Of course I do. Put him on.
There was a pause, followed by Darrens voice. Hello, J-J-Jay.
Hey! How the hell are you?
P-p-pretty good, Jay.
They spoke for a few minutes. Jaywalker told Darren he didnt want him to be alone at all, whether he was indoors or out, that some responsible adult should be with him at all times. That way, if any more rapes were to occur, they would have an alibi, proof that it couldnt be him. Darren said he would make sure of that. They made an appointment to meet at Jaywalkers office on Monday. Jaywalker ended the conversation by telling Darren how happy he was.
M-me, too, Jay.
Jaywalker hung up the phone absolutely elated. He marveled at the way the Kingstons must have scraped together every cent they had, borrowed what they didnt and put up their small house as collateral. But as happy as he was for them and Darren, he also had a selfish reason to be pleased. A defendant who cant make bail has two strikes against him. His opportunities to sit down and discuss his case with his lawyer are limited in terms of time, place and privacy. Hes unable to assist in the legwork of investigating and preparing his casevisiting the scene of the crime, locating and rounding up witnesses, and helping out with a bunch of other details about which he, as the accused, may have the greatest knowledge. He loses his job or drops out of school, or both. As a result, he becomes a less compelling witness in front of the jury, and a less likely candidate for a lenient sentence in the eyes of the judge. Bail, and having the resources to post it, may not be the most obvious way the system discriminates between the rich and the poor, but it often becomes one of the most significant.
So Darrens getting bailed out was as crucial as it was surprising. It was also, Jaywalker dared to hope, something of a good omen. The case had started out badly. The arrest, the disclosure of multiple rapes, the certainty of Joanne Kenardens identification and the setting of high bail had been one blow after another. Maybe the tide was beginning to turn. Maybe something else good would happen.
Nothing happened.
Had Jaywalker simply been deluding himself when hed told Darren he wanted his movements monitored round-the-clock by a responsible adult? Had he been engaging in nothing but wishful thinking by pretending that Darren wasnt the rapist, and that somehow five victims could all have misidentified him?
Or had he simply been doing what defense lawyers do, willingly playing along with a clients insistence upon his innocence until the time was ripe to get real and face the unpleasant truth? In quiet moments that weekend, it surely seemed so.
On Monday afternoon, Darren showed up at Jaywalkers office, accompanied by his father. They spent two hours together, a good part of it with Marlin banished to the waiting room. Admitting you were a rapist was hard enough, Jaywalker reasoned; admitting it in front of your father might border on the impossible. But to Darren, it seemed to make no difference. He continued to deny any knowledge of the rapes.
Jaywalker did his best to hide his disbelief. One victim could certainly be mistaken. Two, perhaps. Even three, however unlikely, was possible. But five?
Yet throughout the session, Darren never once wavered in his denials. Nor did he avoid making and holding eye contact, or lapse into any of the other familiar tells Jaywalker had seen so often in his Legal Aid daysthe barely noticeable facial tics, the collar tugs, the hand involuntarily rising to cover the mouth, the sudden interest in ones shoes or the pencils on the desk or the pictures on the wall. He did stutter from time to time, butor so it seemed to Jaywalkerno more or less than usual when pressed about his claim of innocence. And every so often, in spite of himself, Jaywalker would find himself wondering if perhaps Darren might be telling the truth after all. But then he would remember that there were five women, each of them prepared to point Darren out as her attacker. As much as he liked this young manand he was terribly easy to likeand wanted to believe him, Jaywalker kept reminding himself that Darren was lying. He had to be.
Marlin asked what the fee was going to be. Jaywalker started to explain that it looked as though they were in this for the long haul, that there was going to be a trial, maybe even several.
I understand, Jay. You tell me how much, and Ill pay it. It may take me some time, but Ill pay it.
Up to that point, the most that Jaywalker had ever charged for a case had been twenty-five hundred dollars. It had been a drug dealer, whod probably been pocketing that much in a week. Jaywalker had gotten him a plea bargain, five years probation. For Darren, there wasnt going to be a plea bargain, and there certainly wasnt going to be any probation.
Five thousand dollars, said Jaywalker, and held his breath.
Marlin squinted skeptically. Are you sure thats enough? he asked.
