Hackett hunched his large frame over and tried to contain his fury. 'Your Honor, I have been over every exhibit Mr. Nolan listed in the pretrial order. There is nothing in there about some new dramatic development. He had notes in the margins of nearly every book he read. It is
The judge looked at Rachel over her reading glasses. 'Ms. Long? What is your proffer?'
'I was hopeful of having some evidence that I don't have.'
'So you don't have it.'
'That's right, Your Honor, not yet.'
'Then you will move on to a different area of questioning immediately. Are you nearly done?'
'Yes, Your Honor.'
We returned to our positions, and after a moment the judge said, 'You may continue, Ms. Long.'
'Thank you, Your Honor. Mrs. Collins, you portrayed your husband as happily married to you. Correct?'
She frowned. 'I hope so, because we were.'
'And the damages you've claimed in this case, that you want WorldCopter to pay you for the loss of your husband, are in part based on the loss of that relationship, right?'
'Yes.'
'Mrs. Collins, isn't it true that your husband slept in a different room from you?'
She looked surprised. 'How do you know that, Ms. Long?'
'Is it true or not?'
'Yes. It is true.'
'In fact your husband essentially lived in a room separate from your bedroom. His clothes, his books, his desk, his computer, they're all in a different room from you.'
She looked annoyed. 'Yes, that's true.'
'In fact, Mrs. Collins, you're husband didn't sleep with you, did he?'
She fidgeted slightly and responded quietly, ' 'Sleep with' as in sleeping in the same bed? Or 'sleep with' as in having sexual relations?'
'He didn't sleep in the same bed with you, did he?'
'No.'
'No further questions, Your Honor.'
Rachel sat down and looked at the clock. It was two minutes until noon. It was a good way to end. The judge picked up her gavel and said, 'We will adjourn at this point for lunch and return-'
Hackett stood up and interrupted, 'Your Honor. My redirect will take only the two minutes that remain before lunch. May I complete this witness so that she may be excused from the witness stand?'
'Of course, Mr. Hackett, proceed.'
Hackett stood up and without any notes said, 'Mrs. Collins, had you and your husband stopped having sexual relations?'
She blushed slightly. 'No.'
'Did you have sex on a regular basis-without too much detail; was it a normal marital relationship?'
'Very normal.'
'Well, then, why was he not sleeping in the same room as you, Mrs. Collins?'
She hesitated, then said, 'Because he snored.'
The gallery laughed out loud.
Hackett nodded and smiled. 'Why did he have all his clothes and his computer and his desk in another room?'
'Out of respect for me. I volunteer with Annapolis Hospice, and my sleeping patterns were very irregular. Sometimes I needed to go to bed very early, sometimes I needed to sleep late. He didn't want to disturb me with the clicking of keys on his computer or getting dressed in the morning. So he did it to allow me to rest.'
'No further questions,' Hackett said.
Rachel jumped back up. 'May I, Your Honor? Less than five minutes.'
The judge looked at the clock and said, 'Make it quick, Ms. Long.'
'Thank you, Your Honor.' Then to Mrs. Collins: 'You slept in separate rooms because he snored?'
'That's right.'
'You didn't mention that in your deposition when we asked you about having separate rooms, did you?'
'You didn't ask.'
'You knew we wanted to know why you had the arrangement you had, right?'
'I didn't know what you wanted, frankly.'
'Mrs. Collins, I will represent to you that I have reviewed every page of your husband's medical records. He never mentioned snoring, ever. Are you aware of that?'
'No, but it doesn't surprise me.'
'Why is that?'
'I don't think he saw it as a medical problem.'
'So the two of you simply accepted that state of affairs?'
'Yes, for now. Then.'
'You said you worked for a hospice, right?'
'Yes.'
'You mentioned that in your deposition, although not in connection with your husband's separate room. I'd like to show you your volunteer records of Annapolis Hospice. Your Honor, may we have these records marked as next in order?'
Hackett said, 'I object, Your Honor. These records were not listed in their exhibit list.'
'Impeachment, Your Honor.'
'They'll be marked,' Betancourt said.
'Mrs. Collins, these records show you hadn't volunteered for Arlington Hospice for more than a year before your husband's death. Correct?'
'I don't know what the records show.'
'It's true, isn't it, that you hadn't volunteered there for more than a year before his death?'
'I don't remember.'
'Mrs. Collins, you would have the jury believe that the reason you weren't sleeping with your husband was because of a medical condition he never told a doctor about, and out of sensitivity to volunteer work you weren't doing, right?'
'I wouldn't put it like that.'
'Nothing further, Your Honor.'
Judge Betancourt dismissed us for lunch.
I checked my BlackBerry. Rachel asked, 'Any word from Bradley?'
'Nothing. I sent him an e-mail but he didn't respond. I had Tracy call his office too. Didn't respond.' I pondered what could possibly have happened to Wayne Bradley as I packed my notes. My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Kathryn, who had come up to counsel table in the middle of the courtroom. Brightman was with her.
Kathryn said, 'Mike, let's go back to your office.'
'I was just going to grab something over at the cafeteria. I need to prepare for this afternoon's witnesses.'
'No, we need to talk about how this is going.' She looked around to see if anyone was reading her lips.
Rachel and I headed to our car and then to the office. Kathryn, Brightman, Tripp, even Jeff Turner arrived a few minutes later. Someone had ordered sandwiches, but I was in no mood to eat. I wanted to get back and get ready for our next witnesses. As soon as everyone was in the room, Kathryn closed the door behind Justin. She turned, still standing with her arms folded, and said to me, 'Mike, I thought you did okay on the opening statement. You left it a little open as to what our theory was going to be, and based on what I know, that seemed right to me. But now I've watched the first two witnesses, and it isn't working. I don't see the jury identifying with us.'
I sat down and leaned back in my chair. 'That's what I would expect when their first two witnesses are the most sympathetic witnesses in the world. Look, I know what I'm doing, Kathryn. I just can't change the facts. This case is just getting under way. I can see the stress on your face. I know the press hates us, they think I'm outmatched, you're answering to London, I get it. But you can't panic on me now.'
'I am not panicking. But I do want to tweak things a little. Instead of Mark being a passive attorney on the pleadings but not in the courtroom, I've asked him to sit at counsel table during the trial, to take some witnesses, change the feel of things a little.'
I couldn't believe my ears. 'What?'
'He's been associate counsel since the case was filed. He's just never done anything in court. But he can and I'm asking him to do it now. He has copies of all the expert depositions and has prepared cross-examination outlines of all the plaintiffs' witnesses, including the experts. I'd like him to do those cross-examinations and to also perhaps do the closing arguments, we'll see about that. But I want him involved and I want him at counsel table.'
'Do not do this, Kathryn. It's going to look like desperation to the jury, and to the press. It's going to look like you're cutting my legs out from under me.'
'I'm propping you
