Indecisions
Chapter 14
"That was quite a story Bolt Jackman told us," Mike stated.
Mike and Connie were back in his office, discussing the case. Meanwhile a search warrant had been issued and Lupo and Bernard were at this very moment, thoroughly searching the Brantley residence. It would be a few days before they could determine if the gun they recovered was the murder weapon.
Meanwhile, Mike had big decisions to make.
In two days, he had to either decide to drop the charges on Tim Brantley or proceed with the case. Right now he was in limbo and he didn't like it.
"I have a feeling there is a half-truth to Mr. Jackman's story," Connie remarked.
"You may be right," Mike said, "but we have to make sure that we get the half that is truth, not lies."
Connie smiled at the cleverness of his words.
"Then again, it could be the ID was wrong regarding Larry Carson," Connie suggested, "Maybe he hadn't died two years ago. If we can find proof that refutes that, then the story Bolt claimed about victim Larry Carson and Heather being lovers, with husband killing lover Carson all falls back into play and we can charge Edward Brantley with murder."
Mike was shaking his head back and forth, "I don't know, I just don't know," he rubbed the back of his neck, "right now, I'm just too tired to think."
Connie looked at him sympathetically, "Mike, this case has consumed you. Perhaps you need to call it a day."
Mike peered at her questionably. Her concern for his welfare made him think she cared about him personally. But lately, he had been feeling that distance between them again. It seemed as if every time his eyes met her, she'd look away. And her demeanor seemed different. She seemed...more guarded and evasive with him.
"Yes, I'll be leaving shortly," Mike said, though his words sounded empty, "but you probably need to be going now."
Connie wanted to stay, but she had promised to be home at a decent hour. She also suspected that Mike would not be leaving shortly, and that image saddened her, as it did every night for her.
"Promise me you'll be going home soon, too, okay, Mike?"
He looked intently at her and just for a second, it seemed as if they had shared a moment, "Yes, good night, Connie."
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It was late at night and he was once more sitting alone at his desk, cartons of half eaten Chinese food strewn everywhere. He looked out in the darkness of his window at the few lights in the building across the way. Most people at this time were at home with their loved ones. He really didn't mind being in solitude, but he did mind being lonely.
And lately he had been thinking that.
Earlier, Connie had asked if she should stay, but judging from her looks, it was obvious she needed to get home. He wasn't going to stop her. She deserved a life outside of this office.
He heard the sound of men's footsteps and it wasn't long until Jack McCoy appeared at the doorway. Mike quickly grabbed the first folder on his desk and pretended to be in deep concentration.
"Mike, you're still here," Jack said as he walked in.
"And I see you're back" Mike commented. Jack had mentioned he was having dinner at the men's club tonight with a DA from Allegheny county.
"Yes, and what I lousy time I had." Jack said, as he took a seat, "My so-called colleague kept reminding me how he has a higher conviction rate than me."
"Think of it this way, Jack," Mike pointed out, " I don't think that's something to be really proud about."
Jack face lit up, "That's one way of seeing it!" His expression then turned serious, "So what's going on with the Brantley case? I had originally expected to put a feather in my cap with this case, but it seems the feather keeps drifting away from me... you working hard on the case or not?"
Of course, Mike didn't want Jack to know he had other things on his mind besides the case. Mike pointed to the random folder he had picked up, "I was just reading some background information on it when you came up."
"Really?" Jack's tone showed he didn't believe Mike, "because that's actually a folder I had placed on your desk regarding my vacation plans for this coming summer."
When Mike looked back again at the opened folder in his possession, this time he noted the European brochure sticking out from under the itinerary sheet "so... O-kay...so, do you want to talk about your vacation plans or do you want an update on my case?" he asked as Jack smirked.
"What I want to know is the lack of forward movement on the case," Jack stated, "What's going on, Mike?"
