whom knew David Castleton well and identified him absolutely, and both of whom were equally positive the woman he had dined with was Kelly Clay Wilder. The waiter also testified that he had served the veal no later than nine o’clock, and would not budge, despite a grueling cross-examination by Fitzpatrick.
Next came the cabdriver who had picked up a young man and woman and driven them from the restaurant to David Castleton’s apartment. He introduced his trip sheet, which showed the time of the pickup, ten-twenty, and the exact address of the apartment, 190 East 74th Street. He could not identify the man as David Castleton, but his identification of Kelly Clay Wilder as the woman carried conviction. The cabdriver was young, cocky, slightly arrogant and obviously fancied himself as something of a stud. The jury had no trouble believing he would take particular notice of a woman as attractive as Kelly Wilder.
On cross-examination Fitzpatrick did a good job in forcing him to admit that he had not seen these two people enter the building where he had taken them and that for all he knew the defendant could have said good- night to the young man and walked off down the street.
But that didn’t faze Dirkson. When Fitzpatrick was done, Dirkson simply stood up on redirect and said, “And what time was it when you dropped off these two people, one of whom was the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder?”
“Ten-thirty.”
“And once again, what address did you take them to?”
“One ninety East 74th Street.”
Dirkson smiled and said, “That’s all.”
And when the defense had no further questions of the witness, Dirkson smiled again and rested his case.
37
“We’re gonna put you on the stand.”
Kelly Wilder blinked at Steve Winslow and Harold Fitzpatrick through the wire mesh. “I thought you weren’t sure,” she said.
“Yeah, well we are now,” Steve said. “We have no choice. Dirkson’s built up a strong case of circumstantial evidence, and frankly we haven’t been able to shake it. Our only hope now is to tell your story and sell it to the jury.”
“Good.”
Steve shook his head. “It’s
“But I
“I know,” Steve said. “It’s been bottled up inside you, it’s been frustrating as hell, you want to tell the whole world. That’s natural. But you don’t know what you’re in for. Because it’s your story and you know it’s true, so you think that’s all there is to it. But no one else knows it’s true, and no one else has even heard it. The jury will be getting this stuff for the first time. Believe me, they’re gonna be skeptical. ’Cause you’re gonna be contradicting things the prosecution’s already sold them on. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m telling you it’s no cakewalk.”
“I know that. What do I have to do?”
“Just tell the truth. Simple, straight, the way it happened. Don’t worry. Fitzpatrick will lead you through it.”
“Fitzpatrick? Why not you?”
“Fitzpatrick will carry more weight with the jury. He’ll be kind, sympathetic, a father figure.”
Fitzpatrick grinned. “Thanks a lot.”
“Now,” Steve said, “we’re not gonna rehearse your story-we don’t want you to sound coached. Just tell it in your own words the way it happened. Just try not to get carried away.”
“You mean don’t get emotional?”
Steve frowned. “Yes and no. I don’t want you to seem cold and detached-juries peg a person like that as a methodical killer. No, the whole thing’s been a horrible experience, of course you’re upset about it, and it’s terribly frustrating to be on trial for a murder you didn’t commit. That’s only natural.
“But try not to be bitter. Try not to come across as vindictive, because that’s the picture that Dirkson’s been trying to paint. See what I mean?”
“Yeah. Anything else?”
“Yeah. Tell the truth.”
“Of course I’m gonna tell the truth.”
“Yeah, but tell the
“This may seem stupid, but you haven’t seen Dirkson in action. He’ll get you confused on what you had for breakfast that day. And if he can get you to contradict yourself on anything, even once, there goes your whole testimony and there goes the case. It’ll be ‘How sure are you David Castleton was alive when you left? As certain as you were you had Rice Crispies that morning?’”
“That’s stupid.”
“It’s stupid when I say it, but wait till you hear Dirkson.”
“Won’t you object to questions like that?”
“We’ll protect you all we can, but it’s a two-edged sword. If we’re objecting all the time, the jury starts to think you need protection, that you can’t handle yourself. They think, if her lawyers are afraid to let her answer questions, then she must be guilty.”
Kelly bit her lip.
“So you see what you’re up against,” Steve said. “We’re taking a gamble on you. We’re gambling that your story about the computer disk is true. If it is, then telling your story is the only way to play it. But if it’s not, god help you.”
Kelly took a breath. “It’s true. Every word of it.”
“You left the computer disk with David Castleton?”
“Yes, I did.
“And you never told him your right name?”
“No.”
“And you never told him your address?”
“No.” Kelly frowned. “Would it be better if I said I did?”
“What?” Steve said.
“They found my address written down in his pocket. So if I say I didn’t give it to him, they’ll think I’m lying. So should I say I did?”
“No.”
Steve took a breath. There was an edge in his voice. “Do you understand what I just told you? If they catch you in the smallest lie, you’re through. Now you ask me if you should tell a lie because it would sound better. And I have to wonder how much of the story you told us is really true.”
“It’s all true. I swear it.”
“Then get that stupid idea out of your head. If you say you gave him your address, you’ll have to answer a million questions about why you did it. And you don’t have the answers, so you can’t do it, and Dirkson will eat you alive. You tell the truth, you tell the
“You got that?”
Kelly exhaled. “Yes,” she said.
But she didn’t look happy.
