Authors: David Kessler
“What if I confess and then the DNA shows I’m innocent. Then folks’ll go ‘round sayin’ you beat a confession outta me.”
“I somehow don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Bridget.
“Then I don’t see why you want me to confess.”
“The judge might go easier on you if you confess.”
Manning smiled again, taunting them with his good spirits.
“Do you
want
the judge to go easy on me?
Nadis leaned over the table practically shoving his face into Manning’s.
“You know what
I
want you piece of shit? I want the judge to throw the book at you!”
“Then maybe it’s better if I
don’t
confess.
Detective Nadis was about to grab Manning by the throat, when Bridget stepped forward and stopped his hand. “You think its clever, terrorizing innocent women.”
“Not all women are as innocent as they’d have you believe.”
Andi was standing before the judge in the fully-assembled courtroom, looking somewhat nervous.
“Your Honor, the defense calls Elias Claymore.”
A gasp of surprise went through the courtroom. Alex had decided that once again, she should do the honors. Claymore was accused of raping a woman. So a woman must guide him through the minefield of his direct examination, before she abandoned him on the even deadlier minefield of Sarah Jensen’s
cross
-examination. Claymore stood up and walked to the witness stand. The Clerk held out a Bible for him.
“Place your left hand on the book and raise your right hand,” said the clerk.
He complied.
“Do you swear, so help you God, that the evidence you give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”
“I do.”
The clerk took back the Bible and withdrew and Andi Pheonix began her direct examination.
“You are Elias Joshua Claymore?”
“Yes.”
“Could you tell the court were you were on June fifth of this year between nine and eleven in the morning?”
“I was at home, reading through background material for my afternoon show.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“It was a weekday. I always read the background material in the morning. The show goes out live in the afternoon and I read the material in the morning to prepare for it.”
“Did anyone see you there?”
“No.”
“Mr Claymore, did you rape Bethel Newton?”
“No,” Claymore replied, it was only a moment’s hesitation. But it was enough to damage his case.
Damn!
thought Alex, as he looked on helplessly.
No matter that there were a dozen legitimate reasons for his hesitation. No matter that he was a man carrying the burden and baggage of his guilty past. That momentary hesitation was enough to inflict a mortal wound upon his defense. Andi didn’t seem to notice this. She just ploughed on with her questioning.
“Have you had any form of sexual contact with a woman since you came back to America of your own free will to serve out your sentence?”
“I’ve been haunted by what I did for many years. Since I came back to America I haven’t been able to touch a woman.”
“No further questions.”
Andi sat down. Sarah Jensen rose slowly and waited a few seconds before commencing.
“Mr Claymore, you say that no one saw you at home during the hours in question. Did anyone telephone at that time?”
“No.”
“So no one can actually confirm your alibi?”
“That’s right.”
“Tell me something. You say you haven’t been able to touch a woman since you came back to America, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever
fantasized
about touching a woman, since you came back?”
Andi was about to stand up to object. Alex put a subtle, restraining hand on her forearm.
“I... I guess so.” He was hesitant again. “Sometimes I’ve thought about it.”
“Have you ever fantasized about
raping
a woman since you came back?”
Andi looked round at Alex, the look on her face bordering on desperation. He shook his head gently. Claymore who had seen this, remained silent, a glazed stare in his eyes, as if he were remembering something.
“The witness will answer the question,” said Justice Wagner firmly.
“I could never do a thing like that. Not now. When I look at women, I see people I’ve hurt.”
Andi glanced at the jurors with her peripheral vision.
“I didn’t ask whether you
did
anything like that now. I asked whether or not you fantasized about.”
“No, of course not. I’ve been a different man since I came back. I put my past behind me. I’ve never thought about that sort of thing. Not since I came back.”
“So does that mean you don’t remember raping those girls?”
“I... I remember it. I’ll never forget it.”
“But you don’t remember their faces?”
“Oh yes... I remember their faces. I see them every night, in the darkness... when I’m alone in my bedroom.”
“You relive the ordeal?”
“Yes.”
“So you
do
think about raping women?”
“I... I...”
He didn’t know what to say. What to him was reliving a nightmare from which he couldn’t escape, was to her the savoring of sadistic memories from his past – and he could see by the looks on the jurors’ faces that they accepted the prosecutor’s version, not his.
“According to the records from the TV station, a call to your number from your producer was logged out at nine-twenty. How do you account for that?”
“I must have been in the bathroom. The toilet must have been flushing when the phone rang. Sometimes you can’t hear the phone when the toilet’s flushing.”
Sarah waited in silence, to allow the juror’s skepticism to kick in.
“Was your car in the driveway on the day in question?
“No, it was stolen two days before.”
“You mean you
reported
it stolen?”
“I mean it
was
stolen.”
“Did it ever show up again?”
“You know what happens when a car gets stolen. They strip it down and you never see it again.”
“Just answer the question, please.”
“It hasn’t been found. I rented one.”
“And what make and color of the car that was stolen?”
“An aquamarine Mercedes.”
“Just like the victim described. No further questions.”
Sarah Jensen sat. Andi stood up to salvage as much as she could on redirect.
“Just a couple of questions to clear up some things. Mr Claymore your car was stolen on the
third
of June?”
“That’s correct.”
“And at that time, Bethel Newton wasn’t even in the State of California.”
“So I understand.”
Alex sat down smiling. Claymore looked at him tensely, then at Andi.
“Re-cross?”
Sarah Jensen stood up again.
“When did you
report
your car stolen, Mr Claymore?”
“I…” he trailed off. “I told the cops about it when I was arrested in connection with this case. I intended to report it before that but
–
”
“I’m not interested in what you intended Mr Claymore, only what you
did
. No further questions.”
The judge looked over at the clock above the main entrance.
