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“Talk to me about the Hernandez case,” he said “What’s your new evidence?”

Baxter sighed and shifted the files to the other arm She was a short, chubby woman with cropped black hair and cinnamon-brown skin “Got a minute? I’d like to drop these at my office We can talk there”

Marinelli checked his watch He had a hearing in an hour, so he nodded and followed her to the small less room she shared with another public defender, asn’t there at the moment

Baxter lowered the files onto a side table with a grunt, sat down and waved Marinelli into a guest chair “Hernandez lied He’s taking the rap for someone else”

“And you know thishow?”

“Inconsistencies, s I didn’t catch at the time” She yanked a file from the middle of a stack, pulled out so cards across the top of her state-issue metal desk

“The police report and the autopsy show Ramirez was shot in the chest, point-blank, with a nine-un”

“Right”

“In his statement to the police, Hernandez adot on the street He said the sah an interpreter In fact, he told me very little he hadn’t already told the cops But, at one point, the interpreter referred to the gun as a revolver When I asked hi to Hernandez Both of theitated Then, the interpreter said he’d made a mistake in his translation He told un”

“And you didn’t think to question his story at the time?”

“I did—believe me, I tried my best—but the interpreter insisted it was his e his story”

“So what makes you think it wasn’t just a mistake?”

“As you know, Ra confessions on a Saturday night According to his statement, Hernandez waited for everyone to leave, then ran up to the co the altar Then he tried to otten as far as the rear of the altar when he was caught by the h this version with the interpreter to h a series of questions Where were you standing? Where was he standing? Yada, yada, yada I couldn’t get a straight answer on why he moved the body, but the ured maybe he panicked The botto outside the communion rail”

“And got caught by a witness Pretty da”

“Yes and I didn’t think o, I happened to be in the neighborhood to speak to a witness on another matter I was near the church, so I stopped in I noticed the dais is raised So if Hernandez only ran up to the cole” She pointed a finger in an upward slant to deain and went to see hiain—where he here the priest hy he tried to move the body The more I questioned hiot Finally, Hernandez refused to say anything more”