Conflict of Interest

by Jae

  "I want her to call me to the stand," Del demanded.

  Aiden looked down at her black boots. "Lieutenant... I know you want to help Dawn; we all do. But in a criminal case, character witnesses are usually called only for the defendant, not for the victim."

  Del's dark eyes narrowed. "You're trying to explain a job to me that I've done longer than you, Detective!" she growled. "I don't want Ms. Matheson to call me as a character witness. That Saturday night, I accompanied Dawn to the club."

  What? Aiden stared at her.

  "The club is not really my scene, but Dawn had never been there before, and I knew that those girls she went with would disappear from her side as soon as an attractive butch waved a beer at them, so I went with them," Del said.

  "You drove her home?" Aiden guessed, knowing by now how protective the older officer was of Dawn. "Then you can testify that she never took Ballard home with her."

  Del's strong jaw clenched. "No. I didn't, and I can't. I left before Dawn did because all those flashing lights and the smoke were giving me a frigging headache." She closed her eyes. "God, I've wished a thousand times that I'd insisted she come with me or talked her out of –"

  "It wouldn't have done you any good," Aiden stopped her from blaming herself. "Dawn's too stubborn to be ordered around. And even if you'd taken her home, Ballard knew her address by then. It wouldn't have made a difference."

  Del sighed. "What I can testify to is that Dawn never talked to Ballard while I was there."

  "I don't want to appear disrespectful, but why didn't you offer to testify before?" Aiden asked.

  "I wanted to, but you're right: Dawn is stubborn, and she vehemently refused my offer. She didn't want to drag me into it when I didn't really see anything. I didn't like Dawn's decision, but I respected it because I know how important it is to give her complete control over her life right now." Del poked the toes of her boots into the gravel. "But now that it all comes down to whether or not the jury believes Ballard's story about consensual sex and so much rests on Dawn's shoulders, I want to testify."

  Aiden nodded thoughtfully. "You know this would mean outing yourself in open court –"

  Del stopped her with a raised hand. "I've known that girl since she was knee-high to a grasshopper and came to the station with pigtails, begging me to let her ride in a police cruiser. I couldn't love her more if she was my own daughter, okay?" She stared at Aiden with intense, dark eyes. "So, if it would help get the bastard who raped her behind bars, then I would out myself in front of the police commissioner by propositioning his wife if need be!"

  Aiden held back a chuckle and looked at Del with silent admiration. God, I could have used a friend like that when I grew up. "Understood. I'll tell Kade to expect a call from you."

  Del nodded curtly and turned to go.

  "So, did she ever get it?" Aiden called after her.

  Del turned, raising one black eyebrow. "Did who get what?"

  "Dawn," Aiden said. "Did she ever get that ride in a police cruiser that she begged you for?"

  The lieutenant folded muscular arms across her chest. Her face was expressionless, not betraying her thoughts and feelings. "You're not implying that I misused police property for the entertainment of a little girl, are you, Detective?"

  Aiden held her gaze. "I'm implying that you would do anything for that girl, Lieutenant," she said softly.

  Del Vasquez didn't answer immediately. Gravel crunched under her boots as she stepped back toward Aiden. She stopped only one foot away to study her face intently.

  Aiden's back straightened, and her muscles stiffened. She wasn't sure if this was the calm before the storm and Del would soon explode into a sharp reprimand.

  After long moments of scrutiny, the laugh lines around Del's eyes deepened, and she allowed a smile to play around her lips. "You're all right, Detective." She clapped the surprised Aiden on the shoulder. "Treat her right, and we won't have a problem with each other."

  Aiden stared after her as Del turned again and disappeared around the building. Only then did she remember that the lieutenant still hadn't answered her question about Dawn and the ride in the police cruiser.

  Ray came strolling along the gravel path. He pointed in the direction in which Del had disappeared. "So, did she give you the 'Stay away from my baby' or the good old 'If you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and kill you' speech?"

  "I think you've watched The Godfather once too often," Aiden mumbled, still a little dazed. "Why would Lieutenant Vasquez say something like that?"

  Ray only smiled at her attempt to play dumb and innocent. "Because that's what I would do if one of my girls ever came home with a cop."

  Aiden shook her head. "For a cop, you don't seem to hold your brothers in blue in very high esteem."

  "Oh, I like my brothers in blue just fine," Ray said, "but not as a son-in-law. Being married to a cop can be hell, and that's not what I'd want for my girls."

  Aiden crossed her arms across her chest. "What would you have done if Susan's parents had said the same thing when you asked for her hand?"

  "They did," Ray answered. After a second, he smiled. "Not that it was of any use."

  "But of course your daughters are so much more obedient than Susan ever was," Aiden deadpanned.

  Ray snorted. "I can't even get my daughters to keep to their curfews. I can only try to keep them away from the likes of you."

  "The likes of me?" Aiden pointed at her chest in a gesture of innocence.

  Ray laughed at her. "Yes, you, Casanova."

