Double Fault - Greenville Series

Double Fault Murder - The Greenville Series

I'm the guy that said he would probably only write maybe 2 stories. Story number 6. Sorry to keep punishing you. This story came from my magnum opus that I'm writing. While writing about a characters background this story came up and I thought it would be a great, at least okay, stand alone story. Its probably been done before and better than I did.

While going to sleep l thought about another character I could do a story about. Which lead to another idea. So I'm calling these My Greenville Series. Yes I know other authors have done this and again done it much better than me.

Still don't have an editor so please excuse the then's and than's and misspellings. If bad punctuation really bothers you please don't read this. I do the best I can.

Hope you enjoy.

4:45 and the phone rings. I'm tempted to let it go to voicemail. In my business there are very few second chances. I'm a lawyer and we always need cases. A blind phone to a lawyers officer is never good news for someone. I have been for 5 years. It's just myself, Harry and Marcia. She's our receptionist, office manager and guardian angel. Without her only God knows where we would be.

I have worked for Harry since I got out of law school and passed the bar. People think the law is always a big money business. For some it is, those that graduate from ivy covered schools. A big name regionally known law school. Even those legacy graduates. Not me, I went to a State school. Graduated in the middle of my class. So it was either maybe working for the District Attorney's office. Being a Public Defender or Private practice. I wanted the freedom private practice offered.

Harry was 50 years old when I started and had been solo for most of 20 years. He was doing enough business to pay his bills and put away money for retirement. He's not a complicated guy. Everyone likes him. He always has a smile on his face no matter the circumstances. He was one of those guys that made everyone comfortable. It helped in his practice. He hired me because he wanted to do even less work if that was possible. We do defense, some family law and real estate work and helped small businesses. It keeps the lights on.

I picked up the phone since Marcia had left for the day. Being Friday she and Harry usually leave a little early. I had been finishing up some work for a customer who did trash collection so I was still in the office. It sounded like an older gentleman on the other end. He asked to speak to a lawyer and I told him he is speaking to an attorney. He told me his son had been arrested for murdering his wife and needed help. His voice was filled with both sadness and desperation.

I spoke to him for about 20 minutes getting as much information as I could. My weekend just took a serious turn. I never had a murder case before. It doesn't happen that often here in Greenville. Our small city only has 100,000 people. We average maybe 4 murders a year. Each one is major news. A husband accused of killing his wife will be on the front pages for days if not weeks when the trial starts. Its the kind of place where if something happens to you, you probably know the person who did it.

His son, Carl Martin was accused of shooting his wife while she was in the shower. They found his gun laying on the bed. It had been wiped clean. I told him I would take the case and what my fees are. I would go see Carl tonight if possible and we could meet tomorrow to fill out the paperwork.

I called my wife, Maggie, to let her know I would be home late because I picked up a very important case. She knew I couldn't talk to her about it. We had been married for 6 years by then, She was a homemaker taking care of Jason 5 and Cindy 3. She's really understanding and knows the hours I work are for her and our family. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life.

I'm Tom Pohl by the way. I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall. I weigh around 195. I guess I'm okay looking. You would or maybe would not be surprised how much looks influence a jury or verdict. Studies have shown the more attractive a person the better chance they have to be successful.

When I got to the police station I told the desk Sargent that I needed to speak to my client, Carl Martin. He gives me a funny look and picks up the phone. Whomever he is talking to he says "There's an attorney for Martin" When he hangs up he tells me someone will be right out. I immediately tell him that they are no longer allowed to speak to my client without me being present. Anything he says from this point forward is inadmissible.

Five minutes later a man, about 45, my height in a very nice suit comes out the from what I assume would be the area where they do interviews, Yes, I had expected an old tired looking guy in a rumbled suit. He was the total opposite. He introduced himself as Detective James Wilson. As we walked to the interview room he told me the basics of the case. His wife was shot while taking a shower. His gun was found on the bed and had been fired and had been wiped clean. The wife appeared to have had sex recently but the shower washed away most traces and the water being cold by the time she was found made it hard to determine time of death. She was found by her friend that came over when she wasn't returning her calls for a lunch date.

