Chapter 39

  “INSPECTOR¹ CONKLIN,” Davis said, smiling. “You sound like a very smart police officer.”

  Yuki tensed. She could almost see Davis setting the trap, baiting it, tying the trap to a tree. Conklin just looked at Davis until she spoke² again.

  “Isn’t it true that from the beginning, the defendant³ denied that she’d ever met Michael Campion?”

  “Yes, but ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a suspect is going to say they didn’t do it.”

  “You’ve interviewed a hundred homicide suspects?”

  “Figure of speech,” Conklin said. “I don’t know how many homicide suspects I’ve interviewed. Quite a few.”

  “I see,” Davis said. “Is it a figure of speech to say that you and Sergeant⁴ Boxer⁵ tricked and bullied⁶ my client until she confessed?”

  “Objection!” Yuki called out from her seat.

  “Sustained.”

  “I’ll rephrase. As we all know, Ms. Moon’s ‘confession,’ ” Davis said, making the universal symbol for quote marks with the first two fingers of each hand, “wasn’t on tape, isn’t that right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “So we don’t know the tenor⁷ of that interview, do we?”

  “I guess you just have to trust me,” Conklin said.

  Davis smiled, wound up for the pitch. “Inspector, did you take notes of Ms. Moon’s statement?”

  “Yes.”

  “I asked to see those notes during discovery,” Davis said, “but I was told you no longer had them.”

  Conklin’s cheeks colored. “That’s right.”

  “I want to make sure I understand what you’re telling us, Inspector,” Davis said in the snotty tone she’d perfected over decades and was using now in an attempt to undermine and humiliate⁸ Conklin.

  “You were investigating a probable murder. As you told us, Ms. Moon was your primary witness, or maybe a suspect. You had no taped record, so you made a written record. That was so you could tell the court and the jury what the defendant said, right? And then you threw the notes away - can you tell us why?”

  “I used my notes as the basis for my report. Once my report was typed, I didn’t need them anymore.”

  “No? But what’s a better record of that interview? The notes you took that night? Or the report you filled out a couple of days later? You’re supposed to keep those notes, aren’t you, Inspector? . . . Inspector?

  “Your Honor, please direct the witness to answer my question.”

  Yuki clenched⁹ her fists under the table. She hadn’t known Conklin had destroyed his notes, but while it wasn’t kosher, homicide cops did it all the time.

  Judge Bendinger shifted in his seat, asked Conklin to answer the question.

  Reluctantly, Conklin said, “My notes would be more of a verbatim account, but -”

  “But still, you felt it was appropriate to throw them out? Is there a shortage of storage space at the Hall of Justice? Were the file cabinets full, maybe?”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Davis asked, letting the question hang in the dead silence of the courtroom.

  “Do you remember where you threw the notes? In the garbage perhaps, or out your car window? Maybe you flushed them down the toilet?”

  “Your Honor,” Yuki said. “Defense counsel is badgering the witness -”

  “Overruled. The witness may answer,” said Judge Bendinger.

  “I shredded¹⁰ them,” Conklin said, the cords in his neck straining against the white collar of his shirt.

  “Please tell the jury why you shredded your notes.”

  Yuki saw the flash in Conklin’s eye but was helpless to stop him from snapping, “The reason we get rid of our notes is so that shyster lawyers like you don’t twist things around -”

  Yuki stared at Conklin. She’d never seen him blow up before. Davis had manipulated him, and she was going to nail him to the wall.

  “Inspector Conklin, is that how you behaved when you interviewed my client? Lose your temper like that?”

  “Objection, Your Honor,” Yuki called out.

  “On what grounds?”

  “Defense counsel is objectionable.”

  Bendinger was unable to stifle¹¹ a laugh. “Overruled. Watch it, Ms. Castellano.”

  Davis smiled, faced Conklin, one hand on her hip¹². “Only one more question, Inspector. Any other important evidence you shredded that would have exonerated¹³ my client?”

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

4 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

5 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

6 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

8 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

9 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

12 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

13 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句