A Reasonable Doubt Page 7

  * * *

  After Regina left the jail, she caught a few hours of sleep before going to her office. When she got there, Regina called the number Chesterfield had given her for his wife.

  “Am I speaking to Lily Dowd?” Regina asked when a woman answered the phone.

  “Yes?”

  “My name is Regina Barrister. I’m a criminal defense attorney in Portland, and I have some disturbing news for you. Your husband has been arrested. I talked to him at the jail last night.”

  “Bobby is in jail?” Dowd asked as if she had not heard Regina correctly.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “What are the charges?”

  “They’re very serious. I think it would be better if we discussed them in person.”

  “I’m not a child, Miss Barrister. Tell what’s going on.”

  “The district attorney is accusing him of poisoning a woman named Sophie Randall, attempting to poison Samuel Moser, and poisoning another man named Arthur Gentry.”

  “Arthur!” Dowd gasped. Then there was silence on Dowd’s end of the phone.

  “Mrs. Dowd, are you all right?”

  “Yes. This is just a shock. And it can’t be true. Bobby would never do anything like that.”

  “He’s told me that he’s innocent.”

  “Of course, he is.”

  “I’m sure you understand that it is very expensive to defend a murder case. One of the reasons I’m calling is because your husband wants to retain me. He told me to call you to make the financial arrangements so I can represent him.”

  “What amount are we talking about?”

  Regina quoted a figure and explained why it was high. Dowd was silent again for a moment.

  “That’s a lot of money. I’d like to talk to you in person before I write a check.”

  “Of course. Can you come to Portland, or would you rather I go to you?”

  “Will they let me see Bobby?”

  “Yes. There are visiting hours.”

  “Very well. I’ll come to Portland. Can I see Bobby this afternoon?”

  “I’ll try to set up a visit. We can talk after you see your husband.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Regina was standing at the front door of the Justice Center when a black Mercedes limousine stopped at the base of the steps. A light rain was falling. A chauffeur opened the rear door and held an umbrella over Lily Dowd, who was wearing a dull gray overcoat and sensible shoes. If it weren’t for the limo and the chauffeur, Regina would not have known that Dowd was one of the wealthiest women in Oregon.

  “Mrs. Dowd,” Regina said as she walked down the steps.

  Dowd and the chauffeur met Regina halfway.

  “Let’s get inside,” Regina said.

  “I’ll be all right now, Greg,” Dowd said. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to go.”

  The chauffeur shielded Dowd until she was out of the rain. Then he walked back to the car and drove off. Dowd opened her coat when she was inside. Her dress was as drab as her coat.

  “How is Bobby doing?” Dowd asked.

  “Remarkably well for someone facing the most serious charges the State can bring.”

  Dowd smiled. “That’s Bobby. He’s always so cheerful. When can I see him?”

  “Right away. You won’t be able to be in the same room with him. They have noncontact rooms where you can talk on a phone through shatterproof glass.”

  “But I’m his wife.”

  “It’s the best I could do. Very few people other than a defendant’s lawyer can have a contact visit.”

  “I shall talk to John about this. It’s ridiculous.”

  “John?”

  “The governor. I’ll call him later today and straighten this out.”

  Regina didn’t know what to say to that, so she changed the subject. “I’ll take you to Reception and set up the meeting. Then I’ll wait for you so you can have privacy when you visit. We can go back to my office when you’re finished.”

  “That’s very nice of you,” Dowd said.

  Regina smiled and walked Lily Dowd into the jail reception area.

  * * *

  “How are you holding up?” Robert Chesterfield asked his wife.

  “Oh, Bobby, look at you.”

  “Now, don’t you worry. I’m just fine. I can’t say much for the cuisine, and the accommodations don’t match up to the Ritz, but I’m being treated quite well.”

  “I met Miss Barrister. Do you think she can help you?”

  “She has an excellent reputation. I have confidence in her. I think it would be in our best interest to hire her.”

  “Then I’ll do that, right away.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  “Can she get you out of here quickly?”

