“Well,” Taylor said. “What do you think of that?”
Steve smiled. “Well,” he said. “Hypothetically speaking, I hope you’re right.”
Mark Taylor looked at him. “Are you telling me you did that?”
“Of course I’m not telling you that.”
“Too bad,” Taylor said. “It would sure take the pressure off. Particularly with Vaulding pointing out you had the opportunity of switching guns.”
“Oh, you caught that?”
“I sure did.”
“Then it’s a cinch everybody else in court did too.”
Taylor winced. “Hey, thanks a lot.”
Steve grinned. “Just getting back at you for the sexist stuff.”
“I was kidding.”
“Yeah, well you hit a nerve. Tracy just got through needling me to get on Vaulding’s case to get him to call her Ms.”
Taylor grinned. “Are you kidding me?”
“I’m kidding too,” Tracy said, “but the fact is, the son of a bitch should.”
“Maybe so,” Taylor said. “But if I were you I wouldn’t push it. Kind of a low priority.” He shrugged. “I mean, hell, if I can just get out of this damn case without being charged with anything, the D.A. can call me any damn thing he likes.”
41
Philip Manning did not look comfortable on the witness stand. He shifted position, tugged at his collar, elevated his chin. His actions gave him a somewhat defiant appearance. In view of Judge Hendrick’s admonition not to communicate his findings to the prosecution, his attitude created the impression that pressure had probably been put on him to do exactly that.
Vaulding didn’t look too pleased either. He frowned, looked around the courtroom, then turned to confront the witness.
“Now, Mr. Manning. Yesterday you were furnished with additional materials, People’s Exhibits Five-A and — B and People’s Exhibit Six, and instructed to perform certain tests on them. Have you completed those tests?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Have you communicated the results of those tests to me?”
“No, I have not.”
“Or to anyone else?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you prepared to do so now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Fine. Regarding the gun, People’s Exhibit Six, were either of these new bullets, People’s Exhibit Five-A or People’s Exhibit Five-B, fired by that gun?”
“Yes, sir. The bullet, People’s Exhibit Five-B-the one from the tube marked RT-SUB-came from the gun, People’s Exhibit Six.”
“There is no question in your mind?”
“None whatsoever. And what’s more-”
Vaulding held up his hand. “One moment, Mr. Manning. There are enough guns and bullets that this is rather confusing. Let’s try to take it in an orderly manner. That accounts for the bullet, People’s Exhibit Five-B. What about the bullet, People’s Exhibit Five-A? The one marked RT-ORIG? Did you determine what gun that bullet came from?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What gun was that?”
“It came from the gun, People’s Exhibit Three.”
“The original Pistol Pete Robbins gun found by the body?”
“I have no knowledge as to that. I only know that bullet came from that gun.”
“You compared it to a test bullet under the comparison microscope?”
“Yes, I did.”
“The barrel of that gun was not defaced, so the bullets are absolutely identical?”
“Yes, they are.” Manning cleared his throat. “With regard to that-”
Vaulding held up his hand again. “Please, Mr. Manning. You’ll have your say, but I need all these matters cleared up. Now, two days ago you were asked to compare a bullet from the gun, People’s Exhibit Three, to a bullet from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, in order to show how many similarities you could find. Did you perform that test?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did the bullets compare?”
“No, they did not. They came from separate guns.”
“But the new bullet, People’s Exhibit Five-A, did come from the gun, People’s Exhibit Three?”
“Yes, it did.”
“And the bullet, People’s Exhibit Five-B, came from the gun, People’s Exhibit Six?”
“Yes, it did.”
“Neither of these new bullets came from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four?”
“No, they didn’t. However-”
“Yes?” Vaulding said. “What is it, Mr. Manning?”
Manning cleared his throat again. “I had hoped that one of these new bullets would prove to have come from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, since it could only have done so prior to the murder, and therefore prior to the time the barrel of the gun had been defaced, and would therefore be a test bullet with which we could make an absolute match. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Nonetheless, as I was instructed to compare all these exhibits against each other, I did attempt to match up these new bullets with test bullets from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four. I was unable to do so.”
“Naturally,” Vaulding said.
“No, not naturally,” Manning said. “You see, both bullets lined up in some regard due to the class characteristics. Which made comparison hard, since I had to allow for the tampering done by the file.”
“But the bullets did not match?”
“No, they did not. And with bullet Five-A, this was readily apparent. Only one class characteristic lined up.
“Bullet Five-B proved more difficult. In attempting to align the bullets, I was able to find three points of similarity.”
Vaulding frowned. “Three?”
“That is correct. That is the same number that I found in comparing a test bullet from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, with the fatal bullet, People’s Exhibit One.”
Vaulding held up his hand. “Wait a minute.” He blinked his eyes, and in that moment his face betrayed the fact that he could feel his case slipping away from him. But he had no choice other than to go on. “Let me be sure I understand this,” he said. “Are you saying that because you found three points of similarity between this new bullet from this new gun, People’s Exhibit Six, and a test bullet fired from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four-are you saying this weakens your identification of the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, being the gun that fired the fatal bullet?”
Manning shook his head. He took a breath. “I’m afraid it goes a little deeper than that. You must understand. I was dealing with a gun that had been defaced. With bullets to which additional scratches had been added. I was trying to work around that. I was giving you a professional opinion based on the best information that could be gathered from the materials I had to work with at the time. I-”
Vaulding held up his hand. His face was hard. “Mr. Manning. Let me be sure I understand this. Are you now testifying that in light of this evidence you have reversed your opinion? That it is now your opinion that the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, did not fire the fatal bullet?”
“That is correct.”
Vaulding was incensed. “Well, how can you do that, Mr. Manning? Two days ago you testified positively that this was the gun that fired the fatal bullet. It’s one thing to say that this new evidence creates some doubt as to the finding. But it’s something else to retract your testimony and now state positively that this gun did not fire that bullet.”
“I have no other choice. I now have indisputable evidence to the contrary.”
Vaulding stared at him. “And how can that be?”
“From the new evidence.” Manning took a breath. “As I would have told you to begin with,” he said with some exasperation, “if you’d just asked me to state my findings, instead of insisting on putting everything in order. But as it happens, I know the bullet didn’t come from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, because I now have a match for the fatal bullet. You see, when the bullet from the gun, People’s Exhibit Six, showed the same points of similarity with a bullet from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four, as that bullet had shown with the fatal bullet, I next put the bullet from People’s Exhibit Six and the fatal bullet under the comparison microscope. And they match absolutely. That’s how I know the fatal bullet didn’t come from the gun, People’s Exhibit Four. There’s no question about it. The fatal bullet came from this new gun, People’s Exhibit Six.”