Parnell Hall: The Naked Typist

Steve smiled. “Perhaps,” he said. “But Your Honor will note, there was actually no new information elicited from this witness. There is nothing in Marcie Keller’s testimony that had not already been testified to on the witness stand by the defendant. The supposedly damaging facts she’s testified to are things we’ve already cheerfully admitted. Therefore, I submit that the production of this witness was not made in good faith for the purpose of bringing out new evidence against the defendant, but was totally for the purpose of laying the groundwork for charges against the witness herself and the attorneys for the defense.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Dirkson said. “Eyewitness testimony is always pertinent and admissible, even in the event the defendant has already admitted the crime.”

“Let’s try not to go off on a tangent,” Judge Wallingsford said. “Mr. Winslow, specifically, what is it you contend?”

“I contend that the witness Marcie Keller was put on out of order. I also contend that had she been part of the prosecution’s original case, I would have cross-examined the witnesses differently than I had, before I put the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder, on the stand. It’s too late to correct that now-her direct examination has already been given. But I feel at the very least I should be given an opportunity to augment my cross-examination of one of the prosecution’s witnesses before the prosecutor uses this irregular testimony of Marcie Keller to cross-examine the defendant.”

“Mr. Winslow. Do you have some definite purpose in mind?”

“Absolutely, Your Honor. It is crucial to my case to be allowed to cross-examine a witness at this time.”

“I submit, Your Honor,” Dirkson said, “that that is absolute nonsense, if not an out-and-out lie. The defense attorney has used every stalling tactic he can think of to keep me from cross-examining the defendant. This is merely another one of them. I submit that his only real intention here is to postpone the moment when I get to cross-examine the defendant on the stand. He is so desperate to avoid that, he is willing to try anything. If you allow him to recall one witness, he’ll recall them all. And keep on recalling them until we have to adjourn and the case goes over the weekend.”

Steve Winslow held up his hand and shook his head. “I give you my assurance, Your Honor, that this is not the case. I wish to recall one witness only, and my cross-examination will be brief. And as to the allegation that I am unwilling to let the prosecutor cross-examine the defendant, that simply isn’t so. The defendant has told the absolute truth, and no cross-examination can hurt her. And as proof of this, let me state that if the prosecutor is willing to let me recall one of his witnesses for a brief cross-examination, I am willing to stipulate that when he cross-examines the defendant, the defense will not raise a single objection to any of his questions, whatever they may be.”

Judge Wallingsford frowned. “This is entirely irregular, Mr. Winslow.”

Dirkson was waving his hands. “Your Honor. Your Honor. One moment. On consideration, the prosecution is inclined to accept that stipulation.”

Judge Wallingsford looked at him with exasperation. “Well, the court is not. I don’t care what the prosecutor and the defense attorneys are willing to do, the court is not going to allow a defendant’s rights to be stipulated away in that manner. I must say, if the defense attorney refuses to object, the court will impose objections for him. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Dirkson said.

“The court is now going to rule. Mr. Dirkson, since you seemed so willing to enter into that stipulation, I must conclude that you have no real objection to the defense attorney recalling one of your witnesses. Proof is at the discretion of the court. It is my discretion that the witness be recalled. The witness will be recalled, cross-examined, and then if you have no further questions, you may once again rest your case. At which time the defendant will be returned to the stand.

“Mr. Winslow, what witness do you wish to recall?”

“Phil Danby, Your Honor.”

All eyes turned to the second row of the courtroom, where Phil Danby sat next to his employer, Milton Castleton.

“Very well,” Judge Wallingsford said. “Bring in the jury. Phil Danby, take the stand.”

While the jurors were being led in, Fitzpatrick leaned over to Winslow. “What are you doing?” he whispered.

“Gambling.”

“On what?”

“Frankly, a long shot.”

“Why are you doing that?”

Steve smiled grimly. “Because there’s nothing else to bet on.”

After the jurors had filed in and been seated, Judge Wallingsford addressed them. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Yesterday, the witness Marcie Keller, completed her direct examination. The defense has no cross-examination of her and that witness has been excused. At this point, the witness Phil Danby has been recalled for further cross-examination.

“Mr. Danby, I remind you you are still under oath.

“Mr. Winslow. Mr. Fitzpatrick. Let us proceed.”

Steve Winslow stood up, crossed in to the witness. He began his cross-examination almost conversationally, as Dirkson had done with Marcie Keller. “Mr. Danby, you testified, did you not, that you saw the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder, on the afternoon when she left her employment with Milton Castleton, is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“You further testified that while you spoke to her on the phone several times, you had not seen her since that day until you saw her here in court. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Is it, Mr. Danby? I don’t think that’s true. I put it to you that you saw the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder, on June twenty-eighth, the day David Castleton met his death. Is that not a fact?”

“No, it is not.”

“You didn’t see the defendant on that day?”

“No, I did not.”

“Really, Mr. Danby? Didn’t you testify that on June twenty-eighth you were present at a meeting between David Castleton and his grandfather in Milton Castleton’s apartment?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I believe you referred to it as a strategy session, programming him for his meeting with Kelly Wilder?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“What time did David Castleton leave the apartment?”

“Six-thirty. As I’ve already testified.”

“And after David Castleton left for his appointment with the defendant, what did you and Milton Castleton do then?”

“Mr. Castleton was tired from the meeting and went off to bed. I went home to my apartment.”

“You live alone, Mr. Danby?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you can’t verify that, can you?”

Danby shrugged. “I see no reason why I should.”

“You know, Mr. Danby, I personally find that rather strange. Your going home, I mean. You knew David Castleton was going to be meeting with the defendant. You were eager to find out the defendant’s name, address, what she was up to. There was no reason to assume David Castleton would be able to get that out of her. I wonder why you would choose to go home and leave that entirely up to him.”

“There’s nothing strange about that,” Danby said. “It simply wasn’t that important. We wanted to know what the defendant was up to, yes. But you have to remember, a settlement had already been made. This woman obviously intended to cause trouble of some kind or another, but as far as we were concerned, we’d taken care of it. We’d primed David to handle it. There was no reason to assume it was so important it couldn’t be entrusted to him. Now, if you don’t want to take my word for it, ask Milton Castleton and he’ll tell you the same thing. I did not involve myself personally at that point because it simply wasn’t that important.”