Balance of Power

advertised the gun. I don't understand the question.'

    'I could try to explain it,' Nolan retorted caustically. 'But only God can grant understanding.' To Monk, he said in a testy tone, 'You can answer the question, Inspector. Without reference, if possible, to Ms. Dash's repeated intercessions.'

    'If what you mean,' Monk answered, 'is did Lexington sell the gun to Bowden, I don't know who sold it to him.'

    Sarah's sense of satisfaction vanished. Monk's amendment went to the heart of the problem with Mary's case, as Nolan would be quick to see. Leaning back, Nolan placed one finger to his lips. 'Is it correct, Inspector Monk, that Mr. Bowden took a round-trip to Las Vegas and back one day before the murders?'

    'It is.'

    'What, if you know, was the purpose of his trip?'

    Monk glanced at Sarah—a hint, she believed, as to where his sympathies lay. Carefully, he answered, 'We believe to attend a gun show.'

    'On what do you base that belief?'

    'Several things.' Briefly, Monk stopped to organize his thoughts. 'First, before he left for Las Vegas, police had searched his house in response to his wife's complaint, and found no guns. Second, there was a gun show in Las Vegas at which P-2s were sold. Third, among his personal effects was a copy of the SSA Defender magazine, with an advertisement for the P-2 next to one for the gun show.'

    'Do you have any other basis,' Nolan persisted, 'for assuming that the purpose of Bowden's trip was to attend a gun show?'

    Awaiting the answer, Sarah tensed. Monk hesitated, and then said flatly, 'No.'

    'Do you have any information, Inspector, as to Mr. Bowden's movements in Las Vegas?'

    'We do not.'

    Almost imperceptibly, Nolan leaned forward, closing the distance between lawyer and witness. 'Did you discover any evidence that, in fact, Mr. Bowden attended the show?'

    'We did not.'

    'What efforts, if any, did you make to determine whether he was there?'

    Monk pondered his answer. 'They were limited, I'd have to say. One problem is that gun shows don't seem to keep records of who attends, and a lot of guns are bought for cash. The point seems to be to conceal the identity of anyone who doesn't want to purchase a weapon through a licensed dealer.'

    Exactly, Sarah thought. But the reason Bowden had gone to the show—as he so obviously had—was the reason that this would be difficult to prove under the rigorous evidentiary standards of a trial. And if she and Lenihan could not prove it, their case was at an end—as Nolan, his air of calm restored, well knew. 'Did you,' Nolan asked, 'inquire of anyone connected with the gun show?'

    Monk nodded. 'The promoter, and the employees who actually collected money from the people going in. We showed them a picture of Bowden, and asked if they'd seen him. Nobody remembered.'

    Or wanted to remember, Sarah was certain. The last thing the promoter needed was John Bowden as a customer. 'Our focus,' Monk added, 'wasn't on the gun show, but whether Bowden had acted alone. So we didn't take it any further, and I'm not even sure we'd have known where to start. There were thousands of people at the show, and hundreds of sellers—most of them unlicensed.'

    With this, Monk had encapsulated plaintiff 's dilemma. That Lexington claimed—to Sarah's utter disbelief—to have had no record of where they had originally shipped the murder weapon made this even worse; the journey of the P-2 into Bowden's hands was, from beginning to end, a mystery. 'In short,' Nolan said, 'Bowden could have bought the gun on the street, in California.'

    Monk shrugged. 'We can't rule that out.'

    'Or even through a dealer who decided not to run a background check.'

    Sitting straighter, Monk stared at him, as though Nolan had pushed him a little too far. 'The P-2,' he answered, 'is banned in California. So you're talking about a licensed dealer breaking at least two laws.

    'I can't cite statistics, Mr. Nolan. But I can tell you that a fair number of P-2s are used in homicides in San Francisco—drug dealers seem to like them. And the point of origin for most of them are sales in Arizona or Nevada.'

    Silently, Sarah gave Monk a word of thanks. Nolan sat back, stung. 'But you don't have figures, you say. So your 'evidence' for that last statement is anecdotal.'

'Yes.'

    'Have you ever discussed that 'evidence' with anyone from Lexington?'

    'No.'

    'So as far as you know, even if there is a problem, Lexington's unaware of it.'

    Monk paused, choosing his words with care. 'Mr. Nolan,' he answered, 'they claim to have lost the record of who they shipped the gun to. I don't know what those people know, or if they care. Do you?'

    'Know?' Sarah inquired with a smile. 'Or care?'

    Briefly, Nolan turned to her. 'Tres amusant,' he murmured with disdain, and then fixed his stare on Monk. 'In sum, Inspector, you can't tell me how this murderer got this gun.'

    'No.'

    'Yet in plaintiff's complaint, counsel asserts that the two ads you mentioned caused Mr. Bowden to buy the gun. Given that you can't tell where he got the gun, or from whom, are you aware of any facts which support that allegation?'

    'As I said, we found the SSA publication among his effects, and he went to Las Vegas. There's nothing to tell us that he had any other reason than buying the P-2.'

    'Really?' Nolan paused with raised eyebrows. 'Did you check out any of the casinos?'

    'No.'

    'Then let's stick to the facts at hand. You mention The Defender magazine. Did you find other gun-related magazines in Bowden's room?'

    'Yes.'

    'How many?'

    Monk paused to consider this. 'Maybe twenty. I didn't count them.'

    'Did any advertise this gun show in Las Vegas?'

    'One did, I recall. It had a listing of gun shows in September.'

    'All right,' Nolan said in a more comfortable tone. 'You mentioned The Defender magazine. Was Bowden a subscriber?'

    'No.'

    'Or a member of the SSA?'

    'No.'

    'Do you know where he got the magazine?'

    'No.'

    'Do you, in fact, even know whether he read it?'

    Monk stared at him across the table. 'Only by inference. The advertisements as much as said that the P-2 is good for killing people, and that's what Bowden did. That gun sure isn't good for anything else.'

    'Do you,' Nolan repeated tightly, 'know whether or not John Bowden read The Defender magazine you found?'