right Maka.”
“ That
is correct. Life imprisonment is the stiffest penalty.”
“ No
offense Maka, but you have no experience with a murder trial. Susan,
are you OK with Maka as an attorney?”
“ I
didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t kill the scientists.”
Gybe
broke in. “Susan, you’re presumed innocent – but
the way the evidence stands right now, the prosecutor thinks he has a
strong case. Unless you want to rely upon the skills of your eager,
but inexperienced attorney, we need to prove you innocent. Ms. Hong
will have to convince a jury that the prosecutor’s evidence is
faulty. Do you trust her with your life?”
Susan
glanced at her attorney. “What choice do I have? I don’t
have the money to hire the O.J. team. It isn’t fair. I’m
innocent.”
Maka
locked eyes with Susan. “Susan, I’ve been honest. This
is my first murder case. But, like you and your environmental
activism, I believe in what I do. The evidence that I’ve seen
so far is circumstantial. Unless they have more that ties you with
the crime, I can convince a jury that you are not guilty.” She
paused. “I guarantee you that I will defend you to the best of
my abilities.”
Nice
speech, Gybe thought. It would be moot to argue or pursue this
conversation further. “Ms. Hong, Susan – Kara and I just
came from the coroner’s office. Although he wouldn’t
give us a copy of the autopsy report, he answered some of our
questions.”
“ He
talked with you?” Maka showed her naïveté in the
question.
“ Yes,
off the record. I believe that you are entitled to the report. Have
you asked for it?”
“ No.
I came to talk with Susan the first thing this morning. I’ll
request the report as soon as I leave here. Susan has told me that
you are helping her. Are you a private investigator?”
“ No.
Just call me a concerned citizen with an overactive skepticism
gland.”
Gybe
and Kara replayed their conversation with Dr. Abraham in the
coroner’s office. “It seems that the only physical
evidence from the coroner that ties to Susan is the concrete additive Mellose . Susan, are you
familiar with the product?”
Susan
nodded. “It’s a new product used in underwater projects.
The state contract that I’m working on to repair the pier
requires that I use Mellose .”
“ Is
it hard to get? Who else would use it?” Kara asked.
“ No,
anyone can buy it although only a contractor would know enough to use
it. It is sort of expensive so I wouldn’t expect anyone to use
it unless the contract explicitly specified Mellose .”
Gybe
still wasn’t satisfied with Susan’s alibi for that night.
He pressed again.
The
big hand on the wall clock chunked twice before Susan relented.
“There was a full moon that night. Whenever there is a full
moon or a new moon, I like to scuba dive off the reef. Every
fortnight, I go to the same spot.”
“ Who
went with you?” Gybe asked.
“ No
one. I went alone.”
Gybe
was a diver and he knew that one of the sacred rules was to always -
always dive with a buddy. “Who was your dive buddy?”
“ I
am very safety conscious, but I started diving when I was eight.
Sometimes, I go alone. Didn’t I hear Kara say that you sailed
from San Francisco by yourself? Is that safe? How can you maintain
a proper lookout around the clock, day after day?”
“ Fair
enough.” Gybe agreed. There were more rules than he could
keep track of or obey. “Where did you go that night?”
“ I
have a favorite spot that to me is a spiritual place. On nights like
that night, with a full moon I mean, I anchor the boat at this spot.”
Susan explained that instead of dropping the anchor onto the ocean
floor where it could damage the sea life, she dove into the ocean and
tied a line around a Volkswagen-sized boulder. The boulder rested on
the ocean side of the reef.
“ I
dive alone. The water is less than twenty-five feet deep and it is
one of the few places on the Moloka‘i reef that hasn’t
been
“ That
is correct. Life imprisonment is the stiffest penalty.”
“ No
offense Maka, but you have no experience with a murder trial. Susan,
are you OK with Maka as an attorney?”
“ I
didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t kill the scientists.”
Gybe
broke in. “Susan, you’re presumed innocent – but
the way the evidence stands right now, the prosecutor thinks he has a
strong case. Unless you want to rely upon the skills of your eager,
but inexperienced attorney, we need to prove you innocent. Ms. Hong
will have to convince a jury that the prosecutor’s evidence is
faulty. Do you trust her with your life?”
Susan
glanced at her attorney. “What choice do I have? I don’t
have the money to hire the O.J. team. It isn’t fair. I’m
innocent.”
Maka
locked eyes with Susan. “Susan, I’ve been honest. This
is my first murder case. But, like you and your environmental
activism, I believe in what I do. The evidence that I’ve seen
so far is circumstantial. Unless they have more that ties you with
the crime, I can convince a jury that you are not guilty.” She
paused. “I guarantee you that I will defend you to the best of
my abilities.”
Nice
speech, Gybe thought. It would be moot to argue or pursue this
conversation further. “Ms. Hong, Susan – Kara and I just
came from the coroner’s office. Although he wouldn’t
give us a copy of the autopsy report, he answered some of our
questions.”
“ He
talked with you?” Maka showed her naïveté in the
question.
“ Yes,
off the record. I believe that you are entitled to the report. Have
you asked for it?”
“ No.
I came to talk with Susan the first thing this morning. I’ll
request the report as soon as I leave here. Susan has told me that
you are helping her. Are you a private investigator?”
“ No.
Just call me a concerned citizen with an overactive skepticism
gland.”
Gybe
and Kara replayed their conversation with Dr. Abraham in the
coroner’s office. “It seems that the only physical
evidence from the coroner that ties to Susan is the concrete additive Mellose . Susan, are you
familiar with the product?”
Susan
nodded. “It’s a new product used in underwater projects.
The state contract that I’m working on to repair the pier
requires that I use Mellose .”
“ Is
it hard to get? Who else would use it?” Kara asked.
“ No,
anyone can buy it although only a contractor would know enough to use
it. It is sort of expensive so I wouldn’t expect anyone to use
it unless the contract explicitly specified Mellose .”
Gybe
still wasn’t satisfied with Susan’s alibi for that night.
He pressed again.
The
big hand on the wall clock chunked twice before Susan relented.
“There was a full moon that night. Whenever there is a full
moon or a new moon, I like to scuba dive off the reef. Every
fortnight, I go to the same spot.”
“ Who
went with you?” Gybe asked.
“ No
one. I went alone.”
Gybe
was a diver and he knew that one of the sacred rules was to always -
always dive with a buddy. “Who was your dive buddy?”
“ I
am very safety conscious, but I started diving when I was eight.
Sometimes, I go alone. Didn’t I hear Kara say that you sailed
from San Francisco by yourself? Is that safe? How can you maintain
a proper lookout around the clock, day after day?”
“ Fair
enough.” Gybe agreed. There were more rules than he could
keep track of or obey. “Where did you go that night?”
“ I
have a favorite spot that to me is a spiritual place. On nights like
that night, with a full moon I mean, I anchor the boat at this spot.”
Susan explained that instead of dropping the anchor onto the ocean
floor where it could damage the sea life, she dove into the ocean and
tied a line around a Volkswagen-sized boulder. The boulder rested on
the ocean side of the reef.
“ I
dive alone. The water is less than twenty-five feet deep and it is
one of the few places on the Moloka‘i reef that hasn’t
been
Similar Books
