Coach by Walt Sautter (most difficult books to read txt) đ
- Author: Walt Sautter
Book online «Coach by Walt Sautter (most difficult books to read txt) đ». Author Walt Sautter
As the time of the trial approached, Ricky lead by his attorney, the prosecutor, the court officials and the jury entered and took up their respective seats. The din became even louder.
At six oâclock precisely, one of the cops shouted over the noise of the crowd, âAll rise for the Honorable Judge Jacob Somersâ.
Silence instantaneously enveloped the room and the judge entered from the door of the fire chiefâs office. The judge, a short, balding, older man in black robes stepped up to his perch, slammed his gavel and the trial began.
The prosecutor moved from behind his improvised desk and began to address the court. He was a portly man, appearing to be in his mid fifties, sporting an obvious toupee. His pants were belted well below his protruding belly and he wore an open sport jacket and tie of ancient vintage. His voice rang loud and clear throughout the room.
âLadies and gentlemen we will prove that this person before you, Richard White, did on November twenty seventh of this year, travel to the home of our beloved Coach Myron Carter. At that location, he encountered Coach Carter and during an argument, proceeded to murder Coach Carter.
We will present evidence and witnesses to show clearly, the undeniable guilt of Mr. White.â
With that, he pointed directly at Ricky who was seated behind the defenseâs improvised desk, and continued.
âAt the conclusion of this trial, no one will be able to dispute his actions and you will find him guilty as chargedâ as he ended his opening address.
âThank you, Mr. Hartlyâ announced the judge.
âAnd now, Mr. Gerityâ and he nodded to the defense table.
Gerity was Rickyâs court appointed lawyer, a young man looking to be but a dozen or so years Rickyâs senior. He was tall, on the slim side, almost skinny and displayed a gawky presence as he walked from his seat. He was attired in a black suit, neat, clean and up to date, which appeared to be a Robert Hall special. Peering out from underneath his pant cuffs were dark brown, unpolished loafers.
âJudge Somers, members of jury, we intend to prove that Mr. White had no part in the demise of Coach Carter. We will show that he had no motive or opportunity to commit such a horrendous crime. We will show him to be guiltless and the unwitting victim of a hysterical and inferior investigation by Highburg police and the county sheriffâs office.
Mr. White was charged with this crime as the last ditch suspect that could be found and no substantial evidence or witnesses can convincingly link him to it. I am positive at the end of this trial you will find him not guilty and will respectfully return him to his family.â
The prosecutor then again addressed the court; âI would like to call Doctor Gordon Fink to the stand Your Honorâ.
A tall, gray haired, bespectacled man in his fifties took the stand.
âDoctor Fink, you are the county medical examiner, is that correct?â
âYes, I am.â
âYou were called to the home of Coach Carter on the afternoon of November twenty seventh, is that correct?â
âYes I was â, again replied Fink.
âWhat did you find when you arrived there?â
âI found Coach Carter in his car.â
âWas he alive when you found him?â continued Hartly.
âNo!â
âDid you determine the cause of his death?â
âNot immediately but after a close inspection I noticed bruising in the neck area which meant he had been strangled. Later at the county morgue we found that the hyoid bone had been broken which fully substantiated strangulation as the cause of death.â
âDid you determine the time of death?â
âBased on the body temperature of the deceased it would appear that he died about two hours prior to my arrival.â
âAt what time did you arrive?â
âSix ten in the afternoon.â
âAre you sure of the time?â questioned Hartly.
âOf course, I always record the exact time when I am called to any death scene,â answered Fink with certainty.
âSo then we can assume that Coach Carter was murdered at about four oâclock in the afternoon, right?â
âYes, thatâs about right,â agreed Fink.
âThank you Doctor Fink.
No more questions Your Honorâ Hartly concluded.
âMr. Gerity, do you care to cross examine the witness?â
âYes, thank you Your Honor.
I have but one question for Doctor Fink.â
Fink nodded.
âDoctor Fink, are all the statements made by you in this court correct and uncoerced?â asked Gerity.
âMost certainlyâ, replied Fink.
âThank you. No more questions.
The prosecutor then called Chief Simpson to the stand who testified at length about investigating the crime scene and how Rickyâs hat was found. As he spoke, he frequently interjected the words of praise and love that Highburg had for Coach and devastation the town had suffered from his loss. Gerity rose to object each and every time even as he was continually overruled.
When Hartly finished the judge responded.
âMr. Gerity, do you care to cross examine the witness?â
âYes, thank you Your Honor.
I have but one question for the Chief.â
The Chief remained seated nervously pumping his right leg up and down as the question was asked.
âChief Simpson, are all the statements made by you in this court correct and uncoerced?â asked Gerity.
âYes, absolutelyâ responded Simpson.
âThank you. No more questions.
Moose followed the Chief and explained how he had picked up Ricky near Coachâs house on the day of the murder and driven him back to town.
âMr. Marvich â Moose, they call you Moose? Is that correct?â
âYes. They call me and the rest of my family Moose. Iâm Moose, George my older brother is Big Moose, my little brother is Little Moose and Marlene my sister is Minnie Moose. Weâre all Moosesâ
A mild snicker rose from the crowd acknowledging Mooseâs legendary simplicity and the judgeâs gavel sounded obliterating the brief humor.
âYou picked up Mr. White near Coach Carterâs house the day of the murder, is that true?â asked Hartly.
