Keep No Secrets (39 page)

"Like I said, it can make it difficult."

"Did you have any difficulty finding Mr. Hilliard's skin under Ms. Del Toro's nails?"

"No, sir."

"Did you ask her if she bathed after the alleged assault but before coming to the station?"

"Yes, I did, sir. She stated she did not bathe."

"Did she even wash her hands?"

"She stated she did not."

"You testified that Ms. Del Toro refused the rape exam. Did she tell you why?"

"No, sir. We don't ask that question."

Earl, of course, knows that, too.

"So you have no evidence of Mr.

Hilliard's semen being inside her vagina, correct?"

As many times as Jack has asked this question of a witness, he still cringes now.

He's glad Claire isn't here to hear it.

"That's correct, sir."

"Thank you, Officer." Earl nods again.

The officer returns a tight-lipped but warm smile. Most of the force know Earl well and respect him regardless of which clients he represents.

Walker rises for redirect.

"Officer, with respect to victims of rape washing themselves, in your

experience, do victims of statutory rape respond the same way?"

"No, sir, not usually."

"And why's that?"

"Well, with statutory rape, there's an element of consent. It's not valid, of course, but the victim generally has a different mindset about it."

"Thank you, Officer. That's all."

Walker's nod is akin to a bow. When he pivots to return to his table, he doesn't try to hide his satisfied smirk from Jack and Earl.

Throughout the day and into Thursday, Walker questions the investigators who talked to Claire and Michael and the forensic expert who searched Jack's car.

He questions the child abuse investigator who interviewed Celeste, and the officer who spoke to Michael's basketball coach regarding Jack's access to Celeste's backpack. He questions the coach himself.

He questions the officer who booked Jack and photographed his arm. He questions the lab technicians who handled the forensic evidence and determined that the hair inside Celeste's bra belonged to Jack and the hairs in Jack's car and on his coat belonged to Celeste. He establishes the chain of custody for each piece of physical evidence. And even though Jack understands more than anyone how Elias selected which bits of evidence to highlight and which to skim over or not even mention, he still finds it unbearable to remain impassive as he watches the case being built against him. The sum of the parts could easily be a conviction in the hands of the right—or from Jack's point of view, wrong—jury, especially if Celeste performs well on the stand.

Shortly before the lunch break on Thursday, Walker informs the judge that he expects to call only four more witnesses before resting his case. The judge releases the jury but asks the parties to wait "for housekeeping matters."

"Mr. Walker, who are your remaining witnesses?" he asks.

"Janie Cramer, Michael Hilliard, Claire Hilliard, and the victim, Celeste Del Toro."

"And who is Janie Cramer?" The judge reads the witness list from over the top of his glasses.

"A friend of Ms. Del Toro's. She'll testify about the victim's infatuation with Mr. Hilliard."

"What the—?" Jack starts to mutter, but Earl places his hand on Jack's arm.

"Your Honor," Earl says, "perhaps I should wait until I hear the questions, but I don't see how anything Miss Cramer might say wouldn't be hearsay."

"I assure the Court that Miss Cramer's testimony won't be hearsay, Judge."

"Very well. Do you anticipate finishing with all four witnesses by the end of the week?"

"I do, but, of course, much will depend upon the length of Mr. Scanlon's cross."

"Of course. I'll see you gentlemen after lunch, then. Court is at recess."

Janie Cramer's testimony proves to be so ridiculous and clearly beyond what Walker expected that Earl practically turns her into a witness for the defense during his cross. The "evidence" of Celeste's supposed crush on Jack consists of Janie's assertion that all the girls in Michael and Celeste's group of friends thought Jack was "smokin'" and Celeste made no secret of how much time she spent at the Hilliard's house, and by extension, with Jack. "Everyone" knew what Jack had done "with that attorney who looks like Celeste" and Janie claimed Celeste had a bet going with some of the other girls that she could "bed" him by the end of the year. Although Jack knows Celeste isn't nearly as innocent as her father believes, he also believes Janie's testimony must be a gross exaggeration.

He wishes for eyes in the back of his head so he can see the reaction of Celeste's father to this new picture of his daughter.

