headed for her office to work on other cases she had put on hold. Susan stopped her as soon as she entered the waiting room.

  “You got a call earlier from Jackson Wright. He wanted to talk to you about Mr. Mason’s case.”

  Robin’s brow furrowed. “What would he know about Mason?”

  “He just said that you should go to the jail, that it was important and that he wasn’t going to ask his lawyer to be present.”

  While Robin ate her sushi, she tried to decide what to do about Jackson Wright. She was the key witness in his murder case, the one person who could put him behind bars for life. Could this be a setup? She couldn’t figure out how it could be. And she would ask for a noncontact visit so that he couldn’t attack her.

  There was still the ethical problem of meeting with someone who was represented by counsel without the lawyer present. But it looked like Wright had made a conscious choice to speak to her without his lawyer.

  Should she tell the DA who was prosecuting Wright? They’d try to stop her from talking to him. And Wright said he wanted to talk about Alex Mason, so involving a prosecutor was out of the question.

  The more Robin thought, the more she realized that she had to go, if for no other reason than to satisfy her curiosity. Probably nothing would come of the meeting, but she would be violating her duty to Mason if she didn’t explore the possibility that Wright knew something that could help Mason’s case.

  * * *

  The noncontact visiting room at the county jail was separated into two identical spaces by a thick plate of bulletproof glass that was framed by a concrete wall. Each space was just wide enough for a folding chair.

  As soon as Jackson Wright entered his side of the room through a metal door that opened into the holding area in the jail, Robin passed a sheet of paper through a narrow slot and signaled the guard to give Jackson a pen.

  “What’s this?” Wright said through the telephone receiver that was attached to the wall. Robin spoke to the inmate through an identical receiver.

  “That’s a statement that you’ve waived the presence of counsel and you’ve asked me to speak to you about matters that have nothing to do with the incident in the parking lot.”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “I trust you to try to use this visit to set me up at your trial.”

  “You must have a bad opinion of me,” Wright said as he flashed a toothy smile.

  “That is one hundred percent true, Mr. Wright.” Robin placed her phone on the narrow ledge in front of her. “And that is why I’m going to record this conversation.”

  “Feel free. I’m not trying to trick you.”

  Wright signed the document and passed it back through the slot. The guard took back the pen and closed the door to Wright’s cubicle.

  “So, Mr. Wright, why am I here?”

  “Call me Jackson.”

  “Let’s keep this formal for now,” Robin said. “I am, after all, the witness who is going to put you in prison.”

  “You’re also the person who saved my life and beat the shit out of that cocksucker Prater.”

  “There is that,” Robin said.

  “So I don’t hold a grudge against you for helping the DA. And if what I tell you helps Mr. Mason, maybe you can put in a good word for me.”

  “Let me make this clear. You can tell me what you want to tell me, but don’t do it with any expectation that you’ll get any benefit for talking to me.”

  Wright nodded his head up and down. “No, no. I’m talking to you because I hate Prater. I’m not expecting anything in return.” Wright flashed Robin a wide smile. “But, later, if you decide to do something for me—of your own free will and not as a quid pro quo—it would be appreciated.”

  “Let’s cut to the chase, okay? I’ve had a long day in court and I’m beat. What do you want to tell me?”

  “You know who Mordessa Carpenter is, right?”

  “We tried to interview her, but she skipped town. Do you know where she is?”

  “She wouldn’t say.”

  “You talked to her?”

  “The same day Prater tried to murder me.”

  “What did she want?”

  “Revenge for what Prater done to her.”

  “What did Prater do to her?”

  “He beat her up, gave her some money, and told her to get out of town. He said he’d kill her or have someone kill her if she came back. So she took the money and ran.”

  “Why did she call you?”

  Wright smiled. “Why do you think? She spent all Prater’s money and wanted me to send her some more.”

  “Did you?”

  “Hell no! The bitch would just shoot it up her arm.”

  “Why are we talking about Mordessa?”

  “’Cause she knows about Tonya Benson.”

  “One of the women Alex Mason is supposed to have killed.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What does she know about that?”

  “She said I should tell you to call her because she knows that Mason didn’t kill Tonya. Prater did.”

  * * *

  Robin waited until she was in her office with the door shut before calling the number Jackson Wright had given her. Robin let it ring until it went to voice mail. Then she left her name and the number of her cell phone and told Mordessa to call her anytime. The phone rang two minutes after Robin ended her call.

  “Miss Lockwood?”

  “Yes. Is this Miss Carpenter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thanks for calling. Mr. Wright gave me your number.”

  “Are you the one who put Prater in the hospital?”

  “I am.”

  “How’d you do that?”

