10th Anniversary - James Patterson [51]
“Do you think Ms. Lafferty was angry about being the other woman?”
Yuki stood up. “Speculation, Your Honor. Speculation, leading the witness, as well as sneakiness and calculation.”
“The jury will disregard,” LaVan said. He pointed his gavel at Hoffman. “No more of that.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Hoffman dipped his head, hid a smile from the judge, and said, “I’m finished with this witness.”
Chapter 64
YUKI SCRIBBLED A NOTE to Nicky on her pad: “Do you know anything about this piano man?”
Gaines scribbled back, “Not one thing.”
Christ. St. John hadn’t supported the cops’ theory of the case, so he’d been ignored. Now she’d been blindsided. Clearly, Hoffman had been trying to tell her about Ellen’s affair with Dennis Martin when she’d blown him off.
Yuki fought the panic that was rising from her stomach and busied herself with her note cards as she thought through this surprise bombshell.
What St. John’s testimony meant was that Ellen Lafferty had motive. And since Dennis Martin had a gun — evidence that Yuki herself had introduced — it followed that Ellen could have found the gun. If so, Lafferty had had the means to shoot Dennis Martin. Motive? Maybe. Opportunity? Every single day.
Dammit.
First rule any litigator learned was you don’t ask questions if you don’t know the answers. She was flying absolutely blind.
Yuki got to her feet and said, “Good morning, Mr. St. John.”
“Good morning.”
Yuki rounded the prosecution table, talking as she walked toward the witness.
“All I want from you are facts,” Yuki said. “Not what someone told you. Not what you heard.”
“Ms. Castellano,” LaVan said wearily. “I’m wearing the robes, not you. I give the instructions, not you. If you have a question, I suggest you ask it.”
“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. St. John, please answer my questions with what you know firsthand.”
“Sure. Okay. I understand that,” St. John said.
Yuki sent up a quick prayer to her dead mother, then said, “Mr. St. John, did you ever see Mr. Martin and Ms. Lafferty in what would be called a compromising position?”
“Having sex, you mean?”
“Yes. Or kissing. Overtly sexual behavior.”
“No. I only know what Ellen told me.”
“Thank you. That’s all I have for this witness, Your Honor.”
“You may stand down,” said the judge.
Chapter 65
PHIL HOFFMAN STOOD UP from his chair beside Candace Martin. “Your Honor, we call Ellen Lafferty to the stand.”
Ellen Lafferty entered the courtroom with her head up and confidently strode down the center aisle.
All eyes were on the pretty, young woman, impeccably and modestly dressed in a dark gray suit, a gold cross hanging at her throat. She looked to be just the kind of person you would entrust with your children.
Phil Hoffman did his best to hide his anticipation. Ellen Lafferty had been Yuki Castellano’s star witness against his client. With the information he now had, he was going to destroy Lafferty on the stand and turn her into a witness for the defense. But he had to do it in such a way that the jury didn’t see him as a monster.
After Lafferty had been sworn in and was seated, Phil approached the witness box. He greeted his new witness and then asked his first question.
“Ms. Lafferty, how would you describe your relationship with Dennis Martin?”
“In what regard, Mr. Hoffman?”
“I think that my question was pretty clear. Let me repeat it. What kind of relationship did you have with Dennis Martin?”
“He was the children’s father. And I took care of the children. That was all that mattered to me.”
“Your Honor, permission to treat the witness as hostile.”
LaVan swiveled his chair ninety degrees and said, “Ms. Lafferty, for you as well as for the members of the jury to know, a hostile witness is one for the opposing side — in this case, a witness for the prosecution — who when examined by the other side — in this case, the defense — might not be forthcoming.
“In designating you a hostile witness, Ms. Lafferty,