Филипп Марголин - The Perfect Alibi

“You testified under oath that you saw them go in, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Did she scream in the hall?”

“No.”

“Did Blaine drag her inside?”

“No.”

“After they were inside, the door closed, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So, you couldn’t see what happened in the bedroom, could you?”

“No.”

“For all you know, Randi Stark was a willing partner?”

“She screamed.”

“You can’t tell this jury from what you know personally whether she screamed after having consensual sex, can you?”

“I… No.”

“No further questions.”

Robin didn’t think that Doug had scored many points on cross. She wasn’t surprised. She’d met Doug a few times and thought he was a nice guy, but he had a reputation as an unspectacular litigator. Nothing she’d seen during the trial changed Robin’s opinion.

Randi was scheduled to testify in the morning. She was not allowed to be in court while the witnesses were testifying. When court adjourned, Robin returned to her office and called her to give her moral support for her upcoming ordeal.

“Annie was great,” Robin said. “Hastings’s attorney tried to trip her up, but he didn’t do a thing.”

“Is he any good? Is he, you know, gonna make me look bad?”

“Not if you tell the truth. I’ll be in court and so will your mom, and the DA will object if Armstrong tries anything that’s improper. Stay strong.”

“I’ll try, but I’m scared.”

“It would be weird if you weren’t scared, but Hastings will be in prison where he belongs if you just tell the jurors what he did to you, and you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

They talked for a while longer. As soon as Robin hung up, her receptionist told her that Portland detective Carrie Anders was calling.

“What’s up?” Robin asked.

“Nothing you’re going to like.”

“Oh?”

“I drove down to Eugene and tried to talk to Marlon Guest.”

“And?”

“I’m not going to arrest him,” the detective said.

“Why?”

“Guest refused to talk to me, and he lawyered up right away. This morning, Guest’s lawyer sent me statements from three witnesses who swear they were with him in Eugene when Randi was assaulted in Portland.”

“That’s bullshit. Randi and I will swear he was there.”

“Randi admits she was drunk and terrified. A good defense attorney would be able to make mincemeat of her on the stand.”

“I wasn’t drunk.”

“True, but you told me that there’s no light in the back of the gas station, Randi’s assailant was at the end of the building farthest from you, and his face was in shadow.”

“I didn’t see his face, but how many people are the size of a T. rex, Carrie?”

“Every offensive lineman on a Division One football squad.”

“So, you’re just going to let him go?”

“For now. And Marlon Guest isn’t my main interest, anyway. I want Blaine Hastings Jr. in the state penitentiary. As long as Randi stays strong, that’s where that asshole is going.”

“She’s scared to death, Carrie.”

“Yeah, I would be, too. Look, I’ll call her and tell her that I let Guest know that I was watching him. I doubt he’ll try anything again.”

“Thanks, Carrie. I’ve tried to get her to calm down, but it will mean more coming from you.”

When Robin hung up, she thought about going to the gym, but she was too tired, so she bought some sushi to go at a Japanese restaurant around the corner from her office and headed home.

Robin finished her dinner and picked up a book she had been reading, but she gave up after a chapter because she was too tired to read. There was a Trail Blazer game on TV. It wasn’t going to start for twenty minutes. Robin remembered that she hadn’t talked to her mother in a while.

Talking to her mother could be a trial. Before Robin’s dad passed away, he had been her biggest supporter. When the school board of her high school district had tried to keep Robin from wrestling on the boys’ team, her father had hired a lawyer who forced the board to let her participate. When she decided that she wanted to be the first person in her family to go to college and then law school, he’d been her champion. That was not always the case with her mother.

Robin’s mom wanted Robin to stay in their small town, get married, and give her grandchildren. She’d never liked the idea of a girl going to law school—especially one that was on the liberal East Coast—and she had been upset when Robin chose to practice law in Oregon instead of coming back to the state where she had been born.

Her mom had gradually come to accept Robin’s life choices, but her doubts about them surfaced on occasion during their phone calls. Robin phoned her anyway.

“Nice of you to call,” her mother said.

“How are things at home?” Robin said, ignoring the icy tone her mother used when there were too many days between calls.

“The boys were over for dinner this weekend. It would have been nice if the whole family was together.”

“I’m definitely coming home for Thanksgiving,” Robin assured her.

“That will be good. Are you still enjoying your job?”

Robin knew that her mother would be thrilled if she said no, but the truth was that she loved her practice and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“It’s going very well.”

“You’re able to handle your cases without Miss Barrister there to help?”

“Yes. In fact, I have two new cases that are very interesting. The court appointed me to represent a defendant in a death penalty case.”

“What did he do?” asked her mother, who had a hard time accepting the fact that her daughter tried to help guilty criminals escape punishment.

“Nothing, as far as I’ve been able to determine. He killed an off-duty policeman, but the policeman was out of uniform and drunk. He attacked my client from behind with a broken bottle. My client shouldn’t be in jail, and I think I have a good chance of winning his case.”

“What’s the other case?”

“I’m going to sue a rapist on behalf of the woman he raped. I’ve been sitting through the criminal case, and I’m pretty sure that the rapist will be convicted. My client is a nice young woman. The money won’t stop her suffering, but she’s poor and it can give her a better life.”

“Well, that’s good. I’ll pray for her.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Robin and her mother talked until they ran out of things to say. Robin was glad she had called. Her mother had been lonely since Robin’s dad passed and Robin did feel a little guilty because she wasn’t there to help her. But Robin’s three brothers lived nearby, and her mother kept busy sitting for her grandkids and working with her church groups, so Robin didn’t feel too bad.

The game started shortly after Robin hung up. She watched a half, but was too tired to finish, so she went to bed early so she would be sharp when the Hastings case started up in the morning.

Doug Armstrong was failing so badly that he couldn’t sleep, so he was exhausted when court started. Rex Kellerman called Randi Stark to the stand. Randi broke down twice during her direct testimony. Doug chanced a glance at the jurors. What he saw on their faces was not encouraging.

“Miss Stark,” Kellerman asked as he continued his direct examination, “did you tell the defendant that you did not want to have sexual intercourse with him?”

Randi nodded.

“You have to answer the question so the court reporter can record it,” Kellerman said gently.

“Sorry. Yes. I told him to stop.”