  "Hey, Aiden Crockett," Okada shouted from the outdoor shooting range, "want to join us mere mortals and show us how it's done?"

  "Only if you guys lay off these historical nicknames," Aiden called back.

  * * *

  Aiden watched as their forensic psychiatrist took his place on the witness stand. Renshaw was wearing his glasses, she noticed. Probably to appear more intelligent to the jury. Kade had once told her that this was the reason why she chose to forgo contact lenses or corrective operations. Aiden could have told her another reason. Women with glasses are really sexy! For a moment, she thought about the new turquoise-rimmed glasses Dawn wore, but then forced her attention back to the trial.

  Kade had just established Renshaw's experience as a forensic psychiatrist and profiler. "Doctor Renshaw, can you tell us about your involvement with the investigation in this case?"

  "Detectives Carlisle and Bennet contacted me to look at the crime scene photos. I noticed right away that the perpetrator, who had attacked not only the women but also their personal belongings, was not a total stranger. He knew his victims and seemed to harbor personal anger toward them," Renshaw explained.

  Kade tacked enhanced photographs of the chaos in the victims' bedrooms to a board.

  "He mostly destroyed books, magazines, and DVDs with lesbian content, but we only discovered that later," the forensic psychiatrist continued.

  "What were your conclusions when you discovered the connection between the cases of Ms. Kinsley, Ms. Riggs, and Ms. Matthews?" Kade asked.

  "I came to the conclusion that we were dealing with a rapist who had a homophobic motive. Rape is not about sexual satisfaction. It's about control and power. The perpetrator wanted to exert control over lesbian women. He wanted them to experience and go back to a heterosexual life," Renshaw said.

  Kade looked at him questioningly as if she didn't already know the answer. "Why would he want them to do that?"

  "Because he had been left behind by a lesbian and, at that time, had no power to prevent it," Renshaw answered.

  "How does this theory relate to the defendant?"

  Renshaw looked over at the red-faced man who was angrily staring at him from the defense table. "Mr. Ballard's mother left the family when he was eight years old to live with another woman. In his eyes, he has been abandoned by a lesbian."

  "Can you offer an explanation as to why Mr. Ballard didn't use a condom?"

  "Objection!" D'Aquino calle
d. "Irrelevant and no personal knowledge."

  Kade turned toward the judge. "I'm not asking for personal knowledge but for the professional opinion of an expert, Your Honor."

  "Overruled," Judge Linehan decided. "The jury will keep in mind that this is only one possible explanation, and you'll later have enough opportunities to offer alternative explanations, Mr. D'Aquino." She nodded at Renshaw to answer.

  "He had to reestablish his manhood," Albert Renshaw explained. "He wanted these women to experience his masculinity without barriers. He wanted them to see how good 'sex' with a man could be. For the same reason, he hit the women and broke Dr. Kinsley's finger when they tried to look away from him. He wanted them to know that it was him, a man, they were with, not leaving them any room to fantasize about being with a woman."

  "That sounds like a man who is blinded by hate. Would you say that the defendant's mind was clear enough to know right from wrong?" Kade asked.

  Aiden nodded in satisfaction. Kade was covering all the bases. They didn't want to give D'Aquino an out by portraying Ballard as a poor man who had been abandoned by his evil lesbian mother and had become an insane victim as a result.

  "He knew what he was doing was wrong. He knew what consequences his actions could have – he threatened one of the victims, Ms. Riggs, that he would kill her if she called the police," Renshaw reminded. The jury had already heard that there hadn't been much evidence in Ms. Riggs' case because she had hesitated a week before reporting the rape, and now they knew why. "He was methodical. He got a job which would allow him to not only observe his victims without drawing notice to himself but also to have access to their personal information when he examined their identification. Despite the personal anger and hate he harbored, the defendant was clear enough to get the victims' addresses and to enter and leave their apartments without being seen."

  "What about Mr. Ballard's contention that the sex was consensual and the victims are lying?" Kade asked.

  "I have had an opportunity to interview the three women, and I highly doubt that they agreed to have sex with Mr. Ballard. The two earlier victims had never been in any form of a relationship with a male before, and while Dr. Kinsley had been married, her relationships since then have been strictly with females. In addition, at least one of the victims was almost completely in the closet at the time of the attack and would have had no reason to cover up sleeping with a man."

  "Thank you, Doctor." Kade passed D'Aquino on her way back to her own table. "Your witness."

  The defense attorney straightened his tie and looked down at the bearded psychiatrist. "How long have you worked with the Sexual Assault Detail?"

  "Almost a year now," Renshaw answered.

  "Have you written any books or journal articles or done any studies on sex crimes?"

  "No, not yet."

  Aiden gritted her teeth. D'Aquino had an uncanny talent to make Kade's experts sound like inexperienced bunglers.

  "How many diagnostic interviews did you do with my client before forming your theories about the alleged homophobic rape motives?" D'Aquino wanted to know.

  "Mr. Ballard refused to talk to me."

