“Thanks, Mike.”
Rosie’s expression didn’t change, but I knew that she was filled with pride. “Let’s go through your closing one more time,” she said.
Rolanda nodded. “Sure.”
* * *
“You look like hell, Mick.”
“Thanks, Pete.”
My brother, Rosie, and I were sitting in my office at eleven-fifteen on Thursday night. Pete was drinking a Coke. I was tempted to break out the bottle of Jack Daniel’s that I kept in my bottom drawer, but I opted for a Diet Dr Pepper. We were due in court in less than eleven hours.
I spoke to Rosie. “Thanks for helping Rolanda with her closing.”
“She’ll do fine.”
“She’s very good.”
“I know. She’s learning from the best.”
“Did she go home?”
“Not yet. I’m going to give her a ride in a few minutes. Anything else I can do?”
“Not tonight.”
She looked at Pete. “Did you find anything?”
My brother scowled. “Not really.”
“Is there a ‘but’ coming?”
“I talked to a couple of Isabel’s friends and got onto her Facebook and Instagram again.”
I didn’t feel compelled to ask him how he managed to do it. “And?”
“Seems her father doesn’t like her boyfriend. For that matter, he didn’t like her past couple of boyfriends.”
Rosie and I exchanged a knowing look. We hadn’t always been ecstatic about Grace’s boyfriends, either. “Any idea why?” she asked.
“Among other things, they were all Vietnamese.”
“So?”
“Ortega has a problem with Vietnamese.”
“Do you know why?”
“No. Maybe it has something to do with the time he spent in Vietnam. Maybe he doesn’t like the Vietnamese gangs who give him grief at the store. Or maybe he doesn’t like the fact that his daughter is dating a Vietnamese guy.”
“How does this relate to our case?”
“Duc Tho was Vietnamese.”
“You think it’s more than coincidence?”
“Just saying.”
Rosie turned to me. “Is Isabel on our witness list?”
“Yes, but we weren’t planning to have her testify.”
She looked at Pete. “Can you have one of your people serve her with papers to appear in court tomorrow?”
“At this hour?”
“First thing in the morning.”
“Sure. Are you going to call her?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the point?”
“Maybe it will rattle her father.”
Pete smiled. “If one of my operatives shows up with a summons for her, you can bet that it will get his attention.”
* * *
Rosie returned to my office a few minutes later. “I need your help, Mike.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but Rolanda just threw up. She’s in a lot of pain. I think we’d better take her to the emergency room.”
Crap. I glanced at Pete. “You help Rosie and Rolanda. I’ll get the car.”
58
“IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO”
“She’s going to be fine,” Rosie said, relieved.
“Did her appendix rupture?” I asked.
“No. They caught it just in time.”
Rosie, Pete, and I were standing in an otherwise empty waiting room at St. Francis Hospital at three-thirty on Friday morning. The TV was showing a replay of the Giants game, the sound off. Rosie’s brother was staying with Rolanda. The emergency appendectomy had gone well. Rosie reported that Rolanda would probably go home tomorrow. The miracles of modern medicine.
“How’s she feeling?” I asked.
“Tired.”
“And your brother?”
“Relieved. Rolanda is disappointed that she won’t be able to do her closing today.”
“That’s the last thing I’m worried about. We’ll get an extension.”
“Judge McDaniel hasn’t given you any breaks.”
“She’ll understand.”
“I have another suggestion.” She flashed an impish smile. “Let me do it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t let you.”
“I want to.”
“You aren’t prepared.”
“Yes, I am. I’ve heard most of the testimony. I prepped Rolanda for her closing.”
“I’ll deal with it, Rosie.”
“I can do it better, Mike.”
Probably true. “I’m Thomas’s great-uncle.”
“And I’m his great-aunt—well, sort of.”
“This isn’t about nepotism.”
“It’s all about nepotism. You wouldn’t have taken this case if Thomas wasn’t your great-nephew. And I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I wasn’t Rolanda’s aunt. It’s the right thing to do. I’m more prepared than you are.”
“We’ll get an extension and let Rolanda handle it.”
“I’m not letting her near a courtroom for at least a month.” She held up a finger. “That part is also nepotism. She’s my niece before she’s my employee. Besides, it makes sense from a strategic standpoint to let me do this.”
“How do you figure?”
“If we win, I’ll take credit. If we lose, we’ll argue on appeal that Thomas wasn’t represented by competent counsel.”
“You’re competent.”
“But I’m unprepared.”
“You just said that you’re more prepared than I am.”
“I am, but we won’t mention it on appeal.”
Rosie. I lowered my voice. “You miss being in court, don’t you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“You really want to do this?”
“Yes.”
“Fine with me.”
