Waverly said, 'And you were the lead detective, correct?'
'Yes.'
'Did you question the girl's former stepfather?'
'Of course. Based on Tyler's statements, he was initially our prime suspect.'
'Yet he wasn't immediately arrested, was he?'
'No,' Meyer said.
'Why not?'
'He had a solid alibi for the time of Kayla's disappearance. He had been fishing with his father and brother, both of whom corroborated.'
'So you turned your attention to the mother, correct? Rebecca Tyler.'
'Yes.'
'And why was that?'
'A number of reasons.'
'Can you give us an example?'
Meyer cleared his throat. 'Well, we're back to statistics again, but studies have shown us that the mother is most often culpable for the murder of a child under the age of five, a phenomenon known as maternal filicide. Kayla was six, but that was close enough in my book.'
'But you've already told us that you don't rely on statistics-at least not as they apply to the case at bar. Was there any other reason you focused on Ms. Tyler?'
Meyer nodded. 'Every witness we spoke to said that she was a terrible mother. She drank a lot, smoked marijuana, had multiple boyfriends. She would often put Kayla to bed at night, then go out and party.'
'That may be poor judgment,' Waverly said, 'but it doesn't make her a murderer. Did she have an alibi for the night her daughter disappeared?'
'Yes. She claimed she went out clubbing with her friends and when she came home, Kayla was gone.'
'And did her friends corroborate?'
'Yes.'
Waverly frowned. 'Then I don't understand. Why was she detained? You didn't believe them?'
'No, I didn't,' Meyer said. 'Not for a New York minute.'
'You thought they were covering for her?'
'Yes.'
'Lying?'
'Yes.'
Waverly mulled this over for a moment, then said, 'So please explain something to me, Detective Meyer. Why is it that you didn't believe Ms. Tyler's friends, yet the moment her ex-husband's brother and father gave him an alibi, you dismissed him as a suspect?'
Meyer shrugged. 'I considered them more credible witnesses.'
'Why? Because they were men, not slutty little party girls?'
Abernathy was on his feet again. 'Objection, Your Honor. This is outrageous.'
'Sustained,' the judge said, glowering at Waverly. 'Reign yourself in, counsel.'
'My apologies, Your Honor.' As she turned to glance at Ronnie, however, she had a slight smile on her face. 'Detective Meyer, did you have any physical evidence against Ms. Tyler?'
'No,' Meyer said.
'Nothing to prove that she had murdered her daughter?'
'No,' Meyer said.
'Yet isn't it true that you pushed for her continued detention, forcing her attorney to seek a writ of habeas corpus for her release?'
'I believed she was guilty.'
'That's not really an answer, Detective, but it'll do. Can you tell me what the ultimate outcome of the case was? Were any formal charges against Ms. Tyler ever filed?'
'No,' Meyer said.
'And why is that?'
Meyer shifted uncomfortably now. 'A witness came forward and confessed to his involvement in the crime.'
'And who was that witness?'
Meyer shifted again. 'The ex-husband's brother.'
'The very same brother who had corroborated the alibi? The one you felt was so credible?'
Meyer was silent.
'Detective?'
'Yes,' he said reluctantly. 'The same man.'
'And what exactly was his involvement in the crime?'
'He helped dispose of the body.'
'And who did he help?'
It was clear by Meyer's expression that he didn't want to answer this question. 'Kayla's former stepfather. The ex-husband.'
'So Ms. Tyler's suspicions about her ex turned out to be correct? That he had kidnapped the child from her home?'
'Yes,' Meyer said.
Waverly paused, then said, 'So tell me this, Detective. Based on your experience with the Tyler case, and the case currently at bar, would you say that your self-professed ability to spot liars often demonstrates a bias against women?'
'Objection!' Abernathy said, jumping to his feet once again. 'This is a specious attempt at character assassination, Your Honor, and-'
'I'd like to hear his answer,' the judge said. 'Overruled.'
Abernathy's jaw tightened and he sat down as Waverly repeated the question.
Trying his best to look unruffled, Meyer said, 'My instincts aren't always perfect. But every case is different. I'm not a woman hater, if that's what you're implying.'
Waverly smiled slightly and shrugged. 'I'm just looking at the evidence, Detective. Trying to see where it leads.'
There were titters around the courtroom as the jab sank in, then Waverly crossed to the defense table and picked up a small stack of paper.
'Detective Meyer, is it true that approximately four months after the Rebecca Tyler case was concluded, you appeared on a late night radio talk show called The Danger Zone?'
Hutch saw something flicker in the detective's eyes. Meyer hadn't been expecting this and glanced at Abernathy as if to say, S
'Uh… yes,' he managed.
Waverly handed one of the sheets of paper to the court clerk. 'Your Honor, I have here an excerpted transcript of that radio show, which I'd like to enter into evidence as Defense Exhibit A.'
Abernathy shot her a look and began thumbing through the stack of binders in front of him on the table. 'Objection,' he said. 'This transcript wasn't provided to us.'
'Keep looking,' Waverly told him. 'We have proof of service.'
Gus, who had been sitting next to Hutch, leaned toward him now and whispered, 'Looks like a good old game of hide and seek.'
When Hutch pulled a blank, Gus explained that attorneys sometimes played fast and loose with discovery. They'd place potentially volatile material amid the more innocuous documents that normally received only a cursory glance. If opposing counsel wasn't diligent in its review of what was sometimes a mountain of paperwork, he might be the victim of a surprise attack.
As Abernathy continued to search, Waverly stepped over to him and dropped a copy of the transcript on the table. 'Free of charge.'
Looking agitated, Abernathy snatched it up, glanced at it and said, 'Your Honor, I don't see the relevancy of
