him for his loyalty.
But she wished he was helping her and she knew that she would lose him for good, if she hadn't already, unless she could prove Abigail Griffen was innocent.
After breakfast, Tracy called in sick. It was not a complete lie.
She was sick at heart and could not imagine being in a place where she would see both Matthew and Barry. The receptionist told Tracy that Judge Baldwin was taking the prosecution's motion to introduce evidence of Laura's murder under advisement and had dismissed the jury for the weekend. Tracy hung up and called Bob Packard's office.
'I wanted to thank you for lending us the transcripts,' Tracy said.
'They've been very useful.'
'Glad I could help,' Packard answered.
'I was wondering if you could help me again.'
'What do you need?'
'Could you tell me a little about a case you handled in the Supreme Court? State v. Galarraga.'
'Is Ernesto going to be a witness in the Griffen case?'
'No. Why do you ask?'
'He knows a lot about Charlie Deems.'
'He does?', 'You didn't know?'
'No, I didn't.'
'Do you know who Raoul Otero is?'
'He's mixed up with narcotics, isn't he?'
Packard laughed. 'That's like asking if Babe Ruth is mixed up with baseball. Otero is a major Mexican drug dealer with a distribution network that covers large parts of the western United States. Charlie Deems was the Portland distributor for the Otero organization. Ernesto Galarraga worked for Charlie.'
Tracy thought about that for a moment. Then she asked, 'Do the names Jorge Zamora or Pedro Cardona mean anything to you?'
Tracy listened intently to what Packard had to say. As soon as she hung up, she made a call to Medford and talked to the district attorney who had prosecuted Pedro Cardona. When the call was over, Tracy was certain she had discovered the importance of the cases on Laura's list. She felt sick to her stomach. Coming so soon after her discovery of Matthew Reynolds's crime, it was almost too much to take in. If she was right, and could prove it, she could give the state Justice Griffen's killer and save Matthew Reynolds from disgrace. Tracy looked at her watch. It was only nine o'clock. She had time to do the necessary research at the law library and be at the Supreme Court by one.
D Alice Sherzer gave Tracy a hug, then ushered her into her chambers.
'Are you surviving Matthew Reynolds's sweatshop?'
'Barely,' Tracy answered tersely.
'Is the job as much fun as you thought it would be?'
'Matthew is a brilliant man and a great trial lawyer,' Tracy said, avoiding a lie.
'How do you like trying a major murder case?'
'That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Mrs. Griffen's case.
Justice Sherzer looked surprised. 'I don't think I can do that, Tracy.
If she's convicted, there's a good chance the court will have to hear her appeal.'
'I know that. But I've discovered something that involves the court.
Something you have to know. It bears not only on Justice Griffen's murder but also on the murder of Laura Rizzatti.'
'I don't understand.'
Tracy paused. Her stomach heaved and she felt light-headed.
The full import of what she was going to say had not fully dawned on her until now.
'Judge I think Justice Griffen and Laura Bizzatti were murdered because they learned that a member of this court is influencing the outcome of cases involving the Otero narcotics organization.'
Alice Sherzer stared at Tracy for a moment. Then she shook her head. 'I don't believe that for a moment,' she said angrily.
'Hear me out. I know how you feel. I've been sick with the thought of it, but I can't see any other explanation for what I've found.'
Justice Sherzer frowned. Then she pressed the button on her intercom and told her secretary that she did not want to be interrupted by anyone.
Tracy told Justice Sherzer about Laura's reaction when she had caught her reading the Deems transcript and the way Laura hid the names of the cases on the legal pad. Then Tracy explained how she found the transcript and the yellow sheet in the evidence taken from Justice Griffen's den.
'I'm sure Laura figured out a connection between the cases and told Justice Griffen what she discovered. I think they were both murdered to prevent them from disclosing what they knew.'
'And what is that?'
'I still have no idea why the transcript is important. But I'm certain I know the significance of the cases.'
Tracy gave Justice Sherzer a summary of the cases. Then she said, 'Ernesto Galarraga worked with Charlie Deems and they both worked for Raoul Otero. Jorge Zamora was an enforcer for Otero. He murdered one of their rivals in a convenience store. He also killed the clerk to make the hit look like a robbery. Pedro Cardona was a front man for Otero in southern Oregon. He was trying to establish a distribution network in Medford when he was busted.
'Deems, Cardona, Zamora and Galarraga all worked for Otero. They were all convicted, but their convictions were reversed by a divided court.
Justice Lefcourt was in the majority in Zamora, but he dissented in the other cases. Justices Griffen, Kelly, Arriaga and Pope were in the majority in every one of the cases.
'In every case but Zamora, which was reversed on an evidence issue, the court reversed on a novel legal theory. In Deems, the majority adopted a rule involving confessions that is the law in only three other states.
In Cardona and Galarraga, the court interpreted the Oregon constitution in a way that ran contrary to the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to the federal constitution. I talked with the DA who prosecuted Cardona. He was shocked by the reversal. There was a U S. Supreme Court case right on point. He said the trial judge upheld the search without batting an eye and the Court of Appeals affirmed with no dissenters.
'I spent two hours this morning reading the criminal cases the court has decided in the past five years to see if I could find any other cases that fit this pattern. I think that's what Laura did.
Justice Sherzer, those cases are unique. There are no other criminal cases with this exact voting bloc in the past five years.'
'How did Laura stumble onto the pattern?' Justice Sherzer asked.
'I have no idea. The cases are spread through a five-year period. The reversal of any one of them should have gone unnoticed. I think something in the Deems transcript tipped her off, but I have no idea what it is. What I strongly suspect is that either Justice Kelly, Pope or Arriaga is working for Raoul Otero to influence the other judges to reverse cases in which important members of the Otero organization are the defendants. Somehow, this justice learned that Laura knew what was going on and had told Justice Griffer. I think that's why they were killed.'
'How could one person guarantee three other votes?'
'There were no guarantees. But some of the judges, like Frank Arriaga and Justice Griffen, were very sensitive to defendant's rights and you know how an undecided vote can be influenced by a passionate advocate.'
'Tracy, listen to what you're saying. Can you honestly imagine a member of this court murdering Laura and Robert?'
'No, but I can imagine him paying Charlie Deems to do it. I think the hundred thousand dollars that Matthew found in Deems's bank account was the payoff for a double killing.'
'Tracy, this doesn't make sense. I know these people.'
'Did either Justice Pope, Arriaga or Kelly take the lead in trying to reverse these cases during conferences?'