“Great.”
“You realize that Jerry Edwards will try to nail you.”
“Politics is a contact sport. I can handle him.”
“It may cost you some votes on election day.”
She gave me a dismissive wave. “The election is more than month from now. People have short memories.” She waited a beat. “You should probably let me handle Thomas’s direct exam, too.”
“I love you, Rosita.”
“Let’s not get sentimental, Mike. We need to prepare for trial.”
Pete smiled at Rosie. “First you say that we shouldn’t take the case. Then you say that you won’t help. Now you want to do the direct exam of the defendant and the closing. You lawyers will take any side of any argument, won’t you?”
Rosie grinned. “Any lawyer can take any side. Exceptional lawyers win no matter what side they take.”
“I stand corrected.”
I glanced at my watch. “Maybe we should go home and get some sleep.”
Rosie’s eyes gleamed. “Sleep is overrated. I’m not leaving until Rolanda wakes up. We can prepare here.”
“We’re due back in court in six hours. You’re the one who told me that we aren’t as young as we used to be.”
“We aren’t that old, Mike.”
59
“I’M GOING TO PLAY A HUNCH”
Thomas tugged at the necktie that I had helped him put on a few minutes earlier. His voice was tentative as he sat in the witness box on ten o’clock on Friday morning. “I was just sitting in the car.”
Rosie stood directly in front of him. Her perfect makeup, stylish hair, and flawless attire provided no hint that she had arrived from St. Francis Hospital fifteen minutes earlier. It was a reminder that trials are theatrical productions where casting, costumes, and script are critically important. It also helps to have a superstar playing the lead.
Rosie worked without notes. “Thomas, you and Duc were friends, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You were going to a party on the night of December fourteenth of last year?”
“Yes.”
Ideally, Rosie would have been asking open-ended questions to elicit thoughtful and sympathetic answers that would have built empathy with the jury. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to work for Thomas, so we told him to follow Rosie’s lead and keep his answers short. True to form, he had quickly reverted to his habit of staring down as he spoke.
Rosie’s tone was patient. “You drove that night?”
“No, Duc did.”
“And you decided to stop at Alcatraz Liquors?”
“Yes. Duc was going to buy beer for the party.”
“That’s the only reason he went inside the store?”
“Objection,” Erickson said. “Calls for speculation as to Mr. Tho’s state of mind.”
“I’ll rephrase,” Rosie said. “Did you and Duc discuss what he would buy at Alcatraz Liquors?”
Thomas finally looked up. “Yes. Beer.”
“Did he mention anything about robbing the store?”
“No.”
“You knew Duc pretty well, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You also knew that he was expelled from Galileo for selling drugs, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
There was no reason for Thomas to lie to protect his friend’s reputation.
“Thomas, did Duc own a gun?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what kind?”
“A handgun. I don’t know the model.”
“Do you know where he got it?”
“A guy on the street.”
“Do you know where he kept it?”
“No.”
“Did he have it with him that night?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You don’t bring a gun to a party.”
“You were sitting right next to him in the car when you went to Alcatraz Liquors, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see a gun?”
“No.”
“Did you go inside the store?”
“No. I was just sitting in the car.”
His delivery was a little wooden, but fine in the circumstances.
Rosie glanced my way and I closed my eyes. “No further questions,” she said.”
“Cross exam, Mr. Erickson?”
“Just a couple of questions.”
Stay the course, Thomas.
Erickson remained seated. “Mr. Nguyen, in addition to being expelled from high school, you knew that Duc Tho had been arrested several times, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you knew that he owned a gun, right?”
“Right.”
“And you were sitting right next to him in the car that night, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Yet he never mentioned robbing the store?”
“No.”
“And he never mentioned his gun?”
“No.”
“And you claim that you didn’t see a gun even though you were less than a foot away from him?”
“Yes.”
“You’re absolutely sure?”
“Objection,” Rosie said. “Asked and answered.”
“Sustained.”
Erickson stood up and took a couple of steps toward Thomas. “You know that the police found a handgun under Mr. Tho’s body, right?”
“Yes.”
“Was it the same one that you mentioned a moment ago?”
“I don’t know.”
Erickson’s tone turned strident. “Come on, Mr. Nguyen. Your friend was a drug dealer who owned a gun. You knew that he was going to rob the store that night, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“And you knew that he had a gun, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Do you expect anybody in this courtroom to believe you?”
“Objection. Argumentative.”
“Sustained.”
“No further questions.”
Thomas had held his own. His grandpa would have been proud.
Judge McDaniel spoke to Rosie. “Any more witnesses, Ms. Fernandez?”
“Just one, Your Honor. The defense calls Isabel Cruz.”
The judge’s expression indicated that we had caught her by surprise.
