Apparently the note was handwritten in black ink, and the writing is fairly legible. It’s a few paragraphs of instructions to his secretary about the funeral—he wants to be cremated—andwhat to do with his office furniture. The note tells the secretary where to find his will. Nothing about Boyette, of course. Nothing about Muldanno. Then, he apparently tried to add something to the note with a blue Bic pen, but it ran out of ink after he started his message. It’s badly scrawled, and hard to read.”
“What is it?”
“We don’t know. The Memphis police still have possession of the note, the gun, the pills, all the physical evidence removed from the car. McThune is trying to get it now. They found a Bic pen, no ink, in the car, and it appears to be the same pen he tried to use to add something to the note.”
“They’ll have it when we arrive, won’t they?” Foltrigg asked in a tone that left no doubt he expected to have it all as soon as he got to Memphis.
“They’re working on it,” Trumann answered. Foltrigg was not his boss, technically, but this case was a prosecution now, not an investigation, and the reverend was in control.
“So Jerome Clifford drives to Memphis and blows his brains out,” Foltrigg said to the window. “Four weeks before trial. Man oh man. What else can go crazy with this case?”
No answer was expected. They rode in silence, waiting for Roy to speak again.
“Where’s Muldanno?” he finally asked.
“New Orleans. We’re watching him.”
“He’ll have a new lawyer by midnight, and by noon tomorrow he’ll file a dozen motions for continuances claiming the tragic death of Jerome Clifford seriously undermines his constitutional right to a fair trial with assistance of counsel. We’ll oppose it of course, and the judge will order a hearing for next week, andwe’ll have the hearing, and we’ll lose, and it’ll be six months before this case goes to trial. Six months! Can you believe it?”
Trumann shook his head in disgust. “At least it’ll give us more time to find the body.”
It certainly would, and of course Roy had thought of this. He needed more time, really, he just couldn’t admit it because he was the prosecutor, the people’s lawyer, the government fighting crime and corruption. He was right, justice was on his side, and he had to be ready to attack evil at any moment, anytime, anyplace. He had pushed hard for a speedy trial because he was right, and he would get a conviction. The United States of America would win! And Roy Foltrigg would deliver the victory. He could see the headlines. He could smell the ink.
He also needed to find the damned body of Boyd Boyette, or else there might be no conviction, no front-page pictures, no interviews on CNN, no speedy ascent to Capitol Hill. He had convinced those around him that a guilty verdict was possible with no corpse, and this was true. But he didn’t want to chance it. He wanted the body.
Fink looked at Agent Trumann. “We think Clifford knew where the body is. Did you know that?”
It was obvious Trumann did not know this. “What makes you think so?”
Fink placed his reading material on the seat. “Romey and I go way back. We were in law school together twenty years ago at Tulane. He was a little crazy back then, but very smart. About a week ago, he called me at home and said he wanted to talk about the Muldanno case. He was drunk, thick-tongued, out of his head, and kept saying he couldn’t go through with thetrial, which was surprising given how much he loves these big cases. We talked for an hour. He rambled and stuttered—”
“He even cried,” Foltrigg interrupted.
“Yeah, cried like a child. I was surprised by all this at first, but then nothing Jerome Clifford did really surprised me anymore, you know. Not even suicide. He finally hung up. He called me at the office at nine the next morning scared to death he’d let something slip the night before. He was in a panic, kept hinting
“What is it?”
“We don’t know. The Memphis police still have possession of the note, the gun, the pills, all the physical evidence removed from the car. McThune is trying to get it now. They found a Bic pen, no ink, in the car, and it appears to be the same pen he tried to use to add something to the note.”
“They’ll have it when we arrive, won’t they?” Foltrigg asked in a tone that left no doubt he expected to have it all as soon as he got to Memphis.
“They’re working on it,” Trumann answered. Foltrigg was not his boss, technically, but this case was a prosecution now, not an investigation, and the reverend was in control.
“So Jerome Clifford drives to Memphis and blows his brains out,” Foltrigg said to the window. “Four weeks before trial. Man oh man. What else can go crazy with this case?”
No answer was expected. They rode in silence, waiting for Roy to speak again.
“Where’s Muldanno?” he finally asked.
“New Orleans. We’re watching him.”
“He’ll have a new lawyer by midnight, and by noon tomorrow he’ll file a dozen motions for continuances claiming the tragic death of Jerome Clifford seriously undermines his constitutional right to a fair trial with assistance of counsel. We’ll oppose it of course, and the judge will order a hearing for next week, andwe’ll have the hearing, and we’ll lose, and it’ll be six months before this case goes to trial. Six months! Can you believe it?”
Trumann shook his head in disgust. “At least it’ll give us more time to find the body.”
It certainly would, and of course Roy had thought of this. He needed more time, really, he just couldn’t admit it because he was the prosecutor, the people’s lawyer, the government fighting crime and corruption. He was right, justice was on his side, and he had to be ready to attack evil at any moment, anytime, anyplace. He had pushed hard for a speedy trial because he was right, and he would get a conviction. The United States of America would win! And Roy Foltrigg would deliver the victory. He could see the headlines. He could smell the ink.
He also needed to find the damned body of Boyd Boyette, or else there might be no conviction, no front-page pictures, no interviews on CNN, no speedy ascent to Capitol Hill. He had convinced those around him that a guilty verdict was possible with no corpse, and this was true. But he didn’t want to chance it. He wanted the body.
Fink looked at Agent Trumann. “We think Clifford knew where the body is. Did you know that?”
It was obvious Trumann did not know this. “What makes you think so?”
Fink placed his reading material on the seat. “Romey and I go way back. We were in law school together twenty years ago at Tulane. He was a little crazy back then, but very smart. About a week ago, he called me at home and said he wanted to talk about the Muldanno case. He was drunk, thick-tongued, out of his head, and kept saying he couldn’t go through with thetrial, which was surprising given how much he loves these big cases. We talked for an hour. He rambled and stuttered—”
“He even cried,” Foltrigg interrupted.
“Yeah, cried like a child. I was surprised by all this at first, but then nothing Jerome Clifford did really surprised me anymore, you know. Not even suicide. He finally hung up. He called me at the office at nine the next morning scared to death he’d let something slip the night before. He was in a panic, kept hinting
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