Judge and Jury Page 16

  Garrett remained silent, his jaw clenched. What he was thinking was unspeakable.

  “Apparently he filed some kind of lawsuit to regain custody of the child he claimed he had never agreed to give up. Claimed his wife had committed fraud. Falsified his signature.”

  Because a fraud allegation would allow his lawyers to reopen or set aside anything. “Did he succeed? What happened to her after Jack was killed?”

  “I never heard anything about it again. That man scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want anything to do with him or his sleazy little world. That was when I decided to get out of the ER. Too dangerous. I much prefer the academic world.”

  So Dan did have a sister. Or half-sister. But no one knew who or where she was. “Thank you for your time. I’m sure you had no great desire to talk about this incident. But it’s important to my friend. And to me.”

  “No problem. Hey, you got a girlfriend?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  “If you’d like, I could sign you up as a volunteer. There might be some...advantages.”

  “Absolutely not interested.” He tried not to slam the door on his way out.

  Chapter 22

  Dan sat at the defense table, hands flat, trying to stay calm. He knew what was coming next. He and Maria discussed it, debated it, play-tested it, and analyzed it. He was convinced this was the right way to go. But that didn’t stop his stomach from churning. Was he doing the right thing? Was he being selfish? Who was so desperate to keep him from the truth that they would resort to murder?

  “Showtime,” Maria whispered. “Put on your game face.”

  “Understood.” In the courtroom, game face was no face. No expression, no reaction. Attentive but unresponsive.

  Judge Fernandez leaned back in his chair. “Ms. Morales, you may call your first witness.”

  “Thank you, your honor. The plaintiff calls Conrad Sweeney.”

  The surprise at the other table in the courtroom was evident. Good. That was what they wanted.

  Caldwell slowly rose. “Your honor...this is highly improper.”

  Fernandez looked back at her. “How so?”

  “We had no notice that they would be calling the defendant. Much less calling him first.”

  Fernandez glanced down at his bench. “He’s on their witness list. For that matter, he’s on your witness list, too.”

  “Yes, but...” She seemed to struggle for words. “He’s not their witness.”

  Maria jumped in. “We’ll be asking the court to let us treat him as a hostile witness.”

  “I figured you would. Ms. Caldwell, you still haven’t stated a basis for an objection.”

  Sweeney leaned forward and touched Caldwell’s sleeve. He spoke to her, but did it loudly enough that everyone could hear. Including every member of the jury. “It’s not a problem. I’ll be happy to tell them whatever they want to know.”

  Nice. Sweeney knew he couldn’t prevent himself from going up on the stage. So instead he played it like he hadn’t a care in the world, nothing to hide.

  Sweeney strode to the witness stand. For a man of such immense size—Dan guessed at least a hundred pounds overweight and morbidly obese—he did not look fat. Part of it was probably the immaculately tailored double-breasted white suit. But part of it was his bearing—strong, upright, shoulders pulled back, confident. He did not waddle or jiggle. He seemed powerful, not blubbery. Strong. Like someone who knew what was up. Someone you didn’t want to mess around with.

  Maria asked him to identify himself and provide a little background. Given how well known Sweeney was locally, it was probably unnecessary, but she had to establish a basis for his testimony. She tried to keep the questions pointed, but inevitably, this gave Sweeney an opportunity to brag about his business accomplishments as well as his ongoing civic activism. Dan suspected Sweeney’s financial picture was not as rosy as he portrayed it on the witness stand.

  “Were you engaged in one of those civic activities last April at the women’s shelter near downtown?” Since the court allowed him to be treated as a hostile witness, she was allowed to ask leading questions, as if this were cross-examination rather than direct.

  “Yes. That is the tenth shelter I’ve had the pleasure of opening since the program began. I either contributed or fundraised all the money—”

  “Thank you, Mr. Sweeney. You’ve answered the question.” She had every right to cut him off when he started rambling, but of course, anytime you did, you risked irritating jurors who wanted to hear what he had to say. “Did you hold a press conference after the ribbon cutting?”

  “Yes. That is traditional. The reporters like to have some quotes to put in the articles or television spots.”

  “And during that press conference, did you engage in an exchange with my client, Daniel Pike?”

  He gave her a sturdy look. “You know that I did.”

  “But it isn’t in evidence. Yet. Was that a yes?”

  “Yes. Even though he wasn’t a member of the press, he interrupted the proper business and started slinging—”

  “Thank you. You’ve answered the question, Mr. Sweeney.”

  Caldwell rose. “Actually, your honor, my client has a doctorate degree, so he should be addressed as Dr. Sweeney.”

  “Honorary degree,” Maria grumbled. “From a college he gave a lot of money.”

  Fernandez raised his hand. He appeared to be hiding a small grin. “I’m not the language police. I will let counsel decide which honorific they choose to employ.”

  Good thing, Dan thought. Maria would fall on her sword before she would ever start calling that man “Dr. Sweeney.”

  Maria continued. “Did you hear the recording I played during my opening statement?”

  “I did.”

