Chapter 19
What Goes Up...
When Elijah, Becca, Elliot and Pamela arrived at the courthouse, they were quickly met by Samantha and ushered into a side room away from the reporters.
"Ms. Ravenwood," Samantha said, "I want to tell you how sorry I am for my behavior yesterday after court. Not only was it unprofessional on my part, but it was insensitive and rude. Before yesterday, this case was just a statistic for me; a big case that I hoped would show my boss that I belong in the upper echelon of crown attorneys. I wanted to show him that I was capable of handling the pressure of a big, well publicized case. In short, I wanted to win at all costs. I wish to convey to you today that my view on what this case is about has changed. This case is not about winning or losing, it is about justice. Now although my opinion about the outcome of this case has not changed, I do wish to apologize for the flippant way I addressed you yesterday, and assure you that it will not happen again."
"Thank you," Pamela responded. "It takes a courageous person to admit when they're out of line and ask for forgiveness. Well Ms. Howard, I do forgive you. Although your remarks were in poor taste, I know that in the courtroom yesterday you were only doing your job, and what an excellent job you did. You will make a fine crown attorney some day, just not this day. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got a court date to attend."
Samantha, sensing that something was up, began pestering Elijah as they walked into the courtroom about what witnesses he would be calling for the session. Elijah smiled at her and said that about 90 minutes ago, her office received the final list of witnesses that he had planned to call, as well as the descriptions of the exhibits that he planned to introduce. When Samantha complained to him that she had not had ample opportunity to review this evidence, Elijah turned and reminded her that it wasn't his job to do her leg work. He told her that he did not hide the evidence and that she could have obtained it for herself had the officers performed a thorough investigation instead of honing in on Elliot. Knowing that Elijah was right, she scowled at him and then took her seat as the clerk called the proceedings to order.
Justice Richardson then entered the court, sat down in her seat and addressed the defense counsel.
"Mr. Deville, please proceed with your opening statement."
"Thank you Your Honor" Elijah responded. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I hope you all enjoyed a good night's sleep and have come to court today with an attentive ear to hear the defense for Elliot Ravenwood. Yesterday, the crown attorney told you that I would throw two big words at you: circumstantial evidence. She said that I would try to convince you that these two words were somehow bad and that therefore you must acquit based on that. This is simply not true. While it is correct that cases built solely on circumstantial evidence tend to be weaker than other cases, it is also true that if we threw out cases just because they only had circumstantial evidence, then the prosecutor would be right and we would be convicting hardly anyone. Dangerous people would therefore be walking the street because of this. That type of situation would be completely unacceptable. The reason I am asking you to acquit is not because this case rests only on circumstantial evidence, but because the evidence presented simply does not add up. In other words there is reasonable doubt that my client, Elliot Ravenwood embezzled over $1 million from the Canada's AdventureLand theme park and then killed Scott Taylor in order to hide the crime.
But you shouldn't just take my word for it, let's take a look at the evidence and let the evidence speak for itself. First you have the embezzlement; the crime which the crown said started it all. This was an ingenious and elaborate crime that required a lot of smarts, cunning, and I might add, luck to make it work. After all, a fake company was set up, one business account and two private bank accounts were opened to make the company and its expenditures look legitimate. Fake invoices had to be made along with fake inventory so that the park's expenses looked genuine. The amounts were left relatively small in order to avoid suspicion, and avoid it they did for almost a year. This was the mind of a genius at work.
The evidence also shows the smarts of the perpetrator when it comes to the ride's computer. What you will hear from witnesses called by the defense is that the Colossus was run by a highly sophisticated computer able to detect all defects and or problems on the ride before they happen. If the problems were serious enough, it also had the ability to lock down the ride until the problems were fixed. In order to fool the computer, one had to re-program or deactivate it in order for the ride to even get off the ground. Again this was the mind of a genius at work.
