Manny Porter and the Yuletide Murder by D. C. Robeline

Author:D. C. Robeline [Robeline, D.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Naughty vs. Nice

Tristan and I were in a grim mood as we traveled to Carolyn Mondial’s office the next day. I felt anxiety over the scope of what we needed to investigate to clear Tristan’s name, while he endured the prospect of possibly spending the rest of his life in prison.

The elevator in Carolyn’s building operated slowly that morning. Tristan and I admired the holiday décor in the lobby as we waited.

“I’ve never really noticed how bright many Christmas decorations are,” Tristan said. “Now that I might not see any for years.”

“Enough of that,” I said as we got on the elevator. “We need to keep our focus on getting you out from under this and supporting Carolyn’s work.”

He agreed. And when Carolyn opened her door to let us in, it appeared she agreed too. She had moved her desk to another wall and filled the entire free space with a number of whiteboards, chalkboards, and pegboards. One held a schedule for when briefs were due to the court. Another had photos of key pieces of evidence and key people, and the third listed unanswered questions or answered inquiries whose results she deemed unclear.

“Wow,” I said. “Did you even go home last night?”

“Yes, but I admit I was up at oh-dark-thirty this morning, so I came in to do this. Welcome to the Free Tristan Command Center. We’re going to beat this charge by getting and staying organized,” she declared before pointing us both to a coffee station in the corner of the room. “Everything you need for a cup of joe,” she said. “Briefing starts in five minutes.”

We both got coffee and sat down in the comfortable chairs. Carolyn remained standing.

“Okay,” she said. “Existing evidence first. Remember, under rules of evidence, the prosecutor’s office has to let us know in advance whatever testimony, objects, facts, reports, or forensic data they have to support their case. Likewise, we must do the same. Understood?”

We nodded.

“Right. A forensic examination of Nikolaidis’s body confirmed strangulation by wire as the cause of death. They have your fingerprints all over the lab and particularly on the roll of wire. However, they have not found your fingerprints on the wire that strangled him, nor on the wire that suspended the body.

“They also found your fingerprints in the house on several pieces of furniture downstairs, but not on any glasses, which suggests Nikolaidis cleaned the glasses you two used. Fortunately a forensic examination of the corpse confirmed that he had been in a fight in the hours before he died and that, had he lived, he would have sported a significant shiner the next day. Unfortunately, they found no definite video evidence that can prove you went back to Baldwin House that night.”

“So what did the grand jury use for the indictment?” I asked. “There is nothing definite that says Tristan was even there when the killing happened.”

“Remember, grand juries don’t seek to prove guilt or innocence, only to answer whether there is reasonable grounds to suspect the accused committed a specific crime,” Carolyn said.

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