'She said she knew I was good with explosives and wanted to know if I could use the dynamite to kill her husband. She told me she had a workshop in her garage and I could make the bomb there. She also said no one would suspect us of working together since she was the one who prosecuted me.'
'What did you tell her?'
'I told her she'd made a big mistake. I said I didn't know anything about making bombs and that I hadn't killed any of the people she thought I'd killed. But even if I had, I wasn't going to kill the guy who was responsible for taking me off death row.
Especially when that guy was a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.
You'd have to be an idiot. I mean, every cop in the state would be hunting you down if you killed someone important like that and they'd never give up.'
'What did the defendant say to that?'
'She offered me fifty thousand dollars. She told me I was smart and could figure out how to do it without being caught.'
'How did you respond?'
'I said I wasn't going to do it.'
'What did the defendant say then?'
'She got real quiet. I'd seen her in court like that. It made me a little nervous. Then she said she was sorry she'd troubled me. I didn't want to hang around any more than I had to, so I took off.'
'Did you go to the police after you left?'
'Are you kidding? She warned me about that. She said no one would believe me if I accused her, because the cops still thought I killed that kid and her father. She also said she'd have dope planted on me and send me away forever if she even heard I was in spitting distance of a police station or the DA's office.'
'Was that the last time you had any contact with Mrs. Griffen?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Despite her warning, you did come to the district attorney and explain what happened.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Why did you come forward?'
'Self-preservation. As soon as the judge was blown up, I knew she was trying to frame me. Hell, she did it once with that phony confession, and the newspapers said the bomb was similar to the one that killed Hollins and his kid. Then I heard the cops were looking for me. I figured my only chance was to go to the DA and hope he'd believe me.'
'No further questions.'
Deems had stared at Reynolds frequently during his testimony, growing frustrated when Matthew refused to pay any attention to him. The slight had been intentional. Matthew wanted Deems angry and combative.
'Did you know a man named Harold Shoe, Mr. Deems?'
Matthew asked.
'Yeah, I knew Shoe.'
'Was he a drug dealer?'
'So they said.'
'Did 'they' also say he was a rival of yours in the drug trade?'
'I don't know everything people said about Shoe.'
'Did you know that Mr. Shoe was tortured to death?'
'I heard that.'
'Did you also hear that Larry Hollins was prepared to identify you as the man he saw putting Mr. Shoe's body in a Dumpster?'
'My lawyer told me that after Hollins was killed. That's the first I knew of it.'
'While you were awaiting trial for the murder of Larry Hollins and Jessica Hollins, his nine-year-old daughter, did you have a cellmate named Benjamin Rice?'
'Yeah. The cops planted him in my cell.'
'Did you tell Benjamin Rice that Shoe was 'a worthless piece of shit who couldn't even die like a man'?'
'I never said that. Rice made that up.'
'Did you tell Mr. Rice that it was 'tough that the kid had to die, but that's the risk a snitch takes'?'
'I never said that either.'
Tracy cast a quick look at the jurors. They no longer looked amused by Charlie Deems.
'What time of day did you meet with Mrs. Griffen at the coast?'
'Late afternoon.'
'Can you be more specific?'
'She said to come out around four.'
'The sun was still shining?'
'Right.'
'And this meeting was arranged during the phone call you received from Mrs. Griffen?'
'Right.'
'Where were you when you received the call?'
'A friend's.'
'What friend?'
'Her name is Angela Quinn.'
'Did you go to Ms. Quinn's as soon as you were released from prison?'
'Yeah.'
'And you were in prison for two years?'
'Two years, two months and eight days.'
'And before that, you were in jail, awaiting trial?'
'Yes.'
'And before that, you lived in an apartment?'
'Right.'
'Not with Ms. Quinn?'
'No.'
'How did Mrs. Griffen know where to call you?'
'What?'
'You testified that you were living in an apartment when you were arrested, then jail, then prison. You've also testified that the first conversation you ever had with Mrs. Griffen was the phone call you received at Angela Quinn's residence. How would Mrs. Griffen know where to contact you? How would she know Angela Quinn's phone number?'
Deems looked confused and glanced at Chuck Geddes for help.
'While you're trying to think up an answer to that question, why don't you tell the jury what Mrs. Griffen was wearing when you met at the cabin.'
'Uh, let's see. Jeans, I think, and a tee shirt.'
'What color tee shirt?'
'Uh, blue, I think.'
'How long were you with Mrs. Griffen?'
'Forty-five minutes. An hour.'
'Face to face?'
'Yeah.'
'And you can't recall what she was wearing?'
'I wasn't paying attention,' Deems snapped angrily. 'I'm not a fashion expert.'
Deems sounded flustered and Geddes leaned over to confer with Neil Christenson.
'You talked inside the cabin, did you not?'
'Right.'
'Maybe you'll have better luck describing the furnishings of the cabin to the jury.'
'What do you mean?'
