Against the Law

by Jay Brandon

  ‘Yes. The last time. They came in about mid-evening on a weeknight.’

  ‘Do you remember when this was?’

  ‘Last winter. February.’ Shortly before Paul’s death.

  ‘Why do you remember that occasion, Mr Bennett?’ Edward had resumed his seat by now, leaning forward on the counsel table.

  ‘They made it memorable. It was a slow night, the place wasn’t crowded, and every time I went to the table they’d either ignore me or look up like I was annoying them. Most people like attentive service, but these two seemed like they wanted to be left alone. I wondered why they’d come to a restaurant.’

  ‘What do you remember about their appearance, if anything?’

  ‘Well, they’d been drinking already. I don’t mean they were drunk, nothing like that, but, you know, the way some people get.’

  ‘How is that?’ Edward asked curiously.

  The witness sat back and looked over the spectators’ heads thoughtfully.

  ‘Heightened emotions, I guess you’d say. Experienced servers know what that looks like. They were talking steadily, in low voices that they’d shut off abruptly when I went by to check on them, but I could tell it was pretty intense. She was doing most of the talking, mostly leaning toward him. Sometimes he sat back and folded his arms, as if he was trying to back away as far as he could.’

  ‘Could you hear anything they said?’

  ‘Not much. Like I say, they’d stop when I got close. I just heard little phrases. The one I remember is her saying, “If you think,” you know, as if she was saying, “If you think I’m going to—”’

  ‘Object to speculation,’ David Galindo said quickly.

  The judge looked down at the witness, who looked back at her.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ the judge mused. ‘Good servers have a lot of experience of knowing how conversations are going without hearing every word. I’m going to allow it.’

  Mr Bennett nodded as if complimented. David Galindo let his gaze linger on the judge.

  The server continued. ‘It sounded like she was saying something like, “If you think I’m going to let you get away with this you’ve got another think coming.” Something like that. That’s how her face looked.’

  Edward wrote a long note about that, letting the testimony sink in. It was obvious the judge was paying close attention.

  ‘Did you see anything else that night that seems important, Mr Bennett?’

  ‘Just one little thing.’ The server crossed his legs and laced long-fingered hands across his knee. ‘Things changed toward the end. The man was leaning toward her, looking, looking …’

  ‘Looking how, sir?’

  ‘I’m trying to think. Nervous, I guess, but that doesn’t say it enough. Afraid would be too much. But it was like it was sinking in to him how serious their conversation was. He was leaning toward her, like he was apologizing. By then she was the one sitting back, looking aloof like. But then just when I thought it was going to end she leaned forward and put her hand over his, but not like holding hands. I didn’t realize it until I went over to take them the check; she’d been digging her nails into the back of his hand. There were deep red marks on the back of that hand. He saw me look and jerked his hand under the table.’

  Which accounted for the scratches the medical examiner had mentioned on the back of one of Paul’s hands. Edward moved to the television that remained in the courtroom.

  From there he said, ‘Let me show you something, please.’ Edward turned on the television. The DVD was keyed to the beginning. Paul’s face came on the screen. ‘Did he look like this that night, Mr Bennett?’

  The witness studied the shot. Edward wondered what everyone else saw. Paul looked very different to him now than he had the first time Edward had seen this. Now he could see traces of the drunkenness Amy had claimed, as well as something else. Something a little beyond nervousness, as the witness had said.

  ‘Yes, that’s how he looked that night.’ Mr Bennett pointed. ‘See that little mark on his white shirt pocket? That’s a wine stain from a little he spilled when I was waiting on him. I remember that.’

  Edward wished Paul would show the backs of his hands on the DVD, but he kept them carefully out of sight.

  Edward paused it and said, ‘Pass the witness.’

  ‘You have a remarkable memory, Mr Bennett,’ David Galindo began.

  ‘Thank you. I observe people. That’s one of the perks of being a server, being a people-watcher. And that was a slow night, like I said.’

  ‘How is it the defense didn’t find you until after the trial, Mr Bennett?’

