“And?”
“Karlsen is hazy on almost everything else. The hazy might cancel out the confident, but if it sounds like I’m at fifty/fifty on a not guilty, that’s because I am.”
“Ms. Collier,” Bradley said. “Get to the problem.”
Leigh should’ve been impressed by his insight, but she was furious because Bradley had seen in five minutes what it had taken her all morning to strategize around. “Sidney Winslow is Andrew’s alibi for the night of the attack. The jury will want to hear from her.”
Bradley sat back in his chair, steepling together his fingers. “Ms. Winslow will have to waive spousal privilege in order to testify, which means that Dante will be able to take a crack at her. Do you foresee a problem with that?”
Leigh felt her teeth start to grit. She had intended to use Sidney as a Trojan horse, letting her burn down Andrew’s life while Leigh held herself blameless. “Dante’s no Perry Mason, but it won’t take much. Either Sidney’s going to get pissed off and say something stupid or she’ll try to help Andrew and say something stupid.”
“In my day, saying something stupid under oath was called perjury.”
Leigh wondered if Bradley was encouraging her or warning her. Lawyers were not allowed to put witnesses on the stand if they believed they were going to lie. Suborning perjury was a criminal offense that carried a sentence of one to ten years and a hefty fine.
Bradley was waiting for her response. Her boss had made a legal observation, so Leigh gave him a legal rebuttal. “I’ll advise Sidney exactly as I always advise witnesses. Stick to the truth, don’t try to be helpful, only answer the questions you’re asked, and never embellish.”
Bradley’s nod indicated that was good enough for him. “Any other issues I should be made aware of?”
“Andrew’s ankle monitor has gone off several times. False alarms, but someone could say that he’s testing the response times.”
“Let’s make sure no one says that,” Bradley told her, as if Leigh had any control. “Your second on the case—”
“Jacob Gaddy,” Leigh provided. “I’ve tried a few cases with him before. He knows his way around the forensics. He’s good with witnesses.”
Bradley nodded, because it was accepted strategy to balance out a woman with a man. “Who’s the judge?”
“It was Alvarez, but—”
“Covid.” Bradley sounded grave. Alvarez had been his contemporary. “When will you know who you’re getting?”
“They’re still figuring out the new rotations. Everything’s upside down at the courthouse. We’ve got jury selection on Thursday and probably Friday , then the trial starts Monday, but who knows whether they’ll move it up or postpone it. It depends on the infection rates, whether or not the jail gets locked down again. No matter what, I’ll be ready to go.”
“Is he guilty?”
Leigh was taken aback by the question. “I can see a path to a not guilty, sir.”
“It’s a simple yes or no.”
Leigh wasn’t going to give him a simple answer. She was in the process of trying to throw a case for her own personal gain. The biggest mistake criminals made was to appear overconfident. She said, “Probably.”
“And the other possible cases?”
“There are similarities between the three other victims and the Tammy Karlsen attack.” Leigh knew she was circling around the point. She had to keep Bradley convinced that she was doing everything possible to get Andrew to a not guilty. “If you’re asking me did he rape the three other women? Probably. Can Dante Carmichael prove it? I’m on the fence, but if they nail Andrew on Tammy Karlsen, my probably slides over to an absolutely. At that point, it’s just a matter of whether his sentencing will be concurrent or consecutive.”
Bradley kept his fingers steepled as he took another moment to think. Leigh was expecting a question, but he told her, “I worked the Stocking Strangler case back in the seventies. Well before you were born. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”
Leigh knew the case because Gary Carlton had been one of Georgia’s most notorious serial killers. He’d been sentenced to death for raping and strangling three elderly women, but it was believed that he’d attacked countless others.
“Carlton didn’t start out killing. That’s where he ended up, but there were many, many other cases where the victim survived.” Bradley paused to make sure she was following. “One of those FBI profilers looked at the case. This happened years later when that kind of thing was in vogue. He said there was a pattern of escalation with most killers. They start off with the fantasy, then the fantasy takes over. Peeping Tom turns into rapist. Rapist turns into murderer.”