The Good Client

by Dan Decker

  Keith smiled, as if he were getting the reaction he wanted. I knew immediately what he was doing. He was trying to make Stephanie angry before he started asking her questions about other things.

  It was a bold move to start off in such a hostile manner with the key witness of the prosecution.

  Keith probably figured he didn’t have anything to lose as he was not playing to a jury. I doubted he would have been so aggressive in front of twelve people from the county. All potential future clients. No, the theatrics were just for the moment. He was trying to unsettle her.

  “What time of night did Mitch text you?”

  “It was the middle of the day.”

  “And did he just tell you over text what he wanted?”

  “No, we met at a restaurant.”

  “So it was a date?”

  “No.” She leaned forward. “As soon as I knew what he wanted, I left to get my keys to Timothy’s apartment and met him there. We did not have lunch together.”

  “I see. Would you say that is the standard procedure? Wouldn’t it have been more usual if he had asked you to meet him at the crime scene instead of at a restaurant?”

  All faces were on me once again. From my peripheral vision I could see Susie turning red on my behalf. I wondered if I should say something to Britney in case this got back to her. Keith was painting us as if we were in a relationship and I knew she would not take it well. I slowly pulled up my pen as if bored and wrote a note, trying to act as if this was the most inconsequential line of questioning I had ever witnessed. I hope I pulled it off, because inwardly I was seething.

  “You would have to ask Mister Turner. Why don’t you get him on the stand?”

  “During all your years as a detective have you ever had a defense attorney ask to meet for lunch?”

  “No, but in all my years as a detective, my team and I had never missed a murder weapon. It was a delicate situation. Mister Turner was trying to handle it as best he could. He knew how embarrassing it would be for my team and me. He could’ve called the press and turned it into a circus. Would that have been more to your liking?”

  Keith looked at the judge is if he were expecting help because of Stephanie’s tone, but Judge Anderson just shrugged as if to say to Keith had got himself into this and now he had to deal with it. The judge also did not bother to hide a small smile of amusement.

  I was glad the judge was entertained, if it had been happening to somebody else, I would’ve found it amusing too but I could only fume. This was inflammatory enough that Britney might see this on the news or catch wind of it somewhere else.

  I might have another problem to deal with if I didn’t get to her first.

  I will make you pay, Keith, especially if I lose Britney.

  I had not done anything unethical. I had been trying to honor my responsibilities when I reached out to Stephanie. I had done what I could to soften the blow because of our past relationship. She had returned the kindness when I had disclosed the lip gloss.

  Keith’s face became stern, as if he were going to finish what he started just because of his own willful and stubborn nature, rather than because it was helping his case. I wondered if he was happy with how it was going.

  “You mentioned before you did not think Mister Turner planted this weapon, is that correct?”

  “We found no evidence of such behavior by him or anybody else. We looked hard. Trust me, the last position I ever wanted to be in was here, trying to explain how we missed the murder weapon. You do realize that after this I’m as good as done at the department, right? Once this trial is over, I’ve been told to give my two-week notice. Is that what you want to hear?” Stephanie bristled. “Would you like to see a copy of that? I can make sure to carbon copy you.”

  The judge leaned forward as if he were about to say something, but then leaned back again as if thinking better of it. I couldn’t blame him. I’d seen her when she got like this and if I had been him, I would not have said a word.

  “Miss Gray. I apologize if this line of questioning makes you angry, but my client’s life is on the line. I’m sorry if you are going to lose your job,” Keith pointed at Ron Cooper, “but an innocent man is about to go to jail. Is that worth more than your job?”

  Stephanie stared at him, daring him to direct the judge she answer.

  A silence formed and then it grew worse.

  After several moments while Keith stared at her and she returned the favor without blinking, the judge finally cleared his throat.

  “Mr. Williams, I believe you have made your point. I will take this into consideration as I review the facts. Please move on.”

  “Happy to do so, Your Honor.”

  Keith then turned his line of questioning to other facts from that night. I slowly leaned back in my chair as the questioning went on, rather enjoying the continuing spectacle in front of me despite it all.

  Stephanie was in rare form.

  I had never seen her like this. Every single answer she gave dripped with acidity and sarcasm. Several times the judge seemed to be on the verge of talking to her, but then he would just shake his head and lean back, all the while trying to hide a smile.

  I silently encouraged her to do her worst while I tried to set aside the emotional angst I had developed during this line of questioning. Without realizing what I was doing, I had taken my pen and scribbled on my pad. Several minutes later, after I’d covered a significant portion of the page, I flipped the sheet around the back of my pad and put down my pen. It was not until Keith was done that I finally calmed down.

  The judge looked at Stephanie and then at me as if trying to decide if something improper had happened between the two of us or our handling of the case. I was embarrassed that I had forgotten about the lip gloss after deciding that it belonged to Stephanie.

  I looked straight forward and tried my best to not look ashamed. I had done the best I could with a weird situation.

