by Roy Glenn
“Sir, you are married to the defendant, and you were having an affair with Abril Arrington, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Did your wife know about this affair?”
“I thought she didn’t know about it.”
“Don’t we all, Mr. Daniels, don’t we all.”
“Objection,” Marcus said.
“Sustained,” the judge said.
“Apologies, your honor. Mr. Daniels, would you be so kind as to tell the court where you were on the night Abril Arrington was murdered?”
“I was having dinner with a client named John Abraham at Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante on Nineteenth Street.”
“What time was this?”
“We had eight o'clock reservations. I got there shortly after that. We didn’t wrap up until after ten.”
“What time did you get home?” Paxson asked.
“About ten-thirty.”
“Was Mrs. Daniels there when you got home?”
“No, she came in after eleven.”
“Did you ask her where she’d been?”
“She said she was at a friend’s house,” Scott told Paxson.
“Was this usual for Mrs. Daniels to be out that late visiting with friends?”
“No, she’s usually at home at night.”
“What type of car does Mrs. Daniels drive?”
“Black Mercedes Benz.”
Paxson approached the judge holding a piece of paper. “Your honor this is a valid motor vehicle registration in the name of Panthea L. Daniels for a 2006 Mercedes Benz CLK500 Coupe. I’d like to have it entered into evidence.”
“So ordered.”
“Thank you, your honor. Mr. Daniels, when did you find out for sure that Mrs. Daniels knew about your affair with Abril Arrington?”
“When we got home the day she got out of jail.”
“How was that exactly, Mr. Daniels?”
“She told me that she hired a private investigator to follow me. She had pictures of me and Abril.”
“Did you ask her how she had known about the two of you?”
“She said she hired him on Monday and got the pictures of us on Tuesday afternoon.”
“Tuesday, that was the night of the murder, and it is days later, Mrs. Daniels knew about the affair since Tuesday. Why did she wait so long to confront you about it?”
“I don’t know,” Scott said.
“That will be all. Your witness, Mr. Douglas.”
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Daniels?” Marcus asked while still seated at the table. He couldn’t wait to tear into Scott.
“I’m a real estate developer.”
“Does your business generally require you to use large amounts of cash?”
“Not generally, but at times it does.”
Marcus got up and approached Scott in the witness box. He handed him a piece of paper. “Do you recognize this document, Mr. Daniels?”
“Yes, it’s a copy of my bank statement,” Scott replied.
“Would you read the highlighted items and tell the court what they represent?”
While Scott stared at the document that Marcus had just handed him, Marcus went and stood in front of the jury. Scott looked up and took a deep breath. “One item is twenty-five thousand and the other is for ten thousand and one for five thousand.”
“And what do those numbers represent?” Marcus asked and returned to the jury box. He took the paper back from Scott and waited for Paxson to object to his line of questioning, which was clearly in violation of the judge’s order.
“Withdrawals of cash from the account,” Scott said reluctantly.
“What was the money used for, Mr. Daniels?”
“Business.”
“But you just said that you generally didn’t use cash in your business.”
“I said generally I don’t, but sometimes I need to.”
“Yes, that’s right you did say that,” Marcus said and began to walk slowly away from Scott. “Can you tell the court why, since that money was for business, why you didn’t withdraw the money from your business account? Why withdraw the money from your personal account?”
“I don’t know. I just did.”
“Right,” Marcus said and turned toward the jury trying to gauge their reaction to Scott’s testimony.
As he expected, there were juror’s who’s look said that they felt he was hiding something. He press forward, surprised that Paxson and the judge had let him get this far.
“Mr. Daniels, in the time you were involved with Abril Arrington did you—pay her mortgage?”
“Yes.”
“What about her car note? You pay that too?”
“Yes.”
“Buy her jewelry?”
“Yes.”
“You ever give her cash?”
“Sometimes.”
“What did Abril Arrington do for a living, Mr. Daniels?”
“She was a venture capitalist.”
“You mean she put investors with people looking for loans, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever invest in any of these businesses?”
“Objection, your honor,” Paxson said as he sprang to his feet. “May council approach?”
The judge motioned for the two men to come forward. “Mr. Douglas, you’ve been dancing around my ruling, which shows you have respect for it, and I appreciate that. But I warn you, Mr. Douglas, you’re on a very slippery slope here.”
“Your honor, I have not made any references to, nor have I attempted to introduce anything about the deceased alleged fraud. His personal bank records indicate that he withdrew large sums of money. I just want him to explain where the cash went.”
“I’ll allow the question,” the judge ruled.
“But, your honor?”
“I said I’ll allow the question, Mr. Paxson.”
“Sorry, your honor.”
Marcus waited until Paxson was back in his seat before going back at Scott. “I believe the question, Mr. Daniels, was did you ever invest in any of those businesses?”
“No.”
“What was the forty thousand dollars for, Mr. Daniels?”
“Business, I told you.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. And you didn’t give that money to Abril Arrington?”
“No.”
