he 'And you didn't warn Sergeant Downes or Becky ng about this?'
,I- Bosco looked embarrassed. 'I mentioned it to both of n- them, but I really didn't catch on to what was happening until I'd been there awhile. By then, the questioning was pretty far along. And, remember, I was only there as an observer. I mean, I wasn't supposed to take part in the interrogation.
I guess I should have been more forceful, but most of the harm had already been done' by then and I didn't think it was my place to interfere because the case was so important. I didn't do anything wrong, did 1?'
Peter drove directly to -Steve Mancini's house from the jolly Roger. At first, Bosco's information elated him.
Then he realized how much Steve had cost them by failing to use the information at the pretrial hearing. By the time Peter rang Steve Mancini's doorbell at a little before eleven, he was in an emotional quandary. Mancini was his best friend in Whitaker and he was holding out the possibility of a lucrative partnership that would help Peter climb out of the hole he had dug for himself. But Steve might have ruined Gary Harmon's best chance to win his freedom by concealing information from Peter that explained away Gary Harmon's so-called confession, the basis for all of the charges against Gary.
As soon as Steve opened the door, Peter asked, 'Why didn't you tell me about Don Bosco?'
Mancini looked confused. Donna walked out of the living room. She was wearing a bathrobe over a nightgown. Mancini glanced at his wife, then back to Peter.
When he answered, he sounded nervous.
'We're getting ready to go to bed, Pete. C an't this wait until tomorrow?'
'You know it can't. If Gary was in some kind of trance when he was questioned by Downes, the interrogation was no good. We could have gotten the whole thing thrown out before the trial. There wouldn't have been a trial. Without Gary's statements, the state doesn't have a case. Don't tell me you didn't know that?'
'What's this about, Peter?' Donna asked, confused by his intensity and her husband's obvious discomfort.
'Tell her, Steve.'
'Tell her what? I still don't know what you're talking about.'
'I just came from the jolly Roger where Don Bosco, the county's Director of Mental Health, a man with ex peruse in hypnosis, told me how he explained( that he believed Gary was in a trance state durli of the interrogation. He called me at home bel was surprised that you never brought that out during the hearing on the motion to suppress. He was also surprised that you never told me about your conversation with him. Quite frankly, Steve, so am L'
'I didn't tell you about the conversation because I didn't buy into what Bosco said. You heard the tape.
Downes didn't say anything about trying to hypnotize Gary.'
Peter looked astonished. 'What Downes did or did not say is irrelevant. We have a witness who would have testified that Gary was hypnotized during the most important part of his interrogation. Didn't you know that there is a statute that forbids the use of hypnotized testimony unless the most stringent precautions are taken?
There are cases from around the country that exclude the testimony of hypnotized witnesses. Bosco knew all about them and he's not even a lawyer.'
Mancini looked surprised. 'I didn't know about the statute. You have to believe me. I've never had anything like this come up in one of my cases.'
'Did you know about this and keep it from Peter?'
Donna asked her husband.
Mancini turned on Donna. 'I can handle this, thank you. Bring us some coffee. Come on, Pete. Let's discuss this calmly.'
'It's hard to be calm when I'm busting my ass day and night only to find out that you fucked up on the single most important issue in the case.'
'Peter .. .' Donna started, but her husband barked, 'The coffee, please.'
When Steve turned back to Peter he looked concerned, but calm.
'I can see why you're upset. I'm upset too. Especially if you think I may have screwed up Gary's case. Come on. Let's sit down and talk this out.'
The anger drained out of Peter in the face of Man cini's calm demeanor. He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.
'I just don't understand this, Steve. Can you explain it to me? Even Bosco saw the problem. He called me tonight because he could not figure out why you didn't ask him about the trance state at the hearing. I can't believe you didn't see the significance of what Bosco told you.l 'It's the truth. I didn't know about the statute. I thought thelssues were whether Downes gave Gary his Miranda rights and whether he coerced him into talking.'
'Can't you reopen the hearing?' Donna asked as she lowered a serving tray onto the coffee table.
'I'll try, but Becky has a very legitimate ground for objecting.'
'What's that?' Donna asked.
'Steve was Gary's lawyer. He knew all about this evidence at the time of the suppression hearing.'
'But I didn't understand the significance of what Bosco told me,' Mancini protested.
'That doesn't matter. You should have known it was important. That's the point. I wish there was some way to sugarcoat this, but there isn't.'
'Isn't there anything you can do?' Donna asked.
'There might be,' Peter said cautiously. 'I read a little about confessions for this case before Steve said he would handle the motion to suppress. A defendant can always argue to a jury that they should not accept a defendant's statements because they are involuntary. The problem is that there's no appeal from a jury's decision like there is from a pretrial decision by a judge, because appellate courts won't review the factual finding of a jury.
'If Gary was hypnotized, he wouldn't be responsible for what he told Downes!' Mancini said. 'That's great thinking, Pete.'
'Yeah, but I've got to convince the jury that Gary was hypnotized. That may mean hiring experts and that's expensive.' Peter looked at Donna. 'Can your folks afford it?'
'Don't worry about the money, Peter,' Donna said.
'if my folks can't do it, Steve and I will pay.'
Peter did not see Mancini's sudden anger, but Donna did. She was shocked by its intensity and she remembered what happened the last time he was angry with her.
'I think you've come up with a potential solution,' Mancini said quickly, 'and I also think we should all get some rest. Don't forget, you have to be in court tomorrow.'
Peter suddenly realized how much today's court session and this evening's events had taken out of him.
'You're right,' he said as he stood up. 'Sorry I came down on you so hard.'
'I understand completely. I deserve it if I screwed up as badly as it seems.'
As soon as the door closed, Mancini returned to the living room. Donna was bent over the coffee table gathering up the coffee cups and the creamer.
'What was that about our paying for Gary's experts?' Mancini demanded angrily.
Donna straightened up with the tray in her hands.
'If Gary needs our help.. .
'Gary made his own mess. We cannot afford to bail him out. Didn't you understand a thing I said about Mountain View? I'll bet you haven't even talked to your father about helping with it.'
'I haven't had the chance,' Donna answered, feeling guilty about letting down her husband.
'That's great. You can't take the time to help your own husband and you expect me to spend my money on some Portland shrink.'
'The experts can't be that expensive,'
'They could be dirt cheap, Donna. I've got to work like a slave at my practice just to keep our heads above water. What are we going to pay them with?'
'Gary is my brother.'
'That's right, Donna. He's your brother. Not mine.'
Steve's cold and cruel reply shocked Donna. She had always believed that her husband liked Gary.
'We wouldn't need the money for experts if you hadn't made a mistake,' Donna said angrily.