"The case is moving more sideways than forward," Mike admitted, "Don't forget that we will have to switch from vehicular homicide to first degree murder. It's just we don't know who to charge for this first degree murder."
"I think we learn in Law 101 that the first thing when charging someone with murder is to know who that accused person will be," Jack said, although he wasn't as grumpy as before for he has had his share of confused cases, "so this case isn't a straight line, I've certainly walked a few crooked ones in my time, too. Go ahead and tell me about the zig and the zag."
Mike then proceeded to update Jack about the case, including Bolt Jackson's admission that he and Heather Brantley staged the car accident, although the victim Larry Carson had died two years earlier.
"So you have been working, I see,," Jack acknowledged. He then looked around the room, "I've noticed you seem to be staying late a lot, working this case alone. I thought Connie is helping you with this case, but I don't see her here."
"She is working on the case with me," Mike said, not really wanting to talk about it, "but she went home at 7, which I had no problem with. She deserves a life after all."
Mike's wistful expression did not match his words, causing Jack's eyebrows to shoot up. Jack, however, knew Mike to be a private person, that he kept everything close to the vest, but one only need to look at Mike in the same room with Connie to know how he felt about her. It really was none of Jack's business what went on personally between his two favorite prosecutors.
But he couldn't help himself when he asked, "It's hard, isn't it, Mike?"
Mike looked up at him, "What? Are you referring to the case?"
Jack shook his head, "No, not the case. It's hard to care for someone when you know one step forward will make you fall in love and one step backwards will ruin your friendship."
Jack didn't even wait for a response; he merely turned and walked away. Mike could only stare at Jack until the last of his footsteps could be heard going down the hallway.
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The next day, Mike and Connie were back at the 2-7.
"So you are absolutely sure that the dead body found two years ago was that of my car accident victim, Larry Carson?" Mike inquired.
Bernard was the one who shoved a file over Mike and Connie's way. Connie picked it up and both lawyers peered at its contents.
"Dental records proved it. Besides, take a look at the fingerprints of the corpse that was run over by Brantley's car. It doesn't match the ones on record for Larry Carson." Bernard stated.
"That is rather strange," Connie contemplated, "So what do you have on Larry Carson? How had he died two years ago?"
"According to our investigation, Larry Carson was a writer," Lupo added, "he was on a trip in Yucatan, Mexico on vacation. It's assumed he died of heart failure. Anyway, the widow flew down there to identify the body and bring it home for the funeral. So we have her identification along with the dental records. Case closed."
Mike shook his head back and forth as he peered at the file, "This one really has me stumped. I don't know what to do at this point."
Lupo spoke up, " I say you dismiss the case against Tim Brantley. According to what Bolt Jackson told you two, Edward Brantley had called from the motel and admitted he shot a man dead. So the gruesome body isn't Larry Carson, well, it has to be someone. We have a dead body, and at this point it doesn't matter who it is. We can charge Edward Brantley with killing someone, even if it was accidental."
"Not quite," said Connie, "because it's basically hearsay. If we had Edward Brantley here, we could put him on the stand and question him and then use Bolt Jackson to impeach him, if we need to. But right now it's an impossibility to get in touch with him since Edward Brantley is out in the middle of nowhere, Mexico."
"If you ask me," Mike added, "The timing of Edward Brantley being on a fact finding mission regarding Indians in a remote location in Mexico is suspicious. Another speculation could be that this little expedition has turned into a game of hide-and-seek. With his funds, he could stay indefinitely over there."
"Too many theories, so little time," Bernard commented glumly.
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Mike and Connie had exited the 2-7. Both were frustrated that the case was going nowhere, The only fact that seemed obvious was that defendant Tim Brantley was probably innocent of all charges, including being intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle. Whatever the true story was, it looked as if they would have more hours of work to do.
"Where to now?" Connie asked, as they walked to their parked car, "the office?"
"How about lunch?" he asked unexpectedly.
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Hang on just a little while longer-we are very close to the end!
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