Michael Connelly - A Darkness More Than Night

The victim’s roommate, Jane Gilley, was the first witness to appear who was not part of the law enforcement community. She was tearful and sincere in her testimony, confirming details of the investigation already revealed by Bosch but also adding more personal bits of information. She testified about how excited Jody Krementz had been at the prospect of dating a major Hollywood player and how both of them had spent the day before her date getting manicures, pedicures and hair stylings.

“She paid for me,” Gilley testified. “That was so sweet.” Her testimony put a very human face on what so far had been an almost antiseptic analysis by law enforcement professionals of a murder.

When Gilley’s examination by Langwiser was concluded, Fowkkes finally broke with his pattern and announced he had a few questions for the witness. He stepped to the lectern without any notes. He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned slightly forward to the microphone.

“Now, Ms. Gilley, your roommate was an attractive young woman, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, she was beautiful.”

“And was she popular? In other words, did she date a lot of fellows?”

Gilley nodded hesitantly.

“She went out.”

“A lot, a little, how often?”

“It would be hard to say. I wasn’t her social secretary and I have my own boyfriend.”

“I see. Then let’s take, say, the ten weeks prior to her death. How many of those ten weeks would you say went by without Jody going out on a date?”

Langwiser stood up and objected.

“Your Honor, this is ridiculous. It has nothing to do with the night of October twelfth going into the morning of the thirteenth.”

“Oh, but Your Honor, I think it does,” Fowkkes responded. “And I think Ms. Langwiser knows it does. If you allow me a little bit of string here, I will be able to quickly tie it up.”

Houghton overruled the objection and told Fowkkes to ask the question again.

“In the ten weeks prior to her death, how many weeks went by without Jody Krementz having a date with a man?”

“I don’t know. Maybe one. Maybe none.”

“Maybe none,” Fowkkes repeated. “And, Ms. Gilley, how many of those weeks would you say your roommate had at least two dates?”

Langwiser objected again but was overruled again.

“I don’t know the answer,” Gilley said. “A lot of them.”

“A lot of them,” Fowkkes repeated.

Langwiser rose and asked the judge to direct Fowkkes not to repeat the witness’s answer unless it was in the form of a question. The judge complied and Fowkkes went on as if he had not been corrected at all.

“Were these dates all with the same fellow?”

“No. Different guys mostly. A few repeats.”

“So she liked to play the field, is that correct?”

“I guess so.”

“Is that a yes or no, Ms. Gilley?”

“It’s a yes.”

“Thank you. In the ten weeks prior to her death, weeks in which you said she most often had at least two dates, how many different men did she see?”

Gilley shook her head in exasperation.

“I have no idea. I didn’t count them. Besides, what does this have to do -”

“Thank you, Ms. Gilley. I would appreciate it if you would just answer the questions I pose to you.”

He waited. She said nothing.

“Now, did Jody ever encounter difficulties when she stopped dating a man? When she moved on to the next?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean were all the men happy not to have a return engagement?”

“Sometimes they’d get mad if she didn’t want to go out again. Nothing serious.”

“No threats of violence? She wasn’t afraid of anyone?”

“Not that she told me about.”

“Did she tell you about every man she dated?”

“No.”

“Now, on these dates, did she often bring the men back to the home you two shared?”

“Sometimes.”

“Did they stay over?”

“Sometimes, I don’t know.”

“You often weren’t there, is that correct?”

“Yes, I often stayed at my boyfriend’s.”

“Why is that?”

She gave a short laugh.

“Because I love him.”

“Well, did you ever stay together overnight at your home?”

“I don’t remember him ever staying over.”

“Why is that?”

“I guess because he lives alone. It was more private.”

“Isn’t it true, Ms. Gilley, that you stayed overnight several times a week at your boyfriend’s home?”

“Sometimes. So what?”

“And that this was because you were unhappy with your roommate’s constant procession of overnight guests.”

Langwiser stood up.

“Your Honor, that’s not even a question. I object to its form and content. Jody Krementz’s lifestyle is not on trial here. David Storey is on trial for her murder and it’s not fair for the defense to be allowed to go after someone who -”

“Okay, Ms. Langwiser, that’s enough,” Judge Houghton said. He looked over at Fowkkes. “Mr. Fowkkes, that’s about all the string I’m going to allow you to run with in that direction. Ms. Langwiser makes her point. I want you to move on with this witness.”

Fowkkes nodded. Bosch studied him. He was a perfect actor. In his demeanor he was able to convey the frustration of a man being pulled back from a hidden truth. He wondered if the jury would see it as an act.

“Very well, Your Honor,” Fowkkes said, putting the frustration into the inflection of his voice. “I have no further questions for this witness at this time.”

The judge adjourned for the afternoon break of fifteen minutes. Bosch ushered Gilley through the reporters, down the elevator and out to her car. He told her she had done very well and handled Fowkkes’s cross-examination perfectly. He then joined Kretzler and Langwiser in the second-floor DA’s office where the prosecution team had a temporary office during the trial. There was a small coffeemaker in the room and it was half-filled with coffee brewed during the morning break. There wasn’t enough time for a fresh brew so they all drank the stale coffee while Kretzler and Langwiser considered the progress of the day.

“I think the she’s-a-whore defense is going to backfire on them big time,” Langwiser said. “They have to have more than that.”

“He’s just trying to show there were a lot of men,” Kretzler said. “And it could have been any of them. The shotgun defense. You shoot a lot of pellets and one’s bound to hit the target.”

“It’s still not going to work.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, with John Reason reserving on all of these wits, we’re moving really quickly. He keeps this up, we’re going to finish our case Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“Good. I can’t wait to see what they’ve got.”

“I can,” Bosch interjected.

Langwiser looked at him.

“Oh, Harry. You’ve weathered these storms before.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kretzler said. “We’re going to kick their ass across the courtroom. We’re in the tube, man, and we ain’t coming out.”

They put their three Styrofoam cups together in a toast.

Bosch’s current partner, Jerry Edgar, and former partner, Kizmin Rider, testified during the afternoon session. Both were asked by the prosecutors to recall the moments after the search of David Storey’s home when Bosch got into the car and reported to them that Storey had just bragged of committing the crime. Their testimony was solidly in tandem with Bosch’s own testimony and would act to buttress the case against defense assaults on Bosch’s character. Bosch also knew that the prosecutors hoped to gain additional credence with the jury because both Edgar and Rider were black. Five members of the jury and the two alternates were black. In a time when the veracity of any white police officer in Los Angeles would fall under suspicion by black jurors, having Edgar and Rider join a line of solidarity with Bosch was a plus.