say she couldn't hear him. Burke objected, and Judge Sobel had to make a record of it, adding that he'd had trouble hearing it, as well. He asked the court reporter to read it back.
COURT REPORTER: Sorry, I didn't get it, either. It had been stunts like that that had landed Jaywalker in front of the disciplinary committee. Well, like that and a lot worse. Still, he wasn't quite ready to let the hearing thing go.
MR. JAYWALKER: You do wear a hearing aid, though?
MRS. GRISTEDE: I most certainly do not.
MR. JAYWALKER: Would you say your hearing's quite good, in fact?
MRS. GRISTEDE: I certainly would. Probably better than yours.
Laughter from the jury box, at his expense. Never a good omen.
MR. JAYWALKER: Yet you never heard a scream that evening, did you?
MRS. GRISTEDE: No, I did not.
MR. JAYWALKER: Or a thud?
MRS. GRISTEDE: A thud?
MR. JAYWALKER: Yes, as though someone had just fallen to the floor.
MRS. GRISTEDE: I don't recall that.
MR. JAYWALKER: Now, you say you had to turn the volume up in order to hear the TV?
MRS. GRISTEDE: That's correct.
MR. JAYWALKER: Don't they show you everything in great big capital letters?
MRS. GRISTEDE: Yes.
MR. JAYWALKER: But you still turned the volume up to hear it?
MRS. GRISTEDE: I like to hear them say it. Be sides…
MR. JAYWALKER: Besides what?
MRS. GRISTEDE: Besides, my eyes aren't so good.
Great, thought Jaywalker. He finally gets the old bat to admit that while her hearing may be perfect, she's half blind. The only problem was that she'd never claimed to have seen anything, only to have heard his client arguing with the victim right around the time he was stabbed to death.
Jose Lugo took the stand. Lugo was a short man in his forties, with a dark mustache that accentuated the serious expression he wore. He sat on the edge of his seat and answered Tom Burke's questions as though his own free dom hung in the balance.
Yes, he said, he'd been the doorman on duty during the four-to-midnight shift on the day before he'd received a call from his boss, Tony Mazzini, to come in and talk to the detectives. Lugo knew Barry Tannenbaum, the occu pant of Penthouse A, and his wife, Samara. Asked by Burke if he could identify Samara, he hesitated for a split second, then pointed directly at her. Jaywalker couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard Lugo mumble an apology as he did so.
Lugo recalled that Mrs. Tannenbaum had arrived at the building early that evening, though he couldn't recall the exact time. But Burke was ready to help him out.
MR. BURKE: I show you what's been marked as People's Exhibit Seven for identification, and ask you if you recognize it.
MR. LUGO: Yes. It's the sign-in book, the log we keep at the doorman's station.
MR. BURKE: I offer it into evidence.
MR. JAYWALKER: No objection.
THE COURT: Received.
MR. BURKE: Will looking through that book help you remember what time Mrs. Tannenbaum ar rived that evening?
MR. LUGO: It should.
MR. BURKE: Please take a look.
MR. LUGO: Yes, here it is. She arrived at six-fifty. Ten minutes to seven.
MR. BURKE: Did she sign the book herself?
MR. LUGO: No, I signed in for her. I'm allowed to do that, so long as I know the person. Besides, she's Mr. Tannenbaum's wife. Was.
MR. BURKE: Did Mrs. Tannenbaum leave while you were still on duty?
MR. LUGO: Yes.
MR. BURKE: Do you recall what time that was?
MR. LUGO: It says here
MR. BURKE: You're not allowed to read.
MR. JAYWALKER: No objection to his reading. It's in evidence.
MR. BURKE: Thank you. Mr. Lugo, you may read.
MR. LUGO: Eight-oh-five.
MR. BURKE: That's what time she left?
MR. LUGO: Didn't I just say that?
MR. BURKE: I guess you did. Now, how late did you work that night?
MR. LUGO: Till midnight.
MR. BURKE: Were you at the front door the entire time?
MR. LUGO: The entire time. Except when I had to- (To the Court) Your Honor, can I say 'pee'?
Laughter.
THE COURT: You just did.
MR. LUGO: Except when I had to pee. But then I locked the door, so nobody could come in or go out.
MR. BURKE: And from the time Mrs. Tan nenbaum left at eight-oh-five, until the time you went off duty at midnight, did anyone else come in to visit Mr. Tannenbaum, or leave after visiting him?
MR. LUGO: No.
MR. BURKE: Do you want to check the log book to make sure?
MR. LUGO: I already did. The answer is no.
On cross, Jaywalker asked the witness if he'd noticed anything strange about Samara, either when she'd arrived or when she'd left.
MR. LUGO: Strange?
MR. JAYWALKER: Yes. Like, was she covered with blood?
MR. LUGO: Blood?
MR. JAYWALKER: Blood.
MR. LUGO: I didn't see no blood.
MR. JAYWALKER: Not on her clothes?
MR. LUGO: No.
MR. JAYWALKER: Her face?
MR. LUGO: No.
MR. JAYWALKER: Her hands?
MR. LUGO: I didn't notice her hands.
MR. JAYWALKER: But you would have, if they'd been covered with blood, wouldn't
MR. BURKE: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. JAYWALKER: Do you recall what she was wearing?
MR. LUGO: Clothes.
MR. JAYWALKER: I was hoping for a bit more de tail. Other than clothes, do you remember anything specific?
MR. LUGO: No, I don't remember. It was a long time ago.
