Private Vegas (Private 9)

Eric Caine stood up, said, “I am, Your Honor.”

He buttoned his jacket and stepped out to the lectern in the well. He had no notes. And he didn’t need any.

He greeted the jury, then said, “I’m going to make this short and sweet.

“My client, Mr. Del Rio, is entirely innocent. He did not beat Ms. Carmody. Didn’t lift a hand to her, had no reason to, and never would.

“On the thirteenth of June, having not had contact with Ms. Carmody in six months, Mr. Del Rio called to tell her that he had come across a small camera that she had left in his house way back before they broke off their relationship.

“Ms. Carmody said, ‘I thought I’d lost that camera. Well, yes, I’d like to have it back.’

“And Mr. Del Rio said, ‘When would be good for you?’

“They agreed on a time for the return of this little camera, so the next evening, Mr. Del Rio went to Ms. Carmody’s house, where a witness saw Ms. Carmody open the door for Mr. Del Rio, who then entered the house.

“Once he was inside, Ms. Carmody made tea, and these two people had a polite conversation in the parlor lasting about fifteen minutes and consisting of pleasantries and the return of the Coolpix. Mr. Del Rio never touched Ms. Carmody, unless you count the cheek kisses that were exchanged when Mr. Del Rio left Ms. Carmody.

“After Mr. Del Rio left Ms. Carmody’s home, he went to his own place in Venice, took a six-pack out of the fridge, and spent the rest of the evening watching The Fog of War on the Sundance channel, alone. At eleven, he went to bed.

“That’s the end of the story.

“Or at least, it should be.

“But when Ms. Carmody was questioned by the police after she had suffered a traumatic head injury, she identified Mr. Del Rio as her attacker, a statement that cannot be corroborated.

“In legal circles, this is referred to as he-said-she-said, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is really what this case is about.

“To continue with this story, late that night, approximately six hours after Mr. Del Rio left her, Ms. Carmody called an ambulance, and en route to the hospital, in this profoundly traumatized condition, she was interviewed by a detective, Sergeant Michael Degano.

“Sergeant Degano videotaped the interview with his phone camera, and when he asked Ms. Carmody who had beaten her, he showed her a picture of Mr. Del Rio, at which point she said Mr. Del Rio’s name.

“After that, she went into surgery, and she survived that surgery but has not spoken again; she has been in a coma ever since.

“It’s reasonable to ask, Why would Ms. Carmody name Mr. Del Rio as her attacker if he never touched her?

“I would suggest that she recognized his picture, and that she even remembered that he had come to visit her that evening. I would further suggest to you that Ms. Carmody had suffered so much injury to the brain that she was an unreliable witness for herself.

“So what happened then is that the police had their suspect, and they had no reason to look for another. They had testimony from the victim, and because Mr. Del Rio had been in Ms. Carmody’s house, they had evidence placing him at the scene.

“Mr. Del Rio had a cup of tea, and left his fingerprints and DNA. He was witnessed going into the house, but he wasn’t seen coming out.

“But in fact, he did leave Ms. Carmody’s house, and she was fine when they said good-bye. After that, while Mr. Del Rio was watching TV in his own house, someone went into Ms. Carmody’s house and attempted to kill her. Someone else did that. Not Mr. Del Rio.

“In the old days, there were colorful terms for the unfortunate sap who took the blame. He was called the dupe. The fall guy. The patsy.”

Rick didn’t like being characterized as a fool, but he thought Caine was doing a great job telling what had happened. Over at the prosecutor’s table, Dexter Lewis played with his pen like it was a drumstick: tat-tat-tat on the tabletop, just enough sound to draw the jury’s attention and, maybe, break Caine’s rhythm.

But Caine didn’t acknowledge the sound, didn’t look at Lewis at all. He walked to the jury box, all six foot three of Harvard-educated success story.

Caine said, “So now we have the whole short and not-so-sweet story. Someone beat Ms. Carmody. She had a subdural hematoma and an intracranial hemorrhage. She had brain damage, ladies and gentlemen, and during a semilucid moment as she was being taken by ambulance to the hospital, she named my client.

“But Mr. Del Rio didn’t lift a hand to Ms. Carmody.

“He’s the scapegoat, the designated fall guy. He didn’t beat up his friend Vicky. Someone set Rick up. Or Rick was at the wrong place at the worst possible time. We don’t know who attacked Vicky Carmody or why it happened.

“But this we know for sure: Rick Del Rio didn’t do it.”

PART TWO