  ‘I found them. I was out of town when this trial started, but when I got back I saw a front page story about Amy Shilling being convicted and it reprised the whole trial. There was a picture of her deceased husband and I realized I’d seen him. So I got in touch with the defense.’

  It happened that way sometimes, a witness not knowing about the case until it was in trial. It was both a blessing and a curse to get such evidence after the trial had ended. It was potentially valuable evidence, but it was also too late.

  David looked at the man for a few seconds, then apparently decided it was too dangerous to ask him anything else.

  ‘No more questions.’

  Edward said, ‘The prosecutor made me think of one more, Mr Bennett. Had you seen this couple in your restaurant before?’

  ‘At least one other time, but it seemed like it was way earlier. Months earlier. They came in a couple of times then stopped. At least that’s all I remember of them.’

  Which fit Valerie’s testimony that she and Paul had dated, then stopped. That’s when their relationship had gone subterranean, in Edward’s theory.

  ‘No more questions,’ he said.

  The judge made a few rapid notes, then looked up. ‘Next?’

  ‘The defense calls Valerie Linnett, Your Honor.’

  A murmur ran through the audience. The defense had spent the entire hearing setting Ms Linnett up as a suspect. Why call her to let her deny it?

  Valerie Linnett came down the side aisle of the courtroom, head held stiffly. Edward knew she’d been in the hallway accompanied by a bailiff. Edward had had her served with a subpoena to ensure her presence here today and he’d also called her to say if she didn’t appear he’d have her attached – meaning arrested and brought to court. She’d hung up on him. But here she was.

  She wore slacks and a dark blouse. She had on no apparent makeup and her hair was longer, but showed more gray than it had when she’d testified at trial. Her movements appeared stiff.

  The judge was looking back and forth from the witness to the photograph of her in his hand. Edward gave her time to examine both, then began.

  ‘Hello again, Ms Linnett. Let’s get right to it. Is there anything you wish to change about your trial testimony?’

  ‘No.’ Her voice was as stiff as her spine.

  ‘Let me show you a photograph.’ He crossed quickly to her and did so. ‘Is that a picture of your side gate and Paul Shilling’s side gate?’

  She didn’t even glance at the picture. ‘I can’t tell.’

  ‘Your side gates are right next to each other, aren’t they?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Edward showed the picture to David.

  ‘Will the prosecution stipulate that this is a picture of what I described? I can recall my investigator if necessary.’

  David gave it more than a cursory glance, then said, ‘So stipulated.’

  Next Edward called Ms Linnett’s attention to the television, with Paul still frozen on its screen.

  He started it again and said, ‘Is this your attic, Ms Linnett?’

  Again she refused to look. ‘On the advice of counsel I refuse to answer any more questions.’

  ‘What?’ Edward’s attention shot back to her. ‘What was that?’

  ‘I have consulted an attorney who advised me not to answer any questions.’

  ‘Do you mean you’r
e asserting your Fifth Amendment privilege?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Against incriminating yourself?’

  She finally looked at him, a glare she quickly tried to dim just to a stare.

  ‘I believe it’s the right to remain silent. At any rate, I’m asserting it.’

  ‘All right.’ He had hoped for this. Her refusal to testify couldn’t be held against her in court, in fact in a regular trial the jury wouldn’t even be allowed to know she’d asserted the privilege, but the judge had heard it. What the law allows and the assumptions people naturally make have very little to do with each other.

  ‘Ms Linnett, were you and Paul Shilling having an affair?’

  She leaned forward and said, ‘Same answer.’

  ‘Just to be clear for the record, do you mean you’re again asserting your right not to incriminate yourself?’

  This time the prosecutor stood. ‘I object to characterizing her testimony that way, Your Honor.’

  Judge Miles looked at him with evident curiosity. ‘What’s your objection, counselor?’

  ‘It’s prejudicial, Your Honor. He knows he can’t burden her exercise of her privilege by referring to it.’

  ‘That’s true in front of a jury, counselor, but right now I’m the fact-finder. You can trust the court not to consider inadmissible evidence.’

