Chapter 36
The following morning, Corbin and Beckett sat in the now-familiar plastic chairs in the jail visitation room. Beaumont sat across from them in his orange jumpsuit and shackles. They were explaining to Beaumont what would happen at trial, which was two days away.
“The guards will let you change into a suit at the courthouse. Did you arrange to have a suit brought to you?” Beckett asked.
“Yeah, I got a suit,” Beaumont replied.
“It’s not pimped out, right? You need to look respectable to the jury.” One of the lessons attorneys learn fairly quickly is that clients often have no idea how to dress for court and many show up looking exactly like what they’re accused of being.
“Ain’t no pimp suit.”
“It’s conservative, right? Like something you’d wear to church, right?” Beckett pressed.
“Ain’t no fuckin’ pimp suit!”
“They’ll keep you shackled, except when the jury is in the room. Do not, I repeat,
“I ain’t stupid,” Beaumont retorted.
“We’re going to meet in the judge’s chamber before the trial begins. He’ll go over some last minute issues.
“I know what I’m doin’,” Beaumont said, rolling his eyes.
“Then we’ll move to the courtroom. We’ll pick a jury and do opening statements. The state calls their witnesses first. They should start with the two cops. Then they’ll probably call the bank witnesses, their handwriting guy and their ‘victims’.”
“What we got?” Beaumont asked.
“It depends on who they call and what we can do with them.”
One of the problems with trying a case is that it’s impossible to predict what will happen. Facts vanish into thin air. Others appear that neither side expected. Juries will respond to minor points which no one thought would matter, or will completely dismiss what everyone assumed would be the “smoking guns.” Witnesses are even worse. Some witnesses never show up, even though they’re subpoenaed. Others change their testimony. Some become less sure of what they saw or even recant, while others become more sure, even fanatical. There is something about sitting in the witness box, raised slightly above ground level, with dozens of eyes focused directly upon you, that turns it into a stage and which causes people to react strangely. All of this makes it difficult to explain to clients exactly what the plan is, because good attorneys know to expect the unexpected and come prepared to change their plans at a moment’s notice; only bad attorneys stick rigidly with their plans. Unfortunately, the one thing clients crave is certainty.
“You got Saitoo?” Beaumont asked.
“No, he’s not going to help you.”
“What chu mean he ain’t gonna help me?”
“He’s a liar. . a bad liar. Pierce would have a field day making him dance, and that’s going to discredit you, so we’re not bringing him.”
“What about my alibi?”
“We’re going to play that by ear. Right now it doesn’t look like a good idea.”
“Then what you gonna do to get me off?” Beaumont demanded.
“We went over this, Beaumont. We’re going to take apart their witnesses first. Then we’ll decide what we need to put on in the way of a defense. We may just rest the case.”
Beaumont furrowed his brow. “You mean I don’t get to testify?”
“Probably not.”
Beaumont was clearly dissatisfied.
Beckett continued despite Beaumont’s angry glare. “The media will be there. They’ll want to interview you. Don’t agree to that. Just stay silent and let me handle it. The last thing we need is for you to say something the prosecutor can use in court.” Beckett paused when Beaumont add a scowl to his glare. “What?”
“How come I ain’t testifying?”
“Because you’re an asshole and you come across like an asshole and because your story sounds fake,” Corbin interjected.
Beckett put his hand on Corbin’s sleeve to quiet him. “If I put you on the stand, you’ll convict yourself in a matter of minutes.”
“What if I tol’ you I wanna testify no matter wha’ chu say?”
Beckett pursed his lips. Beaumont had a right to take the stand in his own defense. Thus, Beckett would need to let Beaumont testify if he insisted. “Do you want to take the stand?” Beckett asked coldly.
“Shit no, I’m just testin’ ya,” Beaumont said with a smile. He turned to Corbin. “But you can fuck yo’self.”
“All right, well, all testing aside, do you have any questions?” Beckett asked, before Corbin could start an argument.
“Yeah. . am I gonna win this or not?” There was fear in Beaumont’s voice.
“I can’t say.” No reputable attorney would ever guarantee a client they will win, and Beckett was no different. There’s just too much uncertainty in trial work.
“Gimme some idea, man,” Beaumont pleaded. “You done this before! You should know somethin’!”
“I honestly can’t tell you. It all depends on the cops. If they do a knock-out job, then you’re in trouble. If we can take them apart, then you have a great shot at walking out the courtroom door.”
“What they offering right now?” Beaumont asked. His hand shook slightly.
“They still want at least twenty-five years.”
“Shit, that ain’t no sentence for this. Murderers don’t get no twenty-five years.”
“It’s better than the seventy-five you might get,” Corbin said.
“I ain’t taking no twenty-five.”
They sat in silence for several minutes. “Any other questions?” Beckett repeated.
“Naw, man. . let’s get this over wit’.”
As they waited to be buzzed out the front gate, Corbin and Beckett watched the heavy, wet snow coming down outside. It wasn’t sticking to the roads yet, but it soon would.
“That’s a different Beaumont than we’ve seen before, that’s for sure,” Corbin said.
“Staring a trial in the face changes people.”
“Speaking of changing, there’s nothing I need to know is there?” Corbin asked calmly. He and Beckett hadn’t spoken about Beckett’s plans for at least two weeks now.
“No, nothing,” Beckett replied equally calmly.
“You’re not planning to do anything unless. .?”
“. . unless it becomes clear they’re going to convict him,” Beckett finished the sentence.
“And you’re going to give me a warning?”
“I gave my word,” Beckett replied. They never once looked at each other during the entire conversation.
The phone call to Alvarez started simply enough. Corbin explained that the trial would begin with opening statements. These statements can only discuss the facts that are expected to be revealed at trial, no argument is allowed — though attorneys bend this rule as far as humanly possible. The prosecution then puts on its witnesses. Corbin or Beckett can cross examine those witnesses, but can’t put on their own witnesses until the prosecution finishes its case. After some legal maneuvering, specifically the defense trying to get the case dismissed, the defense puts on their own witnesses. After that, the prosecution can call rebuttal witnesses to refute any new issues raised by the defense. Then, each side makes their closing arguments. Unlike the opening statements, these can be a mix of argument and fact. Finally, the judge will instruct the jury about the law and what they are to
