[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Marge took a swig of water and regarded Messing and Pratt going after Cruces. She turned up the
volume, hearing Wynona trying to seduce Cruces into talking about the murders.
But we have your fingerprints at the scene, Martin. We also have witnesses who heard you talk
about it. Plus, we have Joe Pine in the other room. He screwed up tonight. He got caught. He s
telling us things. We want to hear your side of the story.
Marge turned the volume down.  Let s go.
They returned to the interview room. Marge said,  I just checked in with Martin Cruces, Joe. I m
telling you that this is your one chance to tell your side of the story.
 I wasn t&  He sighed and leaned back in his chair.  I need sleep, man. Maybe after I sleep, I ll talk.
 We have your fingerprints in the Kaffeys blood, Joe, Oliver said.  We have an eyewitness who told
us everything. Just tell us what happened.
Pine s eyes darted from side to side.  What eyewitness?
 Joe&  Marge leaned over and spoke softly.  You think we d come down on you if we didn t have
your fingerprints at the scene? You think we d come down on you if we didn t have an eyewitness
who said that you looked him in the eye and then pulled the trigger? You think we d arrest you for
murder if we couldn t deliver the goods?
 You re lying, Pine answered.
Marge moved in close to him and spoke softly.  We re not lying, Joe. Martin Cruces is talking. It s not
right for you to take all the shit when you were just part of the plan. Now s the time to man up. You
gotta start thinking about yourself. Because you can t explain away fingerprints and eyewitness
testimony.
 You don t have an eyewitness, Pine insisted.  That jackass mighta heard things, but he never saw
me before in his life!
 Which jackass is that? Marge asked.
 The court guy.
 The court guy whose condo you broke into?
Pine didn t answer.
 Joe, we know you didn t pick his condo at random. Who sent you there?
 Okay&  Pine took a deep breath.  Okay, I ll tell you this, okay. Martin sent me over to scare him.
That s the only thing I ll admit to, okay?
 Why did Martin Cruces send you over to scare the court guy? Marge asked him.
  Cause he overheard his cousin talking about the crime. Under his breath, Pine uttered,  Fucking
idiot!
 Tell us about it, Oliver said.
Pine sighed.  Can I get something to eat around here?
Marge got up and came back with an assortment of candy.
Pine unwrapped a Snickers bar and ate half in a single bite.  Cruces said that the court guy
overheard his moron cousin talking about the murders. He told me to break into the court guy s
house and scare him.
 So why were you assigned to scare the court guy? Oliver said.  Why didn t the moron cousin scare
him?
  Cause he s an idiot and can t do anything right. He got arrested before he could get to the court
guy.
 What s the cousin s name? Oliver asked.
 Alejandro Brand.
Strike one! Marge thought triumphantly.  The court guy overheard Brand talking about the murders?
 Yeah.
 What did the court guy overhear Brand say?
 Hell if I know, but it made Cruces nervous. So he tole me to take him& to scare him.
Marge went in for the attack.  Martin Cruces didn t lie to you, Joe.
Oliver said,  The court guy did hear Brand talking about the Kaffey murders.
Marge said,  The court guy overheard Brand talking about Martin Cruces& and the court guy
overheard Brand talking about you.
 That you screwed up by not whacking Gil Kaffey, Oliver said.
Pine finished his candy bar.  That s a lie, man. I wasn t there. The court guy s lying.
Marge said,  Since Brand had the big mouth, Martin Cruces told Brand to take out the court guy?
 That s the first true thing you said in the last four hours. Cruces told Brand, not me. He gave the
assignment to Brand. But then Alejandro screwed up and got arrested. So Cruces asked his other
cousin, Esteban Cruz, to take out the court guy.
Marge said,  And when Cruz screwed up, he told you to get your ass back from Mexico and finish
the job, or he ll fuck you over good. That s what s happening right now, Joe. Martin is screwing you
over. Cruces told you to break into the court guy s condo and finish him off.
 Why go down when it was Cruces s order? Oliver said.
 Yeah, it was Cruces s order. Pine pushed sweat from his eyes.  But all I was supposed to do was
scare him.
Strike two! They now had collusion: Cruces and Pine working together against Brett Harriman.
Marge said,  So we have the court guy s testimony, we have your bloody fingerprints& why don t you
just tell us what happened?
Oliver told Marge,  You forgot something.
Marge said,  What did I forget?
 Our eyewitness. Oliver leaned back in his chair.  Joe, you told us a couple of hours ago that all the
guards were whacked. But the truth is& not everyone died.
Pine was quiet.
 Rondo Martin survived, Marge said.  And he s talking.
Oliver said,  So we have Martin Cruces telling his side of the story, we have Rondo Martin telling his
side, we have the court guy telling his side of the story.
Marge leaned forward.  Why don t you tell us your side?
Oliver said,  Joe, it s real simple. Just tell us exactly what happened.
A few seconds passed and then Pine began to talk.
He talked and talked and talked and talked and talked.
Though she kept a straight face, inside she was grinning.
Strike three and you are so out!
THIRTY-NINE
THE UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS were dozens of pages long. Marge handed them to Decker and
said,  These were taken off the audio portion of the tape by the computerized voice recognition
system. Then Lee programmed the system to put whoever was talking in front of the statement.
There are lots of mistakes, but I think you can grab the gist of the interview. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]