Before Turner could ask another question, the bailiff rapped his gavel and LaVerne Washington took her place on the dais. Judge Washington, a former public defender, was a hefty, fifty-year-old African American. Most of the time, she was even-tempered, but she had a reputation for having a short fuse when attorneys were unprepared.
“Morning, Mr. Ragland, Miss Lockwood. This is the time set for the bail hearing inState of Oregon versus David Earl Turner. Are the parties ready to proceed?”
Ragland stood. “The State is ready.”
“Mr. Turner is ready,” Robin said.
“You want to keep Mr. Turner in jail without bail, Mr. Ragland, so the ball is in your court.”
Ragland nodded. “We’re going to have Detective Carrie Anders summarize our case, Your Honor.”
Anders lumbered up the aisle, took the oath to tell the truth, and settled in the witness chair. Robin stood when Ragland began questioning her about her qualifications.
“It won’t be necessary for Mr. Ragland to qualify Detective Anders. For purposes of this hearing, Mr. Turner will stipulate that she is a homicide detective who is competent to tell the court about the facts of this case.”
“Mr. Ragland, I see no reason for you to proceed with the preliminary questions. Detective Anders has appeared before me on numerous occasions.”
“Very well, Your Honor. The State accepts the stipulation. Detective, please tell the court the evidence that justified arresting the defendant for the murder of Robert Chesterfield.”
Anders turned toward Judge Washington. “Our witnesses will testify that the finale of Robert Chesterfield’s magic show is anillusion called the Chamber of Death. In that trick, three magician’s assistants lock the magician in a sarcophagus and put snakes and scorpions in with him. When the sarcophagus is unlocked, the magician is supposed to have disappeared. Then he’s supposed to reappear at the back of the theater.
“When Mr. Chesterfield got in the sarcophagus, two of the assistants were holding up the lid, and it looked like the third assistant pushed Mr. Chesterfield down into it. When the assistant appears to push Chesterfield down, she is blocking the view of the audience. When that happened, Mr. Chesterfield was supposed to roll over the edge of the sarcophagus, get off the stage, and go to the back of the theater. But on this occasion, the person who appears to push Mr. Chesterfield down stabbed him in the heart and killed him.
“Nancy Porter is the assistant who had the job of appearing to push Mr. Chesterfield into the coffin. After that, she was supposed to move the dolly that was used to get the sarcophagus onto the stage into the wings. Then she was supposed to return to the stage for the finale. But the third assistant never came back. When we searched the theater, Miss Porter was found in the assistants’ dressing room, unconscious, and her robe was found near one of the theater’s exits.
“The robe used by the assistants during the Chamber of Death illusion is very roomy. We have established that a man or woman wearing it would be completely concealed from the audience and the other assistants.
“Miss Porter will testify that she has asthma and always has an inhaler with her. She had used it earlier in the show and placed it on her dressing table. While she and the other assistants changed for the Chamber of Death, Miss Porter looked for the inhaler, but she couldn’t find it. She continued to look for the inhaler when the other assistants left the dressing room. While she was alone, her assailant rendered her unconscious so he could conceal himself in her robe and kill Mr. Chesterfield.”
“Why did you arrest the defendant for the murder of Mr. Chesterfield?” Ragland asked.
“We decided that the killer had to have learned how the Chamber of Death trick was performed in order to accomplish the murder. We also decided that he must have been in the Imperial Theater during rehearsals so he could learn about the inhaler and Miss Porter’s routine.
“Titus Atkinson was in the seat directly behind the defendant during the show. He will testify that Mr. Turner left his seat while Mr. Chesterfield was performing card tricks onstage in the part of the act that precedes the Chamber of Death illusion. He will also testify that the defendant did not return to his seat until after Mr. Chesterfield was murdered. The defendant denied ever leaving his seat during the performance.
“The defendant also denied being in the theater during rehearsals. A security guard will testify that he saw Mr. Turner inside the Imperial during a rehearsal.
“Figuring out how to murder a person in front of an audience during a magic illusion is something that a magician would know how to do. The defendant is a master magician who performs a magic act regularly in a Las Vegas casino, so he would have been able to figure out how the illusion was done.”
“Did the defendant have a motive for killing Mr. Chesterfield?”
“He had several. First, he is living with the deceased’s wife, who was being sued by Mr. Chesterfield for divorce. If the couple divorced, Ms. Madison would have to have given Mr. Chesterfield a lot of her money and maybe some of her property. With Mr. Chesterfield dead, that’s no longer a problem.
“Furthermore, the defendant hated Mr. Chesterfield for revealing the secret to his Las Vegas casino finale on television several years ago. This almost killed the defendant’s career.
“In summation, Your Honor, the defendant had several motives to kill Mr. Chesterfield, the means and skills to accomplishthe task, and the opportunity to commit the murder. He also lied about being in his seat during the performance of the Chamber of Death and not being in the Imperial during a rehearsal. We concluded that this provided probable cause to arrest.”
“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” Ragland said.
“Do you have any questions for Detective Anders?” the judge asked Robin.
Jeff was sitting in the spectator section directly behind Robin. While Detective Anders was testifying, Stanley Cloud moved beside him and whispered in Jeff’s ear. Jeff reached over the bar of the court and tapped Robin on the shoulder.
“Ask for a recess,” he said when she turned around. “Stanley has something important to show you.”
“Miss Lockwood?” the judge asked.
“Can we take a brief recess, Your Honor?” Robin asked.