course, sorry.” I indicated the sofa with a Vanna
White wave of my hand.
“So let’s go back about ten years,” he said. “You were
living in Rochester at that time?”
“I had just graduated from college.”
“Exactly where were you when you saw Danny Stearns?”
“On Franklin Street, waiting for a taxi. I was going back
to my dorm to pick up my things and go to the airport to come home.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“Nazareth.”
“What did you study?”
“Marketing Management. Excuse me, but I thought you
wanted to talk about Danny Stearns.”
“Just trying to get a clear picture. What brought you to
Franklin Street that day?”
“An appointment.”
“Business?”
“Personal.”
“What time of day was this?”
“Around 10 a.m. I guess.”
“So walk me through it,” he said. “You were waiting for a
cab…”
“Yes, and a man ran around the corner and slammed into
me.”
“Danny Stearns?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know his name at the time.”
“When did you learn his name?”
“When it was on the news recently. There was a story
about the case being reopened and they showed a picture of him.”
“And you recognized him?”
“Yes. I’ll never forget his face. His eyes in
particular.”
“So you got a good look at him?”
“I did. He grabbed my shoulders when he bumped into me
and he stared at me for a couple of seconds.”
“Then what?”
“He shoved me against the building and ran. Police cars
came screeching around the corner right after that.”
“Now this ski mask. You think it was his?”
“He dropped it when we collided. I picked it up.”
“And kept it all these years?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you take it to
the police?”
“For one thing,” I said, “I didn’t know a bank had been
robbed.”
“It didn’t seem strange?” he asked. “A guy runs around
the corner, drops a ski mask, and police cars head in the same direction?”
“I just wanted to go home.”
“Why did you keep the mask?”
“I couldn’t let go of it at the time. I was upset at the
whole incident and I just couldn’t let go of it.”
“I never heard of that happening. You couldn’t let it go. Why would that be?”
I took a deep breath. “I have an anxiety disorder. I
don’t know, maybe that’s why. I couldn’t let it go; my hand wouldn’t open. My
taxi came and I got in. That’s it.”
He considered that for a moment. “Did this man have a
weapon with him?”
“Not that I saw.”
“No gun, no knife, nothing?”
I shook my head. “That’s really all I can tell you.”
“The ski mask has been sent to a lab,” he said.
“Hopefully some of his hair, or dried sweat, or saliva will be in it. They’ll
run any DNA they find through the data base to try and get a match, but as far
as we can tell, Stearns has no prior arrests, so it’s a long shot that there’ll
be a match. So you see, Ms. Dory, without you, Mr. Stearns most likely won’t
even be arrested, assuming of course, he’s found. And if they do find him, his
lawyer will say that the suspect could have worn the ski mask at any point in
his life, not necessarily on the day the bank was robbed, rendering any DNA of
his inside of it, useless to the investigation. Only you can put the mask and
the man together in Rochester on that day.”
I pictured one of the old wartime posters, with Uncle Sam
pointing at me and exclaiming, I want you
(to ID Danny Stearns! ) “I get it.”
“Do you remember what he was wearing?”
“I couldn’t even tell you what I was wearing that day.”
“But you remember his face and his eyes 100%. No doubt at
all.”
“I wish I didn’t, but I do.”
“Okay then,” he said, and he stood up and looked out my
front window. “I’ll get back to you if I need anything else. In the meantime,
be real careful. You’re an eye witness. Nobody knows that yet…”
“Except Danny Stearns,” I cut in. “ He knows. He saw
White wave of my hand.
“So let’s go back about ten years,” he said. “You were
living in Rochester at that time?”
“I had just graduated from college.”
“Exactly where were you when you saw Danny Stearns?”
“On Franklin Street, waiting for a taxi. I was going back
to my dorm to pick up my things and go to the airport to come home.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“Nazareth.”
“What did you study?”
“Marketing Management. Excuse me, but I thought you
wanted to talk about Danny Stearns.”
“Just trying to get a clear picture. What brought you to
Franklin Street that day?”
“An appointment.”
“Business?”
“Personal.”
“What time of day was this?”
“Around 10 a.m. I guess.”
“So walk me through it,” he said. “You were waiting for a
cab…”
“Yes, and a man ran around the corner and slammed into
me.”
“Danny Stearns?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know his name at the time.”
“When did you learn his name?”
“When it was on the news recently. There was a story
about the case being reopened and they showed a picture of him.”
“And you recognized him?”
“Yes. I’ll never forget his face. His eyes in
particular.”
“So you got a good look at him?”
“I did. He grabbed my shoulders when he bumped into me
and he stared at me for a couple of seconds.”
“Then what?”
“He shoved me against the building and ran. Police cars
came screeching around the corner right after that.”
“Now this ski mask. You think it was his?”
“He dropped it when we collided. I picked it up.”
“And kept it all these years?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you take it to
the police?”
“For one thing,” I said, “I didn’t know a bank had been
robbed.”
“It didn’t seem strange?” he asked. “A guy runs around
the corner, drops a ski mask, and police cars head in the same direction?”
“I just wanted to go home.”
“Why did you keep the mask?”
“I couldn’t let go of it at the time. I was upset at the
whole incident and I just couldn’t let go of it.”
“I never heard of that happening. You couldn’t let it go. Why would that be?”
I took a deep breath. “I have an anxiety disorder. I
don’t know, maybe that’s why. I couldn’t let it go; my hand wouldn’t open. My
taxi came and I got in. That’s it.”
He considered that for a moment. “Did this man have a
weapon with him?”
“Not that I saw.”
“No gun, no knife, nothing?”
I shook my head. “That’s really all I can tell you.”
“The ski mask has been sent to a lab,” he said.
“Hopefully some of his hair, or dried sweat, or saliva will be in it. They’ll
run any DNA they find through the data base to try and get a match, but as far
as we can tell, Stearns has no prior arrests, so it’s a long shot that there’ll
be a match. So you see, Ms. Dory, without you, Mr. Stearns most likely won’t
even be arrested, assuming of course, he’s found. And if they do find him, his
lawyer will say that the suspect could have worn the ski mask at any point in
his life, not necessarily on the day the bank was robbed, rendering any DNA of
his inside of it, useless to the investigation. Only you can put the mask and
the man together in Rochester on that day.”
I pictured one of the old wartime posters, with Uncle Sam
pointing at me and exclaiming, I want you
(to ID Danny Stearns! ) “I get it.”
“Do you remember what he was wearing?”
“I couldn’t even tell you what I was wearing that day.”
“But you remember his face and his eyes 100%. No doubt at
all.”
“I wish I didn’t, but I do.”
“Okay then,” he said, and he stood up and looked out my
front window. “I’ll get back to you if I need anything else. In the meantime,
be real careful. You’re an eye witness. Nobody knows that yet…”
“Except Danny Stearns,” I cut in. “ He knows. He saw
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