The Lawyer's Lawyer (33 page)

“Did you dust it for prints?”

“I did. It was clean. I figure Sam wiped it clean once he decided to frame Jack. That way, if anybody ever found the gun,
although I don’t know how they would, it would just be another gun in his collection.”

“Where is the gun now?”

“I left it with the head of security at the courthouse entrance. I explained to him who I was and that this gun was potential
evidence in this case.”

“Is there anything else that you want to add?”

“No.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

As Tom finished, Merton’s assistant came back into the room. She whispered something in Merton’s ear that made him smile.

“There will be no need for you to cross-examine this witness, Mr. Merton,” Judge Holbrook said, “because I’m ruling this testimony
inadmissible. This evidence has been obtained by the commission of a crime and Ms. Jansen is a former police officer. More
important, however, I find this testimony has little probative value. Ms. Jansen’s belief that this gun was Thomas Felton’s
is nothing more than her own speculation. There is no evidence whatsoever linking this gun to Thomas Felton.”

Robert Merton was a good attorney, almost a great attorney, because he understood human nature, particularly the skeptical,
jaded side of human nature. So far, Danni Jansen’s testimony before the jury had been believable. She had made a dent in his
case and he wasn’t sure how to handle her on cross-examination—until this moment.

“Your Honor, I’m going to withdraw my objection to this testimony.”

The judge looked shocked, as did Tom and Jack.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Counselor? Are you sure you want to allow that gun into evidence?”

“Your Honor, the Court has reminded me that my client is justice. If the defense wants to put this evidence on as truth, I
think the jury should be allowed to evaluate it in that context.”

The judge didn’t say anything for a moment or two. He just gave Robert Merton a bewildered look as if to ask,
What the hell are you doing?

“Very well,” he said finally. “The objection being withdrawn, you are free to proceed, Mr. Wylie. Since this has taken a little
more time than we anticipated, I think we should break for lunch. Who knows, perhaps we’ll have different ideas after the
lunch break.”

Jack and Tom had to share a Snickers over lunch.

“I didn’t get to the candy store last night,” Tom said.

“I’ll just take it out of your fee,” Jack told him. “Interesting turn of events here.”

“Very interesting.”

“I can’t believe Danni got on that stand and confessed to two crimes—to save me.”

“I’ve got to say I was not a Danni fan no matter what you and Henry said about her, but today she stepped up to the plate
in a big way. And I understand why she did what she did. She had to stop Felton any way she could, and she had a strong feeling
that Jeffries was setting you up and that he was going to get away with it.”

“Why did Merton drop his objection?” Jack asked.

“I think I know,” Tom said. “Danni’s testimony about what happened ten years ago was very believable. A jury could understand
after that testimony why you decided to represent Felton. They could let you go without ever determining that Sam Jeffries
did anything wrong. This gun testimony, even though it’s true, requires the jurors to believe Danni over Sam Jeffries and
makes Jeffries a criminal. Jeffries is well thought of in this community and he is the ultimate victim in this case. Making
Jeffries look like a criminal is going to be a hard thing for them to do and that’s what Merton is banking on.”

“But it’s the truth. Why would Danni lie? Why would she subject herself to criminal prosecution?”

“That’s Merton’s hurdle—finding a motive for Danni’s having lied. I’m sure he’ll come up with something. He’s a very resourceful
fellow. We could pull the plug on him though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have to ask another question. I don’t have to put the proffered testimony before the jury. That way, Merton could
only cross Danni on what she already testified to—and that’s basically planting the knife ten years ago.”

“What’s our advantage in that?”

“If the jury believes her, they see you in a different light. They don’t have to determine that Jeffries is a criminal. It’s
still a risk, but you and I both know that you win in this game hitting singles and doubles. Trying for a home run, like Merton
did when he cross-examined you, can get you in a lot of trouble.”

“What do you recommend, Tom?”

“Let’s play it safe. Let’s throw Merton a curve ball. We’ll leave the gun stuff out.”

