William Bernhardt - Hate Crime

Ben bit his tongue.

“We’re burning daylight, gentlemen, and I’m still hoping we can finish the prosecution’s case today. Let’s move along.”

The attorneys returned to their positions. Drabble passed the witness. Ben launched in on him immediately. “Mr. Scholes, do you consider yourself a good person?”

The witness was understandably perplexed. “I guess.”

“Are you a loyal person?”

Scholes’s lips tightened. Now he knew where this was going. “I try to be.”

“And I believe you’ve said you considered Johnny Christensen your friend?”

“True, but-”

“Do you think he considered you a friend?”

“I like to think so.”

“And when you sat together in that bar last March and he was talking, do you think he expected you would repeat what he said to third parties?”

“Probably not, and normally I wouldn’t. But this is murder!”

A fair point, Ben thought quietly. “Nonetheless, he was speaking to you in confidence.”

“Well, not really, because as it turned out, the police were listening at the next booth.”

“But neither of you knew that. He must’ve thought he could trust you.” Ben had no idea whether this would fly or not, but it had to be to their advantage to portray the witness as a traitor and a snitch rather than a whistle-blower.

“I guess.”

“But as it turns out, your loyalties were somewhere else altogether, right?”

“I… don’t know what you mean.”

“How long have you been in the Christian Minutemen?”

He seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. “I’ve already said-for some time.”

“Over three years, to be more precise.”

“Y-yes. That’s right.”

“You’re rising up the ranks in the local chapter, aren’t you?”

“I’m the assistant deputy director.”

“And what’s the position of your organization regarding the murder of Tony Barovick?”

“We have publicly condemned the actions of the accused.”

“Even though he’s one of you.”

“Even so.”

“The fact is,” Ben said, “Johnny has become something of a liability, hasn’t he?”

“I’m… not sure what you mean.”

“Oh, come on now, Mr. Scholes. You’ve been to the meetings. It must’ve been discussed. If Johnny Christensen is linked to the Minutemen, it could really mess up that supposed nonviolence position of yours.”

“Attacking that boy was his idea, not ours.”

“So you say. But in any case, Johnny has become a political liability, and you’ve gone out of your way to distance yourselves from him. That’s why you’ve cooperated with the police, isn’t it? You’d be happiest if Johnny disappeared from the face of the earth. Not because of what he did-but because he got caught.”

“I’m just telling you what I know.”

“And then some. You and your little gang of hooligans want to see Johnny convicted, and you’re not afraid to make up a story to see that it happens!”

“Objection,” Drabble said. “This is just harassment and speechifying.”

“I didn’t hear a question in there anywhere, Mr. Kincaid,” the judge said sharply. “Do you need instruction on how a cross-examination is to be conducted?”

“No, sir. Could we get the witness some instruction on the difference between the truth and a great big lie?”

“Objection!” Drabble boomed.

Ben winced. Shouldn’t have done that…

“Mr. Kincaid!” Lacayo pointed his gavel. “I’ll only warn you once. I will not have this kind of behavior in my courtroom.”

“My apologies, your honor.”

“Consider yourself sanctioned. You may deposit five hundred dollars with the clerk of the court on your way out today.”

Great. Looks like I’m taking the bus home. “Sorry, sir. I’m just… frustrated.”

“May I answer his question?” Scholes asked. “Because I’m not lying!”

Ben readdressed himself to the witness. “Then why didn’t you mention this hot little tidbit about Johnny leaving the bar before?”

“I told you. I didn’t think of it.”

“Until just before your courtroom appearance. After you’ve been interviewed by the defense attorneys. After the prosecution has learned about our defense.”

“I remembered reading in the Trib that Johnny was claiming-”

“What about the other three men at the table?”

“I-I’m not following you.”

“All the frat boys at the table that night were interviewed by the police and by the defense attorneys. Why is it that none of them- not one -recalled hearing Johnny say anything about ‘finishing what he started’?”

“I was sitting closest to Johnny. And at that time, he was speaking quietly.”

“And no one else noticed that he was gone for fifteen minutes?”

“It might not have been that long. I’m not sure. They probably just thought he’d gone to the bathroom and didn’t keep track of the time. But I did.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I’d heard what he said just before he left.”

Ben took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. He was getting nowhere with this witness-worse, he was giving the man a chance to repeat and reinforce everything he had said. He needed to extract what little he could from this witness and get him out of here.

“Mr. Scholes, you don’t know where Johnny went when he left the table, do you?”

He hesitated. “I… don’t know for a fact.”

“And you don’t know what he did while he was gone, either, right?”

“I didn’t see what he did. No.”

“And did he at any time say that he had killed anyone?” Ben presumed that if he had, it would’ve been mentioned already.

“Not specifically. Mostly he just bragged like before and massaged his hand.”

Ben blinked. “His hand?”

“Yeah. He kept rubbing his fingers and palm. He seemed to have strained it or something.”

Strained it-strangling someone?

“Thank you. No more questions.” And good riddance.

Lacayo addressed the prosecutor. “Any redirect?”

Drabble shook his head. “No. And the prosecution rests.”

Christina made the usual motion for a directed verdict, which the judge denied without even thinking about it. The prosecution had more than made its case, and everyone in the room knew it. The judge dismissed the jury for the day, instructed the defense to be ready to begin tomorrow morning, and adjourned the court.

Pandemonium ensued. Reporters pressed against the rail, trying to get quotes from Ben and Christina, from Drabble, from Johnny. Christina declined their kind offers to preview her defense to them and started packing.

Ben felt a tugging at his wrist. Johnny.

“This isn’t goin’ so hot, is it?”

Ben wasn’t sure how honest to be. “Things rarely look good for the defense after the prosecution rests. If they don’t have a solid case, they don’t go to trial. But now we get our chance.”

“But we don’t have anything. Do we?”

“We have you.”

Lines formed around Johnny’s eyes. “Do you think they’ll believe me?”

After one look into those eyes, there was no way Ben was going to tell him what he really thought. “I hope so.” He nodded toward Christina. “Team meeting?”

“Definitely.”

The marshals took charge of their prisoner, and Ben and Christina bundled all their materials together and charted a course for the rear of the courtroom.

What Ben had told Johnny was absolutely true-things never looked good for the defendant at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case. But at the same time they rarely looked this grim. Usually he had some ace up his sleeve, some trick or theory or angle. But this time Drabble had seen him coming. He’d deflected their intended feint like a master swordsman, literally destroying their defense before they’d had a chance to put it on. If the jury thought Christina had called into question the coroner’s estimated time of death, Johnny’s disappearance at 11:10 might not be so incriminating. But if they didn’t…