Marcus went to the defense table and returned with another piece of paper. “Your honor, this is a copy of Abril Arrington's bank statement. I like to have this and Mr. Daniels bank records entered into evidence.”
The judge glanced at the document. “So entered.”
“Mr. Daniels, if you didn’t give that money to Ms. Arrington can you explain why she made deposits of those identical amounts on the days following your withdrawals?”
“All right,” Scott shouted. “I gave her the money.”
“Why, if not to invest in a business?”
“She said she needed it, and I gave it to her. I would’ve given her anything. Anything she wanted.”
“You loved her that much?” Marcus said softly.
“Yes. I would’ve done anything for her.”
“Anything, Mr. Daniels—anything at all. Would you kill for her?”
“Objection,” Paxson yelled.
“Sustained.”
“I have no more questions for this witness, your honor. However, I reserve the right to recall him in the future,” Marcus said and sat down next to Panthea. Happy that he was finally able to do something in her defense.
24
Olivia got off the plane at LAX, made her way through the crowd and went to the Hertz counter to retrieve her rental car. She had an hour and a half to meet Harrison Fuller at a quaint little café in Beverly Hills. Fuller had recently gotten back from Africa and returned Olivia’s call. When she asked him about Abril Arrington and told him that she was dead, Fuller said he didn’t know who she was talking about. But after she described what the woman looked like, Fuller said t
hat her description sounded like a woman he knew as Aerona Carter.
Olivia asked Fuller if it would be alright if she came out to LA to show him a picture and ask a few questions. He readily agreed to meet with her and Olivia was on her way. She wasn’t really looking forward to fighting traffic down Beverly Drive to get there, but she knew she had little choice in the matter.
Nate ’n Al’s was a Deli on North Beverly Drive that Fuller chose because he had a meeting there later that day. When Olivia walked into the Café, there were four couples seated at tables throughout the small restaurant. Olivia looked around thinking she must’ve beaten Fuller there. When suddenly, a woman stood up, stared at her and smiled.
“Olivia?” the woman questioned. Olivia’s head snapped toward the corner where she was seated with a man whose back was to the door.
Olivia silently nodded, smiled and made her way over to the table.
“I’m Connie Fuller. Harrison is my husband,” she said and pointed toward the man who was chatting away in what sounded like a discussion he didn’t want to have. He looked up at Olivia then pointed toward his left ear. That’s when Olivia noticed for the first time that he was talking on the phone.
“I—ah—.” Olivia didn’t quite expect to be joined by Fuller’s wife of all people.
“It’s okay,” Connie, the tall thin red head said as she sat. Olivia noticed her roots were gray, and the crow’s feet at the corners of her green eyes remained long after her smile had vanished. Her skin was pale and her fingers looked frail and wrinkled.
“He’s always on the phone. He told me all about this Abril or whatever her name is; such a mess. I just wish he’d learn to stay out of trouble,” she said easily.
“So Mr. Fuller told you all about our discussion? I mean, what I’m here to discuss with him,” Olivia asked just to be clear.
Before Olivia could absorb everything Connie was saying, Harrison, an older white man with skin that looked like he’d seen one too many sunbathed days or tanning beds, looked at her.
“Like I told you over the phone, honey, I saw a girl named Aerona Carter,” Fuller said as soon as he completed his call.
Olivia handed Fuller a picture of Abril Arrington. “That’s her.”
“How long were you involved with her, Mr. Fuller?”
“I saw her for,” he turned to Connie, “how long was it dear?”
Connie tilted her head ever so slightly and frowned a bit. “I believe she was around for two years.”
“Yeah, two years. That’s how long I was involved with Aerona,” he admitted. Olivia’s eyebrows moved upward, and she frowned hardly able to believe what the couple was saying.
“So you knew he was um—.” Olivia sat dumbfounded.
Connie waved a hand to dismiss Olivia’s hesitation. “Of course, that’s the kind of relationship we have. My husband has what I call an insatiable sexual appetite. I tell you, ever since those damn blue pills were invented, I decided I wasn’t about to try and keep up, so we have an understanding. He can poke whoever he wants as long as he doesn’t fall in love,” she beamed proudly.
Harrison shook his head. “So anyway, I’d give her money here and there. You know—just to show my appreciation. And I’m a generous man. But about nine months ago,” he said then stopped and thought about what he was saying.
“It was seven months ago,” Connie tossed in.
“Yeah, well, seven months ago, I found out she had somehow gotten hold of my password and had started siphoning off five grand a month from my account.”
Olivia’s eyes became wide. “How long did this go on?” she asked.
“Oh, I started to suspect something about two months in when I noticed an additional debit against the account,” Connie mentioned as if losing five grand a month was only a drop in the bucket for them.
Harrison looked at his wife and shook his head again. “So anyway, Connie told me what she suspected, and a few months later I confronted Aerona, or at least tried to and she denied it, adamantly, saying I was just accusing her of being a thief because she was black,” he shrugged.
