Eyes of a Child

by Richard North Patterson

  Salinas gave her a skeptical smile. ‘How long “after,” Ms Peralta? “A year ago” is cutting it pretty close.’

  Terri gave him a cool look. ‘Three weeks after, I would say. I can date it from the day I lost interim custody.’

  ‘So let’s see. Within three weeks, you left your husband, lost custody of your daughter, and commenced an affair with your boss.’

  Terri stared at him. ‘You have a knack, Mr Salinas, for making the most painful things in my life sound cheap. The only thing you’ve got right is the chronology.’

  ‘How did that happen, then – your involvement with Mr Paget? Did you just happen to fall into bed one night?’

  ‘No.’ Terri seemed to make herself be patient. ‘It wasn’t like that.’

  ‘It also wasn’t like he’d never touched you before.’

  ‘Do something,’ Paget whispered to Caroline.

  ‘I can’t.’ Caroline’s voice was flinty. ‘I refuse to make this worse for you.’

  ‘No,’ Terri said quietly. ‘Chris had touched me.’

  ‘And kissed you.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And when did that first happen?’

  Terri sat back. ‘A few days after I left Richie.’

  ‘Getting closer, aren’t we? Isn’t it a fact that you were sleeping with Mr Paget before you left Ricardo Arias?’

  Paget could feel the jury watching Terri with newly withheld sympathy. ‘No,’ Terri answered firmly.

  ‘Didn’t Mr Paget ask you to leave your husband?’

  Terri sat straighter. ‘You really don’t understand, Mr Salinas. Chris never said or did anything. I thought the feeling I had for Chris was only mine, and I didn’t even know that much until a few days after I left Richie.’ She glanced at Paget again, finishing softly: ‘Then I told Chris that I cared for him, and saw that it had happened to us both.’

  ‘Isn’t it true that Mr Arias accused you and Mr Paget of having an affair?’

  ‘Yes,’ Terri answered simply. ‘Just as he accused Carlo Paget of molesting our daughter.’

  Salinas stopped for a moment. Paget could see the jury consider anew that Ricardo Arias might be a liar; Marian Celler whispered something to Joseph Duarte, who nodded. And then Salinas was back again, holding a scrap of paper in the air. ‘In fact, Ms Peralta, didn’t Mr Arias accuse you and Mr Paget in the Inquisitor?’

  ‘Yes.’ Terri’s voice filled with disgust. ‘For ten thousand dollars. I guess that’s the going rate for exploiting a child.’

  ‘How did that effect you and Mr Paget?’

  ‘We were both furious.’

  ‘And was that one of the reasons Mr Paget changed his plans to run for senator?’

  ‘No.’ Terri turned to Paget with a look of affection. ‘Chris was willing to give up politics, for me and for Elena. If you’re trying to suggest that politics drove Chris to murder, you don’t understand him at all.’

  Salinas looked annoyed. ‘But Mr Arias also accused the defendant’s son of molesting Elena. How did Mr Paget receive that?’

  ‘He was angry but calm. We both talked to Carlo. Not only did Carlo deny it, but he said that he’d face a trial before he’d let Richie use him to keep me from Elena.’ She turned to Paget again. ‘I think Chris was proud of that.’

  Salinas kept boring in. ‘What about the hearing on Richie’s motion,’ he snapped. ‘He’d filed the papers under seal, had he not?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And, in them, charged Carlo Paget with molesting Elena.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And Christopher Paget with taking you away.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘In fact, Mr Arias told you that unless you gave up Elena, it was going to a hearing.’

  Terri’s head bobbed. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And Mr Paget knew all that, correct? Because you read these papers together.’

  Terri paused. ‘Yes. We did.’

  Once more, Paget felt himself ensnared by Richie’s plans, now the motive for a charge of murder. ‘And wasn’t that hearing scheduled,’ Salinas said, ‘four days after your return from Italy?’

  ‘That’s true.’

  ‘At which time all these charges would become public.’

  Terri folded her hands, looking steadily back at Salinas. ‘They would, yes.’

  ‘Mr Paget knew that Carlo would have had to testify.’

  ‘Probably. Yes.’

  ‘And he knew that the charges about his own conduct with you would be open to the press.’

  ‘He understood that too.’