However, then the crown comes along with other evidence and shows that the person who perpetrated this crime must have been a complete moron in order to pull it off without being caught. You see, the crown contends that Elliot devised the plan to kill Scott Taylor after the heated argument he had with him the night before. He then went out and bought an acetylene torch close to his house, and signed his own name on the receipt. Even an idiot knows the police would investigate this shop owner and confiscate the receipt. He then went to the park, torched the ride and was dumb enough to get caught by the security guard coming down the ride's stairs, without any dirt or soot on his clothing I might add. He then must have returned early the next day to retrieve the torch from the ravine where he hid it, only the guard swore that the only way something could be hidden in the ravine would be for it to be placed at the bottom. Now I have traveled down this ravine personally, and so has my associate and both of us came up dirty, even on a day when it hadn't rained in almost a week. But let's just assume for a second that Elliot did somehow manage to hide the torch at the bottom and remain clean, his next actions certainly were moronic if he had committed the crime. You see after coming in early, retrieving the hidden torch, wiping his fingerprints off of it, he placed it in his own trunk, next to the 16 bolts that had been removed from the ride and did nothing. He did not hide them or ditch them; he did nothing of that sort. Instead he just let them sit there almost calling out for the police to find them. That combined with the fact that he didn't shred the documents found in Mr. Taylor's office, or the appointment book that might have identified who Scott Taylor had employed to investigate the embezzlement, show that my client was a moron, if he committed this crime.
The only way this all makes sense is for you to conclude that it is highly likely that another person or persons committed these crimes. Let's say for a moment that someone else did it and see if that would fit the evidence. If someone else did it, with access of course to park finances, and computers, it would be rather easy to make up the fake invoices and inventory. This person would also have access to the ride's computer and, with some expertise, be able to sabotage it. If this person also had an insider in the bank with which the fake company would do business with, it would be easy to subvert the bank's securities and controls, and funnel the money through the fake accounts and then into thin air.
If someone else committed this crime, it would also explain why crucial pieces of evidence pointing to my client's guilt were left lying around for the police to find. This is what I believe happened, and it is what I intend to show to you during this portion of the trial. Thank you."
"Well then Mr. Deville," the judge said, "I assume from your opening statement that you wish to call witnesses, so let's proceed."
"I do Your Honor and we will. The defense calls Burt Granger to the stand. I also wish to inform the court that this examination will be conducted by my associate."
"Mr. Granger," Becca said after he was sworn in, "yesterday it was established that you are the bank manager for the Sovereign Bank of Toronto's Albion Rd. Branch was it not?"
"Yes ma'am, I am," Granger responded.
"How long have you held this position?"
"For almost 10 years."
"In your years of service at the bank, how many central tellers have you had?"
"There have been three.
Ms. Hannah Watson was my central teller from 2001-2007, Ms. Audrey Taylor was from 2007-2009, and Ms. Ashley Mortland is the current central teller from that point on."
"Had Ms. Taylor had any prior experience prior to becoming the central teller?"
"No she hadn't, but she had graduated university with an accounting degree and before she was married, her resume said that she worked her way up from mechanic to bookkeeper at the auto shop where she had worked. She had great references, a great attitude and seemed to be a hard worker, which is exactly what I was looking for."
"Why did you not hire from within?" Becca asked.
"Objection Your Honor," Samantha said, "this testimony is irrelevant to the case at hand."
"Your Honor," Becca responded, "this testimony will set the foundation for all of the testimony that is to come. Although it may seem irrelevant right now, I assure you, by the end of this morning, the relevance will be shown."
"The objection is overruled for now. But if you are not right counselor, I will have no other choice but to sustain the crown's objection at a later time and strike this testimony from the record," the judge said.
"The job of a central teller is a highly complex one, involving not only skill in the counting of money, but in the tracking of money, the accounting of money, and the ordering of money. Our branch has some very talented tellers, but since it is so large, I felt that an outside hand would be a much better fit."