  “Probably not. She was very clear that it’s difficult to get bail in a murder case.”

  “But you’re innocent.”

  “I am, so everything will come out well in the end. Meanwhile, you must be patient and let my attorney do her job.”

  Lily dabbed tears from her cheeks. “I can’t bear to see you like this.”

  “I’m fine. Just know that I love you and that there is no truth to these charges. We’ll be together soon.”

  * * *

  Regina walked Lily Dowd to her law office. Lily gave Regina a check for the retainer and Regina explained what would happen in her husband’s case.

  As soon as Lily Dowd left, Regina dialed Peter Ragland.

  “Hi, Regina. What’s up?”

  “Robert Chesterfield just retained me.”

  Ragland chuckled. “I think I can have that fact introduced in evidence as an admission of guilt.”

  “Cute, Peter.”

  “Is he calling himself Mr. Chesterfield or Lord Chesterfield?”

  “Plain old mister. Is your comedy monologue over? Can we discuss the case?”

  “What happened to your sense of humor?”

  “It deserted me when I was awakened from a sound sleep and had to go to the jail at one in the morning because you decided to arrest my client in the middle of the night.”

  Ragland chuckled again. Regina took a deep breath and counted to ten.

  “When can I get discovery?” she asked.

  “Anytime you want it.”

  “Care to tell me why you think you have a case?”

  “It’s all laid out in the police reports.”

  “What about bail?”

  “Not happening. Chesterfield isn’t an American citizen. If he gets out of custody, he’ll flee. Of course, I’d make all sorts of concessions, like taking the death penalty off the table, if Mr. Chesterfield admits he killed Mrs. Randall and Mr. Gentry and pleads guilty in both cases.”

  “My client is adamant that he’s not involved with either case.”

  “I’d expect nothing less. Isn’t it amazing how many innocent victims of our justice system are serving time at the penitentiary?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Multnomah County Courthouse is an ominous, eight-story, gray concrete building that takes up an entire block in downtown Portland. The courtroom of the Honorable Henry Beathard was on the fifth floor. Regina led Lily Dowd past the reporters who crowded the corridor and into a room with high windows and marble columns. The grim faces of judges past stared down at them from the walls.

  Regina guessed that the courtroom would be packed, so she’d asked the bailiff to reserve a seat for Lily behind the defense table. As she led Lily down the aisle, Regina noticed Morris Quinlan sitting on the back bench. Regina respected Quinlan, so she smiled at him as she passed by.

  “Chesterfield’s called in the A team,” Roger Dillon said.

  “Yeah,” Quinlan answered. “This could get embarrassing. Regina is the last person you want on the other side of a case if you have the IQ of a gnat.”

  When they were almost to Lily’s seat, Regina saw Gary Randall, Sophie Randall’s husband. He glared at Regina, but Regina was not offended. She felt very sor
ry for him and understood why he would hate her for helping the man accused of murdering his wife.

  The guards had brought Robert Chesterfield over from the jail after letting him change into a hand-tailored suit that Lily had provided. He was waiting at one of the two counsel tables that stood within the bar of the court.

  “It’s so good to see you,” Chesterfield said as he reached out to take Lily’s hand.

  “No touching,” one of the guards said, and Chesterfield pulled his hand back.

  “Sorry,” he apologized.

  “Why can’t I touch my husband?” Lily demanded.

  “It’s a rule, dearest,” Chesterfield said. “These gentlemen are just performing their sworn duty.”

  Peter Ragland sat at the other counsel table. Regina nodded at the deputy district attorney as she passed through the gate that separated the spectators from the attorneys and the judge. After setting out her notes, law books, and statutes, she took a seat next to her client.

  “How does it look?” Chesterfield asked.

  “We lucked out. Henry Beathard is going to hear our bail motion and motion in limine.”

  “Why is that lucky?”

  “Beathard taught Evidence before being appointed to the bench, and our motion in limine is based on an interpretation of a rule of evidence. If we win the motion in limine, the judge will probably grant our motion for bail.”