Im sure, said Jaywalker, and they shook hands on it.
Enough? Jaywalker felt like hed broken the bank.
Wednesday came. Jaywalker met Darren outside the courtroom known as Part 1-D. Both his parents were with him, as well as his wife, Charlene. Shed missed the arraignment and the office appointment because shed been home caring for their son, and because shed feared the experience might prove too much for her. Or maybe it was the thought that her husband was a rapist. In any event, on this day Darrens sister Janie had been enlisted to babysit, freeing Charlene to come. She was short and a bit on the heavy side, not so unlike her mother-in-law. Perhaps it was her pregnancy beginning to show, perhaps not. Although she had a pleasant enough smile, she wasnt nearly as pretty as Darren was handsome. Jaywalker found himself wondering if Charlenes physical shortcomings might not have contributed to her husbands having become a rapist.
Inez reported that Darrens name didnt seem to be listed on the calendar posted outside the courtroom. Jaywalker looked and couldnt find it, either. A check with the clerks office revealed the reason.
KINGSTON, Darren
Docket No. X974513
Off CalendarIndicted
Part 12, 9/21
Jaywalker explained to the Kingstons that their trip had been a wasted one. As expected, Jacob Pope had gone directly to the grand jury. There would be no preliminary hearing. Instead, Darren would be arraigned on an indictment in Supreme Court that Friday. Not that anyone had called Jaywalker to alert him and save them the trip. To the system, defendants, their families and their lawyers were pretty much chopped liver.
Downstairs, Jaywalker ushered Darren away from his family. He had a question for him, and he not only wanted to hear Darrens answer, but he also wanted to see his reaction. And he didnt want Darren posturing for the benefit of his family, or looking to them for advice. He watched the young man closely as he spoke to him.
Darren, he said, how would you feel about taking a lie detector test? He used the phrase lie detector test, instead of the more technically correct polygraph examination, because he wanted to make sure Darren understood the question the first time he asked him and wouldnt be able to buy time by asking, Whats that?
Darrens answer came without hesitation. Id love to, Jay, if itll help.
Well, said Jaywalker, I cant promise itll help. But it will show if youre telling the truth. The problem is, itll also show if youre lying. I can guarantee that.
Well, said Jaywalker, I cant promise itll help. But it will show if youre telling the truth. The problem is, itll also show if youre lying. I can guarantee that.
Im not lying, Jay.
I know that, Darren. It was Jaywalkers second lie in as many statements. But Im prejudiced. Im your lawyer. Besides that, I like you. So as much as I believe you, I have to remind myself that I could be wrong. And you have to understand that if you did commit the rapes, the worst possible thing you could do now would be to take the test.
Darren started to say something, but Jaywalker held up a hand and cut him off in mid-stutter. He wanted Darren to hear him out.
Look, he said, if you did do those things, if something happened to make you snap, if it is you these women are talking about, its not the end of the world. There are doctors, psychiatrists, programs. There are ways to get you help. Believe it or not, there are even ways to keep you out of prison. It was yet another lie. So take a moment to think before you decide.
Jaywalkers little speech finished, he looked Darren hard in the eye. And as he waited for a response, he realized that just as he was torn between wanting to believe Darren and not being able to, so, too, was he torn between wanting him to be innocent and wanting him to be guilty. What he really wanted was for Darren to tell him, I cant take a lie detector, Jay. I did those things. Together they could break the news to his parents, to his wife. There would be some initial shock and disbelief, followed by a lot of crying all around. But the rest would be simple and straightforward. Psychiatrists, psychologists. Perhaps even an insanity defense, but more likely a guilty plea. But the worst would be over, the nagging uncertainty gone, and the terrible burden of representing a man who seemed to be guilty but claimed to be innocent lifted from his shoulders. Oh, how Jaywalker wanted Darren to break down and come clean at that moment!
But he didnt. Break down? Come clean? He didnt flinch. He didnt even stutter, for once. Instead he looked directly into Jaywalkers eyes and said, I want the test.
On Friday morning Jaywalker drove to the Bronx County Courthouse, which housed all of the Supreme Court parts. It covered then, as it covers now, an entire city block, from the Grand Concourse on the east to Walton Avenue on the west, and from 160th Street to 161st. From its upper floors you could see then, as you can still see today, the elevated train tracks above Jerome Avenue, and Yankee Stadium just beyond.
