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know if you can cite any cases on whether the crime of  sexual misconduct is
a lesser included count in a rape case.
Well, I mused as my annoyance grew, once again Gina has avoided the burden of
over preparation.
Ellen Goldman called to confirm tomorrow s appointment. Battaglia had given
her permission to do a big story on the innovative work of our Sex Crimes
Prosecution Unit for the USA Lawyer s Digest, the premier glossy legal
journal. I had already spoken with her several times on the telephone and we
were ready for the first interview.
She s smart and pushy, but I d have to move her back to next week. I knew
she d try to weasel Isabella s death into the piece so I decided to call her
back myself in an effort to show I was still in control.
Slightly. I got her machine and left a message kicking our appointment back
until Monday afternoon.
Sarah Brenner will wait for callback. Has a witness coming on Monday and
doesn t believe the story. Wants help breaking it down. Boy, am I in the mood
to do that - I d love to make someone else cry. Schedule that one for Monday
morning.
Pat McKinney called to see if there s anything he can do to help.
Translation: he knows I m miserable and the boss is pissed off, and he wants
me to know that he knows.
Response: yeah, you can help me go fuck yourself.
CHAPTER
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly. I wasn t able to concentrate on the
brief I had to submit for the sodomy case I was scheduled to try in three
weeks, and I was desperate to avoid unnecessary phone conversations. Sarah
stopped by to discuss several new investigations that needed to be assigned,
and to cheer me up with chatter about her baby.
The only phone call of interest was from Mercer Wallace.
He was pleased about Katherine Fryer s input with the sketch artist.
 It s the best one yet, Coop, he told me.
 She s really good on facial characteristics. She s firm about the size and
shape of the mustache, and you know how they all say he s got bad skin? Well,
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
she actually draws these big pockmarks and a deep set of creases down each
side of his forehead. Swears that s exactly where they are. I never had an
illustrator as a victim before but it sure helps the sketch take on some
definition.
I knew exactly what he meant. The typical description started with witnesses
saying they re lousy at doing this, and that the guy was average height,
average weight, average-looking, nothing distinctive about his appearance, and
so on. I had a folder full of sketches of wanted rapists who looked like
everybody and nobody. Try and display one to a jury and claim a resemblance to
the defendant on trial and it was more likely to look like three of the
jurors.
Not guilty.
Mercer went on.
 Better yet. She also thinks she made out a birthmark. Says she really tried
to avoid looking at his private parts, but he kept sticking it in her face and
she s pretty sure he had a fuzzy area on his right thigh,  bout the size of a
tangerine, two inches southeast of his equipment.
Bingo. One of the few advantages afforded a rape victim in identifying her
attacker is actually the intimacy of the crime. She gets to see anatomical
parts rarely displayed in a bank robbery or mugging. And sometimes there are
birthmarks or tattoos or surgical scars that a victim describes the day of the
assault, and that a knowledgeable detective photographs the minute he has his
suspect in custody. Mercer and I had our fastest conviction on a case when our
witness told us the rapist had a tattoo of a spider on his penis. The jury
only needed to see the Polaroid of that scorpion for about ten seconds before
they voted to convict the defendant.
Then they spent the next hour eating lunch, because they didn t want the
defense attorney to think they hadn t spent a serious amount of time
deliberating about his client s fate.
Once we had a lead on this suspect, Catherine s description of the unusual
mark would help sink him, especially if we didn t get lucky with DNA testing.
Mike came back to my office shortly before five-thirty, as Laura was packing
up to leave for the day.
 I don t blame you for getting out of here, he said to Wilkie.
 I bet you never knew how unpopular your boss was. I got a list as long as
your arm here of people who d like to get rid of her, and those are just the
guys she s prosecuting, who don t even know her personally.
Wait till I start with that crew. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]