The Whole Truth Page #3

between Boone and Mike?

Very close.

Loretta was sort of

the odd woman out.

Mike wanted to be

a lawyer like his dad.

See the lawyer?

Dressed too fancy.

Jury's not gonna like him.

Mike was a very quick study.

He became kind of

a legal junkie.

He was a very, very bright kid.

When Mike was 12, he wanted

to go to forensic camp.

I'm sorry.

Forensic camp?

Well, it's like "CSI," you know?

You learn how to

break down a crime scene.

Anyway, when he got back...

Well, there was something

going on on our block.

Someone had poisoned

a neighbor's cat.

And Mike, I don't know how...

But he figured out who did it.

Yeah, got his picture

in the paper.

Now, this closeness,

the bond between father and son,

did that continue until

the death of the victim?

No, no.

Something happened.

I mean, I don't know,

it might've been, you know,

adolescent rebellion,

but it came out...

Well, I guess it was about eight

months before Boone died.

Well, I don't

want to give offense

to any of you candy-ass

liberals here,

well, maybe, if you get...

Well, look.

I'm not stupid, okay?

I'm gonna vote

for my own self-interest.

Of course.

Everyone should

vote their own interest.

That's how democracy's

supposed to work.

Is that so?

Well, sure.

I mean...

I was just agreeing with you.

I was agreeing with you.

You were?

"Of course."

You said

"of course."

As if I said something obvious.

Come on, Boone.

Maybe you're a

little drunk, huh?

I am drunk.

And tomorrow,

I'm gonna wake up

with a big hangover.

And you...

You're still gonna be stupid.

Now listen, nobody gives

a f*** what you think.

Don't you know that by now?

You went to typing school.

You should be like Trixie over

here, she takes care of herself.

She's smart. She's got a

degree in dental hygiene...

Stop it!

- So you spoke up.

- Yes.

- You tried to stop him.

- I did.

Then what happened?

Hey.

Boone.

Come on.

Let's just...

I got this. I got this, dude.

I'm okay.

First, come here.

No one spoke

to Boone that way.

No one.

Well, I couldn't...

I couldn't hear

what Boone said to him,

but I could see the

effect it had on Mike.

Look at me.

And after they'd

finished their conversation,

Boone walked over to me.

You got something to say?

It's none of your business.

You know...

You look at me like that

again and I'm gonna kick

your little ass back to that

shitty little house of yours.

There's nothing I'd enjoy more.

There's dessert if

anybody's still hungry.

So as you can imagine, that was

the end of our friendship.

I didn't want Alex

going over there.

I didn't want him to have anything

to do with that type of behavior.

Thank you. No further

questions, your honor.

Mr. Ramsey?

Nothing from me, your honor.

You may step down.

Want me to work harder?

Start talking.

So, what's

our defense here?

You mean are we screwed?

Don't know.

Unless Mike talks to me, all we've

got is "defense of others."

Like someone who shoots

first to prevent a murder?

Right.

I gotta tell you, it's

pretty brutal in there.

It's not all bad.

How do you mean?

How much do you know

about Muhammad Ali?

I know he didn't go

to law school.

Better than that.

In 1974, he took on

George foreman,

who was seven years younger,

and had knocked out

every man he'd fought.

Foreman was at his peak.

And Ali, round after round,

just stood there

getting pounded.

He wouldn't or

couldn't fight back.

No one knew which.

- You mean the rope-a-dope?

- Yeah.

And finally,

in the eighth round,

foreman got tired,

tired of punching,

exhausted himself.

Suddenly, Ali came to life.

In one round, foreman was on

the canvas like an old man.

What are you saying?

For the rest

of the day, we lose.

And in this kind of

situation, detective,

apparently a family dispute,

- is there a normal...

- The spouse.

Excuse me?

Anyone who's married, the

spouse is the first suspect.

But you moved off this

hypothesis pretty quickly.

Yeah.

Well, I first spoke

with the officer on the scene.

Anything unusual?

The kid said, "should've

done this a long time ago."

She told me what the boy said.

And that knife from the wall.

And I took a look at the knife.

And it was the print,

or the size of the palm print

that changed your focus.

Yes.

But to be safe, we took the boy and

his mother down for questioning.

- Where were you...

- And how did that go with Mike?

At the time of the incident?

You need to answer...

He's not talking at all.

First of all, I want to say...

And his mother?

Mother didn't

have anything to say,

on advice of counsel.

Thank you, detective.

No further.

You were the lead detective

on this case, is that right?

Yes, sir.

And you said that from the

start you didn't pursue

any suspects other

than the defendant.

That's correct.

Why was that?

You want me to answer that?

Yes.

Because...

In my professional opinion,

it was open and shut.

That boy did it.

No further questions,

your honor.

Mike was a f***ing vault.

I decided to let him

think I'd given up,

let the evidence roll in,

invite it.

Hopefully, the jury would think

it was going too well

and start rooting

for the underdog

without even knowing it.

And this is from the New Orleans

crime lab and evidence division?

Yes, sir.

Sir, what was

the cause of death?

Knife entered the box...

Central area of the chest.

- Just one stab.

- Yes, sir.

It severed the aorta, resulting in a

sudden and massive loss of blood.

Victim lost consciousness

in a matter of seconds.

Died in under a minute.

Thank you.

So the victim had

no scratches on him,

no defensive marks,

no skin under his nails.

Which led me to

believe he knew his assailant

and was taken by surprise.

You were in the room at

the time of the murder?

No, sir.

Any hairs on the

victim's clothing?

From the defendant,

and his mother.

Plus some other people who had

entered the scene post mortem.

And the rest of the house,

the hall, bathroom, stairs?

Your staff did

a sweep of that, too?

Yes, and found no

material evidence.

Nothing? A stray hair?

A drop of blood?

Nothing at all?

Look at this.

The mom said she was

in the shower when it

happened, washing her hair,

but they found all these

hairs in the sink drain

and only this one in the shower.

So she mixed up

where she washed her hair.

Scott, that is the exact kind

of detail to confuse a jury.

Uh-huh.

No other evidence.

Sir, you're telling

me there was nothing at all

which might directly

or indirectly

point to a suspect

other than the defendant?

That's correct.

Which makes this a perfect case.

Is that a question?

No, sir.

No further questions.

You may be excused, Mr.

Doucette.

And you live

next door to the Lassiters?

Yes, sir.

Since you were how old?

Two.

And you and Mike were friends.

Mostly when we were kids.

But your families were friendly.

Uh-huh.

Alexander.

Uh, yes, I guess

we were all friends.

The defendant, Mike.

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