“In view of the hour, I think we’ll adjourn for lunch. The court will reconvene at two-thirty.”
“All rise!”
Everyone stood. The judge left through the door beside her bench. Alex and Andi started gathering up their papers as Claymore walked up to them from the witness stand, a member of the sheriff’s department standing nearby just in case he got any funny ideas. He was looking at Andi, and the look was gentle, almost embarrassed.
“I just want to thank both of you for what you’ve done for me.”
He was looking, not at Alex Sedaka, but at Andi. She nodded, embarrassed.
“I have to go,” she said uncomfortably. “I’ll meet you back here at two-thirty.”
“So Mr. Johnson,” said Alex, “you amplified the sample in the thermal cycler?”
“Yes,” said the nervous eighteen-year-old boy on the witness stand. He was thin, but not tall and could easily have been two or three years younger than his age.
Alex had called Elias Claymore first in accordance with the general rule that the defendant should be called first, if he was to testify at all. Some jurisdictions required it, in order that the defendant should be in the same position as other witnesses subject to the rule of the court – i.e. not able to hear testimony already given by witnesses for the same side. But even if it had not been required, Alex realized that Andi was right about the jury having to hear from Claymore to make them more sympathetic to his cause. She had done a creditable job, despite Claynore’s early slip-up and Sarah Jensen skillful cross-examination.
But now Alex was planning to unleash both barrels and expose a vulnerability that he thought he had discovered in the People’s case.
He had obtained the judge’s permission to treat Steven Johnson as a hostile witness. This did not mean that he could bully or badger the witness – indeed it would have been counter-productive to do so – only that he could ask the witness leading questions directly. Thus many of his questions sounded like statements.
“Does Dr Alvarez keep a close eye on you when you work?”
“What do you mean?” asked Johnson nervously.
“Well you’re only eighteen. And you’re not a scientist, just a lab technician. Doesn’t he have to keep a close eye on you to make sure you don’t make mistakes?”
“Not at all. As a matter of fact he lets me work unsupervised.”
“Isn’t that a bit risky? I mean wouldn’t it lead to a certain amount of jealousy and conflict and interfere with good working practices?”
“Why should it lead to jealousy?” asked Johnson, sounding confused.
“Well if he lets you work unsupervised, while he keeps such a close eye on the others
–
”
“He doesn’t keep a close eye on the others.”
“Oh you mean
all
the lab assistants work unsupervised.”
Johnson suddenly realized that he had said too much,
“No. I mean... not all the time.”
“Oh I see, you mean some days he says ‘today I’m going let you all work unsupervised’ and other days he says ‘today I’m going keep a close eye on you.’ Is that right?”
“No, it’s not like that?”
“Then what is it like?”
“It depends on... the circumstances.”
“You mean on the workload?”
“Yes.”
“So when the lab’s not busy he keeps a close eye on you?”
“Yes.”
“And when it’s busy he doesn’t.”
“Yes
–
I mean no!” He had already realized that he had gone too far, and he knew that there was no way of covering his tracks completely. But with every answer he gave, he seemed to be digging himself in deeper. “I mean he always keeps an eye on us, but not as close as when it’s less busy.”
“But not on you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He doesn’t keep a close eye on you at all. Is that right?”
“No. He keeps a close eye on me too.”
“But you said he lets you work unsupervised.”
“Yes, but not completely unsupervised.”
“What do you mean not completely unsupervised? Isn’t that like being a little bit pregnant?”
“I mean, he doesn’t stand looking over my shoulder but he he’d notice if I make a mis
–
”
“Yes Mr. Johnson?”
“If I made a mistake.”
Alex asked his next question, quietly but firmly.
“And did you make a mistake?”
“No.”
But he was squirming when he said it. The mere fact that the lawyer asked the question, and looked at him with those piercing eyes, was enough to make him squirm. He could have been innocent and had nothing to hide, but those piercing eyes would still have made him squirm.
“Were you busy that day?”
Johnson looked over at Sarah Jensen. Alex half turned and looked back and forth between the two, emphasizing Johnson’s helplessness and rubbing the jury’s collective nose in the fact that Johnson was seeking help from the prosecutor.
“The witness will answer the question,” the judge said firmly.
“We were fairly busy.”
The word “fairly” was a desperate attempt to straddle the fence – and Alex knew it. He could see right through Johnson’s attempts to stick to the safe middle ground. With “fairly busy” the witness knew that he could go either way, depending on the thrust of the next question.
“So busy that Dr Alvarez had to let you work unsupervised?
Johnson could evade no longer.
“I guess.”
“Why were you busy?”
“I don’t understand.”
He was genuinely confused, and thought he had made another blunder.
“It’s a simple enough question. Why were you busy?”
“Because... I guess... because we had a lot of work to do.”
“And not enough people to do it.”
“I guess.”
“In other words, the reason you were busy is because there wasn’t a big enough staff to handle the work load?
“Yes,” replied Johnson.
“And so, if you had a lot of work to do at the lab and not enough people to do it, you would have been under pressure to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time.”
“Yes,” Johnson admitted, his voice now weak.
Sarah Jensen rose to her feet.
“Your Honor, perhaps Defense Council is being vague and repetitious.”
“Mr Sedaka?”
“I was establishing foundation, Your Honor.”
“Well let’s say that you’ve established it. Perhaps you can now cut to the chase.”
Sarah Jensen sat.
“Mr Johnson, let me ask me this: under the circumstances that you described, did you forget to do things you were supposed to do?”
“Like what?”
“Like being careful to avoid mishandling the sample.”
“Objection Your Honor. Lacking in specificity.”
“Rephrase Mr Sedaka.”
Alex looked down at the worksheets before him.
“Before you amplified the evidence sample, what did you do?”
“I… don’t remember. I mean I’d have to check my worksheet.”