The Underground Man

“And the other person-the boy with green hair-had you ever seen him before?”

“No, I had not.”

“Have you ever seen him again?”

“Yes, I have.”

“And do you know who he is?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Is he in this courtroom?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Could you point him out for us, please?”

“Yes, sir.”

Joseph Bissel raised his arm and pointed. “That’s him, right there.”

“Let the record show that the witness is pointing at the defendant, Jeremy Dawson. Now, I want to be certain about this,” Dirkson said. “You’re saying that the boy you saw on the subway platform, the boy with Jack Walsh, when Jack Walsh was writing on the paper-that boy was Jeremy Dawson, the defendant sitting right there?”

Joseph Bissel nodded. “That’s right. That’s him. In the subway station he had green hair. He don’t have green hair now, but that’s him all right.”

Dirkson nodded. “And this was the 66th Street Station, the Broadway line?”

“That’s right.”

“And this was on February 26th?”

Bissel shook his head. “That I don’t know. I just know it was the day of the fire.”

Dirkson nodded approvingly. “Thank you very much, Mr. Bissel.” Dirkson turned to Steve Winslow. His smile was smug and his eyes were hard. “Your witness.”

In the back of the courtroom, Tracy Garvin bit her lip. Steve had said it was going to be hard, but she hadn’t quite understood just how hard. And in light of the way Dirkson had handled the witness, Tracy didn’t really see anything that Steve could do.

Judge Grimes looked down at the defense table. “Mr. Winslow, do you care to cross-examine?”

Steve Winslow rose. “I do, Your Honor. But before I do so, I have a motion that had best be made outside the presence of the jury.”

Judge Grimes frowned. “Will this take long?”

Steve smiled. “The motion is brief, Your Honor. But I imagine the ensuing argument might be lengthy.”

Judge Grimes took a breath. “Very well. Bailiff, if you will escort the jurors to the jury room.”

After the jurors had been led out, Judge Grimes said, “Proceed, Mr. Winslow.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. At this time I would like to move that the testimony of the witness, Joseph Bissel, be stricken from the record, and the jurors be instructed to give it no weight.”

Judge Grimes blinked.

Dirkson lunged to his feet. “Oh, Your Honor-”

Judge Grimes held up his hand. “One moment, Mr. Dirkson. Mr. Winslow, I assume you have some grounds for making your motion?”

“Certainly, Your Honor. It appears that the entire testimony of the witness, Bissel, is for the purpose of establishing that my client and the decedent were seen together at the scene of the crime.” Steve Winslow shot a glance at Dirkson. “Though I note the prosecutor has not made any attempt to show that the time they were seen there was even remotely near the time of the murder.”

“That’s no grounds for such a motion,” Dirkson put in. “If the witness doesn’t know the exact time of the events he was describing, that’s a matter to be brought out on cross-examination. But that in no way should affect the admissibility of the evidence, or preclude what I brought out on direct examination.”

Judge Grimes nodded. “I think Mr. Dirkson is essentially correct, Mr. Winslow.”

Steve Winslow bowed. “Yes, Your Honor. I apologize. That was a side issue, which I shouldn’t have even brought up. Mr. Dirkson jumped in before I could get to my argument.

“My objection is this: the testimony of Joseph Bissel is for the purpose of implicating my client in the crime.”

Judge Grimes smiled dryly. “That is the purpose of a murder trial.”

“Yes, Your Honor. But a murder trial must be conducted according to the rules of evidence. And Mr. Dirkson has not yet shown the corpus delicti. And it is an elemental rule of law that the corpus delicti must be proven before any evidence can be introduced for the purpose of linking the defendant with the commission of the crime.”

Dirkson was on his feet again. “Your Honor, Your Honor, this is utterly absurd. The corpus delicti is proven. We have showed evidence that the decedent died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Now I admit that Counsel also had grounds to argue that the decedent died from burning, but he didn’t do that. The medical examiner testified that death was due to the gunshot wound to the head, and could not have been from burning. Mr. Winslow could have cross-examined him on those points, but he chose not to do so. Therefore, the only testimony in evidence is to the fact that the decedent died from the gunshot wound. Since that testimony is uncontested, there is no grounds for Mr. Winslow to be raising the point at this time.”

Judge Grimes nodded. “I think that is essentially correct, Mr. Winslow.”

Steve smiled. “I think so too, Your Honor. But I’m afraid you and Mr. Dirkson misunderstand the point of my objection. My client has been accused of the crime of murdering Jack Walsh. So far, all the prosecution has shown is that the decedent died as the result of a gunshot wound to the head. Which I readily concede. What the prosecution has not shown-which is the reason the corpus delicti has not been proven-is that the man who died of a gunshot wound to the head is, indeed, Jack Walsh. The prosecution certainly can’t introduce any evidence tending to link my client to the murder of Jack Walsh, unless they first show that Jack Walsh is, indeed, dead.”

“Your Honor, Your Honor, there is evidence,” Dirkson protested. “The testimony of Officer Oliver, of the Crime Scene Unit, who examined the credit card of Jack Walsh.”

“Which doesn’t identify the body, Your Honor. From the testimony now in court, for all we know the decedent could be some derelict who happened to have stolen Jack Walsh’s wallet.”

“That’s utter nonsense, Your Honor,” Dirkson said. ‘That’s the wildest fantasy. You can’t prove that.”

“I don’t have to,” Steve said. “I don’t have to prove Jack Walsh is alive. You have to prove him dead.”

“I’ve proved him dead, Your Honor.”

“You’ve proved someone dead,” Steve said.

Dirkson took a breath. “Now, look here.”

Judge Grimes banged the gavel. “Gentlemen, that’s enough. I’ve heard enough to understand Mr. Winslow’s contention. Mr. Winslow, I must confess at first I thought your motion entirely without merit. But on reflection, I see that this is a matter that requires some consideration.”

Judge Grimes turned to the prosecutor. “Mr. Dirkson. In light of Mr. Winslow’s objection, I must ask you, do you have any evidence whatsoever that the body of the decedent was that of Jack Walsh?”

Dirkson took a breath, ‘Your Honor has seen the photographs.”

“Yes, I have.”

“Then you understand why I have not brought anyone forward to positively identify the body.”

“I understand that. It still does not obviate you of the necessity.”

Dirkson ran his hand over his head. ‘I understand.”

“What about fingerprints?” Judge Grimes said. “Were you able to get fingerprints from the deceased?”

Dirkson grimaced and shook his head. “No, Your Honor. The hands were too badly burned.”

“What about the teeth? Have you attempted to match dental records?”

“We have, Your Honor. And there we have some corroboration, though it is inconclusive.”

Judge Grimes’s eyes narrowed. “Why is it inconclusive?”

Dirkson held up his hands. “No, no, Your Honor. There is no inconsistency. The fact is, the records match absolutely. They’re just not of that much help. The dental record of Jack Walsh shows that he wore dentures. He had no teeth. The burned body found in the subway station also had no teeth. So the dental records are absolutely