Final Exam: A Legal Thriller (55 page)

“I last saw Daniel in late September when he stopped by to visit the girls on our eldest daughter’s birthday.”
 

“Can you describe that meeting?”
 

“It was rather ordinary.
 
I was only there a few minutes before I left to go out to dinner with a friend.
 
I didn’t think they wanted any unpleasantness between their parents, so I left.”
 

“Did you speak to him again after that occasion in late September?”
 

“Yes, a couple of times.
 
The first time was around Thanksgiving.
 
Daniel was never happy with how things took place around the holidays because the girls always wanted to stay with me and my family, rather than visit him.
 
He generally took that out on me and assumed that I urged the girls to take that position, which of course I did not.
 
I spoke to him a couple of times after Thanksgiving, once in early December and again about a week before Christmas.”
 

“Can you describe that first conversation for us?
 

“Daniel was very angry.
 
He told me that he felt I wouldn’t let him see the girls over the holidays and he didn’t want to sit home alone in his apartment while we celebrated.
 
The conversation only lasted a few minutes, but it was quite unpleasant.”
 

“Describe the second conversation for the Court.”
 

“Well, his mood was much better than it had been before.
 
He was almost arrogant.
 
He said that the time was coming when I wouldn’t be able to control his access to his family like I did then.
 
I didn’t know exactly what he meant and said so.
 
He said that I would find out soon enough.”
 

Ben leaned forward in his chair.
 
Where was she going with this?
 
Mark slid a green card over to him with one word on it - “What?”
 
Ben wrote, “Don’t know” on the card and slid it back.
 

“Did you ever ask him what he meant?” Bridget Fahey continued.
 

“No.
 
Frankly, I didn’t want to speak to him anymore.
 
So I just let it drop.”
 

“Did you ever find out what he meant?”
 

“No, I’m afraid not.”
 

Bridget Fahey looked at Judge Wilson and said simply, “I have no further questions, your Honor.”
 
As she walked back to her table, she gave Ben a quick glance out of the corner of her eye, apparently searching for some reaction.
 
She got none.
 

Ben pushed away from the table and rose slowly to his feet.
 
He eyed the witness.
 
“You won’t always be able to control access to his family.
 
That’s kind of a curious thing to say, don’t you think?” he asked.
 

She shook her head.
 
“I don’t know.”
 

“You don’t know whether you think it’s curious?”
 

“I suppose it may be somewhat curious.”
 

“You thought it was curious at the time, didn’t you?”
 

She cocked her head.
 
“I suppose I may have.”
 

“Is that a yes or no?”
 

She looked annoyed.
 
“Yes.
 
It’s a yes.
 
I thought it was curious.”
 

Ben nodded and advanced slowly toward the witness.
 
“Did you view that statement as some kind of threat?”
 

“No.”
 
“Why not?”
 

“Daniel would never threaten me, at least not physically.”
 

“What about in other ways?”
 

“No, not particularly.
 
I just figured he was trying to get a reaction out of me.”
 

“Did he do that a lot?”
 

“Of course, isn’t that what lawyers are good at?”
 
She smiled coldly and murmurs of laughter erupted in the courtroom.
 

Ben smiled and nodded taking the hit gracefully.
 
“Point well taken,” he said.
 
“Now, let’s talk about your husband’s infidelities.
 
When was the first time you learned your husband was unfaithful to you?”
 

She paused and looked out toward the gallery as though to locate the memory.
 
“I don’t know,” she said finally, “a couple of times over the years I probably had my suspicions, given Daniel’s position and all those young female law students around, but I never really pursued the issue, probably because I didn’t want to believe it.
 
I didn’t first start taking it seriously until about ten years ago.”
 

“Ten years ago?” Ben said.
 
“Did you say anything about it to your husband at the time?”
 

“No.
 
I don’t think I ever said anything about it until probably five years ago.
 
I didn’t want to think about it.
 
Then it really became an issue when the students accused him of improper behavior.”
 

“Did your husband ever admit to having relationships with female law students?”
 

“No, he didn’t.
 
He always denied it, but that didn’t mean that we both didn’t know it was true.”
 

“How did you know it was true?”
 

“Mr.
Lohmeier
, you just know.”
 

Ben nodded and left it alone.
 