  ‘I do, Your Honor, absolutely. But I still have to object.’

  ‘You’ve done so,’ Cynthia said curtly. ‘Go ahead, Mr Hall.’

  David resumed his seat, staring at the judge. She had changed since trial.

  ‘Are you the reason Dr Shilling didn’t want other women to know his address, Ms Linnett, because he knew how jealous you were?’

  Now not bothering to disguise her glaring daggers, she said, ‘Again, I refuse to answer.’

  ‘And we all know why. Well, then let me show you something, ma’am.’

  As Edward stood, he caught a glimpse of Amy. She was staring at Valerie Linnett as if she’d never seen her before, this woman who’d been having an affair with her husband, not only since the separation but before. Perhaps she was the cause of the separation … Amy didn’t even look angry, just befuddled, as if waking up to find a stranger in bed with her.

  Edward picked up another one of the trial exhibits from his counsel table. It was the dress that had been hanging in Paul’s closet, the one that hadn’t fit Amy and had fit Laura Martinelli like skin. He carried it toward the witness stand.

  ‘Would you just go back into the court offices and try this on, please, Ms Linnett, then come out and show us how it fits?’

  ‘I will not.’ She sounded as if he’d asked her to strip naked in the courtroom.

  David Galindo sat silent. He knew the law. Edward looked at the judge and shrugged.

  Kindly, Judge Miles leaned toward the witness and explained.

  ‘Ma’am, you have a privilege not to testify if you choose. But you cannot refuse to be displayed yourself, like taking your fingerprints. I can order you to do that. I am ordering you to put on this dress.’

  Valerie sat there staring straight ahead as if she hadn’t heard her. There were two bailiffs in the courtroom, a male one at a desk and a female one standing close to Amy, guarding her. At a look from the judge the man stood up and the woman started walking toward the witness. Still without looking at anyone, Valerie abruptly stood up, turned and marched out the back door of the courtroom, behind the judge’s bench. The woman bailiff hurried after her, grabbing the dress from Edward in passing.

  They all waited stiffly. Edward turned and saw his family in the front row of the spectator seats. His mother was in tears, his father frowning. Linda wasn’t with them. Edward turned his attention to Amy, who gazed back at him. Now she looked scared, more so than he’d seen her through this whole ordeal. Her face was the least bearable in the courtroom. Edward turned back to face the judge.

  No more than five minutes passed, though it seemed much longer, before the bailiff returned. Valerie Linnett walked in behind her, wearing the blue dress. She had tried to bunch it around her hips, but as she walked it slipped down. The dress hung on her just slightly – Edward had noticed she appeared thinner today than when he’d first met her months earlier – but it fit. The dress showed enough cleavage to be interesting but not enough to be vulgar. It showed off her figure without being provocative. And it was just the right length for an evening sheath, coming halfway down her calves. With the right pair of heels and perhaps a smile on the face of its wearer, the dress could have been stunning.

  Valerie turned stiffly toward Judge Miles, not looking remotely like a runway model. After a moment, Cynthia nodded and then inclined her head, giving her permission to leave again. Valerie walked out as stiffly as she’d entered.

  ‘Is this going to be your final witness, Mr Hall?’ the judge asked in her absence.

  ‘Only one more, Your Honor. She’ll be brief.’

  ‘Dr Shilling? Because I’ve heard her testimony. Unless she has something new to add—’

  ‘No, Your Honor, not the defendant. We’ll rely on her trial testimony.’

  The judge nodded and they waited until Valerie Linnett returned, in her slacks and blouse again.

  Edward started to pass her, then said, ‘The dress fit you very well, didn’t it, Ms Linnett?’

  ‘Not really. I found it very uncomfortable.’

  I’ll bet. ‘Do you have an explanation for how it came to be in Paul’s closet?’

  ‘Since it’s not mine, no.’

  ‘Were you expecting to wear it to the awards dinner that evening? Was that going to be your coming-out-in-public occasion?’

  She leaned forward and spoke into the microphone.

  ‘Again, it’s not my dress. So no to all that.’

  ‘Pass the witness.’

