PART 35 by John Nicholas Iannuzzi

clincher. Its lead story said: “Lauria’s partner, Patrolman Roger Snider, was on the stairs, headed toward the roof. He heard a fusillade of shots as he neared the second floor. Lauria lay dying in a pool of his own blood when Snider reached the roof. The killers were gone. Hernandez confessed to the police that Alvarado had jumped the cop from behind, took the cop’s gun, and began to shoot, once, twice, three times, more.”
    Hernandez’s words placed Alvarado at the scene and even put the gun in Alvarado’s hands. The intercom interrupted Sandro’s thoughts.
    â€œYes?” asked Sandro.
    â€œMr. Bemer on the wire for you.”
    â€œHi, Sam, how are you?”
    â€œFine, Sandro. You’re going to handle that arraignment today, aren’t you?”
    â€œYes, I’m leaving in a couple of minutes. I was just rereading the newspaper accounts.”
    â€œYes, and …?”
    â€œWe’ve got quite a mess here.”
    â€œNow tell me something I don’t know. We’ve got a rotten bastard on our hands who shot a cop. I really think we should get out of this fast. I’m sure the D.A. won’t take a plea to a lesser charge at any time. He wants to fry Alvarado. If we wait five or six months just to plead to the full indictment, we won’t have Judge Phillips, and this guy won’t get any breaks.”
    â€œHave you been talking to the D.A.?” Sandro asked.
    â€œYeah, yesterday. I was speaking to Ellis. He’s going to handle the case. He said there was no lesser plea available. He gave one good reason, and I’d do the same in his spot. They have an outright confession. We’ll have to cop to the full indictment to plead to this one.”
    â€œYou know, I was just reading about those confessions,” said Sandro. “Alvarado tells us he’s innocent and that he wasn’t involved, and here he confesses to the police and the D.A. Unless this is just a newspaper story to sell copies.”
    â€œWell, the cops and the D.A. aren’t interested in newspaper circulation, and they both say they got one. Of course, Alvarado was telling us they beat him. He wants us to knock the confession out by denying that it was a voluntary confession. I’ve heard that a thousand times before. It doesn’t mean beans.”
    â€œI haven’t read anything about witnesses to the crime,” Sandro added. “Just Hernandez, who was kind enough to implicate Alvarado, and then put the gun in his hands.”
    â€œThey could have a lot of witnesses they’re not revealing now. But I didn’t give you the biggest piece of news.” Sam paused. “If we don’t cop out on this, Hernandez is probably going to be a state’s witness against us. Ellis told me he’ll probably move for a severance in the indictment, try us separately, and use Hernandez as the chief witness against us. Then they’ll give Hernandez a plea to a lesser charge.”
    â€œOnly thing to make it worse now would be fingerprints. Are there any?” asked Sandro.
    â€œHey, Sandro, this guy doesn’t have to shoot the cop again right in the courtroom to convince a jury. If they get Hernandez to cop out and testify, we can warm up the hot seat. The confession, at least we have a talking point, it was beaten out of him. But Hernandez! And fingerprints too …”
    Sandro’s intercom buzzer sounded again. “Hold it, Sam.” Elizabeth reminded Sandro that it was time to leave for court.
    â€œSam, I’ve got to get going over to court now. What shall I do?”
    â€œI say, see if he’ll plead out.”
    â€œYou really think so?” asked Sandro again.
    â€œYou got a better idea?”
    â€œWell, maybe …”
    â€œMaybe what? The evidence’ll go away?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNo is right. If we can get him a life term, he’s lucky. See if you can get him to plead today,