Earl needs only to ask a few questions to capitalize on it.

"Janie, do you have reason to believe Celeste was sexually active?"

"Objection." Walker stands and glares at Earl. "How is this relevant? I'm sensing a
blame the victim
approach here."

Earl's nostrils flare. His thirty-plus years as a prosecutor shape everything he does; he considers blaming the victim in rape cases verboten, no matter which side he represents.

"Not even close, Your Honor." Earl keeps his voice calm. "Mr. Walker first raised this issue in his direct of Mr. Del Toro and in his opening argument. He argued that my client took advantage of a naïve, inexperienced girl. Yet now he puts a witness on the stand who claims that same girl made it a goal to have

intercourse with Mr. Hilliard. I think it's appropriate for me to explore the level of sexual sophistication of Ms. Del Toro in order to rebut the claims of naivety made earlier."

"But whether she's sexually

experienced is irrelevant," Walker argues.

"What's relevant here is whether the defendant took advantage of her. Even if she
were
sexually experienced and consented to intercourse with him, it's still rape because the consent isn't valid under our laws. Our statutes make clear that sex between an adult man and a sixteen-year-old girl, however
consensual
"

—he says the word "consensual" with disdain— "constitutes rape because of her age and the imbalance of power between them."

"Of course we don't dispute Mr.

Walker's interpretation of the law, and it's disingenuous of him to suggest we do.

But he just put on testimony that Ms. Del Toro boasted of being able to lure Mr.

Hilliard into a sexual situation. Whether or not he presented that testimony on purpose" —Earl's tone is even, but any lawyer in the room understands he just suggested that Walker lost control of Janie on direct, to the defense's benefit—

"the fact is, he presented it and thus made her sexual experience relevant. The higher charge here is forcible rape, and Ms. Del Toro's state of mind prior to the night in question is certainly relevant to whether any interactions between her and Mr.

Hilliard were forced, if indeed, they occurred at all."

Walker tries to argue more, but the judge raises his hand. "I have to agree with Mr. Scanlon. Objection overruled.

Let's move on." To Janie, "Ms. Cramer, you may answer."

"Was she a virgin, you mean?" Janie asks Earl before he has the chance to repeat the question. "Oh,
no way
. She and Michael were
always
all over each other at parties."

Jack silently thanks God for the

sequestering of witnesses. Janie has no idea that the day before, Celeste's father testified his daughter
was
a virgin.

As if Janie just realized Jack is in the courtroom, she looks over at the defense table and finishes as if she's talking only to him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean they actually
did it
in front of us. But it was no secret, ya know?"

Jack takes a deep breath and keeps doodling on his pad.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

ON FRIDAY MORNING, the rising

sun shines much too brightly. The early spring air smells much too fresh. Too many daffodils have opened their yellow petals in the bed just below their front porch where Jack sits in a rocking chair, drinking coffee that tastes much too good.

After the first two days of trial, the reporters moved their morning vigil from Jack's house to the courthouse. Taking advantage of the rare chance to be outside in peace, he came out to read the newspaper before making the drive into the city. Each morning he reads Wolfe’s trial recap and notes what part of each witness' testimony the reporter deemed newsworthy, while Earl reads the daily trial transcript and looks for things they might have overlooked in the moment.

This morning, however, Jack's mind wanders as he takes in the natural world outside his home.

He hears the sucking sound of the front door open and then the squeak of the screen door as Claire comes out. He closes his eyes. He doesn't like himself for having the thought, but he resents her intrusion. Her presence only amplifies his sense of being alone in this.

She sits in the other rocker. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"I understand Mike and I are the only witnesses left in the state's case except Celeste."

Jack nods, but keeps his gaze on the yard.

"How do you feel it's going?"

He sighs. "Claire, please."

"No one has to know we talked about it, if that's what you're worried about."

She really thinks his main concern is that with her as a witness, the two of them shouldn't be talking about the case?

"No, I'd rather just enjoy the morning."

"Your son is testifying today, Jack."

And I'm facing jail time, Claire
. "I know that."