  ‘Did you discuss with Mr Paget the possibility that his career in politics would end?’

  Terri paused again. ‘Chris thought that it might. As I said, that wasn’t as important to him as the people in his life.’

  ‘Speaking of the people in his life, Mr Paget was also aware that the court might order you to keep Elena from Mr Paget and his son. Because you discussed it with him.’

  ‘Again, the answer is yes.’ Terri was angry now. ‘We faced all of that.’

  ‘Did it damage your relationship?’

  Terri started to say something and then stopped herself. ‘It was hard, Mr Salinas.’

  ‘So hard that you talked about breaking up?’

  Terri’s shoulders drew in. ‘Yes,’ she finally answered quietly.

  ‘Who initiated that discussion?’

  ‘I did.’ She turned to look at Paget. ‘I love Chris. I didn’t want him to go through all that because of me. And now he is.’

  Turning from Chris, Terri saw the faces of the jury, looking back at her with doubt and sympathy. She could see them all – the jury, the gallery of gawkers, the press corps, making their judgements day by day. How could she ever tell the jury how Chris had seemed to her then.

  ‘It was Chris who changed my mind,’ she said to the jury, ‘in Italy. He told me that he loved me and that our future together was worth whatever he’d go through –’

  ‘This was in Portfino,’ Salinas interrupted.

  She turned to him; Salinas’s face – the bright eyes, the mustache, the zealot’s animation – filled the screen of her mind. Her palms, twisting together, felt damp.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Eight days after you last spoke to Mr Arias.’

  It was like being paralyzed, Terri thought; she could see where he was going but do nothing to stop him.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Eight days after, according to the medical examiner, someone had murdered Ricardo Arias.’

  ‘You don’t understand. Chris believed Richie was alive.’ Her voice rose. ‘All through Italy, we worried about staying together. Chris wasn’t himself –’

  ‘Just like a man who had killed someone?’

  ‘Objection.’ Caroline rose to her full height. ‘Even if that question weren’t harassment, which it is, it can’t be answered in any factual way. To paraphrase the court, it’s an accusation in the form of a question.’

  ‘Sustained.’ Lerner’s voice seemed to come from above Terri and from a distance. ‘Move on, Mr Salinas.’

  Salinas came closer. ‘Wasn’t the purpose of your trip to Italy to decide the fate of your relationship?’

  ‘Possibly. Yes.’

  ‘And as of the night before you left, when you last spoke to Mr Arias, you and Mr Paget didn’t know whether you would stay together?’

  With piercing sadness, Terri remembered how that felt. ‘No. We didn’t.’

  ‘And then, eight days later, Mr Paget proposed that you get married.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Salinas smiled a little. ‘To your knowledge, had anything happened to make life better for you?’

  ‘Yes. Chris and I had talked things through.’

  ‘But then, later that same day, you found that your husband had been dead for at least a week.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And suddenly you had custody of Elena, and you were free of Richie, and Mr Paget’s career was still viable, and Carlo Paget w
as off the hook, and Richie’s charges were sealed away. All true?’

  ‘Yes. But not the way way we wanted.’

  ‘No? Tell me, Ms Peralta, how did Mr Paget react to the news of your husband’s death?’

  Terri could feel Chris watching her. In a calm voice, she answered, ‘He was shocked and appalled. Chris is not the kind of man who would wish a death on anyone.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you agree that Richie’s death solved a lot of problems?’

  It was time, Terri thought. She felt an almost unnatural calm come over her. ‘For one of us,’ she said to Salinas. ‘As terrible as it is, at least I got Elena back. Unlike Chris, whose son faces these charges because of Richie’s death; whose political career is over now; who, if he loses this trial, will never live with me, or Carlo, or anyone. Who will never have the second child he wants.’ She turned to the jury, voice soft and clear. ‘If Richie wanted to hurt Chris deeply – and he did – the cruelest thing he could have done is to die the way he did. It’s so senseless to think that Chris would bring all this on himself, on Carlo –’

  ‘Move to strike,’ Salinas cut in crisply.

