Stone Cold

by Joel Goldman

  All that had been brave talk until now, when she was en route to the courthouse. But she shouldn’t have been surprised that her resolve was weakening. It was what happened to most of her clients on the eve of trial. Bravado gave way to fear as they begged her to make a deal, any deal that would be better than a guilty verdict. Knowing that she was no different was humiliating and humbling. As afraid as she was of going to jail for seven years, she was terrified at the thought of dying in prison an old woman.

  “You’re right. I would have the rest of my life. Make the deal.”

  Mason called Claire, telling her what Alex had said, and hung up.

  “She’s at the courthouse. She’ll try to catch Ortiz in the prosecutor’s office and work it out.”

  “Thanks.”

  “For what it’s worth, Claire said to tell you that you’re making the right decision.”

  Alex didn’t answer, staring out the window as they drove down familiar streets to the courthouse, past her neighbors, past the coffee shop where she stopped every morning on her way to work, past the grocery where she stopped on the way home to pick up something for dinner, past the restaurant she and Bonnie went to so often they had their own table, and past the bar across the street they’d go to afterward to sip wine, listen to cool jazz, and hold hands. Past people, places, and things that were part of her. She pressed her hand against the window as if she could touch them one last time as they passed from view.

  When they reached the courthouse, she was more at ease than she’d been in months. She had taken a man’s life, though not without reason. How could she not be held to account? Would it have been better if Dwayne had raped Bonnie and been caught and he was the one about to go on trial? The answer was easy. She’d done the right thing then and she was doing the right thing now.

  Another media gauntlet greeted them, Mason shepherding her by them and into the courthouse. She emptied her pockets, passing through the metal detector, grateful when one of the deputies whispered, “Good luck.” They took the elevator to the fifth floor. Claire was waiting for them outside Judge West’s courtroom and motioned them into a witness room across the hall.

  “Is it done?” Alex asked.

  Claire shook her head, her face grim. “I’m sorry. Ortiz said the deal is off the table.”

  “Why?” Mason asked. “What if she agreed to do ten years?”

  “It isn’t the number of years. Patrick told me that there’d be no deal of any kind.”

  “I don’t get it,” Mason said. “He offered the deal last week. What happened?”

  “Whatever happened, it’s big enough to have his whole office buzzing. If I had a dollar for every smirk I saw, I’d be rich.”

  Alex leaned against the wall, one hand on her belly, her insides jumping.

  “What we do now?” she asked.

  Claire squared her shoulders, looking Alex in the eye. “We go to war.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  CLAIRE SAT AT THEIR COUNSEL TABLE, making notes and ignoring the chatter of the people who’d crowded into the courtroom, some of who had waited in line for an hour to get a seat. She didn’t raise her head when Patrick Ortiz and his assistant, Mark Berger, another criminal law professor, took their seats.

  Alex kept her back to the audience, rounding her shoulders, trying to disappear. She took slow, measured breaths to calm herself. The realization that this was finally happening threatened to overwhelm her. She gripped the edge of the table with both hands and held on, letting go only when Claire gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.

  She took another deep breath and swiveled around to face the crowd, looking past the many familiar faces, searching for Lou Mason. She’d spent as much time with him over the last six months as she had with Bonnie. He’d been through his own crucible, coming out on the other side with his life and dignity intact. He’d stepped up, taken his lumps, and moved on. Or so it seemed to her. She hoped it wasn’t an illusion, because the image she had of him gave her hope that she might land in a similar place.

  She found him in the back of the room talking to Kate Scranton, an attractive, slender woman with long dark hair and intense eyes dressed in a business suit, a laptop tucked under her arm. Kate was their jury consultant. Claire had recommended hiring her, touting her unique ability to read micro facial expressions, which revealed as much about people as what they said and did. Bonnie wrote the check for her services, just as she had for Claire’s fees, one more debt Alex wondered if she’d ever be able to pay.

  Alex had met Kate on the one visit she’d made to Kansas City from her home in San Diego. When she asked Alex to tell her about the case, Alex couldn’t escape the sensation of being put under a microscope. Later, when she asked Claire what Kate had said about her, Claire smiled and told her that Kate liked her and thought she’d be a good witness if it came to that. Alex didn’t press for more, afraid of what Kate might have seen in her involuntary expressions.

  Mason led Kate to a seat in the row of chairs inside the rail directly behind their counsel table. Alex smiled at her and they shook hands, Alex quickly turning away, wanting Kate to focus her dissecting gaze on anyone but her.

  Everyone quieted and rose as Judge West entered from his chambers, gaveled the case to order, and directed the parties to state their appearances. Claire didn’t waste any time, striking as soon as the ritual was completed.

  “Your Honor, if I may, I have a preliminary matter that I’d like to take up before we begin jury selection.”

  Judge West, swathed in his black robe and filling his high-backed, leather-bound chair to capacity, looked down at her.

