And a Puzzle to Die On by Parnell Hall Page B

you’d miss it. Except there aren’t any large things. But when you got nothing, you’re desperate, and you’re grasping at straws.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Chief Harper sat in on the trial. He told me so himself.He was interested, he sat in on the whole bloody thing.”
    “So?”
    “He was also a witness.”
    “Yeah? So?” Sherry’s eyes widened. “You mean he shouldn’t have been allowed to?”
    “Bingo. He should have been under the rule. If somebody’s gonna testify, he shouldn’t have been allowed to hear anybody else’s testimony.”
    “Is that the law?”
    “It’s the law if the judge says it’s the law.”
    “And in this case?”
    “I don’t know. I’d have to look at the transcript again.”
    “What do you think?”
    “I don’t recall anything like that.”
    “Then it wouldn’t matter?”
    “Not at all. It’s just like the rape-kit nonevidence.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Rape kit showed no sign of rape. Prosecution turned that around, and argued that rape often escalates to murder when the rapist fails to perform.”
    “And this time?”
    “If the judge didn’t put the witnesses under the rule, it’s probably because the defense didn’t ask for it. In which case, Becky could argue that Darryl Daigue had incompetent representation.”
    “What’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing, except the prosecutor would be mad as hell. And Chief Harper would be right in the middle of a firestorm just for innocently mentioning he happened to sit in on the trial.”
    Sherry added tomato sauce to the sauteed onions, sprinkled in herbs, stirred it around. “So what are youtelling me, Cora? This whole thing is bad news, you wish it had never happened?”
    Cora shrugged. “No big deal. Most cases are like that.”
    “I know. But this one in particular—would you rather bail out?”
    “I wouldn’t leave Becky high and dry. That wouldn’t be fair.”
    “No, but if you could get her to drop it.”
    “If I don’t find out anything, I’ll sure as hell try.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Unfortunately, I have this tidbit about Chief
    Harper. So I gotta come up with something else.”
    “Such as?”
    “This counter boy. Ricky Gleason. The one who went off with the victim. According to Darryl Daigue.”
    “So what have you got on Gleason?”
    “Nothing. No one remembers Ricky. He didn’t testify at the trial. He wasn’t important. No one even remembers his name.”
    “Are you sure he existed?”
    “Of course he existed.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Because
somebody
waited on the counter while Darryl Daigue was cooking burgers. And when Darryl Daigue was done, that somebody either stayed on the counter while Darryl went off with the girl, or went off with the girl while Darryl stayed on the counter. Ricky Gleason may be unimportant and unmemorable, but Ricky Gleason sure as hell exists.”
    “Did you Google him?”
    “What?”
    “Did you Google Ricky Gleason?”
    Cora glared at her niece. “What, are we back in high school? No, I didn’t
google
Ricky Gleason. I don’t know what that
is
, but I sure as hell didn’t do it.”
    “I thought you were becoming computer literate. Google is an Internet search engine. You type in the name
Ricky Gleason
, push
Search
, and see how many hits you get.”
    “Hits?”
    “It’s easier just to show you.”
    Sherry turned the heat down to simmer, led Cora into the office, and sat down at the computer. “You wanna check your mail first?”
    “I can check my own mail,” Cora said irritably. “I’m a big girl now.”
    “And you’ve never Googled? Well, don’t worry. Everyone’s nervous their first time.”
    “You lookin’ for a fat lip?”
    “Not at all. I’m just trying to help my innocent aunt. First you open your Internet provider.” Sherry clicked on an icon. “I like Internet Explorer because the Google window’s open on the home page.”
    “Please tell me you didn’t just say ‘Google window.’ ”
    “There