Andrew Price - Without A Hitch

“You’re absolutely sure that’s Beaumont?” Pierce asked theatrically.

“Yeah, I remember him. Then they showed me the photos and I pointed him right out. Then the cops like showed me the video and I pointed him out there too.” Freet went back to picking at her nail.

“Let’s move the video forward,” Pierce said to Morales.

As the jury watched, the man approached Freet’s window. They spoke briefly before he went to account services. The video continued to run for several more minutes as he sat down at the account services desk with a woman, who was presumably Mindy Wright, filled out some paperwork, and left.

Pierce leaned against the podium on his left arm. His right hand was still thrust into its permanent place in his pocket. “You’re 100 % sure that was Mr. Beaumont?”

“Absolutely.”

All eyes turned to Beaumont.

Beckett looked almost bored when he approached the podium. “I’ve just got a couple quick questions, Ms. Freet,” he said, placing his notes on the podium.

Freet visibly stiffened in her chair. Clearly, she viewed Beckett as the enemy.

“What color was Mr. Beaumont’s hair. . it’s difficult to tell from the video.”

“Black.”

“Can you describe it? Was it thick, thin, was he wearing a wig?”

Freet smirked and let out a derisive laugh. “No, he wasn’t wearing no wig. It was black and kind’a like thinning.”

“He doesn’t have hair today-”

“No, he must’a shaved it off,” Freet interrupted him.

“Did Mr. Beaumont give you anything to open the account?”

“Why would he give me somethin’?”

“You tell me?”

“No, he didn’t give me nothin’. He just asked where he could open an account, and I told him. He did’n give me nothin’.” She scrunched her lips at Beckett. Several members of the jury shook their heads at her hostility.

Beckett started to leave the podium, but stopped. “One more thing, Ms. Freet. Do you think you could tell the difference between Mr. Beaumont’s natural hair and a wig?”

“Yeah, I could tell easy. That was his real hair. There ain’t no way that was no wig.”

“Nothing further, Your Honor,” Beckett said to the surprise of many in the courtroom.

Pierce called Mindy Wright next. Wright looked like Maggie Smith, only she was tall and thin, almost stork-like, and she wore an overly-ruffled blouse that gave the impression of being a bib. Like Smith, she was very pleasant and did her best to be helpful. She had no recollection of opening the account and could not identify Beaumont, but she did confirm that someone using the name Jason Hammerlin opened an account at First Regional Bank on June 14th, though she couldn’t state the time the account was opened, nor could she identify Beaumont from the videotape. She also confirmed that the documents she was shown by Pierce were copies of the account documents that would have been provided to Hammerlin when he opened the account. She did not keep a photocopy of Hammerlin’s drivers license.

Wright was equally pleasant and helpful with Beckett. Beckett, in turn, was pleasant with her. “Ms. Wright, when you open an account for someone, do they usually give you money to put into the account?”

“Usually. Sometimes they give us a check,” she replied.

“But they always give you something?”

“Oh yes. We can’t open an account with a zero balance.”

“How much did Mr. Hammerlin give you?” Beckett asked.

Wright looked through the paperwork Pierce gave her earlier. “It looks like he gave me $100 in cash as an initial deposit.” She took one more look over the documents. “Right, it had to be cash or I would have put down a check number.”

“If you don’t mind, Ms. Wright, let’s watch the video again, as you did with Mr. Pierce. I’d like you to pay particular attention to the transaction going on and please tell the jury everything that changes hands between you and the man in the red shirt.” Beckett signaled Corbin to start the video.

Wright narrated as she watched the video. “He must have asked me about the account, as I’m handing him account documents.” The video continued. “He’s filling out the documents. . now he’s giving the documents to me. . I’m looking them over. . I’m. . that’s odd.”

Beckett signaled Corbin to stop the tape. “What’s odd, Ms. Wright?”

“I put the documents in the wrong drawer.”

“What do you mean ‘the wrong drawer’?”

“That’s the drawer for the ATM card applications,” she said, sounding perplexed.

“Is it possible he was applying for an ATM card?”

“It might be?” she admitted without reservation.

“Let’s finish the tape.” Beckett signaled Corbin.

The man spoke briefly with Wright and left.

Beckett signaled Corbin to stop the tape. “Ms. Wright, did the man in the red shirt give you any money to open an account?”

“No, he didn’t.” She sounded even more perplexed.

“Can you open an account without some sort of deposit?”

“No, you can’t.”

“You put the application in the drawer for ATM card applications, not where you would have put it if it was an application to open an account, right?”

“Right,” she agreed.

“If he was applying for an ATM card, wouldn’t he necessarily already have an account?”

“He would have to, yes.” She began nodding, as she saw her mistake.

“Looking back on your actions, do you still believe the man in the red shirt came to open an account?”

“It doesn’t seem that way, no,” she conceded, before adding, almost to herself, “but then how did the police get Mr. Hammerlin’s paperwork?”

“That’s a good question, Ms. Wright. Thank you for your time.”

Pierce immediately took Beckett’s place at the podium. “Ms. Wright, is it possible you simply put the paperwork in the wrong drawer by mistake?”

“I suppose it is, but I can’t explain why he didn’t give me any money to open an account.”

“Is it possible Mr. Beaumont came back later to complete the account application, that he came back to give you the deposit?”

“I suppose so,” she said, though her shaking head and the hesitation in her voice left no doubt she didn’t accept this possibility.

“Nothing further.” For the first time, Pierce looked shaken.

“Call your next witness, counselor,” Sutherlin ordered from the bench.

“May we approach, Your Honor?” Pierce replied. A moment later the four attorneys were at the bench. “Your Honor, we’re still waiting on Officer Webb-”

Sutherlin cut him off. “Do you have any other witnesses?”

“Just the handwriting expert,” Pierce replied.

“Why can’t we hear from him?” Sutherlin asked. His frown grew more pronounced.

“We can put him on, but he will need to testify about documents obtained by Officer Webb, and I suspect Mr. Beckett will object vociferously,” said Pierce, trying to shift the blame for his failure to produce Webb onto Beckett.

“Mr. Pierce, you are on thin ice already. If Officer Webb does not testify in the morning, I’m leaning toward dismissing the case. . strike that, I guarantee you, I will dismiss this case. How do you want to proceed?”

“We’d like a continuance until tomorrow morning.”

“The defense would object to that, Your Honor,” Beckett interjected.

Sutherlin put his hand up to stop any further discussion. “Your objection is noted, Mr. Beckett.” Sutherlin pointed at Pierce. “I’m going to give you until the morning, Mr. Pierce. Then I expect you to finish your case in chief. Return to your seats.”

Beckett tossed the folder onto his desk. They had returned to the Tribune Building after being dismissed. “I’m serious about this.”