  “We’ll get to you in a moment, Ms. Mason. Ladies and gentlemen,” he said to the audience, “this is a courtroom, not a social hall, and this is a murder trial, not a happy hour. Keep your phones and cameras turned off. If I hear a phone ring or a shutter click, you’ll be buying a new one on your way home. Keep your comments to yourself and you can stay until you can’t take those wooden benches any longer. Violate these simple rules and you won’t be here long enough to warm your seat. Now, Ms. Mason, what’s on your mind?”

  “Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Ortiz listed a witness named Gloria Temple. His disclosures state that he doesn’t know her whereabouts or the substance of her expected testimony. I’d like to know if there’s been any change in her status so that we can have adequate time to prepare for cross-examination.”

  Patrick Ortiz rose before Claire had finished speaking.

  “Your Honor, the state understands its obligations to disclose this information and will act accordingly.”

  “Satisfied, Ms. Mason?” Judge West asked.

  “Not even close, Your Honor. If Mr. Ortiz knows the whereabouts of this witness and/or the substance of her expected testimony, now is the time to tell us. It’s not sufficient to say that he’ll follow the rules. I want to know now, not when she walks into the courtroom.”

  “Your Honor,” Ortiz said.

  Judge West held up his hand. “Not necessary, Counsel. Ms. Mason, the special prosecutor has told you all he’s required to tell you. Rest assured that I will give you ample time to prepare for this witness should that become necessary. Are there any other preliminary matters before we get started?”

  “None for the defense.”

  “The prosecution is ready to proceed.”

  “Very well, then. Ladies and gentlemen, this courtroom is about to get pretty crowded. We’re going to bring in sixty potential jurors. We’ll put twelve in the jury box and the rest are going to sit where those of you on the left side of the courtroom are sitting. So you’ll have to squeeze in on the right side or stand along the wall or get back to work.”

  Judge West nodded at his bailiff, who went to retrieve the jurors. The audience shuffled around, making room for them. Claire, Alex, and Mason huddled at their table.

  “Well,” Claire said, “I thought Ortiz might have found Gloria Temple and that she told him something good enough to change his mind a
bout making a deal. That’s why I pushed him on his disclosures.”

  “Doesn’t mean that she isn’t the reason,” Mason said. “They may have a line on her but haven’t caught up to her yet.”

  “I know. Do you think Blues can find out and maybe get to her first?”

  “Depends on how much of a head start the cops have. I’ll go call him,” he said and left.

  “What do you think’s going on?” Alex asked Claire.

  She looked around the courtroom, drumming a pen on her legal pad.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m going to like it when I find out.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  THE BAILIFF LED SIXTY PEOPLE summoned for jury duty into the courtroom. When they were seated, she called out eighteen of them, directing the first twelve into the jury box and the final six into a row of chairs in front of the box. The lawyers would question them first. If the judge excused anyone, someone from the remaining group would replace them.

  They were a microcosm of the county: black and white, Hispanic and Asian, men and women wearing jeans and suits and everything in between, carrying briefcases and newspapers, knitting and needlepoint, books both electronic and print, crossword puzzles, and anything else to take their mind off the monotony of waiting for something to happen.

  A man with a downturned mouth, hair past his shoulders, and sleeves rolled up revealing arms covered in ink was first in line as the jurors filled the benches. A pregnant woman close to term wedged her bottom between an elderly man with rheumy eyes and a middle-aged woman who patted the other woman’s bulging belly, uninvited and grinning. Men and women dressed for the boardroom glanced at their watches, shaking their heads and fidgeting. Some people slumped in their seats, elbows on their knees, and rested their chins in their palms. A handful had eager eyes, itching to do their civic duty.

  Twelve of their number would make up the jury after the lawyers finished asking them questions in a process called voir dire, Latin meaning “to speak the truth.” It was intended to find out whether they could keep an open mind, base their verdict solely on the law and the evidence, and be fair and impartial to both sides. That’s what the judge and lawyers would tell them, though it was the last thing the lawyers wanted. They had one goal: a jury that would listen to them, believe them, and vote for them. Like every other phase of the trial, voir dire was as much about winning as it was about justice. Probably more.

  Mason returned as the last of the jury pool took their seats.

  “Well?” Claire asked.

  “Blues is on it.”

  “What does that mean? How is he going to find her now if he hasn’t been able to find her before now?”

  Mason looked at his aunt, shaking his head. “Every time you ask me that I tell you the same thing. He’s got his own way of doing things. I never ask, and neither should you.”

  Claire narrowed her eyes. “I’ve already got one probationer on my payroll. I don’t need another one.”

  “Don’t worry. Blues is a lot more careful than I ever was.”

  “That’s setting the bar rather low,” Claire said and scooted her chair toward Kate. “Are you ready?”

  Kate pointed to her open laptop. “I’ve got a spreadsheet that ranks each juror from one to five based on the information in the questionnaires they were required to fill out and on my research. I’ll update it depending on what happens in voir dire. We’ll go over it when you have to make your strikes.”

  The judge instructed the jurors on the process and turned it over to the lawyers.

  “One hour each, Counsel. I want a jury by lunchtime.”

