‘Nothing you’ve told me would convince a jury that Pereli didn’t murder Souki or kidnap Dedrick,’ he said. ‘You’ll have to get me some ammunition. Right now we haven’t a damn thing. There’s enough evidence on Perelli to convict him without the jury leaving the box. You’ve got to face it. Feeling is running high. He won’t get a fair trial. His record’s against him. Unless you hand me something pretty substantial to hit the D.A. with, there’s nothing I can do for him except talk a lot of hot air that won’t get him anywhere. They intend to indict him on Souki’s murder, but if, in the meantime, they find Dedrick’s body, they’ll hook the two killings together, and it’ll be all over bar the gas chamber.’
He stared at his dead cigar, frowning, then dropped it into the trash basket.
‘Now let’s see what they’ve got on him. They’ve found the gun in his apartment. If I worked hard enough, I could convince a jury the gun was a plant. The fishing-rod could be disposed of too. Anyone can have a fishing-rod. But the money is something no one will believe was planted. That’s where the fellow who planted it showed he has brains. A hundred thousand is a whale of a lot of money. We’re agreed on that, aren’t we?’
I nodded.
‘All right. Well, so far the one thing we can’t get around is the money. The oilskin wrappers could have been planted, but once the jury makes up its mind the money wasn’t planted, then there’s no reason why the gun, the oilskin wrappers or the rod should have been also planted, and that makes the DA’s case watertight. You see that, don’t you?’
Yeah, but all the same, we know the money was planted. Couldn’t you persuade the jury that the kidnapper, to save his own dirty hide, would be willing to part with a fifth of his spoils?’
Francon shook his head.
‘I don’t think so. It’d be too much of a risk. If Perelli had a good alibi, we might get away with it, but he hasn’t. And another thing, his fingerprints are on the gun.’
‘I heard that, but I don’t believe it.’
Francon nodded his head.