Gurney interrupted him. “Klemper? Do me a favor. I’m not interested in your Jew problems. You want to talk about the Spalter case, talk.”

There was a flash of hatred on the man’s face, and for a moment Gurney thought their confrontation was about to become brutally simple. He closed his right hand into a fist out of Klemper’s line of sight and adjusted his balance. But Klemper just produced an empty smile and shook his head. “Okay. What I’m telling you is this. There’s no way she should walk on a fucking technicality. With your background, you should know better. Why the hell are you trying to spring a piece of garbage?”

Gurney shrugged, asked matter-of-factly, “Did you notice the problem with the light pole?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The light pole that made a clear shot from the apartment impossible.”

If Klemper had intended to pretend ignorance, his thoughtful delay now made that position untenable. “It wasn’t impossible. It happened.”

“How?”

“Easy—if the victim wasn’t in the exact spot where some witnesses said he was, and if the weapon wasn’t fired from the exact spot where it was found.”

“You mean if Carl was at least ten feet away from where everyone saw him get hit, and if the shooter was standing on a ladder?”

“It’s possible.”

“What happened to the ladder?”

“Maybe she stood on a chair.”

“To make a five-hundred-yard head shot? With a five-pound tripod dangling from the gun?”

“Who the hell knows? Fact is, Kay Spalter was seen in the building—in that apartment. We have an eyewitness. We have dust impressions in her small shoe size in that apartment. We have gunpowder residue in that apartment.” He paused, gave Gurney a shrewd look. “Who the hell told you there was a five-pound tripod?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is you’ve got contradictions in your shooting scenario. Is that why you got rid of the electronics store video?”

Again Klemper’s hesitation was a second too long. “What video?”

Gurney ignored the question. “Finding a piece of evidence that doesn’t fit your concept means your concept is wrong. Getting rid of the evidence tends to create a bigger problem down the road—like the one you have now. What was on the video?”

Klemper didn’t answer. His jaw muscles were tightening visibly.

Gurney went on. “Let me take a wild guess. The video showed Carl getting hit standing in a spot that couldn’t possibly work with the line of sight from the apartment. Am I right?”

Klemper said nothing.

“And there’s another little snag. The shooter was seen casing that apartment building three days before Mary Spalter died.”

Klemper blinked but said nothing.