Victim of the Defense

by Marianne Woolbert-Maxwell

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Court adjourned.”

  Megan cut a glance at Mattingly. He was busy talking to Tarkington. She could see a large vein protruding on Mattingly’s forehead. Tarkington was looking down at his lap, shaking his head.

  “Ms. O’Reilly,” someone shouted. She turned around and saw a crush of reporters rushing toward her yelling questions. Two security guards formed a shield so the reporters couldn’t get to her and two other guards grabbed her briefcase and hurried her toward the judge’s private exit.

  CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

  Jack Temple and four Federal Marshalls arrived in D.C. on a private jet at five a.m. on Wednesday. A white SUV with tinted windows was sitting on the tarmac in the pitch black of early morning, there to meet the plane. Megan was waiting in the SUV along with a Federal Marshall.

  No one would have suspected that the five men exiting the plane, all wearing jeans, polo shirts, and baseball hats, were Federal Marshalls accompanying a key witness from the witness protection program. Megan somehow knew that the one who was shorter and younger looking than the others, with dark-rimmed glasses and close-cropped dark graying hair, was Jack Temple. She watched him cross the tarmac and approach the SUV. Once he was inside, she extended her hand and introduced her. She noticed that his handshake was firm and he looked her directly in the eye. She liked that. ‘‘I need to talk to you at length but not here.”

  He nodded, they settled back in the seat, and the driver slowly inched toward the exit and pulled onto the highway headed toward downtown D.C.

  Arrangements had been made for Temple and his four Marshalls to stay at the Astor Hotel not far from the courthouse. The hotel was ten stories and offered every available amenity a guest could want. The witness protection program had reserved all the rooms on the top floor and requested that public access to that floor be denied while Temple was staying there. The fire exits on the tenth floor were locked from the hotel floor side so that no one on the outside could gain access to the floor and only the occupants staying there could open the doors in case of an emergency. The hotel had programmed the elevator not to go past the ninth floor unless a computer code was entered. Only certain hotel employees and the witness protection program Marshalls had the code. Not even Megan had it. She would be meeting with Temple at an as yet undisclosed-to-her location later today.

  The hotel had made arrangements for Temple and the federal marshals to come into the hotel through a private entrance located in the underground parking garage. When the SUV pulled up in front of the entrance, Megan shook Jack Temple’s hand and reminded him that his schedule for the next several days would be meetings with her and Eric and a deposition with Mattingly. Jack Temple thanked her and got out of the SUV with his four accompanying Marshalls.

  CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

  At five a.m. on the following Monday, Jack Temple arrived at the courthouse in the back of a delivery truck with the words The Office Supply Box painted on the side. Even at five in the morning there were reporters camped out in front of the courthouse, and all precautions were being taken to assure none of the press or even the public got a glimpse of him.

  The delivery truck inched its way down the ramp to the underground parking garage at the courthouse and stopped in front of the entrance to the building. Five Federal Marshalls stood waiting at the entrance. The witness protection program had taken over security for the courthouse for the day and had strategically stationed a battalion of marshals throughout the building.

  The offices on the fourth floor where the courtroom was located were closed for the day and the floor had been vacated until further notice. Federal marshals were stationed at each staircase on the floor and at the elevator. The elevator had been programmed not to stop at the fourth floor without a special code being entered.

  All the security cameras in the garage, basement, and elevator and on the entire fourth floor had been disabled so there would be no video footage showing Temple.

  Jack himself had a beard that he had probably grown since becoming involved in the witness protection program and was wearing a baseball cap and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses.

  Inside the courthouse he was escorted by four agents to a private conference area behind the courtroom which was used exclusively by attorneys to speak confidentially with their clients. In the center of the room was a large walnut conference table with six chairs. The room had a bathroom, refrigerator, and microwave. It had no windows. This room would be where he stayed at all times until Megan called him to the stand, with two agents stationed outside the door and two other agents positioned at each end of the hallway. Once his testimony was completed he would be taken by the marshals to the airport and to their private plane and flown back to Oregon.

  When Megan arrived at eight a.m. she was greeted by a crush of reporters and TV trucks encircling the courthouse square. With the help of security she threaded her way through the crowd of reporters who were shouting questions and shoving microphones in her face. The security guards pushed the reporters back and blocked the cameras with their hands. They got Megan in the building and onto the elevator as quickly as they could.

  At nine o’clock sharp Judge Crawford entered the courtroom and took his seat on the bench. Federal marshals were standing guard at all the courtroom doors. The press, much to their dismay, had been barred from the courtroom and relegated to the main floor of the courthouse.

  Megan cast a glance across the room at Mattingly. On the defense table in front of him was a stack of papers and files. Since he had deposed Temple on Tuesday he had filed a flurry of pleadings and briefs objecting to Temple’s testimony and asking the court to block him from testifying. Megan had responded to each one citing case law as to why Jack Temple’s testimony should be allowed. Today, Judge Crawford would make a final ruling.