“I can’t do that. I hear everything you’re saying, Tom, and I agree with you for the most part. But Danni put her life on
the line by breaking into Sam’s home and then by testifying about it. I can’t just throw that away because it’s good strategy.”

“This isn’t about Danni’s feelings, Jack. We want to get you out of jail. You can spend the rest of your life with her if
you like.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s pretty obvious to me that you love this woman. I think Henry and Ron would tell you the same thing if they were here.
I just don’t want your feelings for her to cloud your judgment as a lawyer because this is your decision to make.”

“You’ve been straight with me all the way through this trial, Tom, even though I don’t agree with all of your assessments.
And you stuck with me when I made decisions you didn’t agree with. As a lawyer, I know how hard that is. But I’m going to
ask you to do it one more time. I want Danni to testify to everything. That’s what she came here to do, and it’s the truth.
I’ll live with the consequences.”

“Okay, Jack. I just hope Merton is not as good as I think he is.”

J
udge Holbrook re-convened the proceedings at one o’clock. Neither the gallery nor the jury was in the room.

“Do we have anything else to discuss before we bring everybody back here?”

“No, Your Honor,” said Merton.

“No, Your Honor,” said Tom.

“Just for the record, Mr. Wylie, you are going to ask questions about the proffered testimony, specifically about Ms. Jansen’s
breaking into Chief Jeffries’s home and finding a gun and her belief that the gun belonged to Thomas Felton.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Tom replied.

“And you have no objection to that testimony, Mr. Merton?”

“That’s correct.”

“Okay,” said the judge, obviously a little exasperated. “Let’s bring in the gallery first and the witness. Then when everybody
is seated, we’ll bring in the jury.”

It took fifteen minutes to get the gallery seated and a couple more for the jury. Eventually, everybody was seated and ready.

“Mr. Wylie, you may proceed.”

Tom went to the podium and proceeded to ask Danni the same questions he had asked that morning. She told the jury in a straightforward
fashion how she broke into Sam’s house, found the gun, and why she believed it was Felton’s gun. Robert Merton did not raise
an objection. When Tom was finished, the judge turned to Merton.

“Cross-examination, Mr. Merton?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Merton walked to his favorite spot close to the witness but between the witness and the jury so that his questions could be statements to the jury and they could see the witness behind him
answering the statements.

“So let me get this straight, Ms. Jansen. You broke into Felton’s home ten years ago, took the bowie knife, planted it at
the last murder scene, and told nobody about that until this morning—is that right?

“That’s correct.”

“The burning question for me, as I’m sure it is for everyone here, is why—why now?”

“I didn’t want to see an innocent man go to jail.”

“You didn’t want to see an innocent man go to jail. You testified last week for the prosecution; you knew they were prosecuting
this man for murder—did your feelings change between last week and today?”

“Frankly, yes. I thought about it some more and I decided to tell the whole truth.”

“Did you talk to anybody about this between your testimony for the prosecution last week and your new testimony this week?”

Danni hesitated—not a good thing when you were on cross-examination. “Yes. I spoke to Henry Wilson.”

“You spoke to Henry Wilson. Did he help persuade you?”

“He helped. The decision was mine.”

“Now before you testified last week, you spoke to me on several occasions and you never told me, the state attorney for this
county, that you had planted evidence in the Felton case, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“So you talked to Henry Wilson, you made your decision, and then you woke up this morning and decided to break into Sam Jeffries’s
house, that’s what you want this jury to believe?”

“It’s the truth.”

“The truth.” Merton picked up the Ruger that Tom had introduced into evidence. “The truth is that you, me, anybody can buy
this exact gun at Walmart, Kmart, or even better, at some obscure gun show that blows through town.”

“That’s correct.”

“The truth is that this gun is clean, meaning there are no prints or any other evidence to connect this gun to Thomas Felton?”

“That’s correct.”

