Corrupted (35 page)

“Yes, right here.” Officer Underwood pointed generally to Jason's eye, which was all Bennie needed. She wanted to give the jury permission to keep looking at the exhibit, which showed Jason's features grossly distorted by the injury; his eye and nose were swollen, and the white of his eye was completely red, which was disturbing.

“Officer Underwood, did you ask Jason how he got this injury?”

“No.”

Bennie stopped short of asking the next question, which was
, didn't you assume that he had been punched by Mr. Grusini
? She didn't need to go there, and the jurors had the same powers of deduction as the witness; Jason had a goose egg on his forehead, so he got punched by the only other person in the alley, who was Richie.

“Officer Underwood, did you offer any medical assistance to my client?”

“No.”

“You merely put him in handcuffs and arrested him?”

“Yes.”

“Even though he looked like
this
?” Bennie gestured at the photo.

“Yes,” Officer Underwood repeated, belatedly.

Bennie took the exhibit down because she knew jurors grew inured to gruesome exhibits over time, then she returned to the witness box. “Officer Underwood, you testified that Jason was groggy when you first saw him. What did you mean by that?”

“Dazed.”

“Did you have any opinion about why that was so?”

“Objection!” Martinez jumped up. “The witness is not qualified to give a medical opinion. He's not a doctor.”

Bennie faced Judge Patterson. “Your Honor, I'm simply asking the officer to explain what he meant. He formed an initial impression, groggy and dazed, and we all understand that he's not diagnosing an illness.”

“I'll allow it.” Judge Patterson lifted an arched eyebrow. “But don't go too far, Ms. Rosato.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Bennie turned back to the witness box. “Officer Underwood, what did you mean when you said my client was groggy?”

“He appeared to have been drinking and also he was regaining consciousness.”

Bennie flared her eyes, for show. She would leave aside the inebriation because she had a plan for that later, but she could see the jury react to the revelation that Jason had been unconscious. “Officer Underwood, you had the initial impression that my client had just regained consciousness, didn't you?”

“Yes, but I'm not a doctor, so I'm not absolutely sure.”

“Please answer my question. Did you or did you not have the impression that my client had just regained consciousness?”

“Yes, I did.” Officer Underwood shifted in his seat. “It seemed like he was out and was just coming to, but I'm not a medical doctor.”

Bennie didn't like that the cop was picking up on Martinez's cue and she knew the jury wouldn't like it either. “Officer Underwood, didn't you testify that you coach Little League for your—”

“Objection, relevance!” Martinez snapped, rising.

“Your Honor, if the prosecutor will permit me to finish, then I think the relevance will be clear.”

Judge Patterson nodded. “I'll overrule the objection. But remember, not too far afield, Ms. Rosato.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Bennie returned to Officer Underwood. “Sir, I would gather that in your capacity as a Little League coach, sometimes you see children get hit in the head with the ball, or collide with each other on base, or even fight, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And do those children lose and regain consciousness, from time to time?”

“Yes.”

“And isn't it also true that even the parents get into fights in the bleachers, from time to time?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Officer Underwood pursed his lips.

“Of course it is.” Bennie glanced at Marathon Mom, who was listening with obvious interest. “So you have seen an adult regain consciousness, isn't that correct?”

“Yes.”

“So Officer Underwood, when you say that Jason regained consciousness, we have every reason to credit your statement, isn't that correct?”

“Yes.”

Bennie didn't ask the next question, which was
didn't you assume my client was knocked out by Mr. Grusini,
because again, she knew the cop didn't have personal knowledge of the answer and wasn't willing to give her the answer she wanted. She'd let the jury draw its own logical conclusion, again; Jason had a bloody bump on his forehead, so he had been punched there, which caused him to lose consciousness. Again, the facts spoke for themselves, even if Jason wouldn't.

Bennie glanced at the judge. “Your Honor, I have no further questions.”

“Thank you, Ms. Rosato. Mr. Martinez?”

