“These tests you mentioned. Are these tests on physical evidence that you’re conducting?”
“Yes,” Chandler said.
“If Dr. Madison was not driving, do you have any theories on who was?”
Hellman stepped in. “Yes, we do.”
“Who then?”
Hellman raised an eyebrow. “We’re not prepared to say just yet.”
“And why is that?”
“As Mr. Chandler said a few moments ago, we’re not going to release the name until we’ve gotten we’ve spoken with the police and district attorney. Our goal is to work with them, not against them.”
“Mr. Hellman, some would say that this is just a ploy on the part of a clever defense attorney to create reasonable doubt for his client. You produce another possible suspect, and then the jury is confused and can’t return a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt. You’ve done that several times in the past — ”
“I’m not here to discuss my past cases,” Hellman said. He paused for a moment, then continued. “And this is not defense ploy. I believe that not only is Dr. Madison is innocent, but that once we have all our tests completed, this case will not be going to trial. So there’ll be no jury to ‘confuse,’ as you put it. The prosecutor, Mr. Denton, will drop the charges.”
“You’re that sure of your evidence.”
“I’m that sure.”
“How can the People be sure that your test results will be accurate?”
Hellman looked over at Chandler.
Chandler leaned forward. “The facility running the tests is reputable, I assure you.” He suddenly realized he had not told Hellman where he’d taken the samples. “And the DA would of course be free to conduct his own tests.”
“This brings me to another topic I wanted to touch on. What’s the story behind those rape charges?”
“First of all,” Hellman said, “there never have been any rape charges. Second of all, rape has nothing to do with this case — ”
“But it goes Dr. Madison’s credibility, doesn’t it, Mr. Hellman?”
“Dr. Madison has never been charged with anything except the charges he is currently facing,” he said.
“But he was the subject of a rape case.”
Chandler realized that Hellman was cornered. However, the trump card was their ability to edit out anything they did not find acceptable.
Hellman shifted a bit in his seat. “There was an investigation the police conducted involving a complaint on the part of a woman, but the police later closed the case and she withdrew her complaint. There was no truth to any of it.”
“Was the woman paid off, Mr. Hellman?”
“I believe you’ve heard the saying ‘crime doesn’t pay,’” Hellman said, “and since the complaint was filled with lies, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.”
The reporter leaned forward. “By that do you mean that this woman did not receive a payoff to keep quiet and drop the charges?”
“She did not benefit one red cent,” Hellman said.
Chandler looked over at Hellman and saw a thin trail of perspiration rolling down the side of his face. If a copy of the Harding-Ehrhardt contract Hellman had drawn up had made it into Mather’s hands, it would be an uncomfortable revelation — regardless of whether or not it was later edited out of the final cut. The existence of the document would still make it onto the eleven o’clock news. And if Mather had a copy of it, others in the press could get their hands on it as well — and then the task of preserving and restoring Madison’s reputation would require something bordering on divine intervention.
The rest of the interview consisted of a few mundane questions about facts already known by the press; Mather requested more depth and information where none existed. Although this appeared to frustrate the reporter, it allowed Hellman to conclude the interview without incident.
Afterward, Chandler, Madison, and Hellman accompanied Mather into an edit bay, a small six-by-six room with large digitized video machines. They watched as the seven-minute interview was edited down to three, and concluded that the final product served their purpose. They looked confident and cool, and did not give away any valuable information; however, it provided enough for Mather to bill it as an exclusive interview with new information on “The Madison Murders.”
As they began to walk out of the studio, Chandler pulled out his cell phone — which had plenty of juice left — and called Kurt Gray while Hellman detoured to the restroom. It had been a little over an hour since he had last called, and this was when Gray was — hopefully — going to be able to talk.
“Yeah, I remember when you called last,” came the less-than-enthusiastic reply from the receptionist. “Hold please,” she said.
Chandler tapped his foot while he waited, then turned to Madison. “This guy better not be playing games — ”
“Mr. Gray says he’ll have to talk to you tomorrow,” the receptionist said.
“Tomorrow?” Chandler took a breath. “Please tell him I need to talk to him now.”
“Hold please.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. Tomorrow. That lying son-of —
She came back on. “I’m sorry.”
“Can you please tell Mr. Gray that I spoke with Lou Palucci today up at his cabin in Tahoe, and he told me that if Gray didn’t cooperate, he’d come back early from his vacation and set him straight personally.”
“If you know where the guy was, why don’t you just have him call?” Madison asked.
Chandler cupped the phone and motioned for him to be quiet.
The next voice he heard was Kurt Gray’s. “I got a match on the lip prints. Now, will you leave me alone?”
“How much of a match?”
“Ninety-five percent,” Gray said without enthusiasm.
“I like that better than seventy.”
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you’re happy with the results. Can I go now? I’m busy.”
“The DNA. Are you running the DNA on that cigarette?”
“Don’t push your luck. It’ll get done when I