The husband is always the prime suspect in this type of crime. He didn't have an alibi. He says he was in a hotel room after a meeting was canceled an hour away. The police found out the wife was cheating on him by going through her phone so that gave them more reasons to think he did it.

I asked if they had interviewed him and he said they were until I showed up and they stopped. The case was pretty open and shut as far as they were concerned and didn't want to do anything to mess up the case.

I thanked Detective Wilson and walked into the interview room. Mr. Martin was sitting staring at nothing. I sat down waiting for some kind of recognition. I wanted to see where his mind was. It took a couple of minutes before he finally looked up at me. The first thing he said was, "I told the other cop and I'm telling you, I did not kill my wife" He didn't say it with anger. More of being resigned to the fact that no one believed him.

Carl Martin appeared to be an average guy. If I could guess his height while sitting I would say 5 foot 10 inches. He had brown hair that he would lose in 4 or 5 years, maybe 200 or 210 pounds. Stocky not fat. 29 years old and now facing a murder charge. He didn't seem to be an arrogant man. More of the boy next door kind of guy. This would help during the trial.

I said "Mr. Martin, I'm Tom Pohl, your father hired me to be your lawyer". For the first time since I walked in his face changed. Like he had found some hope. I continued, "Mr. Martin, first can I call you Carl"? He responded in the affirmative so I went on. " I need you to tell me everything you can about happened to the best of your knowledge"

He told me he was supposed to have a meeting with a new client. He's a part owner of a small plumbing company with his father. The meeting was in Oakwood which is an hour away. The guy he was going to meet got into an accident so they wanted to reschedule for the next day. So he just stayed in his room. Did some paperwork and ordered pizza to be delivered. He didn't know anything until he got a phone call from the police. And then the Oakwood police came to his hotel room and arrested him. He also said he had tried to call his wife several times without any success.

When I asked him about knowing his wife was cheating, he banged on the table yelling his wife wasn't like that. They had a good marriage and were looking forward to having kids. They had been married for only 3 years. I told him the police found evidence that she had a lover for the last 4 months at least. I had never seen a grown man crumble like that. He just fell into himself. First to find out his wife is murdered, that he is the prime and so far only suspect but also she was cheating on him for possibly 4 to 6 months while he was busting his ass working.

I knew I wasn't going to get any more information from him tonight. It was already 8pm. I instructed him not to talk to the police or as a matter anyone unless I'm present. I stressed the anyone part. If he's in a cell with someone else don't say a word unless its about the weather, sports, politics or religion. I told him I would see him in a couple of days. I needed to do some research and investigate some things myself. We shook hands promising I wold do my best to get him out of there and found innocent and left.

I stopped to see Detective Wilson. I wanted to find out if a DA had been assigned yet and when I could look at the evidence. No DA had been assigned and if I wanted I could come back tomorrow to go over what they have. Made arrangements and finally headed home.

I got home to find the kids already in bed of course. Their usually put down by 7pm. I hate missing time with them. An hour with them takes all my stress away. Maggie is a close second. She greeted me and immediately noticed the stress on my face. Giving her a kiss I went to the frig to get a beer while she heated up my dinner.

We sat at the table together her telling me about her day with the kids. Jason should be starting Kindergarten. We were hoping to get him in this year but because his birthday fell late in the year we had to wait. She started to home school him and he is picking things up so quickly. Cindy seeing her brother learning wants to learn also. So she will definitely be ahead of her peers when she starts school. Maggie is so patient with them.

I can't tell her to much about the case. Only that I picked up a murder case right before I was going to leave for the day. I could tell her things that would be made public and is probably going to be in the paper tomorrow. The husband was accused of killing his wife. We talked some more. I told her I would be dealing with the case this weekend and would make it up to her and the kids when I could.