  “That was taken from the Channel 8 News. The had a minicam crew at the event that recorded the entire exchange.” Of course, Jimmy recorded it too, on his phone, but it sounded less staged if the recording came from somewhere else. “Did that appear to be an accurate recording of the exchange between you and my client?”

  “I can’t tell that the recording has been doctored, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Then so far as you’re aware, what the jury heard is what happened. The words they heard were the words that were spoken.”

  “Yes.”

  “You did in fact call my client a criminal.”

  “That was a statement of opinion, not fact.” There it was, black-letter law delivered in the form of testimony. Sweeney had no doubt been coached by his lawyer. The First Amendment granted every American the right to express an opinion, with relatively few exceptions. It was only when you claimed something was true that was factually untrue that you could be liable for slander. “In my opinion, an attorney who systematically puts dangerous people back on the street is performing a criminal act. It may not be the kind of crime that prosecutors prosecute, but it is an enormous disservice to the community I have worked hard to make better and safer. I have a constitutional right to speak out on issues I feel strongly about.”

  The whole speech sounded as if it had been scripted by counsel and memorized by Sweeney. “But when you call someone a criminal, don’t you imagine most people take that to mean that he has committed a crime?”

  “Pike was charged with murder only a—”

  “And completely exonerated, as you well know. After the true criminal was identified.”

  “He has consorted with criminals. Dated a women who—”

  “But your comment was not about women he dated. It was about him.”

  “And he put Emilio Lòpez back on the street, which led to an incident that killed six St. Pete citizens.”

  There was much more to that affair than Sweeney was explaining, but the fact was, Dan had done a stupid, reckless thing and still felt enormous guilt about it. Last thing he needed was this bloodsucker ramming it down his throat.

  “Is it a crime for a criminal defense attorney to win an acquittal for h
is client?” Maria asked. “Or is that simply doing his job?”

  “He’s in a position to choose his clients. I believe it was an immoral act.”

  “But that’s not the same as a criminal act, is it?”

  “In my opinion, it is.”

  Maria might as well move on, Dan thought. Sweeney was never going to budge. She’d made her point, and he was not likely to start agreeing with her.

  “On the recording,” Maria continued, “the jury also heard you allege that my client was involved with organized crime. True?”

  “We all heard it.”

  “So now you’re saying that the plaintiff is not only a criminal, but a mobster. A gangster.”

  “I didn’t use those words.”

  “Those are the words that describe someone who participates in organized crime.”

  Sweeney raised a finger. “Ah, now you’re changing what I said. I didn’t say that he participates in organized crime. I said he was involved with it. Which is completely different and unassailably true.”

  “I’m not seeing the distinction.”

  “How many times has your client been involved with some cartel or organized crime scheme? He cleared the charges against him by producing witnesses from a human trafficking cartel. He’s been all over the news for his activities involving an organ-smuggling gang.”

  “You’re referring to his work to catch and arrest an organ-smuggling gang. At the risk of his own life.”

  “Objection.” Caldwell rose, obviously pleased to finally have an excuse to interrupt the flow. “Counsel is testifying.”

  The judge granted her point. “Sustained.”

  Maria continued. “You have not identified a single instance when my client worked with an criminal organization.”

  “And I never claimed that I could. I never said that he did.”

  “You deliberately suggested to your audience that Daniel Pike was a participant in organized criminal activities.”

  Sweeney shrugged. “I can’t be held accountable for what other people think. I’m not a mind reader. The legal question is whether I slandered your client. And I did not.”

  “Are you familiar with the legal concept of holding someone to a false light?”

  “Again I object,” Caldwell said. “Dr. Sweeney is not a lawyer, nor is he an expert witness.”

  “He just offered his legal opinion on slander,” Maria said. “I think I should be entitled to follow up.”

  “I’ll have to grant her that argument,” Fernandez said. “I’m sure the witness can handle himself. Objection overruled.”

  Maria took a step forward. “Please answer the question.”

  Sweeney sighed. “I am familiar with the concept, sure.”

  “So if you’ve suggested to a great number of people that my client is a participant in organized crime, even if you did not use those exact words, that would be holding him up to a false light, right?”

  “I do not agree.”

  “Did you think your comments would cause people to see him in a positive light?”

  “I didn’t think about it one way or another.”

  Maria pounced. “Now that part I believe. You spoke in anger and said things you shouldn’t.”

  “Not true.”

  “Are you willing to apologize to the plaintiff for the damage you’ve caused?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “But you acknowledge that you’ve caused damage.”

  Sweeney leaned forward. “I don’t—acknowledge—” He drew in his breath. He was becoming visibly heated. “How could you damage a reputation like that? An accused murderer. The son of a convicted murder.”

  “Yes, I knew we’d get to that. You said my client came from a ‘family of criminals.’ But Dan’s father was never accused of being involved with organized crime, was he?”

  “The man was sent to prison for first-degree murder. That is an unassailable fact.”

  “And if you had stuck to the facts, we wouldn’t be here today. But you didn’t. As you’ve admitted, you spoke in anger and made accusations that far exceed the facts.”

