Compelling Evidence (41 page)

I nod toward the bench, rebuked a little, but made. "Very well, Your Honor." I return my gaze to ij, late my voice a little and change tack.

"When we I tell them, "I will ask you a single central ‐ k a that strikes to the heart of this case and that w ultimate verdict in this trial. I would ask you to WO. I now and through the balance of this trial to i*vi, question." I have their full attention now. They what this is, this magic bullet that will guide all, 4 "I will ask you whether in the presentation of looking and pointing at their table, where 5 I'm hapless, "Vic state has produced any compelling the slightest

, of the guilt ot‐ r

"Oh, there are things in this case with which Mr.

Nelson and myself," I say. "We agfee with I Potter was murdered."

Still not sure that this is an opening ‐im 1=1 . satisfied that he has at least squeezed a 7 "On that we agree,‐ I say 363 ‐ "This was no suicide. We agree, Whoever Perpetrated this dark crime did

"But you have

seen the inconsistencies in the state's case, the

"Av,. in their

evidence, the unex e 17‐Y'launam. YOU f _me again. The Coconut is on tile from tile bench, warning I ignore him and answer my own question.

"It reveals, as we will demonstrate by Out evidence"‐f t Acosta, my language now back on track in the f‐‐ urn C Uclicn. "M I would ask you to wait, ladies and gentlemen, to wait you have heard and seen all of the .. J present. ‐,5@,Tthe,.,co,nclus'0n of this case, I will ask you to contras, h 1‐Ceive hard , evidence I beyond all reasonaue doubt who killed Ben potter, this there are a dozen sets Of round eve stari Vn‐1 U

S ,i theory of the case. Now we I .1@ en committed UWWAUAD‐m'. must either Prove it, Or suffer sums 1from Potter's estate if Talia is convi NUUIUS I@ lead 'he jury to the obvious cted, I her. conclusion that the Greek has : "She knows about it," says Harry, "every period graph."

We are in the. hall outside the courtroom. The AMM 4"' ng A the bench, on a bladder call. Harry has been talkii )f Campanelli. It seems that Jo is privy to the terms one of two witnesses who signed it in the office the drafted. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this, the vs witnesses. In this state two are required to validate any 14@ Ann's name.was on the bottom of this one. Harry has this while I was busy shoveling myself out of the ews)1q, for me by Acosta. "Not only did she sign it," he says, "but she typed Iwo supplied by Hazeltine after he met with Potter." H 911 I tell him to bring his feet back down to earth. We

@o, deal with Acosta, to whom any discussion of Ben's beside the point.

I have subpoenaed the will, but cannot get it I I without a foundational witness. Jo Ann is now 417‐rf@ shot to accomplish this. But this latest revelation the order of my witnesses. From the beginning I slitho whether to put the Greek up first, to nail him AMVF‐@' expound upon his warm relations with Potter, and 7him with successive witnesses and evidence‐Jo 418 Ben and Tony brawl in the office, and the trust showing that the Greek had stolen regularly from IP‐7. to take Skarpellos up last, in a dramatic *)ol I I i. o'! give him the advantage of seeing these earlier " accounts of their testimony in the local papers, whis own responses accordingly. From the beginning it had been my plan to take Now this changes. I need something to distract 17 believe that I am impeaching him, but with Tow‐Ow I actually have. Kim Palmer is one of those small‐boned women' wiry, with a kind of athletic beauty born only in As,' rooms where the chic distaff set hangs out. Before..she and Kim were thick as thieves. Now the ‐i;4 M‐1 47 Y, restrained. Still, I've not had to twist arms to here and vouch for an old friend. She is one of

@14 witnesses we've put up. Two of Talia's have already laid in a measure of good repute, (I .0 or / .1 "n. il, upstanding businesswoman.

Both have stated that they trust her with their lives and fortunes. ‐‐t Palmer is a special case. The only one of Talia's social will use.

you've known Talia Potter for a number of years?" I say. J;MW" she says.

during that time you've been close?" friends," says Kim. frequently would you see Mrs. Potter, during this penllm=@ twice a week. We worked out together at the gym and at least once a week." ;k, you know her to be a truthful persont' would trust her with my life," she says. friends did you confide in each other, things that you might 1@ other, less intimate friends?" so." 01 Mrs. Potter ever talk about her marriage?"