âYesâ-replied Moose.
âAbout what time was that?â
âIâd say four oâclock.â
Moose paused for a second.
âYeah - four oâclock. Iâm sure. I remember the guy on the radio sayinâ it was fourâ, he added emphatically.
I knew that he was feigning sincerity and I was sure that Prosecutor Hartly had worked hard with Moose to ensure a credible sounding response. I had ridden with Moose many times and his radio rarely worked and when it did, it could hardly be heard over the roar of the glass packs on his carâs exhaust system.
âWhat day was that?â
âA sunny and warm dayâ came the answer.
âNo â what of the week was it, Sunday, MondayâŠ?â
âOh! It was a Sunday.â
âDid he say what he was doing out there? Thatâs about two miles from town, isnât it?â
âHe said he went to get his hat.â
âGet his hat?â asked the prosecutor sounding as incredulous as possible.
âYeahâ answered Moose.
âWhat was his hat during there?â
âHe said that he had dropped it there the night he and his friend went to Coachâs house, on Mischief Night, to soap Coachâs windows for funâ Moose replied.
âDid he tell you exactly what happened on Mischief Night?â
âNo â but everybody knows what he said about that night.â
âAnd what is that?â asked Hartly.
Gerity leapt to his feet.
âThe prosecutor is asking for hearsay evidence,â he protested.
âFrom whatâs been said here so far Iâd say that what heâs about to say is common knowledge and I am therefore allowing him to respondâ cited the judge with a slam of the gavel.
âGo on Mr. Hartly.â
âThank you Your Honor.
âWhat happened on Mischief Night based on what you have heard?â continued Hartly.
âWell sir, Ricky, I mean Mr. White and his friend said they saw Coach and one of the guys doinâ some bad stuff.â
âQueer stuff, ya know,â answered Moose timidly.
âDo you believe that?â asked Hartly.
âNo â Coach would never do that stuff. He coached me and my brother real good. He was a great guy, Coach was.â
âWhy do you think they said that then?â
âI donât know. Maybe they just didnât like him and they wanted to get him in trouble, I donât know.â
Hartly ended his interrogation.
âMr. Gerity, do you care to cross examine the witness?â
âYes, thank you Your Honor.
I have but one question for Mr. Marvich.â
Gerity paused, looked at the jury and then turned towards Moose. Moose sat uneasily awaiting Gerityâs question.
âMr. Marvich, are all the statements made by you in this court correct and uncoerced?â asked Gerity.
âYeah, sureâ replied Moose.
âThank you. No more questions.
Moose rose to leave the witness chair. As he did, Gerity turned back towards Moose and exclaimed.
âOh, excuse me Mr. Marvich! Iâm sorry, I do have one more question.â
Moose sat back in the chair.
âIs it true that your sister Marlene works in Chief Simpsonâs office as a matter of fact right next to the Chief?â
Moose hesitated.
âYesâ he answered.
âThank you. No more questionsâ announced Gerity.
Moose again rose from the chair, this time very slowly, unsure of another challenge from Gerity. None came and he left the stand.
Moose left the stand. I looked up and down the row of seated jurors. Most all were familiar faces, people who had lived in Highburg their entire lives. Several were ex players, one was even known to be Coachâs golfing partner.
All appeared somber, stoned faced to be precise. It was as if they were at Coachâs funeral all over again. One of the woman stared straight forward in a trancelike state with her tear filled eyes about to overflow. Anotherâs eyes darted back and forth in the direction of the defendant while a third appeared to mutter obscenities under his breathe.
âYour Honor, I would like to call Donald Wheeler to the standâ announced Hartly.
âMr. Wheeler, are you also known as âFlashâ to your friends?â
âYesâ answered Flash meekly.
âIs Mr. White one of your friends?â
âWell, urr, sorta, I mean I know him pretty well.â
âHow do you know him?â
âIâve given rides many times, him and some of the other guysâ Flash replied more confidently.
âDid you drive Mr. White and his friend to Coach Carterâs house on Mischief Night of last year?â
âYes! He asked me too.
But I only dropped them off there. I didnât stay around at all,â he nervously added.
âWhy did they go there?â continued Hartly.
âTo soap Coachâs windows.â
âDid you see them afterwards?â
âYes!â
âHow did they say they got back to town?â
âThey didnâtâ replied Flash.
âWhat did they say happened?â
âThey told me they didnât do nothinâ and they asked me not to tell anybody about it. They said they didnât want anybody to know that they chickened out.â
âBut you did drive them there?â Hartly repeated.
âYes.â
âWas Mr. White wearing a hat when you took him there?â
âYes he was wearing the hat he always wore, the Cleveland Browns hat.
He loved that hat and I donât ever remember seeinâ him without itâ answered Flash.
âWas he wearing that hat when you saw him later?â
âNo. He was very upset when he discovered that heâd lost it.â
âWhen was that?â
âWhen he was in the back seat of my car after they came back from Coachâs houseâ replied Flash.
âDid he say he lost it at Coach Carterâs house?â
âNo. He wasnât sure where he lost it but from what he said, I kinda got the idea that he thought he lost it there.â
âThank you Mr. Wheeler. No more questions.â
âMr. Gerity, do you care to cross examine the witness?â
âYes, thank you Your Honor.
I have a question for Mr. Wheeler.â
Gerity approached Flash.
âMr. Wheeler, are all the
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