  Megan had also talked at length to Jack. She had spent hours with him going over his testimony and alerting him to what she anticipated Mattingly would ask him. She’d told him Mattingly would do his best to try to make it look like he had made some secret deal with the authorities to testify against Tarkington, in order to get a reduced sentence himself.

  Judge Crawford opened his glasses and perched them on his nose. “Counsel, I have read all the briefs and pleadings filed regarding the issue of Mr. Temple testifying today and I am well versed in this area of the law.” He paused and looked at Mattingly and then at Megan. Megan felt the tension rising in her.

  “Every case has to be judged on its particular set of facts.” The judge paused and looked again at both Megan and Mattingly. “In this case it does appear that the People made every attempt to locate the witness to no avail until he was found in the witness protection program. Although I understand defense counsel’s basis for objection, I find that the People made a good faith effort to locate this witness. It just wasn’t possible due to Mr. Temple being part of the witness protection program. In light of this, I am denying the defense request to block this witness from testifying and find that it would serve the interests of justice to allow his testimony. “

  Megan breathed a sigh of relief.

  Mattingly shot up from his chair. His face was bright red. “Judge, we ask leave to take an interlocutory appeal from this ruling and request that the trial not go forward pending a ruling from the court of appeals.”

  Judge Crawford peered over his glasses at Mattingly. “Denied, counsel. You may take the issue up by the regular means of appealing a case if your client is found guilty,”

  “But Judge, I….”

  “Have a seat, Mr. Mattingly. The court has ruled.”

  Judge Crawford cast a glance at his bailiff and instructed him to bring in the jury. He welcomed the jurors once they were seated, explained the agenda for the day, and told them that it would be different because a witness was part of the witness protection program. He explained that they were sworn to keep all information regarding the witness confidential and that should anyone divulge anything regarding this pers
on they could be held in contempt of court and sanctioned. When he finished instructing the jurors he turned and looked at Megan. “Ms. O’Reilly.”

  Megan stood. “Thank you, Your Honor. The People call Jack Temple.”

  The private door at the back of the courtroom opened and Jack Temple walked into the courtroom. Dressed in a white oxford-cloth shirt, striped tie, and black dress pants, he looked conservative and professional. Eric and Megan had seen pictures of him on the

  internet when they were still searching for him. In old pictures he had longish blond hair, a beard and mustache, and no glasses. In the more recent photos he had been clean shaven. Now he had on those dark-rimmed glasses and had short dark graying hair and a beard. Megan suspected that his appearance had been altered by the witness protection program. He walked to the witness stand and turned to face the judge.

  “Raise your right hand. Do you swear and affirm under the penalties of perjury that the testimony you are about to give is the truth and nothing but the truth?”

  “I do.”

  “Please be seated.”

  Megan stood. “State your name for the court, please.”

  “Jack Temple.”

  Megan looked over at Tarkington. He showed no sign of anxiety that one of his closest and oldest friends was about to help convict him. Instead he was busy writing notes while Mattingly opened a file that probably contained Jack Temple’s deposition. Megan knew they had both studied every word of Temple’s deposition and were hoping he would say something today that didn’t match his original statement. Mattingly was like all defense attorneys; they look for a molehill and make a huge mountain out of it. A mountain they hope will discredit the witness.

  For the next twenty minutes she had Temple testify about who he was, his educational background, his family, and his career. She gave him ample time to answer her questions and did her best to make him feel comfortable—as comfortable as he could be testifying in a court of law against a former good friend.

  “Mr. Temple, are you a member of the witness protection program?”

  Temple shifted a little in his chair. “Yes, I am.”

  Megan asked him a series of questions about how the witness protection program worked.

  “Tell the jury, Mr. Temple, how it came about that you are part of this program.” Megan cast a glance at the jury. They were hanging on Jack Temple’s every word.

  Temple cleared his throat. “I got involved in cocaine.” He paused. “I made some very bad choices.”

  Megan had him explain how he got involved with friends who did cocaine and then how he got hooked himself. “I spent a lot of money on it and was in debt to a dealer.”

  Megan walked back over to the defense table and sat down. “Tell the jury what happened.”

  “I was told by the dealer that I needed to buy a substantial amount of cocaine from a trafficking ring—to work off some of my debt.” Temple adjusted his glasses, looked down at the floor and then at Megan.

  “Did you do that?”

  Temple nodded. “Yes.”

  “What happened next?”

  “I made the buy for them and it turned out the guy I bought from was an undercover police officer.” He told the jury that he had been charged with several felonies. Due to the amount of the drug he’d bought they were high-level felonies that could put him in prison for a long time.

  “The original plea agreement I was offered would have given me thirty years in prison.”

  “What did you do once you realized how serious your situation was?” Megan leaned against the edge of the prosecution table.

  Temple told the jury that he had asked his attorney to speak with the prosecutor handling his case about what, if anything, he could do to get his prison time reduced.

  “The prosecutor said that if I helped to bring down the drug ring and get some of the dealers put in prison it would help my case. The police had been trying to find out who all was involved and had hit a brick wall.”