“The truth is that anyone could make the claim that they got this gun from Sam Jeffries’s house and there would be no way
to disprove it.”

“Not everybody would know about Sam Jeffries’s hidden gun room.”

“A little gem to make your story more credible? And you want the jury to believe that the key to that room was in the same
place that it was ten years ago, correct? And that just allowed you to walk right in?”

“I don’t want them to believe anything. That’s where it was. Otherwise I couldn’t have gotten the gun.”

“Unless you bought it at Walmart?”

Danni did not answer the question.

“That’s a question, Ms. Jansen.”

“I did not buy the gun at Walmart or Kmart or anywhere else.”

“You were a homicide detective for twenty years, is that correct?”

“No, I was a homicide detective for approximately fifteen of my twenty years on the force.”

“You interviewed witnesses, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you were constantly required to evaluate who was a credible witness and who wasn’t, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve always heard it said that the worst witnesses are criminals who have their own self-serving reasons for offering their
testimony: rats, prison snitches—those type of people. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Now, what you did—breaking into Thomas Felton’s apartment without probable cause—was criminal, wasn’t it?”

“That’s for the State to decide.”

“Breaking and entering is a crime, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You broke and entered into Chief Jeffries’s house this morning, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a crime, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You are a criminal?”

“Yes.”

“So now in evaluating your testimony as a criminal, our next step is to determine if you have any self-serving motive. Do
you?”

“No.”

“You’re just here as a citizen, a criminal citizen, finally deciding to straighten up and do the right thing, is that what
you’re telling us?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite that way. I don’t have an agenda though.”

“Aren’t you having a love affair with Jack Tobin?”

The room erupted with that question. Judge Holbrook stood up as he banged his gavel. “I will have order in this courtroom.”

The gallery settled down.

“Would you like me to repeat the question, Ms. Jansen?”

“No. I am not having a love affair with Jack Tobin.”

“Have you ever had a love affair with him?”

Danni hesitated again. It was not going well. “Yes, we did have a brief affair two years ago.”

“Two years ago? He shot Felton and ran to your house. You went to the crime scene with him. He went back to your house the
same night. His best friend showed up at your house and you now come in here and tell this incredible story—two years ago?”

Tom was on his feet. Merton had asked the questions in machine-gun fashion. “Objection, Your Honor; he’s badgering the witness.
He’s asking compound questions.”

“Sustained. Mr. Merton, ask one question at a time.”

“I’ll withdraw that question, Your Honor.

“Didn’t Henry Wilson tell you that Jack Tobin still loved you?”

“No.”

“Ms. Jansen, can you look at this jury and tell them that you do not love that man?” He pointed at Jack, causing Danni to
look at Jack.

“Object,” Jack said to Tom.

“I can’t,” Tom replied. “I have no grounds.”

“Object anyway.”

“Can’t do it, Jack. It’s too late for that.”

It had taken Danni so much to get to this place. So many walls had to come down. She had to admit that what she did ten years
ago had led to everything that had followed, including the death of Kathleen Jeffries. It wasn’t Jack who got Tom Felton released,
it was her. She also had to finally see that Sam was on a warped quest to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter. And
last but not least, when she had to decide to put her life on the line, she had to come to grips with her feelings about Jack
Tobin. Now that the walls were down, she couldn’t put them back up again.

The silence had been deafening. There was almost no need to answer the question anymore, but Merton felt it needed repeating.

“Can you look at this jury, Ms. Jansen, and tell them you are not in love with Jack Tobin?”

“No, I can’t.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

“Redirect?” the judge asked Tom.

Tom started to stand. Jack grabbed his arm. “No,” he said. “Let her go.”

“No, Your Honor.”

“The witness may leave the stand. Ms. Jansen, I am ordering you not to leave the jurisdiction, do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Even though her answer to the last question had cemented his conviction, Jack wanted to go to her as she walked out of the
courtroom. If he had one last moment of freedom, he wanted to hold her and thank her and tell her that he loved her too.