  Before Chesterfield could ask another question, a door opened behind the bench, and a barrel-chested man with thinning black hair, old-fashioned horn-rimmed glasses, and a goatee stepped out.

  Regina had loved law school. She had been fanatic about preparing for class, and she relished the battle of wits with her professors when they called on her. Henry Beathard conducted motion hearings the way he had conducted his law school classes, and Regina had prepped extra hard for this one.

  “Good morning, Mr. Ragland and Miss Barrister,” the judge said. “Miss Barrister, you want me to decide your motion for bail and your motion in limine at this hearing. That’s a bit unusual.”

  Regina stood. “It is, Your Honor, but the State can’t hold Mr. Chesterfield without bail under ORS 135.240 unless it convinces you that the proof is evident or the presumption is strong that Mr. Chesterfield is guilty of the crimes charged in the indictment. If we prevail on our motion to exclude evidence of the Gentry case from Mr. Chesterfield’s trial for the murder of Sophie Randall, it will have a major impact on the State’s ability to convince you that Mr. Chesterfield should be denied bail.”

  “Very well,” Judge Beathard said. “I’ll hear the motion in limine first. Mr. Ragland, let me see if I understand the facts you hope to establish in our trial, and please correct me if I don’t get this right.

  “As I understand it, you intend to present witnesses who will testify that a few months before the new year, Samuel Moser accused the defendant of misconduct at the Westmont Country Club. Mr. Chesterfield was very angry and resigned from the club. Then, two days before the new year, someone sent a box of poisoned chocolates to Mr. Moser. He was on a diet and gave the candy to Sophie Randall, his secretary. Mrs. Randall ate some of the candy and died of cyanide poisoning. You think you can prove that Robert Chesterfield put cyanide in the candy and sent it to Mr. Moser because he was angry at Mr. Moser, and this is the basis for the murder charge involving Mrs. Randall and the attempted murder charge involving Mr. Moser. How am I doing?”

  “Just fine, Your Honor,” Ragland said.

  “Okay. Now, there is another indictment containing charges our jury will not be asked to decide. In that case, you’re alleging that Mr. Chesterfield and Arthur Gentry were courting a woman named Lily Dowd and that Mr. Chesterfield poisoned his rival for Mrs. Dowd’s affections so he could get rid of him and marry Mrs. Dowd. Am I good so far, Mr. Ragland?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Ragland, is it your contention that you should be able to tell the jurors about Mr. Gentry’s death when it’s deciding whether Mr. Chesterfield is guilty of killing Mrs. Randall and attempting to kill Mr. Moser?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  Beathard turned to Regina. “You don’t think Mr. Ragland should be allowed to tell the jury about the evidence in the Gentry case, do you, Miss Barrister?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “And you want me to rule that the Gentry evidence is inadmissible in this trial?”

  “Yes.”

  “Since this is your motion, Miss Barrister, you have the burden of convincing me that the State is wrong when Mr. Ragland argues that the Gentry evidence should be heard by our jury. Proceed.”

  Regina stood and addressed the court. “Your Honor, it’s a well-established rule that the State can’t introduce evidence of crimes not charged in an indictment to prove that the defendant is guilty of the crimes charged. The reason for this rule is obvious. If a person is charged with murder and the State introduces evidence that he committed other unrelated crimes, the jurors might conclude that he must be guilty because he has criminal tendencies.

  “If the crimes are similar, though unrelated to the crime alleged in the indictment, it would be a natural human tendency to conclude that the defendant must be guilty of the crime charged because he has committed the same type of crime in the past.”

  “Aren’t there exceptions to this rule, Counselor?” Judge Beathard asked.

  “Yes, five, but none apply in the case at bar.”

  “What are the exceptions, and why don’t they apply to the Gentry evidence?”

