FIRESTONE: Where were you at that time?
O'KEEFE: I was at the End Zone.
FIRESTONE: Who were you with at the End Zone?
O'KEEFE: Rachel Harper, Trudy Demarest, Frank Gil- son, and that man over there.
(Points)
FIRESTONE: Indicating the defendant.
THE COURT: Yes.
FIRESTONE: Prior to that date, had you ever met him?
O'KEEFE: No.
Firestone had her recount how the five of them had taken turns downing shots of tequila. Amy Jo had lost count around the fifth round, she said. Yes, she was pretty sure Drake had kept up. She confessed that the two of them had flirted. 'He wasn't wearing a wedding band,' she explained. 'I didn't know he was married till I read about him in the papers, two days later. Honest.'
Great, thought Jaywalker. One more reason for the jurors to dislike Drake.
FIRESTONE: Who left the End Zone first, you or the defendant?
O'KEEFE: He did. His son showed up to drive him home. I remember, 'cause I'd given him my phone number ear lier, and when I found out he had a son who was almost as old as I was, I took back the napkin with my number on it.
FIRESTONE: How did he react to that?
O'KEEFE: He seemed angry, or more like embar rassed, I guess.
FIRESTONE: But he did leave?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
FIRESTONE: Have you had any contact with him or his lawyer since?
O'KEEFE: No. Please forgive me for saying this, but I think he's a total sleazebag.
FIRESTONE: We can strike that, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Jaywalker?
JAYWALKER: She said it.
THE COURT: Do you wish it stricken?
JAYWALKER: No, thank you.
Jaywalker had learned long ago that the lesson of the Trojan horse applied to courtroom battles as well as historical ones. It was one thing when an honorable prosecutor offered to strike something that threatened to give his side an unfair advantage. When an Abe Firestone did it, it was time to beware of Greeks bearing gifts. THE COURT: We'll let it stand, then. But please confine your answers to the questions, Miss O'Keefe.
O'KEEFE: Yes, ma'am.
Whatever had been the source of Firestone's reluctance to call Miss O'Keefe continued to remain unclear. Certainly it hadn't been Drake's drinking or flirting, or the fact that his son had showed up to drive him home. Or even her personal opinion of him. So it had to be something else.
Every once in a while, Jaywalker knew, crossexamination could turn into a treasure hunt.
JAYWALKER: You say the defendant matched you, shot for shot. Is that correct?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
JAYWALKER: And you matched him?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
JAYWALKER: How many drinks did you have after he left?
Not 'Did you have any more drinks?' That would have been the proper form of asking the question, instead of assuming a fact not in evidence, as Jaywalker's version had. But that would have allowed Amy Jo to answer 'No.' Firestone was asleep at the switch, however, and didn't think to object, at least not until it was too late.
O'KEEFE: Two or three.
Which would make up for Drake's earlier martinis and put them pretty much at the same count. If anything, hers were bunched more closely together.
JAYWALKER: Tequilas?
O'KEEFE: No, I switched over to Jagermeister.
He'd have to check the proof of that. Not as strong as 120-proof tequila, no doubt. But probably the equivalent of a martini.
JAYWALKER: Fair to say you can hold your own when it comes to drinking?
O'KEEFE: Hey, they don't call me 'Irish' for nothing.
THE COURT: Careful.
(Laughter)
JAYWALKER: But you can hold your liquor?
O'KEEFE: You could say that.
JAYWALKER: It doesn't count if I say it. Would you say it?
O'KEEFE: Definitely. I can hold my liquor with the best of them.
JAYWALKER: Forgive me for asking, but how much do you weigh?
FIRESTONE: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled. It may have some relevance.
O'KEEFE: Ninety-nine pounds.
JAYWALKER: About the same as you weighed last May?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
JAYWALKER: Do you by any chance recall what time you yourself left the End Zone that evening?
O'KEEFE: Nine, nine-thirty. Something like that.
Okay, thought Jaywalker. It was now or never. Sometimes you played things close to the vest, and sometimes you said fuck it and took your shot. This, he'd decided, was one of those times.
JAYWALKER: Would you say you were drunk when you left?
O'KEEFE: No.
JAYWALKER: I noticed you didn't hesitate before answering. Does that mean there's no question in your mind?
O'KEEFE: There's no question in my mind.
Here goes, Jaywalker told himself. And muttering a silent prayer to a God he didn't believe in, he asked the question. If it worked, it worked. If it didn't, no big deal. He'd have the rest of the day to wipe the egg off his face.
'How'd you get home?' he asked her.
This time Amy Jo did hesitate before answering, and Jaywalker fully expected to hear an objection from Firestone. Technically speaking, how she'd gotten home was irrelevant to the charges against Carter Drake, and Jaywalker wasn't sure how he'd go about arguing otherwise. But Firestone, who'd been quick to object to letting the jurors hear Amy Jo's weight, of all things, let it go.
'I drove,' she said.
And there it was.
He spent the next fifteen minutes having her describe her drive home. How capably she'd managed it, how fully she'd been in control, and how she'd arrived safely, without incident.
JAYWALKER: By the way, where is your home?
O'KEEFE: Ramapo.
JAYWALKER: Ramapo, New Jersey?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
JAYWALKER: Same as last May?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
JAYWALKER: How long a drive was that?
O'KEEFE: About forty minutes.
JAYWALKER: No problem driving it?
O'KEEFE: Nope, no problem.
JAYWALKER: Did you consider it reckless on your part?