  Judge Anderson coughed. “Let’s take a five-minute break before we continue with the questioning.”

  After the judge left, I hesitated before sitting back down.

  Timothy didn’t have anywhere to go on the break, and waved off the bailiff as he approached to see if he needed to go to the bathroom.

  He leaned towards me. “If I go to jail, I am going to devote my life to making yours miserable. You will pay for every day I have to spend there.”

  “Be careful. Today’s not the trial. I don’t have to be here next time. Maybe Keith can give you and your dad a two for one deal.”

  Timothy leaned back as if it had not occurred to him that I might walk after this. For him, this hearing was real and felt like the trial. It had been a circus so far and we had a long way to go before we got in front of a jury.

  “I think we need to see if Frank is willing to take an offer,” Timothy said a moment later.

  I looked at Timothy. “We can do that if you want. My gut tells me now is not the time.”

  Timothy let out a sigh. He looked for a moment like he was going to try to make further conversation, but then thought better of it.

  I had intended to ask if Winston had been able to reach him before the preliminary hearing, but decided I didn’t want any further contact with him for the moment. I stood to stretch my legs. As I walked past Cynthia, she gave me an accusing look as if I had messed up the whole case.

  Kind of ironic she looks at me like that, when she sits on evidence that could exonerate her son but can’t be bothered to turn it over.

  I returned the glare as I passed. It had been almost an hour and a half since she had come to my office. I still could not shake the feeling she had lied. Had she done this to send me on a wild goose chase? Why?

  By all accounts, it would seem she would want her husband to go to jail.

  Why waste her son’s attorney’s time?

  It did not make any sense.

  After I got the drink I paced in the hall to help clear my mind. I should’ve just gone back in becau
se Keith came out.

  He approached. “I hope you understand. Nothing personal. Purely professional.”

  I shrugged. “No big deal. At least not to me. You made an enemy of Detective Gray for life.”

  “Lucky for me that she won’t be around much longer.”

  I almost decked the guy, but walked away instead. If I had done that, not only would I have lost my law license, but Britney would have ended things with me for sure.

  I wanted to pull out my phone to get ahead of things with her, but didn’t have the time to think about it now. I had to get my head back in the game for the rest of the preliminary hearing. Barbara’s attorney was up next and I was confident that there was going to be more theatrics, particularly about the lip gloss.

  “Court is now in session,” Judge Anderson said several minutes later. “Miss Noyce, do you have any questions for this witness?”

  Adeline Noyce stood. “I do your honor.” She glanced at me as she approached the witness stand and I knew exactly what her line of questioning was going to be about. It was what I would have done in her shoes as well. The truth was, the prosecution had not made a big deal about the lip gloss because it could easily be explained from a prior visit Barbara Smith had made to the victim’s home. But Noyce had nothing else to attack, so of course she would focus on this. It only made sense.

  51

  July 25 – 2:08 PM

  Stephanie was already bristling as Adeline Noyce approached the lectern. Judge Anderson leaned forward and took a close look at Stephanie, wondering if maybe he ought to intervene in some way. I did not know how much he knew about the case from our pleadings, but he probably had an inkling for what was coming.

  Adeline set down a notepad on the podium, put a pen right next to it, she took off her watch and put it right next to that, and then gave Stephanie a pleasant smile.

  “Thank you for being here today. I appreciate the strain you must be under.” She paused to give Stephanie a chance to respond, but Stephanie didn’t say anything as she regarded Adeline with a suspicious look.

  “Were Barbara Smith’s fingerprints found on the murder weapon?”

  “No, they were not.”

  “In your investigation did you ever find a connection between my client and the murder weapon?”

  “No, we did not.”

  “Did you ever find any indication that my client even knew how to use a firearm?”

  “No.”

  “Would you say it is unlikely my client knows how to use a weapon?”

  “No. We have no way of knowing what training or experience she might have accumulated over the thirty-five years of her life.”

  “But in your experience, is it often that you find a woman with Barbara Smith’s background who has training with a weapon?”

  “Again, this is not a fair question. Each individual is distinct and unique. It is impossible for somebody to come after the fact and try to discover what skills they might have.”

  Adeline leaned forward. “Detective Gray, I apologize for what you experienced earlier today. I felt sympathy during the unfortunate display here earlier.” She said this in such a way as to cast aspersions on both Keith as well as Stephanie. “I have no intention of riling you up. I do however need to ask about the lip gloss.”

  She waited as if to give a moment for that to sink in and to let Stephanie prepare herself. Stephanie was already glaring at the woman, despite the fact that Adeline was taking a much softer approach. Stephanie was suspicious of it and so was I.

  I had a feeling I would not like where this was going.

  “Can you please walk me through how the lip gloss was brought into your possession?”

  “I could, but it is a waste of time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We can already prove your client was in the victim’s residence multiple times. We don’t find the lip gloss to be conclusive one way or another.”

  “Please humor me.”