  “You can get evidence of other crimes before a jury if the evidence tends to establish the following: motive; intent; the absence of mistake or accident; a common scheme or plan embracing the commission of two or more crimes so related to each other that proof of one tends to establish the others; or the identity of the person charged with committing the crime on trial. It is Mr. Chesterfield’s contention that none of these exceptions apply in this case.”

  “I think we can all agree that no one sends candy laced with cyanide to someone by mistake or accident,” the judge said. “Would you need to introduce evidence from the Gentry case in our case to prove that Mr. Chesterfield didn’t send the candy by mistake or accident, Mr. Ragland?”

  “I might, Your Honor, if the defendant admitted sending the poisoned candy to Mr. Moser but claimed he didn’t know there was poison in the candy.”

  “Is that what your client will say, Miss Barrister?” the judge asked.

  “Mr. Chesterfield adamantly denies sending the candy to Mr. Moser.”

  “Very well, Miss Barrister,” Judge Beathard said. “Let’s move to intent. Mr. Ragland, if you had solid proof that Mr. Chesterfield knowingly sent poison candy to Mr. Moser, it would be crystal clear, wouldn’t it, that he intended to kill Mr. Moser?”

  “Yes.”

  “So why would you need to introduce evidence from another poisoning case to make your point with the jury?”

  Ragland fidgeted for a moment before conceding that he wouldn’t need to introduce evidence from Gentry to show intent under those circumstances.

  “Tell me why the motive exception doesn’t apply, Miss Barrister.”

  “Mr. Ragland is going to argue that Mr. Moser accused my client of cheating at cards and making unwanted advances to female members and employees of the Westmont Country Club, among other things, and that made Mr. Chesterfield so angry that he gave up his membership in the club. Then Mr. Ragland will argue that Mr. Chesterfield sent the poisoned candy to Mr. Moser because he hated Mr. Moser and wanted revenge.

  “In the Gentry case, the State will try to prove that my client and Mr. Gentry were courting Lily Dowd, and Mr. Chesterfield killed Mr. Gentry to get rid of a rival for Mrs. Dowd’s hand.

  “These motives are very different and have no relation to each other. Evidence from the Gentry case will not throw any light on the motive that prompted the attempt on Samuel Moser’s life.”

  “What do you have to say about motive, Mr. Ragland?” Judge Beat
hard asked the prosecutor.

  “I contend that Mr. Chesterfield hated both men, so hate was the motive for both murders.”

  “Can’t you be a rival in love without hating the other suitor?” the judge asked.

  “I … It’s possible, I guess,” Ragland conceded grudgingly.

  “Even if you established that Mr. Chesterfield did hate his romantic rival, is mere hatred sufficient to get other crimes’ evidence before a jury? Wouldn’t that open the door to admitting any crime in a defendant’s life where he hated the victim?”

  “Well, that’s too broad,” Ragland answered.

  “Do you have any evidence that Mr. Chesterfield hated Mr. Gentry? Are there phone calls, threatening letters?” the judge asked.

  Ragland looked flustered. “Not that we have discovered so far.”

  “Why can’t Mr. Ragland introduce the Gentry evidence to prove a common scheme or plan?” the judge asked Regina.

  “To bring a case within this exception to the general rule, the two crimes must be connected as parts of a plan or so related as to show a common motive or intent running through both,” Regina said. “The case before the court provides an excellent example of a situation where the exception applies. Evidence of the attempted murder of Mr. Moser would be admissible to prove how Mrs. Randall got the poisoned candy. The murder weapon was sent to Mr. Moser and he gave it to Mrs. Randall because he was on a diet, so the two crimes are connected. But the State will try to prove that Mr. Gentry was murdered two years before Mrs. Randall for completely different reasons that are not connected to this case. The two murders are not part of a common scheme or plan.”

  “Mr. Ragland?”

  “It’s the same MO. He has a grudge against someone, and he sends them poisoned candy.”

  “We’re talking about whether the two crimes are part of a common scheme or plan, and I don’t see that they are.

  “But what about using the Gentry evidence to prove the identity of the person who murdered Mrs. Randall?” Judge Beathard asked Regina.