  ‘You asked for this,’ Terri shot back, and then went on in a flat, calm voice. ‘You, and the district attorney. You asked me if Richie’s death solved a lot of problems. However awful it was, it may have, but only for me. I have a far deeper motive than Chris ever did. But I don’t fit the plan, do I? I mean, the district attorney doesn’t care about me any more than he cares about Richie.’ Her voice grew hard. ‘This was always about Chris. You’ve always known it, I’ve always known it, and Inspector Monk always knew it. And that’s why it ended the way it has.’

  Salinas turned from her. In a calm, cold voice, he repeated, ‘Move to strike, Your Honor.’

  When Caroline stood, Lerner held up a hand. ‘Ms Peralta’s answer was wholly responsive.’ He said to Salinas, ‘You did ask for it, until her final comments regarding the district attorney and his motives.’ Lerner turned to the jury, saying, ‘You will ignore Ms Peralta’s remarks about District Attorney Brooks,’ and then faced Terri. ‘And you, Ms Peralta, will not repeat them.’

  ‘Yes, Your Honor,’ Terri said, and now Salinas came after her.

  ‘Did you kill Ricardo Arias?’ he snapped.

  Terri did not answer for a long moment; Salinas looked disconcerted, as if expecting a quick and angry denial. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I did not.’

  ‘And yet you also tell us that you don’t believe that Mr Paget killed your husband.’

  ‘I don’t believe that, Mr Salinas.’

  Salinas smiled. ‘Has Mr Paget discussed with you whether he went to Mr Arias’s apartment?’

  He’s setting up the fingerprints, Terri thought. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And what did he tell you?’

  ‘That he had never been there.’

  ‘You intend to testify for the defense, do you not, that Mr Paget is a truthful person?’

  ‘Yes. I do.’

  Salinas looked almost pleased. ‘And if you were to learn that he had been to Richie’s apartment, and lied to you, would that affect your belief as to Mr Paget’s honesty?’

  How close would he come? Terri wondered. ‘That’s hypothetical,’ she said. ‘Chris would never lie to me.’

  ‘But what if he had?’

  Terri felt herself tense, and her voice seemed to come from a distance. ‘A lot of people lie, Mr Salinas, for whatever reason. Far fewer people kill someone else. And Christopher Paget is far too gentle to kill.’

  Salinas’s smile became cynical. ‘Of course. Just as he’s far too honest to ever lie to you.’ He turned to Judge Lerner, saying in a dismissive voice, ‘No further questions.’

  Salinas, Terri thought, had gone for it. As she had thought he would.

  Terri saw Caroline Masters smile as she rose, a slight narrowing of the eyes. Only Chris looked far away.

  The first part, Terri knew, would be the simplest.

  Caroline stood by Chris, as if to draw the jury’s eyes to him. ‘You mentioned, Ms Peralta, that Chris Paget would never do anything that would separate him from Carlo. I take it that you’ve had occasions to see Chris as a father.’

  Teri nodded. ‘Many times. It was one of the first things that drew me to him.’

  Salinas stood. ‘I’m going to object to this line of questioning. What kind of father Chris Paget may or may not be is irrelevant to whether he killed Ricardo Arias. And the time for character testimony is when the defense puts on its case.’

  ‘Why wait?’ Caroline said to Lerner. ‘Ms Peralta is here right now. As for relevance, the prosecution has suggested that Chris Paget was so inflamed by Mr Arias’s charges against Carlo that he murdered him. Our point is the precise opposite: that Chris’s devotion to Carlo is a compelling motive not to murder anyone. And, equally important, that Ms Peralta knows Mr Paget as a gentle and loving person.’

  ‘Overruled,’ Lerner said promptly. ‘Motive works both ways, Mr Salinas. As does character. And there’s no point in bringing Ms Peralta back later.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Caroline said, and turned to Terri. ‘What kind of father is Chris Paget?’

  Turning to the jury, Terri smiled a little. ‘Chris is a great dad, patient and kind, and any woman who spends time with Chris has to accept that Carlo comes first. Carlo plays three sports, and Chris goes to all of his games. Except when Chris is in trial, they eat together every night. Chris reads his term papers, takes him on trips. They’re both crazy about the Giants.’ She looked directly at Marian Celler, the mother of two successful children. ‘Chris told me once that as a father, he didn’t have a moment to waste. Carlo is the center of Chris’s life – the person who, in the end, Chris loves most in all the world.’

