I've Got My Eyes on You(50)
Their orders came, and Mike was happy that as the meal went on, Aline’s spirits brightened considerably.
Mike walked her to her car and opened the door for her. It was an effort to resist the urge to put his arm around her.
62
On Saturday morning when the doorbell rang at Marge’s home, she was surprised to see Mike Wilson.
“Mrs. Chapman, I have applied for permission to take Jamie’s fingerprints. You and Jamie have the right to appear with your lawyer in court. A hearing is scheduled for Monday morning at ten o’clock, and then the judge will make his decision. Here is your copy of the paperwork.”
Visibly flustered, Marge said, “Our lawyer is Greg Barber in Hackensack. He’s very smart. I’m gonna call him right now.”
“Okay, here’s my card. If Mr. Barber wants to contact me before the hearing, he can do so.”
As she watched Wilson drive away, Marge was already dialing Greg Barber’s number. His secretary connected them and Marge read the document she had been given.
“Marge, let’s stay calm. I’m not surprised by this. Even though Jamie is not under arrest, the judge can order that he submit to fingerprinting. I’ll go to court with you and Jamie tomorrow. I’ll object, but I’m pretty sure the judge will order it.
“And since we’ll be in court tomorrow morning, I want you to bring Jamie to see me tonight at seven.”
? ? ?
Monday morning at 10 A.M. Greg Barber appeared in the courtroom of Judge Paul Martinez, ironically the same judge who had arraigned Alan Crowley. Barber was with Marge Chapman, who looked dejected and frightened, and Jamie, who looked excited to be there.
Greg had spent more than an hour speaking to Jamie and Marge the night before. Every instinct in his body told him that Jamie had not committed this crime. Those same instincts, however, told him that Alan Crowley had not committed the crime either.
Barber spoke to the assistant prosecutor, Artie Schulman. He told him that he would object to the application for fingerprints, but he conceded that the judge would probably grant it. He indicated that he represented both Marge and Jamie, and that no one should speak to them without his permission.
During the brief hearing, Schulman put on the record the reasons for the application and the interview of Jamie Chapman. While Chapman’s account admittedly was not entirely clear, it would, if true and accurate, exonerate Alan Crowley. It was obvious that the judge was taken aback by this new information. He ordered that Jamie submit to the taking of his fingerprints.
Greg then gently explained to Jamie what would happen when he went downstairs, and that he would be there with him.
Jamie and Marge quietly followed their lawyer as the detective walked them to the Prosecutor’s Office on the second floor of the courthouse. Marge waited on a bench outside in the hallway as Greg and Jamie went in.
? ? ?
Within thirty minutes of the end of the hearing, Prosecutor Matthew Koenig was inundated with calls from the media demanding to know more details about Jamie Chapman, the new suspect in Kerry Dowling’s murder.
The angriest call he received was from Alan’s attorney, Lester Parker. “You know, Prosecutor, I recognize that you can’t immediately share every single development in the case. Obviously, your investigation has a long way to go. But I have an innocent eighteen-year-old who is so depressed that his parents are worried he’s going to harm himself. When you go into a public courtroom and admit to these developments and I have to hear it from a member of the press, that’s just not right, and you know it.”
Koenig responded, “Look Lester, I took your call because you deserved an explanation. We were hoping that this would not be picked up by the press until after we got his fingerprints and we see if it helps the investigation one way or the other. We have no obligation to call you unless we come to the conclusion that Alan didn’t do it. And we are very far from making that determination. I’m going to end this call now. If anything significant develops, I will let you know.”
“And I’ll let you know if my innocent client commits suicide while waiting for your call.”
63
With Jamie in the car Marge drove directly home from the hearing. They were in the door a few minutes when he said, “Mom, I’m hungry. I want Chinese food for lunch.” Marge was about to call to order it and have it delivered when she opened the refrigerator and saw they were out of Diet Coke.
“Jamie, I’ll get the Chinese food, and I have to stop at the store. I won’t be long. Why don’t you watch a movie while I’m gone.”
Returning twenty minutes later, Marge drove up her block and was dismayed to see a news truck parked in front of her house. Jamie was on the lawn smiling. A woman with a microphone was standing next to him. A camera was pointed at them.
Marge turned into the driveway and slammed on the brakes. As she got out of the car, she heard Jamie saying, “And then I went swimming with Kerry.”
“Leave him alone!” Marge shouted. “Jamie, don’t say anything. Get in the house.”
Startled at his mother’s tone, Jamie ran inside.
With the cameraman struggling to keep up, the reporter hurried over to Marge. “Mrs. Chapman, would you like to comment on today’s hearing in Hackensack?”