I knew I should have called Harry tonight but I put it off until Saturday. I had a restless night. This case would be big. There would be a lot a ramifications. Not only was a mans freedom depending on me but this case could change my future. I knew I would need some help. A private investigator and a paralegal at least. I had a guy I would call him tomorrow. Harry probably had someone who can be a part time paralegal.

I got up early Saturday. At least I thought I did but Maggie was already up fixing me breakfast. I don't know how she does it sometimes. Keeping the house clean, taking care of me and the kids. I don't know what I did to deserve her and I wonder why she picked me.

We met at college. I was there for law and she was there to find a husband. Who studies Liberal Arts for 4 years to get a job. She belonged to all the right groups and sorority. She didn't have a reputation during school. She only dated 2 or 3 guys a year. At least that's what I heard. We met at one of her sorority parties our Junior year. It wasn't one of those drunken parties with people heading up the stairs every 30 minutes or people passed out on the furniture.

I spotted her an hour into the party standing against the back wall with a couple of her friends. You ever watch the Animal Planet when they have the shark special. That was me. I focused on my prey. I circled until I it was the right moment and I went in for the kill. She didn't stand a chance. My charm and good looks hooked her the moment she seen me. Okay, its wasn't like that. I approached her, made some small talk and asked her out so we could talk somewhere better. She agreed and we went out the next weekend. It was off to the races after that. We dated the rest of junior and into senior year with no incidents and got married 6 months after we graduated. Jason was born 6 months later. I would have married her even if she wasn't pregnant.

The kids woke up before I left so I got to spend time with them before I left for the office. I called Harry when I got to the office. He was kind of pissed I took the case without contacting him. What done is done. We talked about what we needed to do. He had someone who could help as a paralegal for the duration of the case.

Once I was done with Harry I called Frank White the PI. The usual retired cop. At least he retired on good terms and not like some of those you read about. He was good. He had heard about the murder but didn't know I picked it up. We were going to meet at the police station at noon to go over the evidence and talk to Mr. Martin. I checked the paper I had picked up on the way to work. The Martin murder was of course front page news. It was even all over the radio. They didn't have anything I didn't already know. Lots of speculation and conjuncture. Half where playing up the husband avenging his manhood against a cheating wife. The other half making the wife as the true victim against an angry husband.

Going to the police station I was thinking of the best way to defend Carl. If I could prove he didn't know about her cheating and that he was in fact still at the hotel, my defense would be open and shut.

Frank was waiting out front as I walked up to the station. We shook hands and talked about the case for a brief minute. His thoughts were to contact the hotel first to see of they had any cameras to prove he didn't leave. Then the pizza shop to verify he ordered and received the pizza. The one sticking point was lack of time of death. She was found around 5:15pm. The water was cold so the Coroner couldn't pin down as exact time. Her phone showed she received and answered a call at 11:34am the same day. It also showed she missed 3 calls from her husband and 2 from her friend that she was supposed to have dinner with. The friends last call was at 4:30pm. She was worried and went to see what was going on. When she got to the house the door was ajar and she went in, calling for Tiffany Martin, the decedent. Hearing the shower running she went upstairs but didn't get response when she called to her. Going into the master bath, she found her body in the shower with the water running. She could tell she was dead and had been for a while. Calling the police 15 minutes after entering the house once she got herself together.

Detective Wilson was sitting at his desk when we walked in. I didn't need to introduce Frank. They had worked together years ago. Frank joked that he was surprised Det. Wilson had made Detective. The force must be desperate. Wilson responded with the Force got a whole lot better when he retired. Frank later told me Wilson was all hat and no cattle.

We finally got down to business. The police had the gun which proved to have been fired. It was found at the foot of the bed. It didn't have any prints on it like it had been wiped down. They found gun residue on the bed spread so they probably used that. There weren't any prints in the bedroom. They found an set on the doorknob but it was smudged so they couldn't get a clear set. I asked about the nightstand where the gun was stored. They found no prints at all on it. Again like it was wiped clean. Whoever did the deed knew where the gun was stored.