“Yes, Your Honor, I have redirect.” Martinez crossed to the witness box and asked a few more questions, but Bennie didn't think he repaired the damage that she had done, so she didn't recross. Martinez would realize that he'd made a mistake by omitting bad facts, which allowed her to score. He wouldn't make the same mistake from now on. In fact, he was edgy and already on his feet.

“Your Honor, the Commonwealth is ready with its second witness.”

 

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Bennie picked up her pen, as Paul Stokowski was sworn in. She wasn't exactly sure of what he would say, since he had refused their interview requests, but he looked the way she'd expected him to look. His eyes were blue, round, and set close together; he had a long nose on a longish face, and his chin came to a point. He was tall and wore his sandy-brown hair parted down the middle, so that his bangs flopped up on both sides, a hairdo that gave him an incongruous beachy vibe in a city not known for its surf. He was fully six feet, with muscled biceps under a short-sleeve blue shirt, which he had on with khaki pants, a wardrobe choice that made him look like everybody's bro. The only note of the bad boy was a neck tattoo, but it was on his left side, which faced away from the jury.

Bennie guessed that Martinez had reshuffled his witness order, responding quickly to what had happened this morning. The conventional order of witnesses for the Commonwealth would've been arresting officer, medical examiner, detective, then fact witnesses like Stokowski and whoever else. But Martinez was evidently responding to her who-started-it argument, skipping law enforcement and going straight to Stokowski. It was good and bad news because it showed that Martinez was sure-footed enough to counter her argument, but it also meant that he probably hadn't had the time to prepare Stokowski, because witnesses weren't usually prepared until the night before they took the stand.

Martinez approached the witness box. “Mr. Stokowski, how long have you been friends with the victim?”

“Five years. We worked together at Ackermann Construction in East Falls. We've worked the same framing team all this time. We're both master carpenters. We do a lot of molding and sills, like that.” Stokowski faced the jury when he spoke, and if he was nervous, it didn't show.

“Is this new construction or renovations?”

“Both. These days, mostly renovations. Lot of people like a new kitchen.”

“Mr. Stokowski, would you say you and Mr. Grusini were best friends?”

“Absolutely.” Stokowski smiled briefly, showing nice teeth. “He was my best man at my wedding.”

“Please accept my condolences on your loss.”

“Thank you.” Stokowski's smile vanished, his face folding into lines of genuine grief.

Bennie slid her gaze to the jury, seeing that it'd hit home. They looked sympathetic for his loss and they liked him. Plus, sexism aside, most women could relate to getting a new kitchen, and most men to being a master carpenter.

“Mr. Stokowski, did you and Mr. Grusini often go to Eddie's bar?”

“Yes.”

“How often would you say?”

“Once a week, either Friday night or in winter, to watch
Monday Night Football
. That's when I'm allowed out. We have two boys, so my wife needs a break. Sorry, honey.” Stokowski smiled again, leaning over to catch the eye of someone in the gallery, presumably his wife.

The jurors smiled and looked back at the gallery.

Martinez paused. “Mr. Stokowski, have you ever heard Mr. Grusini talk about the defendant?”

“Yes.”

“So you were aware that he had a prior relationship to the defendant?”

“Yes.”

Bennie perked up, ready for a hearsay objection.

Martinez asked, “Mr. Stokowski, if you know, what was the nature of that relationship?”

Bennie rose, but didn't object because she didn't want to look bad to the jury, which was one of the reasons she'd drafted the stipulation about prior bad acts. “Your Honor, the prosecutor may want to save the Court's time at this point, by reading the stipulation for the record, or paraphrasing it, if he wishes.”

Judge Patterson nodded. “Thank you, counsel. Mr. Martinez, that may be the best way to proceed, don't you agree?”

“Fine.” Martinez turned to the witness. “Mr. Stokowski, did he mention to you that he and the defendant were both victims of the Kids-for-Cash scandal in Luzerne County?”

“Yes, he used to talk about that a lot.”

“Mr. Stokowski, had you heard about the Kids-for-Cash scandal, prior to his telling you about it?”

