Jason Washington then covered his mouth with his hand and said softly, so that Mr. Estivez could not understand him, “Obviously a pillar of his community, wouldn’t you say?”
The remark caused Wohl to smile, which was Washington’s intention. He had long ago also come to believe that knowing that one is the source of amusement, but not knowing specifically how, is also psychologically disturbing, particularly if the person amused holds great—if undefined—power over you.
At that point, Inspector Wohl, Assistant District Attorney Stillwell, and Sergeant Washington left the interview room, closing the door behind them and leaving Detective D’Amata alone with Mr. Estivez.
“Mr. Estivez,” Detective D’Amata said, “you have been arrested on warrants charging you with murder and armed robbery. Before I say anything else, I want to make sure that you are aware of your rights under the Constitution.”
He then took a small card from his jacket pocket and read Mr. Estivez his rights under the Miranda Decision. Mr. Estivez had seen them enoug
h on television to know them by heart, but he listened attentively anyway.
“Do you understand the rights I have pointed out to you?” Detective D’Amata said.
“Yeah,” Mr. Estivez said. “I’m not going to say one fucking word without my lawyer.”
“That is your right, sir,” Detective D’Amata said.
He then left Mr. Estivez alone in the interview room again.
“Mr. Estivez,” Detective D’Amata said dryly to Mssrs. Washington, Wohl, and Stillwell, “has elected to exercise his rights under the Miranda Decision.”
“Really?” Wohl replied with a smile.
“So what happens now?” Farnsworth Stillwell asked. “We’re not going to run into trouble with the Six-Hour Rule are we?”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had issued another ruling designed to protect the innocent from the police. It had decreed that unless an accused was brought before an arraignment judge within six hours of his arrest, any statement he had made could not be used against him.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Counselor,” Jason Washington said with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “but as I understand the Six-Hour-Rule, it does not prohibit the use of a statement inadmissable against the individual who made it being used against other participants in the offense.”
“Yes, of course, you’re right.” Stillwell said. It was obvious he did not like being lectured on the law.
“We’ll take him back downstairs, process him, and send him over to the House of Detention,” D’Amata replied.
“What I’m going to do, Inspector, unless you have something else in mind,” Jason Washington announced, “is give them all day to thoughtfully consider their situation, and maybe get a little sound advice from the legal profession. Then, after they have had their supper, and are convinced that nothing further is going to happen to them today, starting at six-fifteen, I’m going to run them all through the lineup, for a positive identification by Mr. Monahan. Then I will give them the rest of the night to consider their situation, now that they know we have a witness, and then starting at eight tomorrow morning, I will interview them.”
“Have at it, Jason,” Wohl said.
“By then, I think we can count on somebody going to Mr. Stillwell to make a deal,” Washington said. “There’s seven of them. I think the odds are pretty good that at least one of them will try to save his skin.”
Farnsworth Stillwell, whose wordless role in the little playlet had been orchestrated by Sergeant Washington, had played along for several reasons. For one thing, he had never seen how something like this was actually carried out, and he was curious. For another, when he had worked with Wohl during the investigation and prosecution of Judge Findermann, he had come to understand that Wohl was anything but a fool, and it logically followed from that that if Wohl was willing to play along with Washington, there was probably a good reason for it.
Secondly, the one bit of specific advice he had been given by District Attorney Thomas J. Callis had concerned Jason Washington.
“Not only does he know how to deal with, in other words, read, this kind of scum, but he has forgotten more about criminal law than you know. So don’t make the mistake of trying to tell him how to do his job. I can’t imagine Washington doing anything dumb, but if he does, Wohl will catch him at it, and he will take ‘suggestions’ from Wohl. Understand?”
The idea of getting one or more of the seven to testify against the others to save himself had a positive appeal. The State had only Monahan as a witness, which was rather frightening to consider. If this case went down the toilet, he would have egg all over his face. People with egg on their faces only rarely ever get to become the governor.
Kenneth H. Dorne, aka “King,” aka Hussein El Baruca, in handcuffs, a uniformed police officer on each arm, was led into Homicide and taken into a second, identical interview room and cuffed to the steel chair.
“Here we go again,” D’Amata said. “Anyone want to bet that this one will announce that he has been thinking of his aged mother and wants to make a clean breast of the whole thing?”
D’Amata, Wohl, and Washington waited until Mr. Estivez had been uncuffed from his steel chair, cuffed behind his back, and led out of Homicide before going into the second interview room. Stillwell followed them.
The only thing that bothered him was how long this process was taking. He had scheduled a press conference to announce the arrest of these people, and the determination of Assistant District Attorney Farnsworth Stillwell to prosecute them to the full extent of the law, for nine o’clock, and two things bothered him about that: Should he take Wohl and Washington with him, or, more accurately, ask them, one of them, or both, to come along?
Having Washington in the picture—literally the picture, there were sure to be photographers—might be valuable, vis-à-vis the Afro-American voters, somewhere down the pike. Wohl, however, was a little too attractive, well dressed, well spoken, and with a reputation. The goddamn press was likely to be as interested, even more interested, in what he had to say than they would be in Farnsworth Stillwell.
And finally, is there going to be time to get from here to my office in time to meet the press?