The wife's phone showed an ongoing affair for the last 4 months at least. The affair partner was a Mr. Mark Hanlon. They interviewed him earlier today but he had an air tight alibi. His wife said they were together all day Friday getting ready for a community BBQ. Wilson didn't think Hanlon would be having fun at the BBQ today, if he was still alive when his wife got done with him.

Hanlon admitted that he and Martin had been sleeping together for 6 months. They met at the Brew HaHa coffee shop by chance. They exchanged numbers and ended up meeting up at the coffee shop again and 2 weeks later went to a local Shamrock Motel. They ended going to her house when her husband was at work and the motels were getting expensive and the payments hard to hide. Over the 6 months they slept together possibly 10 or 11 times. He was going to break it off because he was starting to feel guilty about cheating. Unfortunately it was 6 months to late for his wife and marriage. When asked if he knew about the gun he said he had no idea about it. So that was a dead end as far as the police were concerned.

We listened to the interview of the girlfriend, Melanie Sanders, who found the victim didn't have much more information to offer. She knew Tiffany was cheating on her husband. She didn't know or have met the guy. Just had a name. They were supposed to go to dinner at Ms. Robino's. The Italian joint on 12

th

Street. She did say Tiffany was going to break it off with him that night. She talked about how Carl was pushing her to have kids. Like Hanlon, she was a little to late to do that. I asked if Tiffany was interested in having kids. She didn't think Tiffany was really looking forward to it. She was still young and wanted to live life a little more. Melanie said Tiffany was hoping for another 3 or 4 years of living before she really settled down to start a family. Tiffany said how much she did love her husband. She just needed more excitement than he offered.

I thanked Wilson and we went to talk to Carl Martin again. Going back into the interview room. Carl didn't look any better than the last time I saw him. I asked if he needed anything and he said, "yeah, to get the hell out of here" I told him I would do the best I could. I still needed to talk to the DA. I introduced Frank to him and explained how he would be assisting in the case.

I asked about the Hotel he was staying at and what pizza shop he ordered from. What did the driver looked like and what pizza did he order. He didn't understand why I was asking about the pizza. I said every question I ask will get him closer to freedom. He settled down a little maybe finally realizing that I was on his side.

He said he was staying at the Hilton Express in Oakwood. He was supposed to meet Mike Lesko of Lesko Plumbing. He and his father were starting to get into the supply side of the plumbing business. Lesko got into a minor accident earlier in the day and asked to reschedule. Martin asked if they could meet Saturday morning so he wouldn't have to come back next week. He called his father to let him know about the meeting being rescheduled and stayed in the room and did paperwork. He tried to call his wife to let her know he would being staying overnight. She didn't answer the three times he called. He ordered pizza around 4:30. He had planned on trying to call her one more time after he ate and if she didn't answer to get a neighbor to check on her. He received a call from the Greenville police and 20 minutes later the Oakwood Police arrested him for suspicion of the murder.

He had no idea his wife was cheating on him. As he said before they were talking about having kids. I had to ask how eager Tiffany was to have kids. He said she talked about it all the time. She was on birth control and they had planned on stopping them in a few months after her birthday.

I asked for some background on their marriage. How they met, What kind of things they did. He talked for a while while Frank made notes. He told us they met at a bar of all places. He's not a big drinker but went with some friends. She was there with co-workers. One of his friends knew one of her friends so they all got a table and hung out. They gravitated together and started dating. He was working to build the business up so time was tight. They tried to have date nights on Saturdays. She worked at a Call Center in town. Had been there since before they married. After 2 hours we shook hands and left, assuring him we would do our best again.

Walking out the station Frank said he was going to the hotel in Oakwood and to see if the pizza shop had any info on the delivery. It could give us a timeline of where he was when Mrs Martin may have been killed. The time of death was a sticking point. We could use it to our advantage but so could the District Attorney. He was going to be formally arraigned Monday. Its hard getting bail for a Capitol Crime but maybe because he had no criminal history and a well known business owner that might work to our benefit. Another thing we had to prove was he had no knowledge of her affair. It's hard to prove a negative.