Page 9 of The Right to Remain

Elliott hesitated, and Jack took notice.

“Elliott?”

“To be honest, the call to 911 raised some questions in my mind.”

Jack was slightly confused. “Do you mean the 911 call on the night of Mr. Pollard’s death?”

“Yes. I listened to it yesterday.”

Jack was even more confused. “The only way to get a 911 recording is through a public records request. How did you get it?”

“Ms. Dubrow made the request before she decided she had a conflict of interest and couldn’t represent me. The audio file came to both of us in an email yesterday. I downloaded it to my phone. You want to hear it?”

“Yes, I do,” said Jack. “But let me make sure I understand. This is a call to 911 from—who? The person who found the body? Mr. Pollard’s wife?”

“No,” said Elliott. “That’s why I told you the 911 call raised questions in my mind. The call is from Mr. Pollard.”

Jack took a moment to process that twist. “Mr. Pollard called 911 before committing suicide? Why would anyone do that?”

Elliott had no answer, except to say, “I presume the state attorney is asking the same question.”

“Let’s hear the call,” said Jack.

Elliott hitplayand increased the volume. Jack heard a hissing noise followed by a beep. Finally, there was a woman’s voice:

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

The response was not immediate, and when it came, the caller sounded like he was speaking through pain.

“There’s—uh, there’s been a shooting.”

Elliott paused the recording. “That’s Mr. Pollard,” he said, and the recording resumed with another question from the operator.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“Yeah,”the caller said, struggling.“I’m... I’ve been shot.”

“Someone shot you, sir?”

There was no response.

“What’s your name, sir?”

Still no response.

“Sir, can you tell me your name, please?”

There was only silence.

“Are you there, sir? Can you answer me, please?”

Elliott hitstop.“Mr. Pollard never responded,” he said in a hollow voice.

Jack replayed the call in his mind’s eye, trying to imagine the scene playing out. “It’s possible that he shot himself, but it wasn’t immediately fatal. Maybe the pain was unbearable or maybe he even changed his mind. That’s when he called 911.”

“Is that what you think the grand jury is investigating?”

“No,” said Jack. “A medical examiner could determine if the wound was self-inflicted. A grand jury is involved because the prosecutor’s theory is that someone shot Mr. Pollard and then tried to make it look like suicide.”