“Your Honor,” Ortiz said, “the witness answered my question.”
“And you can leave it at that,” Judge West said, “and let defense counsel give her a chance to explain or do it yourself. Your choice, Counsel.”
Alex ducked her head, not wanting the jury to see her grinning. It was the closest Judge West had come to ruling in her favor. It wasn’t a big deal by itself, but jurors want to know which lawyer is bringing them the truth, and the lawyer who is unfair with a witness isn’t likely to be that lawyer. Ortiz knew that as well as Alex did. Either he had to let her explain or he’d come across as being unfair or, worse, deceptive.
“Dr. Long,” Ortiz said, “please finish your answer.”
Bonnie sniffed. “When she said that, I asked her if she was serious and she said she’d misspoken and that it was Detective Rossi who thought he was guilty.”
Ortiz smiled broadly, pretending he liked her explanation, ready to move on. “When did you first learn that the defendant had bought a gun?”
“After Alex was arrested.”
“Not before? She never told you?”
“No.”
“A few minutes ago, you testified that you and the defendant never kept secrets from each other. But you were wrong because she did keep secrets from you. True?”
“I wished she’d have told me, but I’m sure she had her reasons.”
“But that wasn’t the only secret she kept from you, was it?”
Bonnie shook her head, her voice soft. “No.”
“She told you she was working late when in fact she was going to the Bullet Hole two to three times a week to practice her marksmanship.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That wasn’t just a secret. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”
Bonnie’s face flushed red as she struggled with her emotions. “Yes.”
“What else has she lied about in connection with this case?”
“Nothing.”
“That you know of, correct?”
She swallowed, clearing her throat. “Correct.”
“Tell us what happened when you treated Dwayne Reed in the emergency room at Truman Medical Center.”
“Mr. Reed had a deep laceration in his leg and I treated him for that. While I was taking care of him, he became belligerent and threatened to rape me.”
“Did you do anything to provoke Mr. Reed?”
Bonnie paused and then took a deep breath. “Yes, and I’m not proud of it. When I was examining his wound, I was a little rough with him. . Actually, I was a lot rough with him. I hurt him and he didn’t like it. That’s when he threatened me.”
“Why did you do that, Dr. Long?”
She took another deep breath. “I recognized his name when I saw it on the patient chart. Alex had told me all about him when she was representing him. Alex was afraid of him. She’d told me that. And she was afraid that he was going to hurt the Henderson family. I hated seeing Alex so afraid and so worried and I blamed Dwayne. I got angry and I let my emotions get the better of me. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”
“Did you tell the defendant that Mr. Reed had threatened you?”
She nodded. “Yes. I ran into Alex in the hall as soon as I came out of the treatment room, and that’s when I told her.”
“What was her response?”
“She said not to worry and that she would make sure that never happened.”
“And she made good on that promise, didn’t she?”
Bonnie didn’t answer.
“That’s all I have. Thank you, Dr. Long.”
Judge West banged his gavel. “We’re done for today. Ms. Mason, you may cross-examine in the morning.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Alex and Bonnie walked out of the courtroom hand in hand, while Claire, Kate, and Mason huddled around their counsel table.
“How bad was that?” Claire asked.
“Well,” Mason said, “it’s never good when your client’s lover calls her a liar from the witness stand.”
“I know,” Claire said, “but was it that big a lie? It’s not like Alex was cheating on her. She knew Bonnie wouldn’t approve of her buying a gun, so she didn’t tell her. That’s the kind of lie people tell their loved ones all the time.”
“You’re focusing on the substance instead of the meaning of the lie,” Kate said. “Bonnie’s testimony sent a powerful message to the jury, and it wasn’t that Alex didn’t tell her about the gun and the practice range. It was that they shouldn’t trust Alex. And judging from what I saw on the jurors’ faces, they got the message, especially Brandon McCarthy.”
“He’s the engineer Alex insisted we keep on the jury,” Mason said.
“Yeah. Every time he looked at Alex, his micro expressions were filled with contempt. And that really is the problem. It’s a lot easier for the jury to acquit someone they like, but it’s hard for the jury to like someone they don’t trust.”
“You got all that from that one piece of Bonnie’s testimony?” Mason asked.
“No. If that was all there was, we’d have a better chance of riding it out. We came out of the opening statements in decent shape, but some of the jurors started shifting during Rossi’s testimony. Bonnie did well at first, but she dug a hole with the we-don’t-keep-secrets stuff.” Kate ran her fingers through her hair, shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the lesbian thing too. A lot of people are more comfortable with it in the abstract than they are up close and personal. Either way, we’re in trouble.”
“That’s great,” Claire said. “Any suggestions?”
“Yeah, figure out a way to make the rest of Ortiz’s witnesses look even worse, because if this case comes down to how the jury feels about Alex right now, she’s not going to like the verdict. I’ll go back to my hotel and study the juror profiles. Maybe I can find one or two who might give us a hung jury.”
Claire nodded. “Not a good day for us, but it wasn’t supposed to be, not when Ortiz is putting on his case. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“What are you going to do?” Mason asked after Kate left.
“Prepare Bonnie for her cross. Did Blues get you what you needed?”
“He got me an address. That’s where I’m headed. I’ll let you know how it pans out.”
Claire sighed. “This is a hell of a way to make a living.”
Mason laughed. “You know a better way?”
“No,” she said, smiling. “And I can’t imagine there is one.”
**
Mason pulled up in front of a well-maintained house on the east side, a sign on the corner declaring it a neighborhood watch area. The house was in the middle of a block of other well-maintained homes, no boarded-up windows and no vacant lots filled with garbage. It was dusk and the front porch of every house was lit, making the street glow.
He rang the bell and a man answered the door. He was white haired and solidly built, though his belly was losing the fight to age and gravity.
“I’m Lou Mason.”
“Frank Canfield. Grace told me to expect you. Come on in.”
