each other, calling names. At one point Zakin shoved Gardiner backward, hard. That sort of thing.”
“And did you hear what they were talking about?”
Peabody shifted his weight. “Now, you understand-I’m not one to butt in on something that’s none of my beeswax-”
“Of course not,” Granny reassured him. “But I’m sure in that narrow corridor it was impossible to avoid overhearing.”
“Well, yeah. Exactly. Plus, they were blocking the way and kinda oblivious to everything else. I couldn’t get past them.”
“So what was it you heard?”
“Well, I never figured out what exactly it was they were so mad at each other about. But I heard Gardiner tell Zakin-”
“Objection,” Ben said. “She’s trying to drag hearsay into the courtroom again.”
“Your honor,” Granny said, “once again, this testimony is being offered only to put the defendant’s statements in context and to show the defendant’s state of mind, his obvious hostility toward the murder victim.”
“That’s a grossly prejudicial bit of speechifying,” Ben said. “And I-”
“Plus,” Granny continued, rolling right over his objections, “I would point out that Mr. Gardiner is deceased, which is the whole reason for this trial. The declarant is definitely unavailable; I can’t call him to the stand. The only way I can get this critical piece of evidence before the jury is via Mr. Peabody.”
Judge Pickens nodded. “The objection is overruled. Please proceed.”
The witness continued. “So I heard Gardiner tell Zakin that he has to stop, has to stop immediately.”
“And what was Mr. Zakin’s response?”
“He just kinda laughs, real obnoxious-like, you know. Sort of a sneer, really. He says, ‘Oh yeah? And what if I don’t?’ ”
“Did Mr. Gardiner reply?”
“Oh, yeah. He got all quivery. He was shaking head to toe. His eyes were rolling around in their sockets-it was like he had the d.t.’s or something.” Peabody gripped the rail before him. “And then he threatened Zakin.”
“He did?” Granny leaned in close, subtly cueing the jury to do the same, to hang on every word. “How so?”
“Gardiner said he had connections to powerful people. He said he had the goods on someone who could hurt Zakin and his friends real bad-all he had to do was snap his fingers and make it happen.”
“Indeed.” Granny edged toward the jury box, holding their attention, drawing out the suspense. “And what was Mr. Zakin’s response to this threat?”
“He gets real up close and personal to Gardiner, see? Grabs his collar and practically lifts him up in the air.”
“Do you remember what he said?”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah. I don’t think I’ll forget that as long as I live. I’ve never seen such a mean, hateful look. He stares right into Gardiner’s face and growls, ‘Don’t threaten me, chump. Or it’ll be the last thing you ever do.’ ”
Granny paused, letting the words hang in the air, forcing the jurors to play the line over and over in their heads. “The last thing you ever do.” She let several more seconds of silence elapse before finally returning to her table. “No more questions, your honor.”
Ben was hoping for a recess, but his hopes were not fulfilled. “Do you have any questions for this witness, Mr. Kincaid?”
“Yes, your honor. May I have just a minute to confer with my client?”
Judge Pickens grudgingly nodded.
Ben leaned close to Zak and whispered so that no one else could hear. “What’s going on here? You told me you never met Gardiner.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Zak insisted. “I mean, not really. It was just that one time in the corridor.”
Ben’s eyes flared. “You lied to me.
“It’s not like I planned to meet him!” Zak insisted. He seemed frenetic, grasping. “All I wanted to do was take a leak, and this moron stops me in the corridor. I didn’t even know who he was till he told me.”
“You lied to me,” Ben said. “You lied to your own lawyer.”
“Oh, what the hell’s the big deal? The jury was going to find out anyway. It’s not like you could’ve stopped it.”
“If I’d known, I could’ve prepared the jury for it. I could’ve warned them that there was an angry meeting, but that it’s no proof of murder. Instead, I told them you’d never met the man, which wasn’t true. They think I lied to them.” Ben glanced back over his shoulder at the jury box. “And they’re not likely to forget it.”
“Mr. Kincaid,” Pickens said, drumming his fingers. “If you intend to cross-examine, now’s the time.”
Ben turned away from Zak. There was nothing he hated worse than crossing a witness who had basically just told the truth. People shouldn’t be victimized for doing their civic duty. But he had to do something to undercut this testimony. If the jury believed Zak had threatened Gardiner just before he was killed, how could they help but convict him?
Well, at least there was one obvious cross-ex point he could score.
“Mr. Peabody,” Ben began, “you’re aware that my client was the leader of the local Green Rage team, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes. Sure.”
“And you’re aware that they oppose many of the activities of the loggers in the area.”
“Sure. I read the papers.”
“So how can we know that your testimony isn’t tainted by your pro-logger bias?”
“My what?”
“You said you’ve lived here all your life. You must have friends, family. Your customers at the grocery store.”
“Not really. Actually, we Peabodys may be the only family in Magic Valley that’ve never had anything to do with the logging industry. Frankly, I tend to side with the environmentalists.”
Ben felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. And the only thing that could possibly make him feel any worse was seeing Granny fold her arms across her lap, a self-satisfied ear-to-ear grin plastered across her face.
“Mr. Kincaid?” Pickens said. “Will there be any more questions?”
Ben’s brain was racing. One of the cardinal rules of cross-ex was: Never quit on a down note. But he had been scraping just to come up with one line of questioning, and it had exploded in his face. How could he poke holes in the testimony of a witness who was telling the truth?
“I guess not,” Ben said. He left the podium and slithered back to defendant’s table. This was, he thought, in all likelihood the worst cross-ex of his entire career. His client lied to him, the prosecutor blindsided him, and he couldn’t do a thing about it.
The judge began his pre-lunch spiel to the jury. Zak leaned close to Ben and whispered, “Hey, this isn’t going too well, is it?”
Ben just couldn’t come up with the words.
Chapter 54
After the disaster of the morning, Ben had hoped for a long lunch break, if not a recess for the day. He didn’t get his wish. Judge Pickens called for a short lunch break, then asked everyone to be back in the courtroom by one. It seemed the prosecution was almost finished, and he wanted to get through them all by the end of the day.
“Well,” Christina said, as she returned to the courthouse after lunch, “it wasn’t a great morning. A few setbacks, a few big surprises. Things can only get better.”
Ben tried to smile. “I hope you’re right.”
Unfortunately, she wasn’t. As it turned out, the biggest surprises were yet to come. Starting with this