1.4 yes." ,j,T,T1 what did she tell you?" im, she was very happy, that she loved her husband. She told many times. Her life revolved around her husband." 111, Mrs. Potter ever tell you that during the course of her while she was married to Ben Potter, she'd gone out T‐ITC‐4men?" @@, not. As I say, she was happily married." are a few smiles in the jury box. Robert Rath, my alpha has his hand to his mouth, unable to keep the mirth from This testimony may not be worth much, except as a with the Greek, to make him think that my sole point I‐, will be to his credibility on the issue of Ben's planned Palmer, did Talia Potter ever tell you that her husband Mowhe i a divorce?" ,0= she says. 'i'no the nature of your relationship, is this something that ..7r, have shared with you, the fact that her husband might '@t: a divorce?"

We were like sisters," she says. It are jurors looking at the ceiling, counting the tiles. she never told you at any time that Ben Potter was cona divorce?"

"No. Never. Absolutely not."

"Did you know Ben Potter?"

"I'd met him on several occasions. My husband to parties at the Potter residence. They'd been i'mritte' home on at least three or four occasions."

"Did Mr. and Mrs. Potter appear to you to be in

"Objection." Nelson is

up. "Valls for As‐vloi

"Very much," she says. "He doted on her, and @i,

"Sustained," says Acosta. He smiles at Kim other attorney objects ..."

She nods pertly like a attentive to his every instruction. "You're supposed until I rule on it."

"Sorry," she says. "It's all right." He smiles, a big wolfish grin. "I, manly tone he instructs the court reporter to ii‐li, response. I think he is taken with her. I have

"Ai'(6: 0 in black spandex, haunting Kim

Palmer on the I= ril It is not a pretty sight. I pause to consider the next question, a tactic to Nelson's objection. "What would you say if someone other than Mr. had told you that Ben Potter was considering a

"I

would say that they were either terribly they were lying."

She smiles up at Acosta. He nods, like

"This is fine." She is doing it

way. Then I turn her over to Nelson. "Mrs. Palmer, isn't it true that the defendant affairs with other ment' "No," she says. "Isn't it true that you yourself had affairs with that the@ two of you, Talia Potter and yourself, dated with these men on several occasions'?"

"Absolutely not, I resent the implication,'; she ‐ 4@‐fling up at the judge for protection. There is ,‐i $To here. Acosta is reserving his most Nelson, the look of a man being summoned to bully for the honor of a woman scorned. "Mrs. Palmer." Nelson says this as if to ;;ssip i her marriage, that this too is a fallen w man named Raul Sanchez?" he asks.

this there are large round eyes on Kim Palmer. "I don't .11 She's speaking slowly, thinking, or pretending to. T11 name does ring a bell,"

she says. should," says Nelson. "The tennis pro at the club you and potter attended." s. Now I remember him."

" gays Nelson. "To your knowledge, did Mrs. Potter ever Sanchez?" He rolls the name

"Raul" off his tongue some exotic elixir, some Latin aphrodisiac. @ ghs at this, a high giddy cackle that leaves half the jury :t think so," she says. "Not likely." She seems amused thought.

wj4,1Tra it surpriseyou if I told you that the defendant was checking into a motel on more than one occasion with Raul A#;.L that," she says.

She laughs again. "Is that what this is all 0 it wouldn't surprise me in the least." Iki I. is taken aback by this sudden burst of candor. He is

‐‐@at'meeks, wondering if he has somehow stepped in it. why would this not surprise you?" Mr. Sanchez," she says, "went with many of his clients 7.1. motel." She thinks for a moment, then comes up with the W

the place, without any help from Nelson. 1@TIT4 why was that?" says Nelson. 4W4i: were available courts there," she says. me?" r@, was a tennis pro," she says. "When the club was fun, when @7rro: were all in use, this motel had the closest available courts. The club had an arrangement with the place. was no locker room, no public showers, so we rented o)i turns and gives Meeks a deadly look. It seems. one more of sloppy police work, something their motel clerk did not or a question which Lama, in his rush to judgment, to ask. is taking some pleasure in this testimony. Apparent4*.' surprises to Nelson's case are just the pick‐me‐up she .,7, There is a lot of eye contact between Kim Palmer and With each surprise revealed by the witness, like each is a applied to Nelson's face. "Still," says Nelson, "you must admit it is unseemly, for a man and a married woman to ‐0 motel room together." Nelson's trying to salvage concession at least of improper appearances. "Raul's name never went on the registration," she @A body has a dirty mind."

There's a little laughter from the audience, iilil I box. Talia is looking at me, a broad grin, as if to Nelson has more than he can handle in Kim 0 "Besides," says Kim, "Raul was perfectly safe."

