Balance of Power

    Silent, the witness clasped his wrist with a clawlike movement of his right hand. However detached from normal sensibilities, Gehringer clearly grasped the enormity of the question—the answer could have him placing a P-2 in the hands of the man who had used it to slaughter the mother, niece and sister of the First Lady of the United States. Then an unpleasant smile crossed Gehringer's face—whether in satisfaction at the fact of this, or at what the answer might gain him, Sarah could not tell.

    "Yes."

    The cold monosyllable seemed to echo in the room. More calmly, Sarah asked, "Did he tell you why he wanted a P-2?"

    "Not exactly."

    Damn you for your indifference, Sarah thought. "Did he indicate to you—in words or substance—the reason he was buying a Lexington P-2?"

    Gehringer's eyes still rested on Bowden's face. "He showed me an ad."

    Nolan's expression became a studied blank. Opening a manila folder, Sarah said, "I have here a copy of The Defender magazine, premarked as 'Gehringer Exhibit Two.' Was the ad he showed you in this magazine?"

    "Yes."

    "Had you seen the magazine before?"

    Gehringer flipped its pages. With the same detachment, he said, "I subscribe to it."

    "Is there a particular reason?"

    "It has a calendar of gun shows. That's how I knew about the show in Vegas."

    To Sarah's left, Fancher scribbled a note. Taking the magazine from Gehringer's hand, she turned to a page marked with a paper clip. "I show you page fifty-five. Is this the advertisement?"

    "Yes."

    "The one for Lexington Arms?"

    "Yes."

"And next to it is an ad for a gun show."

    "Yes." The witness paused. "That was another reason I came to the show. I knew I'd have some customers."

    All at once, Nolan's causation defense—that Sarah could not prove Lexington's ad had drawn Bowden to Las Vegas—was gone. Feeling the invisible hand of Kerry Kilcannon, she wondered how he had brought this moment about, and what it might cost him.

    "When did you learn Bowden's name?" Sarah asked.

    Gehringer's mouth twitched. "After he was dead. From television."

    "Not at the gun show?"

    Gehringer studied the page before him. "I'm not a licensed dealer," he said with faint derision. "Under the law, I don't have to run a background check."

    "Did you discuss this with Bowden?"

    "Yes. He didn't want a background check. Said he didn't have time."

    Sarah pushed The Defender to one side, gaze fixed on Gehringer. "How much did you charge him?"

    "Five fifty."

    "Did he bargain?"

    "No." An edge of disdain entered his voice. "He complained. He said the Gun Emporium was selling them for less."

    "Did he say why he was paying you a premium?"

    The unsettling smile reappeared. "The Gun Emporium ran background checks."

    Nolan pressed his palms together. It struck Sarah that, outside this room, no one—save for George Johnson, a few federal prosecutors, or those in the chain of information leading to the President—knew the damning facts which the reporter, stone-faced, was recording in black and white. But its public impact could be devastating. Like Bowden and his victims, Ben Gehringer put a face—in Gehringer's case, an inhuman one—on the need for Kilcannon's gun bill. Once again, she chafed at the order through which Gardner Bond had entombed the facts until Congress could entomb this case.

    "Did you," Sarah inquired, "discuss with Bowden the features of the Lexington P-2?"

    "Yes."

    "For what reason did he buy one?"

    "The same reason that we stole them." For the first time, Gehringer chose to elaborate, speaking in the clipped tone of an expert. "More firepower, adaptable to a higher-capacity magazine."

"Did you discuss that feature with Bowden?"

"Yes. He figured ten bullets weren't enough."

    An image shot through Sarah's brain—Marie Costello, blood oozing from her shredded abdomen. "Did you also discuss the bullets?"

    "Yes."

    "And what was that discussion?"

    Next to Gehringer, his lawyer gazed soberly at the SSA's Defender. "If he needed to shoot someone," the witness answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "he wanted to be sure he killed them."

* * *

"Why are you testifying?" Nolan asked with feigned incredulity.

    The breakthrough, Sarah realized, had only hardened her dislike for Nolan and his methods. "Objection," she interposed. "The question is vague and overbroad. Why does anybody testify?"

    Nettled, Nolan turned to the reporter. "Please read back the question."

    "Why?" Sarah snapped. "It won't get any better."

    "Yes," the public defender agreed. "I'd like you to rephrase the question."

    Nolan stared at the witness. "Do you," he asked in an accusatory tone, "have an agreement with plaintiff's counsel regarding your testimony here today?"

    "You mean like yours with Martin Bresler?" Sarah asked. "Let me clear that up for you. We've never met with Mr. Gehringer. Except for scheduling matters, we've never spoken to his counsel. We have no deal with either one.