I whispered to Rosie, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to play a hunch.”
60
“HE SMILED”
The bailiff’s tone was subdued. “Please state your name for the record.”
“Isabel Cruz.” Her voice was quiet, but steady.
“What is your occupation?”
She touched the sleeve of her school uniform and glanced at her parents, who were sitting behind the prosecution table. We had agreed to let them watch Isabel’s testimony even though they were on our witness list. “I’m a junior at Mercy High School.”
The judge invoked a maternal voice. “Isabel, I’m Judge Betsy McDaniel. I expect people in my courtroom to treat everyone with respect—especially our witnesses. If you’re wondering if you have to answer a question or if you’d like to take a break, I want you to let me know and I will stop the proceedings. Does that sound okay to you?”
“Yes.”
The judge shifted her gaze from Erickson to Rosie and me. “You understand my ground rules?”
We answered in unison. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Good.” She turned to Isabel. “Ms. Fernandez is representing Thomas Nguyen. She’s going to ask you some questions. She has assured me that you’ll be back in school by lunch. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“And you understand that you’re under oath, which means that you must tell the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Please proceed, Ms. Fernandez.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. May I approach the witness?”
“Yes.”
The courtroom was silent as Rosie walked to the front of the witness box. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ortega Cruz and his ex-wife in the gallery. Maria’s hands were clasped, eyes looking reassuringly at her daughter. Ortega was seething.
Rosie put her hand on the rail. “I’m Rosie Fernandez.”
Isabel nodded. “I know. I’ve seen you on TV.”
Rosie smiled. “May I call you Isabel?”
“Sure.”
“Isabel, I need to ask you a few questions about what happened at your father’s store on the night of December fourteenth of last year. I know this may be hard, so I want you to take your time and do the best you can.”
“I didn’t see anything.”
“Okay.” Rosie didn’t move. “You were at the store when Duc Tho came inside, right?”
“Yes.”
“How long had you been there when he entered?”
“About an hour.” Isabel explained that she had gone to a movie with a friend, who had dropped her off at the store. “My dad was going to drive me home.”
“Where were you when Mr. Tho entered the store?”
“Sitting at my father’s desk.”
“That’s in the alcove behind the deli case?”
“Yes.”
“What were you doing?”
“Chemistry homework.”
“Are you planning to go to college after you graduate?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Rosie held up a reassuring hand. “I understand that your father, your brother, and your cousin were also in the store.”
“They were.”
“Had you ever seen Duc Tho before?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did you see him enter the store?”
“No.”
“Because you were looking at your chemistry book, right?”
“Right.”
“Your father told us that Duc Tho entered the store, turned to face the counter, flashed a gun, and demanded money. Did you see any of it?”
“Not reall
y.”
“Maybe a little?”
Isabel looked at her father, who frowned. “No,” she decided.
“Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.”
Rosie poured a cup of water and handed it to her. “More?”
“No, thank you.”
Rosie placed the pitcher on the table next to the stand. “So, you didn’t see Duc Tho come inside the store?”
“No.”
“But you might have seen him when he turned to face the cash register, right?”
Another glance at Ortega. “No, I didn’t.”
“Maybe out of the corner of your eye?”
“Maybe.”
“Did he say anything?”
“Not to me.”
“To your dad?”
“I don’t remember.”
“He didn’t say ‘Gimme the money’ or ‘This is a robbery’?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Did he look at you?”
“He might have.”
“What did he do when he looked at you?”
“He smiled.” She quickly corrected herself. “At least I think he did.”
“Were you afraid?”
“Not really.”
“Did you see him reach for a gun?”
“No.”
“Did you hear him ask for money?”
“No.”
Rosie’s tone remained even. “What happened next?”
“My father yelled for us to get down.”
“Then what?”
“I got under the desk.”
“Then what?”
“He shot him.”
“That must have been scary.”
“It was.”
Rosie pushed out a sigh. “Did you see him shoot Duc Tho?”
“No. I was under the desk.”
“Did you hear the shots?”
“Yes.”
“How long did you stay under the desk?”
“Until my dad said it was okay to come out.”
Rosie paused to let Isabel gather herself.
Judge McDaniel quickly filled the void. “Any further questions, Ms. Fernandez?”
Rosie looked in my direction as if to ask whether it was enough. I scratched my nose. It was the signal to wrap up. I saw the look in her eyes indicating that she wasn’t quite finished. Then she crossed her fingers. It was the sign we had used since we were rookie public defenders. She was going to follow her instincts.
Rosie scanned the courtroom for a long moment. Finally, she turned to Isabel and spoke softly. “Did you know that I have a daughter about your age?”
Felony Murder Rule Page 24
