'Maybe we'll find that out later,' Slip said. 'After Mr. Caffrey
failed to get in touch with you after you left this message with his
assistant, did you continue your efforts to reach him?'
'No, I did not.'
'To be clear,' Slip said, 'Terrence Caffrey is a member of the elected
Metro Council, correct?'
'That's correct.'
'Did that have anything to do with your decision not to continue your
efforts to contact him about this case?'
'No, it did not.'
Slip looked and sounded incredulous. 'If it wasn't because of this
man's power and political influence, why then did you not want to speak
with him, given what is at least the appearance of a close and
unexplained relationship between him and the victim?'
A tip to defense attorneys: Don't ever ask a cop a question that begins
with why. It's an invitation for a subjective opinion and a quick way
to sink your client. Johnson batted it out of the park. 'I stopped
trying to reach Caffrey when it became clear to me that your client
murdered Clarissa Easterbrook. To question him at that point about the
nature of his association with her would have been exploitative, more
like daytime television than a legitimate investigation. Or maybe a
defense attorney.'
Slip was on his feet immediately, but even Prescott knew that Johnson's
answer was, just as Slip had requested, responsive.
My next witness was Heidi Chung from the crime lab. Heidi must be
pushing forty but could be mistaken for a teenager. In trial, I always
spend some time on her impressive credentials to be certain that the
jurors understand that she's a pro. Prescott, however, had seen Chung
enough to know she knew her stuff.
By the time Heidi was done, there could be no doubt about it. The
hammer Johnson pulled from Jackson's closet had been the one that
killed Clarissa, and two of the unidentified latent prints pulled from
the Easterbrooks' door knocker had been left by Jackson's right index
and middle fingers.
Slip couldn't do much to Heidi on cross. Sure, there were no prints on
the hammer, but wiping down a weapon is easy and a lot more obvious
than remembering to clean the door knocker.
When he was done, I rested. Given my low standard of proof, there was
no point giving him a look at my entire case in chief and a chance to
test all my witnesses for weak spots. And, thankfully, there was no
need to call Townsend to the stand. I'd managed to cover all the
important stuff with my two pros.
Even though he had told me about his intentions all along, part of me
was still surprised when Slip told Prescott he'd be calling witnesses
before we moved to arguments. I half thought he was bluffing, since he
had absolutely nothing to gain from the move. The judge was
essentially required to disregard any testimony that helped the
defense, since at trial it was possible that the jurors would not find
it credible.
Maybe Slip was using the prelim as a formal version of the usual
posturing that goes on between the prosecution and the defense: trying
to make his case look good in the hope of getting me to give Jackson a
plea. Or maybe he hoped Prescott was inexperienced enough to make the
call herself.
'Call your first witness, Mr. Szlipkowsky.'
'There's one complication, your honor. One of my witnesses is moving
to quash the subpoena I served on him yesterday. If I may make a
suggestion, perhaps I could call just one witness now, and we could
take up the motion to quash after a lunch recess.'
'That would be fine. Please proceed.' That simple plan would have
taken Prescott fifteen minutes to conjure on her own.
'The defense calls Nelly Giacoma.'
Unlike Ray, Nelly hadn't toned down the fashion statements for the
courtroom. I watched Judge Prescott eye her from head to toe, pausing
extra long for the ankle tattoo. I couldn't wait until Prescott
learned that this funky chick with a nose ring and hot-pink pixie cut
was a law school graduate. And I couldn't wait to hear what Nelly
could possibly offer to the case.
Slip's initial questions established Nelly's working relationship with
Clarissa and her job responsibilities. Bo-ring.
Then he pulled out a document, a move that never fails to get my
attention.
'Do you recognize this document, Ms. Giacoma?'
'Yes. It's a letter to Judge Easterbrook that I received at the office
on Wednesday.'