"Excuse met' says Nelson. I don't know how to say this," she says.

Nelson her, like a deer on the tracks, blinded and late. too

"He was

partial to other men," she says. "Like a ‐j, hinges‐he swung only one way."

There's open laughter from the jury box now. enjoying this. Nelson is not. When Kim told me of Raul and his prepping for her testimony. I didn't kn V 111 her. She has a fanciful imagination, one of those @,C,O

to whom license is everything. Talia professed ‐@rsi I figured Raul was far enough away to make the police or the court would send someone to this out. In all, Talia's sexual exploits are beginning L fanciful tint of pixie dust. There is nothing so stone‐serious theories of prosecution as humor. enough. His is a losing cause with Kim Palmer. and I pass on any redirect. It is unlikely that I damage than has already been done.

The court adjourns for the day. Kim is making no secret of her affection for Talia. '17 embrace openly ten feet from the jury box and i To my amazement, I look up and see a third scene. She is shaking hands vigorously with 7 an embrace, introducing herself. It is Nikki, up railing. There is a camaraderie here, I think, a distaff set that says that Kim Palmer has ill women. While her testimony may not be fatal T4

it is sharp little jabs like these that combined .Irl a trial.

ZII ence, like a street kid who's just gotten a little s of him. "As far as you know, Mr. Skarpellos, has. personal knowledge, what you saw and heard, told Talia Potter about any plans for a divorce, is

"Yeah," he

says. He's getting surly now. "In the early going in this case, you loaned Potter for her defense, didn't you?"

"Damn right," he says. "And she hasn't paid

"Your Honor." I'm looking to

Acosta to je more time. "Mr. Skarpellos. We have a small cell reserve for uncooperative witnesses. I do not tell you again."

The Greek is drawing a deadly bead on him. "How much did you lend Talia Potter in him. "I don't know, seventy‐five, eighty thousand."

"Eighty thousand dollars?" I say. He nods. "No trifling amount," I say.

"You did this out of your heart, and for no other reason?"

He looks at me bristling. He knows I have agreements he forced Talia to sign, the ones in the firm as collateral for these loans. "I extended some money to her because her I XTI@ was all tied up. She needed the money to pay He turns it around, makes it look as if II sucker. I smile at him and move away. "You have a reputation in this town , I say, businessman. These were not what you'would w. i i were they? They were collateralized, secured by the defendant, weren't they?"

"You don't give eighty thousand dollars aw )1W ay LAW he says. He's giving a single, beefy laugh 11, the jury. "And what collateral did you hold as security 0 ilk, "A note for Potter's interest in the firm," he

',kill

"A firm worth many millions of dollars," extended a loan of eighty thousand. Some 1, than shrewd, Mr. Skarpellos. Some might even

‐i‐ @ ‐' : ocall it what you want. She needed the money, and I gave it when no one else was there." I od making a face toward the jury, like

"Maybe this is ‐21 , I ,M,M‐ only a loanshark can fully understand."

suppose you lent her money because you thought she was MI, : of these charges?" he says. "I lent her money because she needed it." izi..(, pacing toward the jury as he says this, and I stop dead in &, big eyes looking at them. A little mock surprise. you believed that Talia Potter murdered your partner, "e'she killed one of your best friends, and you thought you lend her a little money for her defense, just for kicks9 Pk, this a business proposition you simply couldn't pass up, deal that you had to get in ont' ' )OF N) 1't know," he says. "I wasn't thinking.

Things were going ", ‐ fast." ‐14"al which is it, did you think she committed the crime calls for speculation on the part of the witness,"

407,111L ,!V a little slow getting to this. 4"ZLI!‐. it doesn't," I say.

"I'm U*g to find out the state of mind k@ witness at the time he made these loans. What motivated Vo, give money to a woman who was charged with killing his makes a gesture from the bench with one hand, like the giving a lazy blessing; then he lets me go on probing this It seems some of his rancor is beginning to diminish. the time I made the loan, I didn't know whether she comthe crime or not," says Skarpellos.

J‐71MV,I'm., I'm confused," I say. "You are here testifying in telling this jury that Ben Potter was going to divorce his IYAT‐7m, would appear to be a neat motive for murder, for the fact that Mrs. Potter apparently didn't know about @@ and all the while you don't know whether you think 777 Ben Potter or not. One day you're financing Talia ,ju defense and the next, you're here testifying against her." says Nelson. "Is there a question in there some@4, 4. V subpoenaed," says Skarpellos. ‐.'@