Jaywalker took one of the elevators to the sixth floor. The building was laid out around a square center courtyard, and no matter how many times hed been there, he always found himself disoriented as soon as he stepped off the elevator. As usual, he walked three-quarters of the way around just to get to a courtroom that would have been right around the corner, had only he chosen to walk the other way.
Darren, Charlene, Inez and Marlin Kingston were waiting for him outside Part 12. They exchanged greetings and went inside. Jacob Pope was already there. He handed Jaywalker a copy of the indictment.
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF BRONX
-x
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
x
x INDICTMENT
against
x 5476/79
DARREN KINGSTON, x
Defendant.
-x
THE GRAND JURY OF THE COUNTY OF BRONX, by this indictment, accuse the defendant of the crime of RAPE IN THE FIRST DEGREE, committed as follows:
The defendant, in the County of Bronx, on or about August 16, 1979, being a male, engaged in sexual intercourse with Eleanor Cerami, a female, by forcible compulsion.
SECOND COUNT:
AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuse the defendant of the crime of RAPE IN THE FIRST DEGREE, committed as follows:
The defendant, in the County of Bronx, on or about August 16, 1979, being a male, engaged in sexual intercourse with Joanne Kenarden, a female, by forcible compulsion.
THIRD COUNT:
AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuse the defendant of the crime of AN ATTEMPT TO COMMIT THE CRIME OF RAPE IN THE FIRST DEGREE, committed as follows:
The defendant, in the County of Bronx, on or about August 17, 1979, being a male, attempted to engage in sexual intercourse with Tania Maldonado, a female, by forcible compulsion.
FOURTH COUNT:
AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuse the defendant of the crime of AN ATTEMPT TO COMMIT THE CRIME OF RAPE IN THE FIRST DEGREE, committed as follows:
The defendant, in the County of Bronx, on or about September 5, 1979, being a male, attempted to engage in sexual intercourse with Elvira Caldwell, a female, by forcible compulsion.
And that was only page one. The indictment went on to charge Darren with additional counts of first-degree sodomy, sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, assault against two of the victims, and criminal possession of a weapona knifeon each occasion. In all, there were twenty-three separate crimes charged. The only pieces of good news, if they could be called that, were that from the original five victims, it seemed now they were down to four who were willing to testify, and of those only two had apparently been actually raped; the other two counts were of attempted rape. Still, Jaywalker could do the math in his head: two completed rapes, each carrying a maximum sentence of twenty-five years, plus two attempts, worth fifteen each. Add them all up, and Darren was facing eighty years in prison.
The case was called in its turn, and Jaywalker accompanied Darren to the podium. The clerk asked how the defendant pleaded, and Darren answered, Not guilty. His voice was soft, but he didnt stutter. Perhaps hed been practicing the words, having been told ahead of time by Jaywalker that he would be required to say them. Bail was ordered continued, and the case was adjourned for three weeks, to give the defense time to submit written motions.
Outside the courtroom, Jaywalker cornered Pope and asked him if he would consider giving Darren a polygraph examination. Pope raised an eyebrow as he seemed to think about it, but Jaywalker could see Why rock the boat? written all over his face.
Finally he said, Let me run it by my boss. Passing the buck, no doubt, not wanting to be the one to say no. Oh, one other thing, he added. Tell your man hed better keep out of the area up there.
What do you mean? Jaywalker was puzzled.
I mean this, said Pope, in a tone even more serious than his usual humorless one. I got a call from Detective Rendell the other day. He said one of the girls phoned him and said shed seen the guy again, in her lobby. Rendell figured shit, maybe weve got the wrong guy locked up. He called me. I did some checking and found out your client had made bail.
When was this?
I dont know, said Pope. Beginning of the week, maybe. He was out before the weekend, right?
Right, Jaywalker had to agree. It was true.
Now understand me, said Pope, his eyes narrowing. This is a free country. Im not telling your man where hes allowed to go and where hes not. But he starts intimidating my witnesses, Ill have him back in jail in an hour, and his family can see if they can make fifty million dollars. I suggest you tell him that.