  Marian Celler gazed back at Terri; the small smile on her face, that of one parent for another, seemed tinged with reminiscence.

  ‘And how,’ Caroline was asking, ‘did Chris react to Richie’s charge against Carlo?’

  ‘As I suggested, he was filled with contempt for Richie.’ Terri realized that she had folded her hands again; the subject of Elena was too personal and painful. ‘But Chris’s ultimate feeling was that life is unfair and that a measure of Carlo’s courage was how well he faced up to Richie.’ Her voice grew quiet. ‘What he said was that Carlo would be forced to learn character, because Richie had none.’

  Caroline nodded. ‘Did you have any sense that Richie’s charges would drive Chris Paget to violence?’

  ‘I can’t imagine it. There’s no way that Richie drove him to murder. He intended to use the legal process to vindicate his son.’ Terri turned to the jury again, giving the answer that she and Caroline had formulated. ‘That’s why he came to public attention in the first place: by seeing the process through, even over the opposition of a President. Chris’s entire life is a search for truth, through law and the courts, as an alternative to violence.’

  Caroline waited for a moment, letting Terri’s words resonate with the jury. ‘What kind of friend is Chris?’

  ‘The best friend I’ve ever had.’ Terri faced the jury again. ‘Before I knew how I felt about him, I knew what kind of man he was. Chris was great to work for – interested, encouraging, concerned. He asked about Elena a lot and seemed to worry that work might hurt my marriage to Richie.’ Speaking to Joseph Duarte, her voice grew firm. ‘Chris never, ever crossed the line with me. If he had, I would never have come to love him.’

  ‘When you became involved, whose initiative was it?’

  ‘Mine, completely.’ Terri raised her head. ‘Chris wanted me to be sure about my marriage and be certain that I cared for him for the right reasons. I think he worried that I was too upset to know what I was doing, and that he was too old for me.’

  For the first time, Caroline moved forward. ‘Mr Salinas,’ she said quietly, ‘seemed deeply concerned with determining when you and Chris Paget became lovers. How did that happen?’

  In a trial, Terri thought, there is nothing priva
te. ‘I came to him,’ she said simply, ‘the day after I lost custody of Elena. When Richie fooled the court into believing that I’d asked him to be the caretaking parent.

  ‘I was devastated. But throughout it all, Chris had been the one good thing in my life. The next day, even with all the pain, I knew I wanted him. I waited for night, and I told him that. He was wonderful to me.’ However hard to say this aloud, Terri realized, it was good to remember. ‘Chris never tried to make me fall in love with him. He never tried to take me from Richie. He never offered me anything but kindness.’ Terri’s voice grew quiet. ‘That was enough.’

  Caroline tilted her head. ‘And when you were in Italy, and worried about your future together, did Chris seem like a man who knew Ricardo Arias was dead?’

  ‘No.’ Terri looked straight at Joseph Duarte. ‘I know Chris, and he’s not that good an actor. For Chris, Richie was still alive.’

  ‘And during those eight days together in Italy, from the morning he picked you up until the afternoon you learned that Mr Arias had died, did you observe any sign that Chris Paget had been in a struggle?’

  Terri found it best to look at Caroline. ‘No,’ she said flatly.

  ‘Did you ever know Chris Paget to own a gun?’

  Terri shook her head. ‘Chris despised guns. That was a lot of why he ran for the Senate, to stop the flow of guns. He thought all the violence was so senseless.’

  Terri felt Joseph Duarte study her: but what about the fingerprints, she imagined him saying in the jury room, and then Caroline asked, ‘How do you feel about Chris Paget now?’

  When Terri turned, there was a shadow on Chris’s face. She looked directly at Caroline Masters. ‘I love him. But I’m testifying about the reasons that I love him, not testifying because I love him. There’s a difference.’ She turned to Luisa Marin, finishing quietly: ‘Because I could never love a man whom I believed to be a murderer.’

  Luisa’s gaze met hers. Believe me, Terri thought, please. ‘That’s what I regret most,’ Terri added softly. ‘That by loving Chris, I brought these troubles to his door.’

  For a moment, somewhere in Marin’s eyes, Terri thought she saw her answer. And then Caroline asked softly, ‘Including rug fibers?’

  Terri turned to her. ‘Yes. Including rug fibers.’