Free Deadly Charade by Virna Depaul Page B

you obtain further information connecting the defendant to Mr. Guapo’s death?”
    “Yes.”
    “What was that information?”
    “His confession. When Detective Derek Humphries interviewed him.”
    “Were you present for that confession?”
    The officer glanced worriedly at Tony. “No.”
    “So how do you know about the confession?”
    “Detective Humphries relayed the defendant’s statements to me.”
    “What did the defendant tell Detective Humphries?”
    Again the officer hesitated, as if waiting for Tony’s attorney to object, which of course he didn’t. Unlike at trial, hearsay was perfectly admissible at a preliminary hearing. Even if it hadn’t been, statements by the defendant fell under a hearsay exception. “The defendant said he’d killed Guapo to protect what was his.”
    “Thank you, Officer.” Neil sat down.
    The judge turned to Tony and his defense attorney, Roger Lock. Given the state of the evidence and the way these things normally went, Linda was expecting them to say they didn’t have any witnesses. The defense often let the prosecution’s evidence speak for itself at preliminary hearing. Even so, she once again willed Tony to look at her. She wanted to know what he was thinking. How he was feeling. She wanted to know if he indeed viewed Neil’s appearance as the prosecuting attorney as another abandonment on Linda’s part. Or if he was even thinking of her at all.
    “We’d like to call Detective Derek Humphries, Your Honor.”
    Linda stiffened at the defense attorney’s words. She’d questioned the thoroughness of Humphries’s investigation herself but it was still unusual that the defense was calling him at this point in the proceedings.
    She watched as Humphries took the stand.
    Linda didn’t like him. She didn’t like his methods. Most cops were good ones, and truly cared about finding out the truth, not just scoring an arrest. But despite the rumors of dirty cops still going around, Linda believed Humphries had good intentions. Unfortunately he still lived by the motto that the ends justified the means. If he could walk the line to get a confession, he’d do so. Sometimes it worked to his advantage, sometimes it didn’t.
    Would it work in this case? She wasn’t sure.
    “Detective Humphries, you heard the officer tell us that Mr. Cooper confessed to killing Guapo. Was he correct?”
    “Yes.”
    “After Mr. Cooper regained consciousness from his wounds, how long did you wait to start questioning him?”
    “I was there within an hour.”
    “And you read Mr. Cooper his Miranda rights?”
    Humphries practically rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did.”
    “Uh-huh. And he understood his rights?”
    “Yes, he did.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Excuse me?”
    Tony’s defense attorney walked closer to Humphries. “I said, how do you know that he understood his rights?”
    Humphries laughed. “He said he did. He waived them. Voluntarily.”
    “But he was in severe pain, wasn’t he? Was in the midst of fighting off an infection?”
    “He seemed uncomfortable. But cognizant.”
    Roger Lock nodded. “How long did you question him before you got him to confess?”
    Neil raised his hand. “I object to counsel’s insinuation, Your Honor. There’s no evidence that Detective Humphries coerced a confession out of Mr. Cooper.”
    The judge shook his head. “Well, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it, Mr. Christoffersen? Overruled.”
    “How long, Detective?”
    Humphries shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Two hours.”
    The attorney raised his eyebrows dramatically. “Two hours? You questioned Mr. Cooper, who was obviously ‘uncomfortable’ and probably high as a kite on pain meds, for two hours? Did you offer him a drink? A break?”
    Humphries glared at Tony. “No.”
    “Did you obtain a written confession from him?”
    “No.”
    “Why not? Isn’t that standard police procedure?”
    “It is. But...”
    “But what, Detective?”
    Detective Humphries mumbled