"So, since this job is complex, do you ever allow untrained tellers to work as the central teller?" Becca asked.
"No," Granger replied
"Not even for a minute?"
"No, because that's how money mysteriously finds legs and walks out the door," Granger responded.
"So it is safe to assume that only the people in your personnel profile logs who have 'C.T.' in the training section would ever be working as the central teller at your branch."
"That's correct Ms. Deville."
"OK, moving on," Becca said, "yesterday my associate tried to show you Crown's exhibit E and F. This was objected to by the crown and was not allowed to occur. I now show you these exhibits and ask you if you recognize the signature at the bottom of the form."
"When I handed these over to the crown I told them that my signature was on the bottom, but now as I examine this closer, I find that my signature has been forged."
"So it is not your signature that authorized the mysterious Mr. Aria and Mr. Tory to open these accounts?"
"No it is not my signature," Granger said.
"Perhaps then you could clear up the mystery of how these accounts were opened by answering this question. Would a teller at the bank be able to create an account without getting your approval?" Becca asked.
"Normally no, but it is obvious that someone did," Granger replied.
"I ask that the jury be charged to disregard the witness' last statement on the grounds that he drew an unnecessary conclusion," Samantha said.
"The jury will disregard it," Justice Richardson said. "The witness is asked to refrain from drawing conclusions not based in fact.
"Next, would a teller, central or not, also be able to make transactions appear as if they would have come from another teller?"
"No, that would only be possible if the person had learned the password of another teller, and even then, they would also have had to have their identity badge."
"But if that would have happened, could someone make a transaction appear as if it came from another teller?"
"If those things were true, yes."
"Thank you Mr. Granger, no further questions," Becca said.
"Does the crown wish to cross-examine?" Justice Richardson asked.
"Yes Your Honor," Samantha replied.
"For Crown's Exhibits E and F, what are the dates that those accounts were opened?"
"They were both opened on March 17, 2009," Granger replied.
"Now I would like to draw your attention to Crown's Exhibit D. What was the date that the dummy corporation was opened?"
"The paperwork said that this account was opened on March 10, 2009."
"Would the person who opened this account have a copy of this signed document, complete with your signature on it?"
"Absolutely," Granger replied.
"Let the record show that the crown has established that Mr. Ravenwood opened this account and would therefore have had ample time to learn Mr. Granger's signature and forge it on other documents."
"Your Honor," Elijah interrupted, "the crown may very well believe that it has established certain facts, but the defense has stipulated to none of them. I ask you therefore to admonish Ms. Howard and ask her to save her conclusions for her closing statements."
"I agree Mr. Deville," the judge said. "Ms. Howard, you know better than to make statements like that in this court. One more comment like that, and I'll be forced to find you in contempt and declare a mistrial. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Your Honor. I apologize," Samantha said.
"Returning to the matter at hand Mr. Granger, did any of your employees report their passwords compromised or their ID badges stolen?"
"No they did not," Granger responded.
"Thank you, no further questions."
"Does the defense wish to redirect?" the judge said.
"No Your Honor," Becca responded.
"Very well. Mr. Deville, call your next witness."
"Your Honor, the defense calls Kevin Craig to the stand. This witness will also be examined by my associate," Elijah said.
"Mr. Craig, what is your position at the park?" Becca asked.
"I am the computer system's manager at the Canada's AdventureLand theme park," Craig replied.
"What is the job description for a computer system's manager?"
"It is my job to program, maintain and troubleshoot problems with all of the computer systems located at the park. Whether it was the main office computers, or the thrill ride's computers, I was involved with it all."
"Did you design the program that ran the Colossus?"
"Me, along with a team of developers spent over a year designing the state of the art computer system that would control that ride," Craig said.
"Without getting too technical, how did the program work?"