  “I received a text message from Mister Turner.”

  “Do you frequently receive text messages from Mitch Turner?”

  “I do not. All of the text messages I have received from him recently have been strictly in regard to this case.”

  Adeline nodded, as if she expected nothing less. “I see. Please continue.”

  “Mr. Turner mentioned he wanted to meet about some additional evidence, considering what had happened the last time, I thought it wise to agree. I was already in the neighborhood and said I would just meet him at his office.”

  “What time of day was this?”

  “Approximately six in the evening.”

  “What did Mister Turner want to meet with you about?”

  “He told me that he had evidence he had forgotten about.”

  “What were your first thoughts upon hearing this?”

  “I found it strange. Mister Turner is sharp and is not prone to forgetting things. I also wondered what it could be.”

  “And?”

  “It was the lip gloss in question.”

  “When Mister Turner ‘turned’ this over to you, did you feel like this was a plant of some sort?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, did you get the idea that he might be presenting this evidence to exonerate his client?”

  This was exactly where I feared she would take it. It’s what I would have done in her position. Adeline was smart, and had an excellent presentation. I did not even need to look at Judge Anderson to tell she was making an impression.

  “Well of course, I wondered that. That’s his job, isn’t it?”

  “Let me rephrase.” Adeline smiled pleasantly. “Did you think that this lip gloss could have come from someplace else and that Mister Turner lied about its presence in the apartment?”

  “I considered that as well. Mister Turner showed me a picture of the lip gloss he had taken in the apartment. It had a date and time stamp consistent with Mister Turner’s review of the victim’s apartment.”

  “Are you in possession of such a picture?”

  “Mr. Turner promised to send it to me, he has not yet done so.”

  “You have not examined the picture to see if the metadata was somehow falsified, correct?”

  “This is correct.”

  “Why not?”

  “As I mentioned, he has not sent the picture. And as I have already stated, it is not important to the prosecution’s case.”

  “He promised to send it but you have not followed up?”

  “I have not.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We found it irrelevant.”

  “You said he forgot about the lip gloss.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you think that was?”

  Stephanie frowned and shook her head. “He thought I dropped it at the murder scene. I apparently used the same brand when we met about the murder weapon. He just thought I had left it and wanted to spare me the embarrassment.”

  Adeline appeared shocked by the admission and took a moment to write a note before continuing, likely to solidify this in the mind of the judge.

  “Interesting.”

  I waited along with everybody else for the inevitable question about why I might spare her embarrassment, but it didn’t come.

  I studied Adeline, trying to figure out where she was going with all of this. It was obvious she was going to try to paint a picture that I had framed her client, but Stephanie was doing a good job explaining that the lip gloss was not crucial so Adeline would be hard-pressed to make any case against me with only the lip gloss. The murder weapon had been adequately explained and I believed the judge did not have any questions there.

  Does Adeline have something else?

  The line of questions about the photograph, when the prosecution was not even basing their case on it was a waste of the court’s time. A glance at Judge Anderson showed he felt the same.

  I relaxed. He was impressed by Adeline, but looked like he thought she was b
arking up the wrong tree.

  Adeline glanced at the judge as well and must have had the same assessment, because she took a moment to review her notepad. “Assuming the veracity of Mister Turner’s claim that the lip-gloss was found in the victim’s apartment, what conclusions did you draw from this, if any?”

  Stephanie repressed a sigh. “As I stated, we already have evidence that proves your client was in the apartment multiple times prior to the defendant’s death. We found her fingerprints in the apartment too, the lip gloss is irrelevant.”

  “The lip gloss and the fingerprints in no way indicate she was there on the night of the death, is this correct?”

  “Correct.”

  Adeline appeared to be backing off, but I could tell there was something more here. The way she looked at Stephanie with calculating eyes while forming the question, made me pay careful attention.

  “Would you say that this lip gloss led you to the evidence that in turn made you bring charges against my client?”

  Stephanie hesitated and I saw were Adeline was going.

  It was a long shot at best, but she needed to do what she could. She was going to argue that any further evidence was somehow tainted because the lip-gloss was in question.

  It was a creative approach, I would give her that. I could see myself arguing this given the right circumstances. This was not how I would have handled her case. I would have built a castle around the fact there was no direct evidence tying her to the murder. That would have been my theme and I would have done my best to get it dismissed today.

  “I don’t know that I would say that. We already had forensic technicians reviewing Gordon Howard’s emails. The crux of our case against your client is based on those emails.”

  “At the time Mitch turned the lip gloss over to you, had you found those emails?”

  “No, we had not.” Stephanie didn’t blink.

  “Would it be fair to say that the forensic technician, once he knew about the potential involvement of Barbara Howard Smith, then searched for emails from her?”

  I looked at the judge to see what he thought of this reasoning and to my surprise he was paying close attention, apparently weighing her point in his mind. He could obviously see where Miss Noyce was going and I would be curious to learn what he thought of it.