  “So you were asked to turn state’s evidence and be an informant.”

  “Yes.”

  “Is the criminal case against you resolved?”

  Temple shook his head. “No. I’m awaiting trial. My own trial date is not until next year. The case where I’m testifying against the cocaine dealers is set for trial in a few months.”

  Megan had him explain how large the ring was and the danger he was in by testifying against its members and how his safety was being guarded by the witness protection program.

  “Is being here today putting you in a potentially dangerous situation?”

  “Yes.” Jack ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.

  Megan looked down at her notes. “Tell the jury, do you know Craig Tarkington?”

  “Yes. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

  Megan had Temple explain about how and when he first met Tarkington and describe their relationship.

  “We’ve been friends since we were kids,” Temple said. “We grew up next door to each other. In the last ten years we’ve spent many weekends boating and hanging out.”

  Megan watched him shift in his chair and look briefly down at the floor. She could see that he was uncomfortable.

  “I would imagine that since Mr. Tarkington is a long-time friend of yours, testifying against him is hard for you.”

  Temple nodded. “Yes, it is. Very hard. It’s something I wish I didn’t have to do.”

  Megan walked around behind the prosecution table and sat down. She looked down at her notepad and flipped a few pages.

  “Why are you testifying?”

  “I need to.”

  Megan noticed how Mattingly was completely focused on Temple.

  “Do you mean that your testimony in this case will help you in your own criminal matter?”

  Temple shook his head. “No. I don’t mean that. I feel I need to come forward to help stop Craig’s behavior. “

  Temple went on to tell the jury that over the last three years he had been hearing about situations involving Craig Tarkington and women that weren’t good.

  “He would be very aggressive with them and didn’t like to be told no.” Temple said he personally knew a couple of women who told him Tarkington had forced himself on them.

  “He forced them to have sex with him?” Megan said.

  “Objection, Your Honor,” Mattingly said angrily. “I object to any allegations made by some unidentified women. If these women exist then they need to be here and be put under oath and testify.”

  “Ms. O’Reilly?” Judge Crawford looked at Megan.

  “The basis of this testimony is what Mr. Temple learned about the defendant Craig Tarkington’s sexual proclivities. It is not hearsay. It is used to explain why Mr. Temple has decided to come forward and testify. It is not offered as evidence of the truth of the allegations.”

  “Objection overruled,” Judge Crawford said. “Continue.”

  “These women you know said Craig Tarkington forced them to have sex with him?”

  Temple nodded. “Yes. They told me Craig sexually assaulted them.”

  Megan looked at Tarkington. He was staring a hole through Temple.

  “Did these women ever file charges against him?”

  “No. Craig told me he resolved it with them.”

  Megan crossed her arms. “Resolved it?”

  “My understanding is that there was some type of agreement worked out and Craig paid them some money and it all went away. From what he told me it was all done informally. No suit was ever filed. “

  “How many women are we talking about?”

  “Two. I think there might be other women Craig…” Temple paused as if searching for the right word…”assaulted too. But I only knew two of them.”

  “Objection,” Mattingly shouted.

  “Overruled. You may continue, Ms. O’Reilly.”

  “How long ago was this?” Megan pulled out another her legal pad and scribbled a quick something.

 
“The first one was probably five years ago. Then a year later a different woman told me something had happened to her.” Temple told the jury that as part of the private settlement with these women Tarkington agreed to go into counseling.

  “Did he go to a therapist?”

  “He said he did but I really don’t know.”

  Temple stated that after these incidents things seemed to smooth out and he didn’t see or hear about any other behavior out of Tarkington that caused him concern—not until sometime in the summer of 2015.

  “What happened then?”

  Temple looked across the room at Tarkington then back at Megan.

  “Craig came to my house in the Hamptons for the weekend. We planned to go boating, cook out, and relax. On Saturday night we decided to go into town to The Cove for dinner. We saw some people we knew there and decided to stay until the band started playing around nine o’clock. We ran into a couple of women we knew and bought them drinks.”

  Temple paused.

  “About midnight the woman I was dancing with left with a group of her friends to go to a party. She invited me to come along but I was dog tired and didn’t go.”

  “Where was Craig when this occurred?”

  Temple shrugged. “I didn’t see him so I sent him a text and told him I was going back to the house and would leave the door unlocked so he could get in. The house was only a ten- minute walk from the bar. “

  “Did Mr. Tarkington text you back?”

  “Yes. He said he’d be fine and would see me later.”

  Temple testified that when he got home he took a shower and was heading to bed when he remembered he forgot to turn off the sound system on the boat. He said he pulled on a T-shirt and some shorts and tennis shoes and headed down to the boat slip which was just beyond his backyard.

  “When I got close I could see there was a light on in the living room area and I heard music. Inside the boat I noticed an empty wine bottle on the coffee table and two glasses that weren’t there when we left for dinner. I turned off the light and headed back toward the stateroom. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like a woman crying out for help. As I hurried toward the sound I heard another voice. It was Craig’s. He was yelling….”