The Brass Verdict

recollections of Elliot’s behavior, demeanor and statements. According to Murray, the defendant showed no emotions when leading them up the stairs to the bedroom where his wife lay shot to death and naked on the bed. He calmly stepped over the legs of the dead man in the doorway and pointed to the body on the bed.
    “He said, ‘That’s my wife. I’m pretty sure she’s dead,’ ” Murray testified.
    According to Murray, Elliot also said at least three times that he had not killed the two people in the bedroom.
    “Well, was that unusual?” Golantz asked.
    “Well, we’re not trained to get involved in murder investigations,” Murray said. “We’re not supposed to. So I never asked Mr. Elliot if he did it. He just kept telling us he didn’t.”
    I had no questions for Murray either. He was on my witness list and I would be able to recall him during the defense phase if I needed to. But I wanted to wait for the prosecution’s next witness, Christopher Harber, who was Murray’s partner and a rookie in the Sheriff’s Department. I thought that if either of the deputies was to make a mistake that might help the defense, it would be the rookie.
    Harber’s testimony was shorter than Murray’s and he was used primarily to confirm his partner’s testimony. He heard the same things Murray heard. He saw the same things as well.
    “Just a few questions, Your Honor,” I said when Stanton inquired about cross-examination.
    While Golantz had been conducting his direct examination from the lectern, I remained at the defense table for the cross. This was a ploy. I wanted the jury, the witness and the prosecutor to think I was just going through the motions and asking a few questions on cross. The truth was I was about to plant what would be a key point in the defense’s case.
    “Now, Deputy Harber, you are a rookie, correct?”
    “That is correct.”
    “Have you ever testified in court before?”
    “Not in a murder case.”
    “Well, don’t be nervous. Despite what Mr. Golantz may have told you, I don’t bite.”
    There was a polite murmur of laughter in the courtroom. Harber’s face turned a little pink. He was a big man with sandy hair cut military-short, the way they like it in the Sheriff’s Department.
    “Now, when you and your partner arrived at the Elliot house, you said you saw my client standing out front in the turnaround. Is that correct?”
    “That is correct.”
    “Okay, what was he doing?”
    “Just standing there. He had been told to wait there for us.”
    “Okay, now, what did you know about the situation when the alpha car pulled in there?”
    “We only knew what dispatch had told us. That a man named Walter Elliot had called from the house and said that two people were dead inside. They had been shot.”
    “Had you ever had a call like that before?”
    “No.”
    “Were you scared, nervous, jacked-up, what?”
    “I would say that the adrenaline was flowing, but we were pretty calm.”
    “Did you draw your weapon when you got out of your car?”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “Did you point it at Mr. Elliot?”
    “No, I carried it at my side.”
    “Did your partner draw his weapon?”
    “I believe so.”
    “Did he point it at Mr. Elliot?”
    Harber hesitated. I always liked it when witnesses for the prosecution hesitated.
    “I don’t recall. I wasn’t really looking at him. I was looking at the defendant.”
    I nodded like that made sense to me.
    “You had to be safe, correct? You didn’t know this guy. You just knew that there supposedly were two dead people inside.”
    “That’s right.”
    “So it would be correct to say you approached Mr. Elliot cautiously?”
    “That’s right.”
    “When did you put your weapon away?”
    “That was after we had searched and secured the premises.”
    “You mean after you went inside and confirmed the deaths and that there was no one else inside?”
    “Correct.”
    “Okay, so when you were doing this, Mr. Elliot was with you the whole time?”
    “Yes, we needed to keep him with us so he could show us where the bodies were.”
    “Now was he under arrest?”
    “No, he was not. He volunteered to show us.”
    “But you handcuffed him, didn’t you?”
    Harber’s second hesitation followed the question. He was in uncharted water and probably remembering the lines he’d rehearsed with Golantz or his young second chair.
    “He had voluntarily agreed to be handcuffed. We explained to him that we were not arresting him but that we had