Play Dead

“It was a significant system, but survivable. We’ve experienced far worse.”

Hawpe takes him through the process by which Ferrara determined that Richard’s was the only boat not to heed the warnings, and then did not answer Ferrara’s radio call. When Ferrara could not see any activity on the boat, he made the decision to board it.

“Please describe what you found when you boarded.”

He paints a picture of a placid scene, normal except for the lack of passengers. It was when one of his men went down below that Richard was discovered, lying on the floor, a small amount of blood oozing from his head.

“Was there anything on the floor near Mr. Evans?” Hawpe asks.

Ferrara nods. “There was. An empty bottle of pills.”

Ferrara then goes on to describe the emergency medical attention that Richard received. A decision was made to evacuate him by helicopter-risky because of the approaching storm. But it was accomplished, and then the boat was brought back to port to be examined, though at that point no one knew about Stacy Harriman’s disappearance.

“At what point did you consider this to be a crime scene?” Hawpe asks.

“From the moment I saw Mr. Evans.”

Hawpe turns the witness over to me. There will not be much I can do with him; both his actions that night and his testimony today were straightforward and basically correct. But I consider it important to make points with every witness; the jury has to know that there are two sides to this fight.

“Captain Ferrara, when did you learn of the possibility that there had been someone else on the boat with Mr. Evans that night?”

“I read about it in the papers; I think it was two days later.”

“So you found Mr. Evans lying unconscious, with an empty pill bottle nearby and a wound on his head?”

“That’s correct.”

“And you testified that you immediately considered this a crime scene?”

“I did.”

“Suicide being the crime?”

“Yes.”

“Would another possibility have been that Mr. Evans had a heart attack and had just taken pills, perhaps nitroglycerine, to counteract it?”

“I never considered that.”

“Was there a label on the pill bottle so that you could determine what was taken?”

“No, there was not.”

“Any way for you to have known how many pills had been in there?”

“No.”

I hand Ferrara a transcript of his radio conversation with Coast Guard command on shore. “Please read the passage where you say that you are treating the boat as a crime scene.”

He looks at it but knows the answer. “I did not mention that.”

“You didn’t think it was important?”

“I considered Mr. Evans’s health to be my first priority.”

“And mentioning that this might be a crime scene would in some way jeopardize his health?”

He doesn’t have an effective answer for that, so I move on. “Please read the passage where you instruct the people on shore to have forensics ready to check out the boat.”

“I did not so instruct them.”

I feign surprise. “Do you have training in forensics?”

“No.”

“Do you at least watch CSI?”

Hawpe objects, and Judge Gordon sustains. I then take Ferrara through the process by which Coast Guard personnel boarded the boat. A total of nine people did so, including Ferrara.

“Nine people? How big is this boat?” I ask.

“Forty feet.”

“And you and your people had your eighteen feet tromping all over it?”

“We were very careful not to contaminate the scene.” I frown with disdain at the very thought. “A storm was approaching, so you were in a hurry; your first priority was the man’s health; you had virtually no reason to suspect a crime, but you and your army of men were careful?”

“Yes.”

“Did you stop what you were doing to put on booties?”

The jury and most of the gallery laugh at this, which is the reaction I was hoping for.

“No.”

Finally, I take him through the bloodstains and ask him why they were not washed away by the rain.

“One was under cover, and the other was on the bottom of the railing.”

“That was convenient for you and your crack forensics team, wasn’t it?”

Before Ferrara can answer, Hawpe objects and Judge Gordon sustains. I let Ferrara off the stand, having accomplished as much as I could with him. Kevin’s nod as I head back to the defense table indicates that he is pleased with the result.

Judge Gordon adjourns court for the day, and I turn to Richard before they take him away. “You okay?” I ask. Sitting quietly and watching the State of New Jersey attempt to take your life away can’t be easy, even the second time around.

He grins. “Are you kidding? Compared to what I’ve been doing every day for the last five years, I feel like I just saw a Broadway show.”

* * * * *

TOMORROW IS STACY Harriman’s day in court.

Daniel Hawpe is going to parade a series of witnesses in front of the jury who know nothing about the night of the murder but who will talk about Stacy. It is Hawpe’s way of humanizing the victim and making the jury feel as if they knew her.