  David Galindo hesitated a long time, looking at Valerie. She didn’t look back, keeping her eyes downcast.

  David finally said, ‘No questions.’

  The judge excused the witness, who took a seat in the audience, staring.

  ‘The defense’s final witness is Linda Benson, Your Honor.’

  Linda wore a dark gray skirt and a green blouse that brought out the color of her eyes. She sat comfortably in the witness chair and looked straight at Edward.

  ‘Linda, you and I recently entered Valerie Linnett’s house when she wasn’t there. Did you take pictures of the walls in her attic?’

  ‘I did.’ They introduced the five photos. When Edward passed them to Judge Miles, the judge looked at them and then at the television screen, which still showed Paul and the wall behind him. One of the pictures even showed a bare hook, just like one behind Paul’s shoulder.

  ‘What happened next, Linda, after you took the pictures?’

  ‘You saved my life.’

  That they hadn’t rehearsed. Edward felt himself reddening under her serene stare.

  ‘Well, I think … It was more a case of … Just tell the judge what happened, please.’

  She did, unable to keep the tension out of her voice as she recounted their realizing they were about to be discovered. Linda’s eyes grew moist as she described being alone in the attic, waiting, until suddenly she heard shots and bullets came through the floor close to her. She had practically flung herself out the window then, slid down the roof and landed in the front yard just after Edward himself got shot.

  Edward felt the collective silence around her words, the courtroom hushed as everyone stared at Linda. She told about discovering that Edward had already knocked Valerie unconscious. Then she told the part of the story Edward hadn’t known, the unbearably long wait for the ambulance while he continued to bleed in spite of her best efforts.

  ‘I couldn’t seem to get the belt tight enough,’ she said through tears, looking at the judge. ‘I held it in place and held it tight, but there still seemed to be a trickle of blood. The puddle of blood was getting bigger. I thought he was going to die.’

  ‘But I didn’
t,’ Edward said. ‘Here I am. Thank you, Linda. I pass the witness.’

  David looked at her over his steepled fingers and said, ‘Thank you, ma’am. No more questions.’

  Edward stood and said, ‘Your Honor, the court has my affidavit attached to the motion. I just want to say here that every word of it is true, including that Valerie Linnett said to me, “It doesn’t matter what you found, you won’t be around to tell anyone.” Then she shot me.’

  She nodded at him.

  More frightened than he’d ever been at ending a court presentation, Edward said, ‘We rest, Your Honor.’

  ‘State?’

  ‘We rest as well, Your Honor.’

  ‘Your Honor,’ Edward began quickly, as Linda walked past him toward the audience.

  Edward continued, ‘I’d say trying to shoot the witness in her attic, knowing what we’d discovered, was an admission in itself. Ms Linnett was obviously acting out of a guilty—’

  ‘I didn’t invite argument, counsel,’ Judge Miles said, not unkindly. ‘I’ve heard enough. I can’t believe this wasn’t presented during trial. I can’t understand why the defense didn’t discover this past and current connection between Ms Linnett and the deceased in time to present it in defense. Clearly this is evidence the jury should have heard,’ Judge Miles continued, as if having a chat. ‘But I’m not sure it qualifies as newly discovered evidence, since it was available before trial, if the defense had only discovered it. The deed and bank records, for example.’

  ‘But not her admissions, Your Honor, and her shooting me. Those didn’t happen until after trial.’

  ‘I grant you that.’

  Edward was losing feeling in his legs and his hands were shaking. Was the judge deliberately trying to do that to him, raising his hopes then dashing them almost in the same sentence? He felt something cold and looked down to see that Amy had taken his hand.

  Judge Miles turned to David.

  ‘Mr Prosecutor, do you believe you heard enough to obtain an arrest warrant?’

  Oh my God. Was this going to happen again, Edward being arrested for burglary, this time accompanied by Linda? He stared at Cynthia. She wouldn’t look back at him.

  ‘Yes, ma’am. I believe the defense has established probable cause, when a suspect in a shooting murder shoots someone else. Yes, I think we could arrest on that.’