  “I worked my way through college and law school fighting in mixed martial arts contests. Prater wasn’t expecting a girl to give him a hard time.”

  Robin heard a hearty laugh on the other end of the line. “I hear you really fucked up Prater’s shit.”

  “That I did.”

  “Man, I wish I was there.” Then Mordessa tone became somber. “You know he hurt me bad.”

  “I do know that, and it was a real motivator when I was smashing his knee and choking him out.”

  “Thank you.” There was silence on the phone. Then Mordessa asked, “Is Prater locked up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will he get out?”

  “He shouldn’t. I saw him try to murder Jackson and I’m going to say so in court.”

  “If he really did murder someone, would that help keep him in prison?”

  “If the prosecutor can prove the charge. Why, do you have evidence that he killed someone?”

  “Not something I saw. But I know he killed Tonya.”

  “Tonya Benson?”

  “Yeah. She’s one of the ones the DA says your client killed, right?”


  “Yes.”

  “Well, Prater had a history with her.”

  “What kind of history?”

  “The same kind he had with me.”

  “You mean he beat her?”

  “And tied her to the bed. And burned her with cigarettes. Just like they saying Mason done.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “’Cause I untied her and took her to the ER.”

  “There’s a police report of your interview with Detectives Dillon and Anders. In it you told them about being with Tonya on the night she disappeared, but you didn’t say anything about Prater beating her up.”

  “This was about a month before she went missing. I didn’t know about her killer tying her to a bed and doing what Prater done to her and me until I read about what the DA said in his opening statement about what that white girl was gonna say. That’s when I got to thinking.”

  “If it was necessary, would you come back to Portland to testify?”

  “I ain’t got no money to get back.”

  “That’s not a problem. I’ll get you a ticket.”

  “Why don’t you send me the money and I’ll get my own ticket.”

  “I’m going to be up front with you, Mordessa. I know you have a drug habit. I know you mean well, but I also know you’ll spend the money on dope.”

  “No, no. You can trust me.”

  “I’d like to believe that, but I’ve known people with drug habits, and they make promises their bodies won’t let them keep. If you decide to come to Portland, I’ll send you a ticket that is nonrefundable. Then I’ll help you get into rehab. But you’ve got to come. Alex Mason is facing the death penalty. You have his life in your hands.”

  The line was silent for a while. Robin could hear Mordessa breathing.

  “I’d need to know for sure that Prater couldn’t get to me,” Mordessa said.

  “His bail is sky-high and I could arrange for protective custody.”

  The line went silent again.

  “You still there, Mordessa?”

  “Yeah. Let me think about it.”

  “We don’t have much time. You have my cell number. I’ll give you my number at my law office. Let me know if you’ll testify for Mr. Mason as soon as you decide. This is literally a matter of life and death.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Robin got to work at six-thirty the next morning and walked right to Regina’s office, where Jeff and her boss were already discussing trial strategy.

  “We have a problem,” Robin said.

  “Oh?” Regina replied.

  “You may have to get off of Alex Mason’s case because of a conflict of interest.”

  “What’s the conflict?” Jeff asked.

  “I have a witness who will say that Arnold Prater tied Tonya Benson to a bed and tortured her with cigarettes about a month before Tonya was murdered. Prater has a build similar to Mason’s and a New York accent. And he was the officer who went to Carol Richardson’s house when she reported Alex for domestic violence.”

  “That’s great!” Regina said. “That testimony will definitely raise a reasonable doubt about Alex’s guilt.”

  “We can’t call the witness,” Robin said.

  Regina looked puzzled. “Why not?”

  Robin stared at her boss. Regina didn’t understand the conflict, and that was very troubling.

  “Prater was our client.”

  “He isn’t anymore.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Mordessa Carpenter is the witness. She heard him threaten to get even with Miles Poe. She was a key witness in the case against Prater for—”

  “Poe?” Regina’s brow furrowed. “Who is Miles Poe?”

  Robin thought she might throw up, and Jeff’s face lost color.

  “Poe was the pimp and drug dealer who was paying off Prater,” Robin said slowly, using the same tone she might if talking to a very slow child. “Poe sued Prater for harassing him. Then Prater was charged with shooting Poe, and Prater hired you to defend him.”

  Regina stared for a moment. Then she flashed a wide grin and shook her head.

  “Yes, I know. My brain is mush this morning. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “So you see why we can’t represent Mason. To win his case, you would have to argue that another of your clients is guilty.”

  “Where is this Mordessa person?”

  “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. She’s terrified of Prater. He beat her up and told her to get out of town or he’d kill her.”

  “So she might not testify or she may be making this whole thing up. Did she see Prater torture Benson?”

