“The case was that strong?” Avery asked.
“For that stage in the process, yes. It was strong enough to secure an indictment and justify formal charges and an arrest. I hadn’t gotten into the weeds or rooted through the details to determine if any of the evidence was challengeable. I only knew what they had, not how they had obtained it or how credible it was. On the surface, though, it was solid.”
“Can you go over some of that information?”
Manchester opened a folder and thumbed through a few pages before he found what he was looking for.
“The crime scene was the DA’s biggest weapon. It contained Victoria’s blood, fingerprints, and urine. DNA analysis confirmed the match and placed her at the scene of the crime. Evidence collected from the Catskills mansion included a home video of Victoria and the victim, which showed them to be involved intimately. A length of rope recovered from Victoria’s vehicle matched the rope used to hang the victim. All together, it all made for a very strong initial case.
“Now, I never got into the specifics about how this evidence was recovered, and I never had the chance to scrutinize the forensic science behind any of it. At the time of September eleventh, I was simply gathering facts about my client and the case against her. But what I told Victoria at the time was that the DA’s case was substantial, and she should prepare for an arrest. I planned to mount a formidable defense but knew it would be easier if my client was not in jail while I did so.”
“How much money did she need?”
“All told, she was likely looking at a million dollars initially to post bond and another hundred thousand to pay my retainer.”
Avery took some notes on the pad that rested on her lap.
“Did she have it?”
“The money? She was going to look for it from friends and family. She didn’t have it by herself.”
Avery made more notes.
“So the physical evidence, on the surface, was damning. How about circumstantial evidence? What motive did the prosecution offer for why Victoria would have killed her lover?”
“That was strong, as well,” Manchester said. “The investigation revealed that Tessa Young was pregnant. Just pregnant, about a month or two at the time her husband was killed. Subpoenaed medical records also revealed that a few months earlier Victoria Ford had undergone an abortion.”
Avery looked up from her notes. “It was Cameron Young’s child?”
“Yes. I spoke with Victoria about it, and she confirmed it.”
“So the theory was that she killed Cameron Young because he wouldn’t have a child with her, but got his wife pregnant?”
“Partly, yes. Jealousy was a large part of the prosecution’s circumstantial case. Cameron Young promised his lover that he’d leave his wife, but never did. And then got his wife pregnant. But there’s more to the argument. The subpoenaed medical records also showed that Victoria had experienced a complication during the abortion that left her unable to bear children in the future.”
“Christ,” Avery said. “That would be a compelling argument to any jury.”
“Like I said, the circumstantial evidence was solid.”
“The case sounds so overwhelming. Why did you take it on?”
“Like I said, I have an affliction. The more challenging a case, the more tempted I am by it. But there’s something else you need to know about the Cameron Young investigation and the district attorney who was behind it.”
“Maggie Greenwald?”
“Yes. She was disbarred many years ago.”
“Why?”
“Maggie Greenwald had a bloodlust, of sorts, for quickly resolving homicides and adding them as notches on her belt. I’m afraid it’s a common syndrome among prosecutors. They’re like sharks who can’t help themselves after they smell blood in the water. A few years after the Cameron Young case went up in smoke, some folks in her office started complaining that she was cutting corners in order to quickly close cases.”
“What sort of corners?”
“Let’s just say that Maggie Greenwald was making square evidence fit into round holes. After she left the DA’s office and started her campaign for governor, a whistleblower came forward about one particular case and an investigation was launched. It was discovered that she suppressed evidence that might have exonerated the defendant. Nothing happens quickly in the court system, but when new DNA evidence turned up, it proved the defendant was innocent. The conviction was overturned. In the months that followed, two more of her cases were overturned.”
“By new DNA evidence?”
“Not new, but suppressed.”
“She hid the evidence?”
“Tried to. But the whistleblower knew a lot about Maggie Greenwald’s tactics. Rumors were that it was her ADA who came forward, and likely only to save his own ass by promising the truth in exchange for immunity. There’s a saying around these parts that if you want all your secrets uncovered, run for public office. Anyway, I thought it was worth mentioning that Maggie Greenwald’s career went down the drain. I had heard all these rumors that Maggie cut corners and had a tendency to manipulate evidence. So when you ask why I would take Victoria Ford’s case when it looked so unwinnable, it was because Maggie Greenwald was the DA and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the evidence and see it for myself. The case against Victoria Ford was very strong on the surface, but I never got the chance to scrutinize or challenge any of the evidence. Had I, things might have been different.”
Avery made notes about Maggie Greenwald, and then paused before she asked her next question. “Can you tell me about the morning of September eleventh? What transpired with Victoria that day? I learned from her sister that Victoria placed a series of phone calls that morning after the North Tower was struck. Can you give me any insight into what happened with you and Victoria that day?”
Manchester nodded. Avery could see his mind spanning the decades, reaching across the years for details he may have tried to forget.
“Victoria arrived that morning at about eight-thirty. I don’t have any notes about the meeting for obvious reasons. But I’ve retold my recollection of events many times over the years for other documentaries that told the story of survivors who made it out of the towers before they collapsed. So I know that I had a meeting with a client that morning at eight-thirty. The client was Victoria Ford. We reviewed the case against her and discussed the implications of the grand jury that was convening that week. We talked about how she might secure the money she was going to need. We’d been talking for about twenty minutes when the first plane hit.”
“Where was your office located?”
“On the eightieth floor of the North Tower. Victoria was sitting in front of my desk when an enormous explosion happened. The best way I can describe it is a concussion. The building rocked and thundered. It actually leaned to the side and for a moment I thought the tower was going to topple over. Everything broke and shattered. Pictures fell from the walls, items on my desk rattled to the floor, ceiling tiles came down, and the overhead sprinklers turned on. The fluorescent lights went dark and the emergency lighting came on. I remember the sudden darkness outside. It went from a bright sunny morning to midnight. And, of course, the smell. I wasn’t able to identify the smell, which was everywhere, and didn’t put things together until that night after I had made it safely home. It was then, while I watched and rewatched the footage on the news, that I realized the odor I smelled had been jet fuel.”