house?”
“I was. The first two shots I heard came from the.380. The third came from the.40-caliber. The defendant fired first.”
“Did you observe anything else at the scene that supported your conclusion that the defendant shot Mr. Reed twice before he fired his gun?”
“Yes. We found the bullet from Reed’s gun in the ceiling. That told me that he was probably falling to the floor or already on the floor when he fired his gun.”
“Is there any other explanation for how the bullet from Mr. Reed’s weapon ended up in the ceiling?”
Rossi shifted in the witness chair, cocked his head to one side, and nodded. “There was a gap between the defendant’s second shot and when Reed’s gun was fired. The defendant could have raised Reed’s hand and fired the gun while he was still holding it or she could have fired it herself.”
Alex grabbed her Post-it pad, writing
“Did you examine the defendant’s clothing while you were at the crime scene?”
“Just the jacket she was wearing.”
“Did you observe anything significant about the defendant’s jacket?”
“Yes. There was a bullet hole in the right-side pocket, indicating that she had fired the gun while it was still in her pocket.”
“What was the significance of that?”
“Given the sequence of shots fired-the first two by the defendant and the third by Reed-and given that Reed was probably falling to the floor or on the floor when he fired his gun and that the defendant kept her weapon hidden from Reed, he never had a chance to defend himself.”
“Was anyone else present in the living room besides Mr. Reed and the defendant when you entered the room?”
“Reed’s mother, Odyessy Shelburne. She was kneeling on the floor next to Reed.”
“Did Ms. Shelburne say anything to you?”
“She was crying, and she pointed to the defendant and she said, ‘She killed my baby.’ She kept saying it over and over.”
“No further questions.”
Chapter Forty-One
Claire waited a moment before beginning her cross-examination, watching the jury’s reaction to Rossi. They’d listened, straight backed and wide-eyed, his nothing-but-the-facts testimony resonating with them. She had to walk a fine line between trying to undermine his credibility and using it to her advantage.
She had learned early in her adult life how to convert her height and build into an image of power and authority at a time when men rarely saw either in a woman. What had once been practiced was now ingrained, her silver hair adding the wisdom of years to her arsenal.
Rising slowly to draw the jury’s attention away from Rossi and toward her, Claire walked toward the witness stand, stopping in front of the podium, creating a triangle composed of Rossi, the jury and her, knowing she was its apex.
“When you entered Odyessy Shelburne’s house, one of the first things you did was to tell Alex Stone to put her gun down on the floor, isn’t that true?”
“I did.”
“And I assume you immediately secured her gun.”
Rossi took a deep breath, letting it out, knowing what was coming and that he couldn’t avoid it. “No, I didn’t.”
“Odyessy Shelburne was distraught when you saw her on the floor next to her son, correct?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
“The last time you were at her house she threatened to shoot you, isn’t that correct?”
“It is.”
“So you knew she had a history of threatening to shoot people, including you, and you knew she was very upset about her son’s death, and yet you left Alex Stone’s gun unsecured and lying on the floor. True?”
“Yes.”
“And what was the next thing that happened with that gun?”
“Odyessy Shelburne grabbed it and shot the defendant.”
Claire paused, starring at Rossi, giving the jury time to absorb his testimony, hoping it made the jury question his competence and that it made Alex more sympathetic.
“You told Mr. Ortiz that it was possible that Alex Stone had fired Dwayne Reed’s gun.”
“I did.”
“You’re not telling this jury that’s what happened, are you?”
“No. It’s just a possibility.”
“You’re aware that gunpowder residue was found on Mr. Reed’s hand, indicating that he had recently fired his gun?”
“I am.”
“And you said that it appeared to you that Mr. Reed didn’t have a chance to defend himself because Alex fired her gun while it was in her coat pocket.”
“That’s correct.”
“Now, Mr. Reed also had a gun, didn’t he?”
“He did.”
“And you don’t know whether Mr. Reed had threatened Alex with his gun before she fired, do you?”
“According to the eyewitness-”
“I’m not asking about the eyewitness, Detective. Your testimony is based on what you observed at the scene, and you didn’t observe anything that proves that Mr. Reed hadn’t threatened Alex with his gun before she fired. Is that the truth?”
Rossi clenched his jaw, answering reluctantly. “Yes.”
“Thank you, Detective. Now, Dwayne Reed was a dangerous man, wasn’t he?”
“You could say that.”
“You did say that, didn’t you, Detective?”
“I imagine I did, in so many words.”
“Because you believed it to be true, yes?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly was he accused of doing to Wilfred Donaire?”
“He was accused of killing him, if that’s what you mean.”
“Well, that’s certainly bad enough, but you were much more graphic at Dwayne Reed’s trial. Tell this jury what you told that jury about what Mr. Reed was accused of saying and doing. I’ve got a copy of the transcript of your testimony if you’d like to review it.”
Rossi clenched his jaw for an instant and then let it go, deciding it was better to play along than start a fight he couldn’t win.
“He threatened to cut off Wilfred Donaire’s dick and shove it down his throat. And that’s what he did. And then he stabbed him to death.”
Claire let that sink in as several jurors covered their mouths while others grimaced.
“That would make him a dangerous man in anyone’s book, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am. It would.”
“In fact, you warned Alex Stone to stay away from the Hendersons because if Dwayne found out she was keeping an eye on them, he might-and I believe these were your words-terminate their attorney-client relationship permanently. Were those your words?”