  Patrick Ortiz went first, as he would at each phase of the trial because the state had the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that Alex Stone had, in the words of the statute defining murder in the first degree, knowingly caused Dwayne Reed’s death after deliberation on the matter. He stood in the middle of the courtroom, jacket unbuttoned, one hand in his pocket, his other arm resting on the lectern, his shirt puffing around his waist, threatening to come untucked.

  “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” he began, nodding and smiling.

  “Good morning,” they murmured.

  “Well,” he said, expanding his aw-shucks grin, “there’s eighteen of you and the judge says we can only have twelve on the jury, so six of you got to go.”

  They laughed, as he knew they would, as they did every time he used that corny opening. They didn’t just laugh; they opened up like a bouquet of blossoming flowers, with their knees and arms uncrossed, faces open and expectant.

  Kate leaned forward, whispering to Claire. “This guy is good.”

  Ortiz wrapped his arms around them, gently probing their attitudes about crime and punishment, thanking one juror for her candor when she said it was against her religion to sit in judgment of others. He looked at Judge West, who excused the juror without Ortiz having to make the request. He finished an hour later.

  “Ms. Mason,” Judge West said, “you may inquire.”

  Claire Mason wasn’t pretty or handsome. Her features were stark, her face lined. She wore her gray hair cut simply for convenience. She wasn’t stylish, never wore makeup, and couldn’t remember in which decade she’d bought the gray suit she was wearing. More than anything else, she was sturdy—strong, resolute, and without artifice. She wouldn’t claim as fact anything she couldn’t prove, and she wouldn’t make any argument she didn’t believe in. Jurors might not want to have a beer with her, but they would believe her.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” she began, “sitting on this jury will be the most important thing you may ever do. It may be more important than whom you marry, how you raise your children, or how you put food on your table. There’s a simple reason why your service is so important. At the end of this trial, you will decide whether Alex Stone goes home to her loved ones or spends the rest of her life behind concrete and barbed wire in an eight-foot-by-eight-foot prison cell. You will carry the burden of that decision with you for the rest of your life. The prosecutor told you that he wanted a jury that would be fair to both sides. And I agree with him. As you think about your answers to my questions, I want you to imagine that this was your day in court and that your life hung in the balance and ask yourself if you would want someone in your frame of mind to decide your fate.”

  A juror raised his hand and she pointed to him. “Yes, sir.”

  “If you put it that way, I’d have to say no right now.”

  “Why is that?” Judge West asked.

  “’Cause I figure the police wouldn’t have arrested her if she wasn’t guilty.”

  “In that case, I’m going to excuse you from further duty,” the judge said.

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Claire said and began questioning the panel.

  “Alex Stone is homosexual, a lesbian. She’s been in a committed relationship with a woman named Bonnie Long for seven years. Dr. Long will be a witness in this trial. Knowing this, can each of you uphold your oath as a juror and decide this case solely on the law and facts without regard to Alex’s sexual orientation?”

  None of the jurors responded, though several squirmed in their seats. Claire let the question hang until she was satisfied that no one would come forward. She stepped in front of the lectern, closing the distance between her and the jury, her eyes marching past each juror as she spoke.

  “I take it by your silence that each and every one of you will do your sworn duty without regard to Alex’s sexual orientation, and I thank you for that solemn commitment, because justice requires nothing less.”

  Claire moved on to other areas of inquiry. After using her allotted time, she thanked the jury and turned to the judge. “That’s all the questions I have.”

  “Counsel will make their strikes,” Judge West said. “The prosecution will make their first strike, after which the defendant will make their first strike, and so on until each side has exercised three strikes. Counsel will write their strikes on a slip of
paper and hand it to the bailiff, who will show it to opposing counsel and then to the court.”

  Kate set her laptop on the counsel table. Claire, Alex, and Mason gathered round as she scrolled up and down the list, whispering her recommendations.

  “I don’t like it,” she said. “We need four strikes. No matter what we do, we’re going to be stuck with someone who could screw us unless Ortiz does us a favor and knocks off one of our bad jurors.”

  The first two strikes went quickly. Ortiz hesitated before making his third strike. The bailiff delivered it to Claire, who showed it to the others.

  “Shit,” Kate said. “That leaves us with two of our bad choices, Brandon McCarthy and Catherine Wilson. McCarthy is an engineer, which means he’s rational, logical, and unemotional. Plus, he’s black and so is the victim. Not good. Wilson is a sixty-two-year-old rich white woman who opposes concealed carry. She’ll blame you for having a gun and she’ll be angry with you for not telling Bonnie. When Claire asked the gay questions, both of their micro expressions showed disgust. That won’t help.”

  “I agree, even without your spreadsheet,” Claire said. “Which one do you think is worse?”

  “McCarthy because he’s a leader. Wilson isn’t, which means that she’ll listen to the other jurors and may eventually go along with an acquittal. McCarthy will dig in and not move. And that’s a very bad thing if he’s against us.”

  “Then we strike McCarthy.”

  “Works for me,” Mason said.

  “I disagree,” Alex said.

  “Why?” Kate asked. “His body language when Claire was up there was terrible. He wouldn’t make eye contact with her. Your defense is all about emotion. He won’t buy it. What could you possibly like about him?”