flickers and then goes dark.
“That’s everything,” says Harry.
“What about the letter?” I ask. “It sounds like the same thing Scarborough was talking about in his speech—the promise to deliver in the next book, the fiery rhetoric of some big secret.”
“The cops don’t have it,” says Harry. “No record of it listed in any of the materials seized from the hotel room or from Scarborough’s apartment in D.C.”
“Have the cops questioned this guy Mr. Bonguard?”
“More than that,” says Harry. He flips me two pages stapled together, what appear to be photocopies of some handwritten notes. “San Diego homicide sent a detective back to interview him, and the detective took notes. They never even typed them up, just ran copies out of his notebook and threw them in the pile with the other items from our first discovery request. Obviously they must have thought that it wasn’t very important. Otherwise they would have never taken notes, or sanitized them so we wouldn’t see them.”
Interview: Date: 7-26
(V)ictim: T. Scarborough
(S)ubject: R. Bonguard
“Second page,” says Harry. He reaches across the table and points with his pen. “Right here.”
S. told detective has no idea who might have killed V. Much hate mail following book. Racial orientation. Some death threats. Mostare anonymous. Talk to publisher. Check to see if suspect is on record writing. See if any e-mails.
S. mentioned letter…( J letter). Unclear. S. says J letter impetus for entire book ‘Perpetual Slaves.’ S. says J letter what prompted V. to write book in first place. S. asked if we had letter. S. no idea of location of letter, never saw it.
“Am I understanding this? Bonguard is telling them that without this letter, the J letter, Scarborough would never have written Perpetual Slaves ?”
“That’s what the cop’s notes seem to say,” says Harry.
“I don’t get it. The book made a fortune. There’s nothing about any letter in it, and yet according to Bonguard the letter is what drove the book?” I look at Harry.
“And Scarborough threatens to unveil the letter in the next book. The one he’ll never write,” says Harry. “And if the cops didn’t find this letter, could be that whoever killed Scarborough took it.”
“Why didn’t we see more in the press on this following the Leno show? Bonguard talked about the letter there.”
“Because by then the cops had already arrested our man, that afternoon, as Bonguard was sitting in the studio taping the show. The arrest took the edge off of everything else. The media wasn’t interested in any sideshow. The cops had their man. That’s probably why the police never followed up on any of this. Since they didn’t find the letter on Arnsberg or in his apartment, to them it’s irrelevant,” says Harry.
Certainly it didn’t fit the theory of the state’s case. “Get everything you can on this letter, who wrote it, when, its contents. Get a copy if you can. And find out if Scarborough made any notes referencing it. We’ll need to lay a foundation if we want to get it into evidence.”
“You’re thinking what I am,” says Harry. “Historic letter, probably a collector’s item. If so, it might have been worth a bundle.”
Like every good defense lawyer, Harry is centering on plausible alternative theories for murder.
“One thing is for sure. Our guy wasn’t found with any letter when they arrested him. Fact is, I doubt if he can read,” says Harry. “We mightwant to talk to an expert, find out what something like that might be worth if it were sold. The letter, I mean.”
Right behind passion, money is always the easiest motive to peddle before a jury when it comes to murder.
“It’s possible. It’s also possible somebody didn’t want the letter to see the light of day, if, as they both claim, this letter is a smoking gun giving rise to slavery in the land of the free.”
“You think somebody would kill to keep from tarnishing a
“That’s everything,” says Harry.
“What about the letter?” I ask. “It sounds like the same thing Scarborough was talking about in his speech—the promise to deliver in the next book, the fiery rhetoric of some big secret.”
“The cops don’t have it,” says Harry. “No record of it listed in any of the materials seized from the hotel room or from Scarborough’s apartment in D.C.”
“Have the cops questioned this guy Mr. Bonguard?”
“More than that,” says Harry. He flips me two pages stapled together, what appear to be photocopies of some handwritten notes. “San Diego homicide sent a detective back to interview him, and the detective took notes. They never even typed them up, just ran copies out of his notebook and threw them in the pile with the other items from our first discovery request. Obviously they must have thought that it wasn’t very important. Otherwise they would have never taken notes, or sanitized them so we wouldn’t see them.”
Interview: Date: 7-26
(V)ictim: T. Scarborough
(S)ubject: R. Bonguard
“Second page,” says Harry. He reaches across the table and points with his pen. “Right here.”
S. told detective has no idea who might have killed V. Much hate mail following book. Racial orientation. Some death threats. Mostare anonymous. Talk to publisher. Check to see if suspect is on record writing. See if any e-mails.
S. mentioned letter…( J letter). Unclear. S. says J letter impetus for entire book ‘Perpetual Slaves.’ S. says J letter what prompted V. to write book in first place. S. asked if we had letter. S. no idea of location of letter, never saw it.
“Am I understanding this? Bonguard is telling them that without this letter, the J letter, Scarborough would never have written Perpetual Slaves ?”
“That’s what the cop’s notes seem to say,” says Harry.
“I don’t get it. The book made a fortune. There’s nothing about any letter in it, and yet according to Bonguard the letter is what drove the book?” I look at Harry.
“And Scarborough threatens to unveil the letter in the next book. The one he’ll never write,” says Harry. “And if the cops didn’t find this letter, could be that whoever killed Scarborough took it.”
“Why didn’t we see more in the press on this following the Leno show? Bonguard talked about the letter there.”
“Because by then the cops had already arrested our man, that afternoon, as Bonguard was sitting in the studio taping the show. The arrest took the edge off of everything else. The media wasn’t interested in any sideshow. The cops had their man. That’s probably why the police never followed up on any of this. Since they didn’t find the letter on Arnsberg or in his apartment, to them it’s irrelevant,” says Harry.
Certainly it didn’t fit the theory of the state’s case. “Get everything you can on this letter, who wrote it, when, its contents. Get a copy if you can. And find out if Scarborough made any notes referencing it. We’ll need to lay a foundation if we want to get it into evidence.”
“You’re thinking what I am,” says Harry. “Historic letter, probably a collector’s item. If so, it might have been worth a bundle.”
Like every good defense lawyer, Harry is centering on plausible alternative theories for murder.
“One thing is for sure. Our guy wasn’t found with any letter when they arrested him. Fact is, I doubt if he can read,” says Harry. “We mightwant to talk to an expert, find out what something like that might be worth if it were sold. The letter, I mean.”
Right behind passion, money is always the easiest motive to peddle before a jury when it comes to murder.
“It’s possible. It’s also possible somebody didn’t want the letter to see the light of day, if, as they both claim, this letter is a smoking gun giving rise to slavery in the land of the free.”
“You think somebody would kill to keep from tarnishing a
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