Part 7 (1/2)
”Phil, why don't you just say your piece in court?”
”If I could get Yuki's ear out of court, it would be better for all concerned. This new information I have is going to reverse the trial. Let me be clear. The case will be dismissed and you'll be booking someone else for Dennis Martin's murder.”
My mind spun. I heard what he said, but I didn't get why Hoffman was talking to me. ”How can I help you?”
”I want you to talk to my client.”
”Me?”
”Yes. After that, maybe you can get Yuki to hear me out.”
”So if I get this right, this is the long way around in getting Yuki to talk to you.”
Everything about Hoffman's request was inappropriate. I was the wrong cop and he was going around everyone in the Hall of Justice. But Paul Chi reported to me. I had to worry if the SFPD and the District Attorney's Office had the wrong person in the dock.
Hoffman's request made me uncomfortable. But off the record? Unofficially?
Phil Hoffman had definitely gotten my attention.
Chapter 24.
INSPECTOR PAUL CHI is a certified genius and a lifelong student of criminal behavior. It was hard to believe that he had arrested the wrong person for the murder of Dennis Martin.
So what was Hoffman up to?
I left Joe a message saying I'd be late, then retraced my steps into the stream of Justice Department workers leaving the lobby of 850 Bryant.
Chi and McNeill were with Brady in the corner office when I rapped on the gla.s.s. Brady waved me in and Cappy McNeill stood, sucked in his stomach so I could get past him, and then gave me his chair. McNeill has five years on me both in age and time in grade. He's not ambitious, but he's steady. He's all about instinct and experience and bringing down the bad guys.
As for Brady, I'd seen him go through a firestorm and confront a killer who had nothing to lose. Brady had guts to spare, but he was new to San Francisco. He didn't know Phil Hoffman, and he hadn't been in charge of Homicide when Candace Martin was investigated for murder.
I reset my ponytail and then laid out my conversation with Hoffman in the parking lot. ”Bottom line, Hoffman says the wrong person is being charged with murder. He says we should withdraw the charges, reopen the case, and bring in the person who really killed Dennis Martin.”
”Really? And who does Hoffman say did it?” Chi asked me.
”Hoffman said his client will tell me.”
”Ah, s.h.i.+t, Lindsay,” McNeill grumbled. ”Candace Martin d.a.m.n well is the doer. Hoffman is cornered, so he's working any angle he can dream up. And I gotta give him credit. This angle is pretty d.a.m.ned creative.”
”This case opened and shut itself,” said Chi. ”And then it tied itself with a big red bow.” He started ticking off the physical evidence on his fingers: gun, prints, GSR.
”You're saying that no innocent person has ever been convicted?” I asked Chi.
”What's in this for you, Sergeant, because I just don't get where you're going,” Brady said. He texted a message, closed the phone, and put his eyes on me. ”How many hours have you worked in the past twenty-four?”
”I don't keep track.”
”I do. You've gone about eighteen hours straight. The Martin case was closed - what, a year ago? It's in the hands of the justice system. So go home, Boxer. Get some sleep. Tomorrow let's see some progress on Richardson.”
I felt the little hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. First time I'd ever felt this kind of opposition from Chi and McNeill. As for the new lieutenant? I didn't know if his mind was just closed - or if he was right.
I threw up my hands, said okay, and left the squad room again. I called Hoffman from the stairwell and told him I'd meet him on the seventh floor in five minutes.
He thanked me and said, ”You won't be sorry.”
I was already sorry. Phil Hoffman's story had gotten to me, and now I was bucking the boss with absolutely nothing to gain.
Chapter 25.
THERE ARE TWO JAILS at the Hall, each with separate elevators that go only from the lobby to the jail. Prisoners awaiting trial are held in the jail on the seventh floor, and that's where I met Phil Hoffman.
Hoffman's expression showed that he was relieved to see me, but my stomach heaved with anxiety. I didn't belong here, doing this this. Not my job.
”Thanks for coming, Lindsay,” Hoffman said. Doors buzzed open as we walked along grimy, overlit corridors toward a meeting room used for prisoners and their lawyers.
”I'm doing this on my own time, Phil. Nothing official about it.”
”I understand and I appreciate it.”
A moment later, Candace Martin was escorted by a guard into the room. She was wearing jailhouse orange, and somehow it looked good on her. She wore no makeup and had her blond hair tucked behind her ears, and she looked younger than her forty years. Hoffman introduced us and we all sat down.
”Candace, tell Sergeant Boxer what you told me.”
”First, thanks for coming, Sergeant Boxer,” she said. ”I know you're doing a big favor for Phil.”
”I only have a few minutes.”
Candace Martin nodded and said, ”Ellen flat out lied. I never had a gun in my office. The gun came into my house with the killer,” she said. ”So why did Ellen lie? It makes no sense, unless she's trying to get me convicted.”
”Why would she want to do that?” I asked.
”My husband was handsome and a self-described s.e.x addict. He would screw a tree if it breathed. He liked to tell me that Ellen was 'a treasure,' and he'd put a little spin on it to see what I would do. But I never gave him the satisfaction of a reaction.”
Now Candace Martin clenched her fists on the tabletop. ”You know what I cared about, Sergeant? The kids. Caitlin and Duncan love Ellen. I wanted to trust her, so I did.”
I said, ”I don't see where this is going, Dr. Martin. Whatever was going on between Ellen Lafferty and your husband, why would she commit perjury? Why would she accuse you of murder?”
”Here's what I think, Sergeant. I didn't understand why an intruder would shoot Dennis. But today, when Ellen turned the air purple with her lies, it clicked.