Lisa Scottoline - Mistaken Identity

Bennie stood up. “Your Honor, I object on relevancy grounds. Officer Reston purports to be a fact witness, not a character witness.”

“I beg to differ,” Hilliard said, stepping toward the dais. “Ms. Rosato has maligned Detective Della Porta’s character and reputation. I think the jury has a right to know what kind of a man Anthony Della Porta was.”

Judge Guthrie leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers the same way he had in chambers. Bennie noted that the overhead lights made him look older than his years, or perhaps he’d had a few sleepless nights since their meeting, too. “Overruled,” he said. “Mr. Hilliard, I’ll allow the question.”

Bennie took her seat, frustrated. She could feel Connolly beside her, equally unhappy, but didn’t look over.

“You were going to tell us something about Detective Della Porta, Officer Reston.”

The cop nodded. “Detective Della Porta was a good man and a fine police officer. He worked his way up to Detective. He got one of the highest scores ever on the exam, which tests general knowledge, you know. Intelligence. It’s not about police procedure.”

“Do you know if Detective Della Porta was active in civic groups?” Hilliard asked.

“He surely was. Detective Della Porta donated his time to civic groups in his area of interest, which was boxing. He was like a big brother to plenty of boxers, and even managed Star Harald, who’s about to turn pro, if any of you heard of him.” Officer Reston turned to the jury and scanned their faces for verification. In the middle of the back row, a young black man raised thin eyebrows in recognition. He was Jamell Speaker, thirtysomething, shoe salesman; Bennie remembered him from voir dire.

“Officer Reston, I must ask you an uncomfortable question, one that will come at you from left field, as it did me. Was Detective Della Porta involved in drug dealing, in any way, shape, or form?”

The shock on the cop’s face was evident. His dark eyes flared in disbelief, then anger. His tight lips remained pursed, and the effect was that Officer Reston was too mortified to answer.

“Officer Reston, to the best of your knowledge, was Detective Della Porta involved in drug dealing?” Hilliard asked again.

“Of course not,” Reston snapped finally, his voice ringing with anger.

“To the best of your knowledge, did Detective Della Porta ever use illicit drugs himself?”

“No, sir.”

“Officer Reston, you have attended parties at Detective Della Porta’s apartment, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“I don’t recall, but there were several, and they were more like get-togethers, not parties. Detective Della Porta had a lot of friends and we used to go over there after the tour, or after a match, to unwind. He liked to cook. He’d cook omelets for everybody on the three-to-eleven.”

“Did you ever see drugs of any kind in use or available at these get-togethers?”

“No, sir.”

“I thought as much,” Hilliard said quickly, with a pointedly contemptuous glance at Bennie. “Now, to May nineteenth of last year. Can you please describe how you came to arrest the defendant for the murder of Anthony Della Porta?”

Officer Reston testified, telling a terse version of the story his partner had, corroborating Connolly’s panicked flight, the sighting of the white plastic bag in her hand, and her confession at capture. Bennie listened without objection, sizing Reston up as a strong witness whose testimony would have to be attacked with some skill. But she wouldn’t go over the same ground as she had with McShea; she’d have to get tougher and Reston was the right witness to do it. He was less likeable than McShea, and she wouldn’t look like she was picking on him.

“I have no further questions at this time,” Hilliard said, and Bennie was on her feet.

Bennie began her cross-examination of Officer Reston at the podium, but wouldn’t stay there long. She wanted to get in the cop’s face, literally. “Officer Reston, you testified that you were a friend of Detective Della Porta’s, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“Hadn’t you been to get-togethers at his house?”

“Yes.”

“So you knew, didn’t you, that his apartment was on the second floor?”

“Yes.”

Bennie walked to the jury box and faced the cop. “And you had to be familiar with the layout of the apartment, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“So you knew that you entered into a living room, walked to the left through a bedroom, and at the end was a spare room used as a home office, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“So you knew the clothes closet was in the bedroom?”

“I assume.”

“You assume?” Bennie leaned on the jury rail. “The bathroom is in the bedroom, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“If you’d been to several get-togethers at Detective Della Porta’s apartment, having omelets and coffee, you probably used the bathroom.”

Reston paused, his eyes squinting slightly in thought. “Yes. Once or twice.”

“The closet is the only other door in the bedroom, isn’t it?”

“Yes, now that I think about it.”

“So you were familiar with where the clothes closet was in Detective Della Porta’s apartment, weren’t you?”

“I guess so, yes.”

Bennie leaned against the polished rail. “Officer Reston, weren’t you also familiar with the location of the house?”

“Yes.”

“In your visits to Detective Della Porta’s apartment, did you ever see that there was construction directly across the street?”

“Yes.”

“They’re building a very large apartment building?”

“Yes.”

“Were they building it a year ago?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you see, as well, the Dumpsters out in front for construction debris?”

“I guess, yes.”

Bennie braced herself. “Officer Reston, isn’t it true that you planted the bloody clothes in the Dumpster on Trose Street, to frame Alice Connolly for this murder?”

“Objection!” Hilliard shouted, rising and reaching for his crutches. “Your Honor, there’s no foundation for this question. Again, it comes out of left field, and is irrelevant and prejudicial.”

“Sustained,” Judge Guthrie said, as Bennie knew he would. She had gotten the statement before the jury, and they were rustling in their seats.

“Move to strike the question and answer, Your Honor,” Hilliard added, but Bennie faced the judge.

“Your Honor, there are no grounds to strike the question. It’s important for the appellate court to see this exchange, should we need to appeal this matter.”

“Motion to strike granted,” Judge Guthrie ruled, his blue eyes flashing behind his glasses. “Move to your next question, counsel.”

Bennie bore down. “Officer Reston, you testified that Detective Della Porta had many friends on the police force. Who were his other friends on the force, if you know?”

“Objection,” Hilliard said from a sitting position at the prosecution table. “The question is irrelevant, Your Honor.”

“Your Honor,” Bennie said, “it is highly relevant to the defense of this case that Detective Della Porta, Officer Reston, Officer McShea, and other members of the Philadelphia police were involved in a drug conspiracy.”

“Objection!” Hilliard barked. “Your Honor, that’s slander! Defamation of the rankest kind, and an obvious attempt to distract the jury from the real issues in this case.”

“Approach the bench, right now, both of you!” Judge Guthrie snapped, snatching his reading glasses from his nose and gesturing to his court reporter. “Kindly place this on the record.”

Bennie approached the bench, sneaking a glance at the jury on the way. The videographer looked worried for her. He was young and urban, and Bennie knew from experience that a juror’s willingness to believe police misconduct varied with generational, racial, and even geographic factors.