Part 28 (1/2)

”Perhaps this will refresh your recollection, Ms. London.” Donnelly opens a black loose-leaf binder, which Rachel a.s.sumes contains the notes one of the FBI agents took during her interview. With her head in the notebook, Donnelly says, ”During that interview, I asked if you had any reason to think that Mr. Littman did not kill Judge Nichols. Do you remember me asking that question?”

”I do.”

”But in response, you didn't say that you were with Mr. Littman at the time of the murder, now, did you-yes or no?”

Rachel smiles. The Answer me, yes or no! tactic might be a staple on TV dramas, but it never works in real life.

”I recall that I answered that there were a million reasons why Mr. Littman didn't kill her. Included among those million reasons was the fact that he was with me at the time of the murder.”

”But you never said that, did you?”

”You didn't ask me what the reasons were.”

Rosenthal shouts, ”Objection!” but Donnelly is yelling over him: ”In fact, I did, and you refused to answer!”

”Objection!” Rosenthal shouts again.

”Counsel!” Judge Siskind exclaims over both of them. ”Approach right now!”

At the bench, Rosenthal hisses, ”Your Honor, I am appalled. As Ms. Donnelly well knows, Ms. London did not answer the question on the advice of her lawyer during a voluntary interview. Ms. London had the absolute right not to answer. Given that the prosecution previously urged the court to rule that Mr. Garkov's invocation of the Fifth Amendment was too prejudicial for the jury to hear, it's unconscionable for them to suggest to the jury now that there was anything incriminating about Ms. London not answering a question.”

”Ms. Donnelly, is this true?” Judge Siskind asks. ”Because if it is, I am very unhappy. At least the defense raised the issue of Mr. Garkov's taking the Fifth before just throwing it out there in front of the jury.”

Donnelly must know that she's on the wrong end of this one, but she doesn't shame easily. ”Your Honor, there is no doubt in my mind that this witness is lying to protect Mr. Littman. Why else wouldn't she tell us during her interview that she could alibi him?”

”Not interested in your mind, Ms. Donnelly. I only care about the evidence you're submitting to the jury, and that's not going to include innuendo or half-truths. Now, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to instruct the jury that the last few questions and answers should not be considered by them in their deliberations because Ms. London's prior interview by the government is of no importance here. All that matters is her testimony today.”

”Your Honor,” Donnelly says in a pleading voice, ”we have the right to impeach her testimony with prior inconsistent statements.”

”That you do, Ms. Donnelly, if you had any prior inconsistent statements. Tell me one and I'll consider allowing you to use it. But her refusal to answer a question is not a prior inconsistent statement.”

Donnelly returns to the podium to resume her cross-examination. The smart move is for her to regroup and carefully dissect Rachel's testimony. But her expression makes clear that she's not going to pursue a surgical attack. She's out for blood.

”Ms. London . . . on direct questioning, you said that your relations.h.i.+p with Mr. Littman was professional. Mentor-slash-mentee is the phrasing I believe you used. But the truth is that you're in love with him, aren't you?”

Rachel flashes on all of her lying clients over the years. She's already lied about Aaron's presence with her in the war room, but somehow disavowing her love seems harder to do. It takes her only a moment-a pregnant pause, at best-but it's there.

She then says, ”Aaron Littman and I work together. Nothing more. What you're implying is an insult to every woman in the workplace, Ms. Donnelly. How would you feel if someone said that you only got to prosecute this case because you were in love with the U.S. attorney?”

Bull's-eye. Donnelly asks a few more questions, largely so she can end on something other than Rachel's rebuke, but when Rachel's testimony ends, that's likely all the jurors will remember.

That, and the fact that she said Aaron couldn't have killed Faith Nichols because he was beside Rachel London at the time of the murder.

57.

Aaron spends that evening in a Cromwell Altman conference room, essentially running lines. ”A murder trial is no time for improv,” Rosenthal says when Aaron deviates from the script.

Only cross-examination will be unrehea.r.s.ed, and even that has been practiced at length. Rachel has been tasked with playing Donnelly's part, sneer and all. If anything, Aaron's even better at deflecting Rachel's accusations than he was at providing the self-serving responses Rosenthal's questions elicited.

At ten o'clock, Rosenthal announces, ”If it all comes in that well tomorrow, I think we'll be way ahead of the game. Go home and get some sleep, Aaron.”

Rachel shares the elevator with Aaron.

”You were great today,” Aaron says.

”Thanks. But tomorrow's what really counts. No pressure, though.”

A sad smile comes to her lips. It's Rachel's way of saying that Aaron's not out of the woods yet.

CYNTHIA IS SITTING UP in bed reading when Aaron enters the bedroom. She looks sincerely happy that he's finally home, and Aaron lets the feeling of being welcome wash over him.

”So, are you ready?” Cynthia asks.

”We'll know tomorrow, I guess. But if it doesn't go well, it's not going to be for lack of preparation.”

”It's not that hard,” Cynthia says. Then, with a sly smile, she adds, ”It's kind of ironic, don't you think? Now I've testified, and I've even been cross-examined by Victoria Donnelly, but this is new to you. It's a first. I'm giving you legal advice.”

”So . . . what's your advice?”

”Be yourself. The jury will like you.”

”I doubt that. The thing about criminal trials is that the jury wants to convict. That's the only happy ending. If they acquit, it just means that no one pays for the crime.”

”That's why we're giving them a different happy ending to want. We're giving them a love story. They'll see that if you're acquitted, we can be together.”

If only what she said were true, he thinks. Unfortunately, he knows otherwise.

The jury will not be so interested in Aaron's having a happy ending. They're only going to care about justice for Faith Nichols.

58.

It is nearly gospel among defense attorneys that when you put your client on the stand, nothing else matters. The forensic evidence, the other witnesses, expert testimony, all of it goes away. If the jury believes they're listening to a truth-teller, they acquit. If they think the defendant is trying to pull something over on them-and it doesn't even matter about what-they convict.

Simple as that.

It's the reason so few defendants take the stand in their own defense. Only the most gifted liars can pull it off.

Now it's time for Aaron to see if he falls into this dubious category.

The strategy is for Sam Rosenthal to address the most damaging evidence first. This will allow the questioning to end on a high note.

And so, after establis.h.i.+ng Aaron's background, Rosenthal gets right to the stuff that matters. ”Did you engage in a s.e.xual relations.h.i.+p with Judge Faith Nichols?”