“Yes.”

“Would you explain the Kids-for-Cash scandal to the jury, generally?”

“Yes.” Stokowski turned to the jury. “If you haven't heard about it, the Kids-for-Cash scandal was where a judge in Luzerne County sent kids to juvie halls for almost nothing, because the judges were crooked.”

Some of the jurors nodded in a knowing way, and others frowned, hearing it for the first time. Bennie let it go. It was an informal way for the information to come in, but it was as good as any. She wanted the focus off the past and on the present, for Jason's benefit. If it came off that he'd been resentful since Kids-for-Cash, it would reinforce his motive to kill Richie.

“Mr. Stokowski, did Mr. Grusini mention to you that his initial incarceration, which began at only age twelve, was because he got into a fight in the middle-school cafeteria with the defendant, Jason Lefkavick?”

“Yes, he did.”

“And as best you knew, Richie spent a lot of his childhood and young adulthood in juvenile incarceration, wrongly imprisoned because of this corrupt scheme, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Bennie let that go, too. It was sweeping under the rug any kind of wrongdoing that Richie was truly responsible for, but her eye was on the prize, which was an acquittal for Jason.

“Mr. Stokowski, what was Mr. Grusini's view of the defendant?”

“He didn't like him.”

Bennie had been about to object, but was glad she hadn't. It was undoubtedly the truth, but a better answer for the Commonwealth would have been that Richie was indifferent to Jason. As it was, the answer helped the self-defense argument, but Stokowski had been out of the courtroom during openings and wouldn't know the defense theory of the case. And if Martinez hadn't reshuffled his witness list, he would have had more time to prepare Stokowski for all possibilities.

“Mr. Stokowski, was Mr. Grusini afraid of the defendant?”

“No way. Richie thought he was a joke.”

Bennie thought it was an even better answer, for the defense. Jason shifted beside her, but didn't otherwise react to the testimony.

“Mr. Stokowski, what … do you mean by that?”

“When Richie talked about the defendant, he always called him ‘Chunky,' like that chocolate candy. He was a fat kid. I guess he lost the weight now, but Richie wasn't afraid of him.” Stokowski hesitated. “Maybe he should have been, the way things turned out. Richie wasn't the type to be afraid of anybody, he can handle himself.”

Bennie wrote on the left side of her pad,
could handle himself
.

“Mr. Stokowski, let's fast-forward to the night in question. You and Mr. Grusini went to Eddie's and sat at the bar, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Who sat on the left and who was on the right?”

“He was on the left and I was on the right.”

“Mr. Stokowski, what time did you two arrive?”

“Around seven fifteen. We drove in separate cars, though.”

“Mr. Stokowski, what did you do when you sat down?”

“You know, ate and drank, watched the pregame.”

“How much did you personally eat and drink?”

“I had a cheeseburger and two beers. That's my limit when I drive.” Stokowski spoke directly to the jury, who collectively nodded in approval.

“How about Mr. Grusini, how much did he drink?”

“He drank a little more, maybe a beer ahead of me, but he could hold his liquor.”

Bennie wrote on her notepad,
could hold his liquor
.

“Mr. Stokowski, when you entered the bar, did you realize that the defendant was also in the bar, seated in the eating area?”

“No.”

“Did Mr. Grusini realize that, if you know?”

“No, not to my knowledge.”

“Did you or Mr. Grusini know that the defendant was even in Philadelphia, to your knowledge?”

Bennie could've objected, but let it go.

“No,” Stokowski answered.

“Okay, so Mr. Stokowski, what happened on the night of the murder, at the bar, between the defendant and Mr. Grusini?”

“We were sitting at the bar, watching the game. I remember because the Eagles were ahead and that doesn't happen nearly enough.” Stokowski managed a smile, and a few of the jurors nodded, commiserating. “Then all of a sudden, I looked over and there's this dude standing there between me and Richie, right behind us.”

“Mr. Stokowski, do you see that person in the courtroom and will you identify him?”

“Yes, the defendant.” Stokowski pointed.