Read Online Presumed Guilty by James Scott Bell - Free Book Online Page B

of evil people. How could he think that of Ron? How could anyone think that of Ron?
She and Cara were given seats in the front row, near the wall. It was on the jury-box side of the courtroom, which meant she was closest to the prosecution table. Ron and Jeff Waite, and Waite’s investigator, Harry Stegman, were miles away on the other side.
Ron wore one of his suits, not the orange coveralls. He gave her one look before Judge Bartells entered. It was a look of inscrutable sadness. She wanted to go to him, hold him, reassure him. At the same time, she wanted to scream, shake him, make sure all the bad stuff was out.
Cara patted Dallas’s arm and whispered, “Hang in there.” Dallas nodded. She wished Jared had come too, to show support for his father. But he’d refused even to talk to her about it.
After a few words with the judge, legalese Dallas couldn’t quite comprehend, Deputy DA Freton called a deputy sheriff named David Barnes to the stand.
He was a clean-cut young man who might have stepped off the beach at Santa Monica, been handed a badge, and told to catch bad guys.
After the swearing in, Freton began. “Deputy Barnes, you are with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long have you been so employed?”
“Six years, come August.”
“Turning your attention to the morning of March 17, can you tell us what your assignment was?”
“I was working out of the Pico Rivera station. I was in a cruiser.”
“And did you receive a dispatch at around ten o’clock that morning?”
“Yes. I got a 911 report of a possible domestic disturbance at the Star Motel in Pico Rivera.”
“Who were you told placed the 911 call?”
“The day manager of the motel, a Mr. Franze.”
“What did you do next?”
“I proceeded to the location. I went to the front office and talked with Mr. Franze. I asked him if he had reported a disturbance and he said — ”
“Objection,” Jeff said. “Hearsay.”
“It’s the basis of the deputy’s belief,” Freton said.
Judge Bartells nodded. “Overruled.”
“You may answer,” Freton said.
“He said there was always something disturbing going on at this place.”
The spectators and reporters in the courtroom laughed. Dallas felt a warm chill, hot ice, up and down her back. Like a fever. They were laughing at this now. At Ron.
“What did you do next, Deputy?”
“I asked him why he called, and he said somebody in room 103, a man named Knudsen, said that he’d heard — ”
“Same objection,” Jeff said.
“Overruled.”
Deputy Barnes continued. “This man Knudsen had heard an argument the night before in room 105, some screaming, and then there was nothing. Silence. He thought about leaving it alone, but the next morning he just had this concerned feeling and felt he had to tell Mr. Franze about it. Mr. Franze went to room 105 and knocked, got no answer. He thought it best to give a call to 911.”
“Did he give any reason why he thought to do that?”
“Yes. He said he was afraid of being sued.”
More laughter in the courtroom. Dallas gripped the arms of her seat and shook her head. Cara took her hand and squeezed it.
“What happened next, Deputy Barnes?”
“I asked Mr. Franze to look up the registration on room 105. He told me the name was Melinda Perry. I then asked Mr. Franze to accompany me to room 105. We proceeded to the room. I knocked on the door and announced that I was a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff. There was no answer. I knocked and announced again. Still no answer. So I requested Mr. Franze to unlock the door, which he did.”
“Why did you request Mr. Franze to unlock the door?”
“It was my belief that there might be someone injured inside the room, based upon the 911 call.”
“What did you see when you entered room 105?”
“A young woman on the bed. Not moving. I went to the bed and said, ‘Ma’am?’ I said it three times. When she did not respond I checked her wrist for a pulse. There was