  “No, but she says she untied Benson from the bed and took her to the hospital right after Prater tortured her.”

  “Why did she call you? Why didn’t Carpenter call me?”

  “Last night, Jackson Wright called from the jail and said he wanted to talk to me. He thinks he owes me for saving his life, and he hates Arnold Prater. I went to the jail and he told me Mordessa wanted me to call. He said she wanted revenge on Prater for beating her up. She heard I beat up Prater. That’s why she wanted to talk to me. She’d read about Mr. Mason’s case and learned that he’s accused of killing Benson. When she read the way Benson and the other victims were tortured, she realized it was the way Prater tortured her and Benson.”

  “Do you have any assurance that Carpenter will testify for us or that she’s not lying to get back at Prater?” Regina asked.

  “No.”

  Regina thought for a moment before shaking her head. “If Kyle objects to her testimony on relevancy and hearsay grounds, Herrera won’t let her on the stand. That’s assuming she’ll even show. Right now, I don’t see the conflict.”

  “I’ve always thought that Prater was a viable suspect in these murders,” Robin said. “A case can be made against him with Mordessa.”

  “Through hearsay from an unreliable witness. I don’t think we can get over the threshold for introducing evidence that someone else committed these crimes. No, until we know Carpenter is coming to testify and has admissible evidence, there is no conflict.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Robin didn’t get a chance to talk to Jeff until Regina left for the courthouse.

  “Did you catch the bit with Poe?” Robin asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “She had no idea who he was. I’m really worried.”

  “I’m starting to worry, too,” Jeff said, “but I don’t know what we can do. We’re right in the middle of the trial and she’s been doing a decent job so far.”

  “There hasn’t been a chance for her to screw up. Allison Mason is on today, and this is her first chance to raise doubt. What if she blanks?”

  “That’s why you’re here. You’ll have to make sure she stays on track.”

  “What if I can’t?” Robin asked.

  “We’ll have to talk to her.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?”

  * * *

  When court resumed, Kyle Bergland called forensic experts, who testified that DNA connected Alex Mason to the duct tape that had bound Meredith. Then Bergland called Allison Mason to the stand.

  Allison was dressed in a simple black dress and a minimum of jewelry and makeup. Alex glared at her when she walked by him, but Allison didn’t look at him.

  Robin waited for Regina to make the legal motion they had briefed, but Regina didn’t say a word when the clerk started to swear the witness.

  “Regina, you should object to her testimony on the grounds that it would violate the husband-wife confidentiality privilege.” Robin pushed the memo and copies for the Court and DA across the table to her boss. “We’ve got it all briefed.”

  Regina stared at her for a second before looking at the memo. “Of course. I was waiting for Allison to be sworn.”

  Regina stood, the memo in her hand. “I have a motion for the court that should be heard out of the presence of the jury.”

  Robin tensed. Regina should
have brought this up before the jury came in. Now the jurors would think Mason had something he wanted to hide from them.

  “What’s your motion, Miss Barrister?” Herrera said as soon as the jurors had left.

  Regina handed a copy of the memo to Kyle Bergland and a copy to the judge.

  “I am assuming that Mr. Bergland is going to ask Mrs. Mason about the Masons’ sex life, but that testimony is barred by the husband-wife privilege.”

  “We anticipated this motion, Your Honor. The defendant’s actions, such as tying Mrs. Mason to the bed and burning her with cigarettes, are not communications, so they aren’t protected,” Bergland said.

  “Furthermore, Mrs. Mason can consent to waive the privilege under ORS section 40.255(3) in a criminal proceeding where she has been called as a witness. Also, State v. Lindley, 11 Oregon Appellate Reports 417, a 1972 case, held that the doctrine of marital privilege doesn’t prohibit the testimony of third persons as to information volunteered by a defendant’s wife. Mrs. Mason voluntarily told Detective Anders everything to which she will testify.”

  “What do you say about that, Miss Barrister?” the judge asked.

  Robin waited for Regina to make several arguments they had discussed at the office, but Regina looked lost.

  “Well, I’ll … We’ll take this up on appeal if you deny my motion,” she managed after a few seconds of silence.

  Robin clenched her fists in frustration.

  “Okay, well I am going to deny the motion and let Mrs. Mason testify,” Judge Herrera said.

  “Mrs. Mason,” Bergland asked when the jury was back and the witness had been sworn. “Are you married to Alex Mason, the defendant?”

  “I am.”

  “How did you two meet?”

  “Alex was in New York for depositions in the firm where I was working as a temp.”

  “Did you have any contact during the depositions?”

  “Do you mean in the law office?”