"Well, the computer basically ran every part of the ride. Sensors were placed on the cars, tracks and underneath the ride to detect everything that might pose a danger to riders. A weather analyzer was even installed that would shut down the ride automatically if the conditions deteriorated past a predetermined level. The computer could control the speed of the ride, speeding it up if it was moving to slow and slowing it down if it was going too fast. It could also cut off power to any portion of the ride that malfunctioned. This was a key safety precaution needed on a ride that intense," Craig said.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Craig, but could you tell us what would happen if a part of the ride did malfunction," Becca asked.
"If any portion of the ride showed abnormal sensor readings, the ride's computer monitor would flash either a yellow warning or a red warning. Yellow warnings were minor warnings that could be overridden by the ride operator and fixed at a later time, while red warnings were major warnings and would have to be dealt with immediately. If a red warning flashed, the computer would lock down the ride, meaning that until the computer gets normal readings from all sensors, no further rides would be able to be run."
"If someone had torched off pieces of the ride's wheel casings, would this have given a red or yellow warning?"
"It would have definitely given a red warning, because of the potential for the wheels to fall off."
"Did the ride's computer give a red warning before the ride that killed Mr. Taylor took off?" asked Becca.
"The only red warning that computer gave was when the car left the track and crashed into the gulley below."
"Then isn't it reasonable to conclude that the computer program was tampered with in order for the ride
to be released?"
"Objection Your Honor, not only is defense counsel asking the witness for a conclusion, but she is also asking the witness to speculate," Samantha said.
"My, lady, give me two more questions, and I'll show you the proof."
"Objection is overruled."
"So what about that then Mr. Craig?"
"It was impossible to corrupt the files of this ride. The computer was coded in such a way so as to detect errors in it. Had the files been corrupted, a red warning would have alerted the ride operator and the ride would have been locked down."
"Ah Mr. Craig if only that were true. But as we all know in this computer age, what one man can code, another can decode. In order for this murder to go off without a hitch, the computer had to be sabotaged too, or else the ride wouldn't have gotten off the ground. So, what if I told you that the disk you gave Mr. Deville, you know the one with the newest update of the software was not the same as the software installed the day before the murder."
"I'd say you were mistaken. No one had been allowed to touch the computer system before I gave Mr. Deville those disks," Craig responded.
"Your Honor," Becca said, "I'd like to enter these two computer program disks into evidence as defense exhibits A and B. Exhibit A is the disk with a copy of the computer program on the computer 3 months after the accident, while Exhibit B is the copy of the upgrade installed the day before the murder." Becca, after handing the disks to the clerks came back to the podium and continued. "If you were to examine those two disks, you'd find that they were the same in almost every way, except in one area. On the disk labeled Defense Exhibit B, there is code present that disables all of the warning systems of the ride between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM on July 1st, 2010. The only warning that was programmed to appear during this time was the one signaling that the cars had left the track. The code is buried so deep in the program that it took our experts until last night to uncover it, but rest assured, the code is there. What kind of person could successfully pull that kind deception off?" Becca asked.
"Ma'am, in order to do that, one would have to be an exceptionally skilled programmer," Craig responded.
"Why is that?"
"Because in order to disable all warning systems, you have to know where the code is in order to disable it. All of the warning systems aren't coded in one place in order to avoid a problem just as you have described. Even then, they had to know that the computer program also had a self diagnostic which should have detected this code. To disable this, you had to know it existed, which wasn't common knowledge, and where to find it, which wasn't easy."
"Mr. Craig, who handed you the update to install onto the computer?" Becca asked.
"Daniel Morris handed it to me after he had said he had done a final test of the maintenance portions of the program and found no errors."
"Thank you Mr. Craig. I have no further questions."
"Ms. Howard?" the judge responded as she saw a listless Samantha slouching in her chair.
"I have no questions for this witness," Samantha said as she shook her head violently to awake herself out of the trance that she had been in.
"At this time the defense calls Daniel Morris to the stand," Elijah said.
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