1 Hogan Place
Ben Stone poured a scotch for himself, made his way to a nearby chair.
"So, tell me about this Eddie Newman case," he said.
McCoy frowned, thick eyebrows furrowing.
"What do you know, Ben?"
"Only what I heard on the news," Stone sipped his scotch. "Newman supposed killed Heidi Ellison, then cut her body up to dispose of her mortal remains."
McCoy sighed as he set his scotch on the table.
"Newman claimed he had no memory of killing her," he said. "According to him, he fell asleep on Heidi Ellison's bed, and when he woke up, she was dead. Dr. Dan Duvall apparently told him he killed her while in a drugged state; then told him to dispose of the body and handed him a…I think they called it a barong."
Stone frowned.
"Newman said he was drugged?"
"Prescription pills, Ben. Briscoe and Curtis said he had a ton of those, all prescribed by Dr. Duvall."
Stone sighed too. With what they know knew, it was possible, indeed highly likely, that it was Duvall who had done the killing.
Then induced his highly suggestible patient to dispose of the body, setting himself up to be the main suspect…
McCoy had already sent his assistant, Jamie Ross off to prepare the paperwork for voiding Eddie Newman's conviction.
He had also made a call to Neil Gorton, informing him of possible exculpatory evidence; although he had done that with a distinct reluctance.
Ben understood McCoy's reluctance in this particular case. Gorton had mounted an exceptionally dirty defense. Jamie Ross was his ex-wife, and he had threatened to take custody of their only child away from her.
In the end, that ploy had failed, but there was plenty of bitter feeling left over from that.
Eddie Newman had been convicted of Heidi Ellison's murder, and was now on Death Row, awaiting the needle.
Except we now know he may not have killed her.
Damn…
There was a discreet knock on the door, and Jamie Ross walked in; accompanied by Neil Gorton. Gorton didn't look happy. Neither did Jamie...
…..
"Judge refuse to look at the case?" McCoy had had that happen before; a case where they had found exculpatory evidence after the Defendant had been convicted.
It was never easy to undo a Jury Conviction.
"No," Jamie Ross paid her purse on the couch. "Judge Harrow was quite happy to take a second look at Eddie Newman's case."
"So, why the long faces on you two?"
It was Neil Gorton who responded, laying hands flat on McCoy's desk, looming over him.
"Eddie Newman is dead!" he spat. "He was shivved this morning on the pretext that she received more than the allotted two waffles for breakfast."
Again, McCoy sighed.
Been doing that a lot lately, haven't we?
"I'm…sorry…"
That was all he could think of to say. Gorton apparently had a lot more to say.
"I'm going to have you up on charges! Add Wrongful Death to the things on your name! I'll-"
"Shut up, Neil!" Jamie stood up. "You thought he was guilty too! You wouldn't have pulled that shit with me if you hadn't."
There was a silence in the office. It was Ben Stone who broke the tense silence.
"Who do we go after?" he asked.
"We?" Neil Gorton turned to glare at him. "I'm a Defense Attorney. It's you lot who are Prosecutors."
"You're an Officer of the Court, Neil," Jamie Ross reminded him. "You have the same duty as we. Justice. You want to go after the people responsible for Eddie Newman's death? Help us nail Dan Duvall. If he has any brains at all, he'll help us nail the tabloid slime who are really responsible."
"Wait a minute, Jamie…" Gorton held up a hand. "You're saying that Magazine Owners/Operators are responsible for…"
"Read this, Neil" Jack McCoy stood, and handed Gorton a thick folder. "We learned about this when someone tried to frame a Science Fiction writer-Anais Van der Hooten-for murder. Our investigation turned up other cases too. And Eddie Newman isn't the first movie star victim. Remember Adam Roberts?"
"I defended him!" Neil Gorton snapped as he looked down at the folder McCoy had just handed to him. The folder was thick.
"This might take a while," he said.
"Take a seat, and read," McCoy sat too. "We can wait.
About an hour later, Neil Gorton put the folder down.
"Shit…" he muttered. "Is this for real?"
"As far as we can tell, yes," Jack McCoy nodded. "Magazine owners have been planting coke on unsuspecting victims, buying Life Insurance without their knowledge or consent, and paying hitmen to kill innocent victims; all to discredit celebrities. All to increase magazine sales"
"And you want me to do…what?" Neil Gorton asked. "Join your little ragtag group of rebels and topple the evil Magazine Empire?"
"Yes," McCoy nodded. "It's the right thing to do. And it's justice for both Adam Roberts and Eddie Newman. Or were you jerking my chain when you said you wanted someone to pay for Eddie Newman's death?"
Neil Gorton stood there, chewing his upper lip.
"What the hell…" he finally shrugged. "It'll be nice working with you guys for a change…"
"Fine!" McCoy picked up his phone. "Chinese? Or Italian?"