  “I only said what everyone—” He stopped short.

  Dan watched Sweeney, wondering what was going on. Why did he stop short? Did he realize he was blowing it? Did he get a hand signal from his lawyers?

  Sweeney took a deep breath and dialed it down. “Look, Daniel Pike is a dishonorable man. Time and again he has engaged in activities I consider harmful to the community, while I have been doing everything within my power to improve it. It would be safer in this modern-day litigious, Twitterstormed world to simply keep my mouth shut. But as an American, I had the right to speak my mind, and you can surely see why someone who has done so much for St. Petersburg would not appreciate someone else putting criminals back on the street and taking this town in the worst possible direction.” He raised his hand and pointed. “Daniel Pike is a menace. He is not a honorable man. That is my opinion and I stick by it.”

  Maria simply smiled. “If you consider my client such a menace, why did you offer him a job?”

  “Uh...excuse me?”

  “You’ve met my client prior to this trial, haven’t you? Prior to the encounter at the women’s shelter?”

  Sweeney frowned. “On one occasion. At his request.”

  “And during that steamy encounter, you actually offered my client a job working for you as in-house legal counsel. Do you deny it?”

  “I’m a problem solver, not a complainer. Pike is obviously smart, talented. He just lacks direction. A moral compass, if you will. I thought that if I gave him an opportunity to do more valuable work at my direction, I might steer his talents in a more positive direction.”

  Maria looked as if she were about to barf. “Give me a break. You were trying to buy him off.”

  “Not true.”

  “He’s been a constant thorn in your side and you were trying to seduce him to the dark side.”

  “I was trying to turn a dishonest man into an honest one.”

  “You believed the plaintiff is dishonest?”

  “No doubt in my mind.”

  “Then why did you offer him a judicial appointment?”

  That slowed Sweeney down a beat. Dan could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s brain. He could deny it. But he might’ve have mentioned it to third parties, and Dan mentioned it to several people at the time. “I don’t have the ability to dish out judgeships.”

  “Don’t you though?”

  Judge Fernandez’s eyebrows rose an inch.

  Maria continued. “You sit on an advisory panel that makes recommendations to the state Bar Association, don’t you?”

  “As I have said, I like to give back to the community.”

  “And you are known to have backed several judicial candidates in the past.”

  “That is my right, if not duty, as a citizen.”

  “And you would never recommend that anyone dishonest be given a judgeship, would you?”

  “Of course not.”

  The pieces were falling into place like a well-crafted syllogism. “Did you offer my client a judgeship?”

  Sweeney squirmed a bit. “I may have...mentioned the possibility. I certainly didn’t offer any guarantees.”

  “Fine. Now please turn to the jury and explain to them why you would offer the possibility of becoming a judge to someone you consider dishonest.”

  A moment of silence.

  Maria eventually filled the gap. “And don’t bother to tell them the jury were trying to improve his morals. Because that doesn’t even makes sense. Judgeships aren’t on-the-job ethics training. It sounds more like you were offering a bribe to a perpetual thorn in your side to get him out of your way.”

  “That isn’t true.”

  “And since it didn’t work, because my client wouldn’t be bribed, you framed him for murder. And when that didn’t work, you slandered him in public.”

  Sweeney started to speak, but Caldwell cut him off. �
��Objection, your honor. That wasn’t really a question. More like closing argument.”

  “I’ll sustain the objection. Anything more, counsel?”

  “No,” Maria said, turning away. “I’m done with this man.”

  “Looks like it’s your turn, Ms. Caldwell. Would you like to inquire?”

  “Only briefly.” She walked around the table and stood between Sweeney and the jury box. “Dr. Sweeney, did you intend to bribe the plaintiff?”

  “No. I was trying to help him turn his life around. Put it to better purpose.” He smiled a little. “But you know Kepler’s fourth law of thermodynamics.”

  “Which is?”

  “No good deed goes unpunished.”

  “Did you intend to slander the plaintiff?”

  “I did not. But I am entitled to express my opinion. And I made no statements of fact that were inaccurate. Daniel Pike has spent most of his adult life associating with criminals. He has freed dangerous people. And his late father was a convicted murderer who died behind bars.”

  Sweeney turned and peered directly into Dan’s eyes. “And no one has ever proved anything different. And no one ever will.”

  Chapter 23

  Jimmy had been trying to tie Shawna down for a meeting for weeks without success, so he was surprised when he finally got a text saying she had a few minutes. She probably knew he would be in the courthouse, since Dan’s trial was in progress. She probably also knew he should be in the courtroom with Dan. Was that the reason for the text? He couldn’t be sure.

  That was the insidious thing about suspicion, or as his husband Hank called it, paranoia. Once you started suspecting people, you were tumbling down a slippery slope. You started reinterpreting everything. Like Lex Luthor. First Lex suspected Superboy intentionally used his super-breath to make his hair fall out, then he started suspecting the Kryptonian must be pretending to be good so he could take over—and then he was an insane super-villain.

  Jimmy did not want to become an insane super-villain.