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 You re sick.
 You re right. But I m also right about one thing. If you re at all thinking
that you should do something to save the others, trust me: They aren t worth
saving.
She thought for a moment, wondering what he d meant by that, but a moment was
too long. There was silence on the line. The call was over. Deirdre put the
phone in her purse and walked away from the crime scene, no longer interested
in some story about just another body in the back of a van.
Twenty-five
Jack was eager to see what part of the five-year-old investigative file the
state attorney was ready to disclose. The judge had given Mason Rudsky two
days to turn over anything he d shared with Deirdre Meadows about the murder
of Sally s daughter, and the government waited until the fifty-ninth minute of
the forty-seventh hour to notify Jack that the materials were ready for his
inspection. Jack might have busted their chops about stringing things out,
except that he d been busy for two days trying to convince a jury in another
case that it really wasn t robbery if his client took forty bucks and change
from the cash register but dropped his wallet on the way out with fifty-eight
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dollars inside. It was sort of the criminal defense version of net-net
economic theory. Didn t work, at least not where the defendant had left his
photo ID and Social Security number at the scene of the crime.
The government s entire production on the Katherine Fenning murder
investigation consisted of one videotape. It was in a sealed envelope with an
affidavit from Mason Rudsky in which the prosecutor swore that he d shared
nothing else with Deirdre Meadows. Jack brought Kelsey with him. It was nice
to have another point of view.
 What is this? asked Jack.
A police officer was seated in a folding chair near the door to the
conference room. He didn t answer.
 Excuse me, Officer. I asked what s on the tape.
 I m sorry, he said.  I m under strict orders from Mr. Rudsky not to answer
any of your questions.
 Then why are you here?
 To make sure the tape does not leave this room.
 Seeing how this room has no windows, maybe that s a job you could do from
the other side of the door. My colleague and I would like to be able to talk
freely while viewing the tape.
The cop considered it.  I suppose that d be okay.
Jack thanked him and closed the door. Kelsey was examining the videocassette.
 Interview of S. Fenning, she read from the label.  It s almost five years
old.
Jack said,  Sally s ex-husband told me they were both interviewed. They must
have videotaped Sally s.
 Why?
 It s a smart thing for law enforcement to do if there s a chance of getting
a nice voluntary confession that will play well to a jury.
 What would Sally have to confess?
 Let s play the tape and find out. Jack shoved the cassette into the VCR and
switched on the television. A horizontal bar blipped across the bright blue
screen, followed by snow and static. When it cleared, Sally Fenning was
staring straight at them.
The image was the most unflattering Jack had ever seen of Sally. Her eyelids
looked heavy, and her skin was pale. A punishing light shining in her face
didn t help. Sally wasn t the kind of woman who needed makeup to be beautiful,
but even a natural beauty had her limits, especially in a head-and-shoulders
closeup like this.
 She looks so tired, said Kelsey.
 Something tells me they didn t start taping at the beginning of the
interview. Looks like we re several hours into the interrogation.
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 How soon was this after the murder of her daughter?
Jack checked the date on the videocassette sleeve.  Couple of months, I
think.
On screen, Sally continued to stare into the camera, waiting. Finally, the
voice emerged. Are you ready to continue, Ms. Fenning ?
The focus remained on Sally s face, and the man s voice had come from
somewhere off-screen.  That s Rudsky, said Jack.
 Ready, said Sally.
 I want to ask a few more questions about this stalker you said was pursuing
you. First, can you tell me what he looks like?
 Not really. I only saw him once, from behind. One night I looked out the
window and saw someone running away. I m afraid I didn t get a very good look
at him.
 What does he sound like?
 I m not sure. Whenever he called, his voice was distorted by some kind of
mechanical contraption.
 Is there anyone you suspect? Any customers at the bar who ve been bothering
you, hitting on you?
 A bar waitress gets hit on by creeps all the time. Kind of an occupational
hazard. Could be anyone, really.
The camera kept rolling, but there was silence. Sally took a sip of water.
 Ms. Fenning, said Rudsky, I have here a report on the results of your
polygraph examination.
Kelsey looked away from the screen and asked Jack,  She took a polygraph?
 Evidently, said Jack.
On tape, Rudsky s voice continued, The results are interesting, to say the
least. Your response to one question, in particular, showed obvious signs of
deception.
 I don t understand how that could be. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]