Balance of Power

    "But you're not aware of any other motive."

    " 'Other'?" Sarah inquired with mild derision, "than that his wife left him, kept him from seeing his child, and twice brought charges relating to spousal abuse? Or do you mean other than that Bowden had an obvious propensity for violence?"

    For the first time, Nolan faced her. In a tone of cold politeness, he said, "In your inexperience, Ms. Dash, you may have overlooked that what you just favored us with was a speech, not an objection—the effect of which was to coach the witness. It's my prerogative to ask the question I wish to ask."

    This was a test, Sarah knew, Nolan's initial effort at intimidation. But it also told her that she had succeeded in angering him, and in disrupting the rhythm he had hoped to establish with Monk. "I apologize," she answered with a smile. "In my inexperience, I expected your questions to make sense."

    Nolan stared at her across the table. Stirring with apparent impatience, Monk told him, "I don't know why the man did what he did. But there's a lot of reasons he could have."

    Silent, Nolan gazed down at the outline of his examination—to mask his irritation, Sarah suspected. She found it a pleasant moment.

    At length, Nolan looked up. "In your investigation," he asked, "did you determine whether Bowden had any connection to Lexington Arms?"

    " 'Determine'?" Sarah inquired. "Or even

attempt to determine?"

    This time Nolan ignored her. In a chill voice, he instructed the witness, "You may answer."

    "That wasn't something we focused on," Monk responded.

    Sarah suppressed a smile. "Did you find a connection?" Nolan persisted.

    "No."

    "Was Lexington involved, in any way, in the sale of the P-2 to Mr. Nolan?"

    " 'In any way'?" Sarah repeated in a quizzical tone. "They made the gun. They advertised

the gun. I don't understand the question."

    "I could try to explain it," Nolan retorted caustically. "But only God can grant understanding." To Monk, he said in a testy tone, "You can answer the question, Inspector. Without reference, if possible, to Ms. Dash's repeated intercessions."

    "If what you mean," Monk answered, "is did Lexington sell the gun to Bowden, I don't know who sold it to him."

    Sarah's sense of satisfaction vanished. Monk's amendment went to the heart of the problem with Mary's case, as Nolan would be quick to see. Leaning back, Nolan placed one finger to his lips. "Is it correct, Inspector Monk, that Mr. Bowden took a round-trip to Las Vegas and back one day before the murders?"

    "It is."

    "What, if you know, was the purpose of his trip?"

    Monk glanced at Sarah—a hint, she believed, as to where his sympathies lay. Carefully, he answered, "We believe to attend a gun show."

    "On what do you base that belief?"

    "Several things." Briefly, Monk stopped to organize his thoughts. "First, before he left for Las Vegas, police had searched his house in response to his wife's complaint, and found no guns. Second, there was a gun show in Las Vegas at which P-2s were sold. Third, among his personal effects was a copy of the SSA Defender magazine, with an advertisement for the P-2 next to one for the gun show."

    "Do you have any other basis," Nolan persisted, "for assuming that the purpose of Bowden's trip was to attend a gun show?"

    Awaiting the answer, Sarah tensed. Monk hesitated, and then said flatly, "No."

    "Do you have any information, Inspector, as to Mr. Bowden's movements in Las Vegas?"

    "We do not."

    Almost imperceptibly, Nolan leaned forward, closing the distance between lawyer and witness. "Did you discover any evidence that, in fact, Mr. Bowden attended the show?"

    "We did not."

    "What efforts, if any, did you make to determine whether he was there?"

    Monk pondered his answer. "They were limited, I'd have to say. One problem is that gun shows don't seem to keep records of who attends, and a lot of guns are bought for cash. The point seems to be to conceal the identity of anyone who doesn't want to purchase a weapon through a licensed dealer."

    Exactly, Sarah thought. But the reason Bowden had gone to the show—as he so obviously had—was the reason that this would be difficult to prove under the rigorous evidentiary standards of a trial. And if she and Lenihan could not prove it, their case was at an end—as Nolan, his air of calm restored, well knew. "Did you," Nolan asked, "inquire of anyone connected with the gun show?"

    Monk nodded. "The promoter, and the employees who actually collected money from the people going in. We showed them a picture of Bowden, and asked if they'd seen him. Nobody remembered."

    Or wanted to remember, Sarah was certain. The last thing the promoter needed was John Bowden as a customer. "Our focus," Monk added, "wasn't on the gun show, but whether Bowden had acted alone. So we didn't take it any further, and I'm not even sure we'd have known where to start. There were thousands of people at the show, and hundreds of sellers—most of them unlicensed."