  The defense lawyer rested his hands on the witness-box and leaned forward. "So, that would be 'zero,' right?"

  "Yes," Renshaw had to admit.

  "Thanks, nothing further."

  Kade stood. "Redirect, Your Honor?"

  "Mr. D'Aquino didn't give you much scope to work within, Ms. Matheson," Linehan warned.

  "I'll stay within the scope of the cross, Your Honor," Kade promised. "I have just one question."

  Finally, the judge nodded. "Proceed."

  "Doctor Renshaw, how could you form an opinion of Mr. Ballard if you couldn't interview him?" Kade asked her one question.

  "Interviews are not the only sources of information for a trained psychologist or psychiatrist," Renshaw answered. "I could rely on observation, physical evidence from the crime scenes, the police report from his interrogation, which I witnessed, and I talked at length with a social worker who had contact with the Ballard family during the divorce of Mr. Ballard's parents. Mr. Ballard's father managed to get sole custody, and he prevented any further contact between his ex-wife and his son, so the only thing Garett Ballard knows about lesbians is the hate-filled image he learned from his father."

  Kade gave a curt nod. "No more questions."

  Ruth Linehan excused Renshaw and then looked down at the young DDA from her bench. "Are you ready to proceed with your next witness, Ms. Matheson?"

  "Yes, Your Honor," Kade said from the prosecution's table. "The People call Lieutenant Delicia Vasquez Montero to the stand."

  Aiden, still sitting in the first row of the gallery, held her breath. Kade had told her that Linehan could easily deny the lieutenant's testimony this late in the trial. She didn't have to wait long for a reaction.

  Victor D'Aquino jumped up from his seat. "The defense objects, Your Honor! Lieutenant Vasquez Montero has never been identified as a possible witness."

  "It was brought to my attention just yesterday that she might have information relevant to this case, Your Honor," Kade defended.

  Linehan looked at Kade over the rim of her glasses from her place on the bench, like a hawk looking down at a field mouse from its aerie. "Counselor, approach."

  Kade stepped to the bench and listened to whatever the judge had to say.

  From her place in the gallery, Aiden couldn't make out what Linehan told the DDA, but from Kade's facial expressions it was easy to see that the judge wasn't very enthusiastic about new witnesses appearing out of nowhere and told her so in no uncertain words.

  Kade returned to her seat, and Linehan waved to the bailiff. "Lieutenant Vasquez may testify." The judge looked at D'Aquino when he started to protest. "We'll take a recess after the direct examination, leaving you ample time to prepare for your cross-exam."

  Del entered and strode toward the witness stand without looking left or right. Her posture and her voice when she swore to tell the truth were confident, and Aiden had to admire her professionalism in this personal situation.

  "Lieutenant Vasquez." Kade nodded at her witness, and Aiden's mind flashed back to her misunderstanding that Del had requested a hookup of the nonprofessional kind with the DDA. Then Kade began her questioning, and all other thoughts disappeared. "You are a decorated police officer, right?"

  "Right," Del agreed matter-of-factly.

  "How do you know Dr. Kinsley?"

  For a second, Del's gaze wandered to the gallery, where Grace Kinsley sat. "I was partnered with her father, James Kinsley, for ten years. I've known Dr. Kinsley for twenty years."

  "Do you see her a lot?" Kade asked.

  "Once a week, I would say. I'm invited to all of the family dinners," Del said.

  Kade nodded. "And did you see Dr. Kinsley on the evening of October 6th?"

  Del never hesitated. "Yes, I did. I went with her to the club."

  "Why did Dr. Kinsley go to the club on this evening?" Kade asked.

  "Objection, speculation!" came the protest from the defense table. "The witness is not a mind reader; she can't know Ms. Kinsley's thoughts."

  "Withdrawn," Kade said before Linehan could force her to do it. "Why did you go to the club, Lieutenant?"

  Del shrugged. "To kick back after an exhausting week, have a drink, dance, talk to Dr. Kinsley and some other friends... the usual."

  "The usual," Kade repeated. "So, picking up men wasn't a part of your plans for the evening?"

  "Objection!"

  "Overruled," Linehan said before D'Aquino had even finished voicing his objection. "I want to hear this."

  An ironic half smile flitted across Del's face. "We wouldn't have gone to a lesbian club if it had been."

  "Did Dr. Kinsley talk to a man during the evening?" Kade asked.

  "There weren't that many to talk to, and no, she didn't. She never talked to anyone other than me and the two friends who came with us."

  "Did she
talk to anyone when you entered the club?" Kade asked, driving the point home that Dawn had never spoken with Ballard.

  Del shook her head. "No. She gave her ID to Mr. Ballard when he requested it, but she didn't give him a second glance, nor did she talk to him."

  Kade nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Nothing further."

  The hour of recess Linehan had granted the defense to prepare for Del Vasquez's cross-examination seemed to drag by slowly. Aiden was glad that she had taken the whole day off because otherwise, the unplanned witness would have caused her to miss Dawn's testimony that would come later today.