after him on cross-examination, it would be a case of he said/she said, adding one more reason the jury would expect her to testify.
“I went over to her and asked her what happened and if she was okay.”
“What did she say?”
“That she must have eaten something that didn’t agree with her.”
“Did you observe anything about her that was inconsistent with that explanation?”
Claire rose. “Objection. Calls for speculation. Detective Rossi isn’t a mind reader.”
“Your Honor,” Ortiz said, “let me lay some additional foundation.”
“Do that,” Judge West said.
“Detective Rossi, as a homicide detective, is it important for you to assess whether a person’s statements are consistent with their appearance and behavior?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that?”
“To see if they match up. If they don’t, the witness may not be telling the truth, and that can impact how the investigation proceeds.”
“What experience do you have in evaluating whether someone’s behavior and demeanor is consistent with their statements?”
“I’ve been a cop for twenty years. I’ve interviewed thousands of people in all kinds of situations.”
“Are you telling the jury that you can tell when someone is lying?”
“That’s up to the jury to decide. All I can tell you is whether what a witness said was consistent with how they looked and acted.”
“And that takes me back to my original question. Was the defendant’s answer to your question consistent with what you observed about her demeanor and behavior?”
“Same objection,” Claire said.
“Overruled. You may answer,” the judge said.
“No, it wasn’t, not at all,” Rossi said. “She was trembling. Her eyes were bugged out. She was scared.”
“Are you saying she wasn’t sick?”
“No, I’m saying that whatever had happened between her and Dwayne Reed had made her sick and had scared her.”
“What did you say to her about what happened between her and Dwayne Reed?”
“Because of her getting sick and being so shook up, I asked her if Dwayne had confessed to her that he had killed Wilfred Donaire.”
“What made you think of that?”
“Well, for starters, I was sure he was guilty and I figured any lawyer who found out she’d helped a murderer get off would be pretty sick about it and pretty afraid of what might happen because of that.”
“What did the defendant say when you asked her if that’s what Mr. Reed had told her?”
“She said that whatever Dwayne told her was protected by the attorney-client privilege and that I’d never hear that from her.”
“Based on your background, training, and experience, what the defendant said, and your observation of her demeanor and behavior, did you form a conclusion about what Mr. Reed had told her?”
“I did. It was more of a working theory at that point.”
“Did your working theory become important in your investigation of Mr. Reed’s subsequent murder?”
“It did.”
“In what way?”
“It had to do with the defendant’s motive in killing Dwayne.”
“What conclusion did you reach?”
“Objection,” Claire said. “This is not an appropriate subject for expert testimony, and even if it was, Detective Rossi is not qualified as an expert witness to testify about such things, and even if he were, his opinion is not relevant and is highly prejudicial.”
“Overruled,” Judge West said before Ortiz could reply. “You may answer.”
Rossi nodded and turned toward the jury. “Given all the circumstances, I suspected that Reed had admitted to the defendant that he was guilty, that he’d murdered Wilfred Donaire.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Given how frightened the defendant looked, I also suspected that Reed had threatened her if she told anyone that he’d admitted killing Wilfred Donaire.”
“What did you mean when you said that a lawyer would be afraid of what might happen because she’d helped a guilty man go free?”
“That he’d do it again, kill someone else, and it would be on her head.”
“Were you worried about that as well?”
“Absolutely.”
“Was there anyone in particular whose safety you were worried about?”
“Kyrie Chapman, Jameer Henderson, and his family.”
“Why?”
“Dwayne was in a gang on the east side. So was Kyrie Chapman. Jameer Henderson lived in Dwayne’s neighborhood. When you’re in a gang, respect matters more than someone’s life. Kyrie and Jameer had disrespected Reed and he wouldn’t be able to show his face if he didn’t do something about that.”
Ortiz continued his questioning, taking Rossi through the events leading up to Dwayne Reed’s death. Rossi told the jury about seeing Alex patrolling the street where Jameer Henderson lived, about Alex’s discovery of the bodies of the Henderson family and his attempt to question Dwayne about the murders. He explained how Dwayne had threatened Bonnie Long at the hospital, why Dwayne had been arrested on a drug charge, and how he was released without bail. He described his investigation into the Henderson and Chapman murders and his conversation with Bonnie Long.
“Detective Rossi, what did you do after you finished talking to Dr. Long at Truman Medical Center?”
“I went looking for Dwayne Reed. I wanted to let him know that if anything happened to Dr. Long, I’d come looking for him. I thought I might find him at his mother’s house, so that’s where I went. When I got there, I saw the defendant’s car in the driveway. I was walking to the door when I heard shots fired from inside the house.”
“How many shots, Detective?”
“Three. Two quick shots and then a third one.”
“Did you notice anything else about the shots?”
“The first two made a popping sound, like they came from a small-caliber gun, and the third one was a lot louder, like from a bigger-caliber weapon.”
“What did you do when you heard the shots?”
“I drew my weapon and ran for the house. I kicked the door open and saw Dwayne lying on the floor. The defendant was standing nearby holding a gun. There was a gun next to Dwayne’s body. I told the defendant to put her gun down and she complied.”
“Did you determine what kinds of guns were involved in the shooting of Mr. Reed?”
“Yes. The defendant’s gun was a Ruger LCP.380. It’s a small gun, which makes it easy to conceal. Reed had a Glock.22, which is a.40-caliber weapon.”
“To whom was the Ruger registered?”
“The defendant. The registration records showed she bought the gun the day after Reed was acquitted in the Wilfred Donaire case.”
“And the Glock?”
“It wasn’t registered. The serial number was filed off.”
“Are you familiar with the sound that these guns make when fired?”
“I am. I’ve fired guns of the same caliber, probably hundreds of times, on the practice range. The.380 is a small-caliber gun and it makes the popping sound I mentioned before. The.40-caliber is bigger and has a much louder report. It’s easy for me to tell them apart.”
“Based on that, were you able to establish the sequence for the three shots you heard before you entered the