“As if,” Connie interrupted again. “Harrison has had more black lovers than we can count, huh, honey? Besides, he’s probably single handedly responsible for launching the careers of several black actresses. I was offended at her accusations,” Connie added.
“Anyway, I would’ve helped her if it was only money she needed, but I can’t trust a thief. A thief has to lie, and that’s just not a good combination as far as I was concerned. She was real good in bed, but it wasn’t worth it, so I stopped seeing her and reported the thefts to my financial planner,” Harrison tossed in easily.
“Did you press charges?”
Harrison shook his head vigorously. “Oh, nothing like that. I figure she must’ve really been in a bind to steal from someone as generous as me,” and with that, Fuller pushed a button on his blue tooth and said, “Fuller here.”
Connie started flipping through a stack of pictures Olivia hadn’t noticed before. She looked over at the stack and asked, “Are these aspiring actresses?” Olivia asked, hoping to kill time until Harrison wrapped up his conversation.
“No, these are ladies who have caught my husband’s eye. It’s obvious I need to help him screen the women he becomes involved with,” she smiled.
Olivia shook her head at the thought. She knew people in LA were special, but she wasn’t ready for this set up.
“—I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Fuller’s voice said, indicating to Olivia that she’d better seize the moment.
“Do you have an alibi for the night the woman you knew as Aerona Carter was killed?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah, we were at the Writer’s Guild Awards Show that night,” he turned to Connie. “Weren’t we?”
“Yes, that’s the night we met Tonya, you remember?” she asked him.
“Oh, yeah, I remember Tonya,” Fuller answered, the change in his voice instantly noticeably. And Olivia figured Tonya must’ve been one of the many options for his chocolate delight.
“So would you be willing to testify?” she asked.
Fuller’s eyebrow crinkled. He scratched his patch of salt and pepper hair and looked at Olivia, a bit baffled. “What in heaven’s would I testify about or for?”
“I’m working in defense of a woman who’s being accused of Aerona’s murder. We’re trying to build a case talking about the type of woman she was. And in addition to yourself, there were at least six other men she was duping for money,” Olivia explained.
“Oh, she wasn’t duping me,” Fuller quickly defended. “I would’ve willingly given her that money. Which is why her betrayal hit so hard. Connie and I believe in sharing. There’s never a need for anyone to steal from us. We’ve got more than enough, and we don’t mind sharing,” he added.
“So then you’ll testify if we need you?”
He shrugged one shoulder and said, “What the hell. Let us know where and when, and we’ll be there,” he turned to Connie again. “Right dear?”
“Sure. Have a subpoena, we will travel,” Connie announced.
“Subpoena?” Olivia asked awkwardly.
“Just joking,” Connie screamed. “If there’s a poor innocent soul facing prison for that crime, then we’d be happy to tell our story if you think it’ll help your client.”
“Great,” Olivia announced.
Fuller raised a finger to silence her and Connie.
“Fuller here,” he said after pushing the button that connected yet another call.
“Well, I think I’m done here,” Olivia said, rising from her chair.
“Darling.” Connie stood, too. “You can’t leave. You’ve got to have lunch with us before you go. No one comes to Nate ’n Al’s and not eat. I mean it would be so—so—sinful,” she anguished.
Olivia reluctantly sat back down and decided that enjoying lunch with the Fuller’s before making her way back to the airport wouldn’t be a bad thing after all.
25
When Panthea’s trial reconvened that next morning, Marcus was starting to feel optimistic. He had received the news that Fuller was willing to testify the night before. Even though he was excited, he had resisted the urge to call Panthea to share the news with her.
Marcus looked over at Panthea. She never wanted to talk about her case anyway, so they would just end up like they always did, on the phone for hours. Then one or the other would suggest they meet somewhere, which always meant at some out of the way motel.
Once the judge was seated, Paxson stood up. “The state calls Wade Long.”
Marcus leaned toward Panthea. “You have no idea why the prosecution is calling your alibi as a witness?” he whispered.
“Other than me being at his house that night, I have no clue.”
When Wade was seated in the witness box, Paxson approached him. “Mr. Long, thank you for joining us today. You’re a hard man to keep up with. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a personal trainer,” Wade said.
“Now, you told Detective Silver that on the night in question Mrs. Daniels came to your house, is that correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Please tell the court what time Mrs. Daniels got there?”
“Panthea—I mean, Mrs. Daniels got there about eight-thirty.”
“You sure about the time, Mr. Long?”
“Yes, sir, Mrs. Daniels got there a little after eighty-thirty,” Wade stated again.
“So Mrs. Daniels got there at eight-thirty. What time did she leave?”
“It was a little before eleven when she left.”
“You’re sure about the time?”
“Mrs. Daniels left after Law & Order SVU went off,” Wade said.
“Just so everybody knows the difference,” Paxson said and turned to the jury. “There are two Law & Order programs that came on that night. If I am not mistaken one comes on at nine, that’s criminal intent and then there’s the SVU program, it comes on at ten. Now which one were you and Mrs. Daniels watching?” he asked, turning his attention back to Wade.