"You're really going to do that to him?

You're going to put him through that?"

He finally turns to her. "
I'm
doing it to him?"

"You have the power to prevent it.

You could revoke your consent for him to testify."

"And if I do that, I look like I'm trying to hide something."

"You could take the plea offer."

He stares at her, stunned. They'll never get beyond this. The chasm between them is too wide. He can't even digest that she would ask him to accept a plea offer, to admit to a crime he didn't commit, to willingly step into prison for two years.

He'd lose his freedom, he'd lose his job, he'd most likely lose his law license. Most of all, he'd lose two years with his sons, and the effect of that particular loss would ripple well beyond the 730 days behind bars. It would last a lifetime.

He rises, anxious to get away from her.

"If he doesn't want to take the stand, maybe he needs to tell Celeste. Because I'm innocent, Claire.
I’m innocent
. You might not know it, but she does."

He leaves her on the porch and climbs the stairs to Michael's room. When he knocks, Michael yells, "Come in," but his wide, wary eyes reveal surprise when Jack enters the room instead of Claire. Michael wears his boxers and a white dress shirt with the front still unbuttoned, his smooth, bare chest exposed. Jack

considers telling him he'll be more comfortable with a T-shirt underneath, but decides to let it go.

"You got a second?" Jack asks.

Michael nods without meeting Jack's eye. His son sits on his unmade bed as if settling in for a long conversation, but he surreptitiously grabs for his cell phone and flips it over so the screen is face down. Jack pretends he didn't notice.

"I wondered if you had any questions about today, you know, like what to expect, the procedure, anything?"

Michael shakes his head. When Jack doesn't continue, Michael says, "Mom already explained it to me."

Jack wonders just what that

explanation included. "Okay. Good. Like saying
yes
instead of
yeah
, right?" He asks to lighten the mood, but Michael takes it seriously.

"I will."

Jack motions to the navy suit hanging on the closet door. "Is that what you're wearing?"

"Yeah."

So much for practicing
yes
.

"Do you have a tie?"

"Mom said she'd give me one of yours."

Jack cracks a smile. "She'll probably do a better job than I would of picking one out."

The phone vibrates. Michael glances at it.

"Do you want to answer it?"

"No, it's just a text."

Jack knows what he wants to say but he can't figure out how to begin. Michael's discomfort isn't making it easy. He still hasn't looked at Jack. Jack suddenly realizes he's standing over his son like a predator hovers over its prey, so he crosses the room and takes a seat in the desk chair.

"Mike, look, I know you don't want to do this today, but I want you to

understand that I gave parental consent for you to testify because if I hadn't, the jury would think I was trying to hide something. Do you understand?"

Michael nods slightly, his eyes trained on the floor. Jack wants so badly to ask him about the pregnancy test, but Walker will likely ask Michael on the stand if he and Jack talked in advance about his testimony.

"Can you look at me a second?" Jack asks. Reluctantly, Michael looks up. This is when Jack sees the tears pooling in his eyes. He wonders what has Michael so scared that he can't just let it out.

"There's only one thing I'll ask of you. I don't care what you say on the stand today, as long as it's the truth. Okay? Say whatever you need to—don't worry about whether it will hurt or help me, or whether it will hurt or help Celeste, or Mom, or whomever—but be honest. The most important thing is to tell the truth.

Okay?"

He waits, but Michael doesn't answer.

The phone vibrates again, and Michael picks it up and holds it on his lap. When Jack doesn’t react to the hint, Michael shrugs and says, "Whatever."

And if that's the best Michael can do, Jack has no choice but to accept it.

"Your Honor, I'd like to call Michael Hilliard to the stand."

After making his announcement,

Walker glances at Jack. Then all eyes turn to watch the bailiff bring in Michael. All except Jack's. He hears a woman behind him whisper to her seatmate, "He looks just like his father."

Michael makes his way to the witness stand. As he raises his hand for the oath, he hazards a quick look at Jack, and Jack feels as if his son just offered him an olive branch. Even from the defense table, which is at least twenty feet from the witness stand, he sees Michael's hand tremble.