He still didn’t know what to make of Daniel Greenfield’s last comment and also didn’t know quite how to pursue the matter.
 
Finally, he decided to give up and asked, “Before your husband’s death, had you ever even heard of my client, Megan Rand
Cavallaro
?”
 

She looked directly at Meg, her cold eyes suggesting a feeling of marked indifference, rather than anger or contempt.
 
“No,” she said finally, “I had never heard of her until I saw her name in the papers and heard it on television.”
 

“Before you came here today, had you ever seen my client, Megan Rand
Cavallaro
?”
 

Sylvia Greenfield gave Meg one last cold glare.
 
She shook her head.
 
“No, not in person.
 
I’d only seen her on television after she was arrested.”
 

“So you never saw your husband with my client?”
 

“No, never.”
 

“I have no further questions.”
 

Bridget Fahey offered no re-direct and Sylvia Greenfield stepped down from the stand and walked briskly down the center aisle of the courtroom and right out the door.
 
As the door closed behind her, Judge Wilson ordered a brief recess.

While people scurried about to get a drink of water or head to the bathroom, Ben sat in his chair and turned to face Mark.
 
He knew he hadn’t gotten anything out of Sylvia Greenfield, but then again, he didn’t think she offered any damaging testimony either, save for the odd comment allegedly made by her husband that she would no longer control access to his family.
 

The final witness of the day was Samuel
Dorlund
.
 
As he passed the counsel table, he gave Ben a smirk which Ben took as a warning of things to come.
 
He appeared to be sweating in his best blue suit, blue Oxford shirt and red-print tie.
 
As he climbed into the witness chair,
Dorlund
nodded at Judge Wilson, whom he’d known for many years, then sat down and looked out at the courtroom with a smug expression on his face.
 

Bridget Fahey looked up and took the witness through the preliminaries.
 
As Ben watched, he felt an eerie sense of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.
 
He never particularly liked Professor
Dorlund
, didn’t trust him now, and wouldn’t put it past him to say something that wasn’t true.
     

“Tell us,” Fahey continued, “how did you know Daniel Greenfield?”
 

“Daniel was my colleague at the Chicago College of Law for more than twenty years.
 
He was also my best friend.”
 

Slowly and methodically, Bridget Fahey took Samuel
Dorlund
through his background at the law school and his relationship with Daniel Greenfield before moving on.
 
“At the time of Professor Greenfield’s death, were you involved with a committee planning for a reunion of the 1992 graduating class at the law school?”
 

He nodded.
 
“Yes, I was.”
 

“Was Professor Greenfield also involved with that Reunion Committee?”
 

“Yes, he was.”
 

“Was anyone else in this courtroom a member of that Committee?”
 

“Yes,” he said gesturing in the direction of the defense table, “the Defendant, Megan Rand
Cavallaro
, was also a member of the Committee.”
 

“Did you ever speak to Ms. Rand yourself about the committee?”
 

“No, I don’t believe I did.”
 

“Was Ms. Rand ever a student of yours during law school?”
 

Dorlund
shook his head, his right arm resting casually on the ledge of the witness stand.
 
“No, I don’t believe she was.
 
But I do remember her as a student at the law school during that time.”
 

“Did you ever have any other occasion to meet her?”
 

“Yes, I did.
 
I met her on several occasions in Daniel Greenfield’s office.”
 

“Did you know what she was doing there?”
 

He shook his head.
 
“At first, I assumed she was just there because she was another student.
 
I later learned that they were having a relationship together.”
 

“A sexual relationship?”
 

“Yes.”
 

“Was she still a student at that time?”
 

“Yes, she was.”
 

“Did you ever tell anyone about this relationship?”
 

“No, I should have, but Daniel was my friend and I didn’t want to get him in any trouble, so I didn’t.”
 

“How did you learn of this relationship?”
 

“Eventually, Daniel told me that he was having a sexual relationship with her, but I could tell by the way they acted together that something was going on between them.”
 

Ben thought about objecting, but figured it would be futile.
 
Besides, he didn’t want
Dorlund
testifying about the details of how they looked at each other or what they may have said so he left it alone.
 
He could feel Megan cringe next to him.
 
Just hold it together, he thought.
 

Fahey continued.
 
“Do you know how long this relationship lasted?”
 

“I believe about six months or so.”
 

“Was Ms. Rand still a student when the relationship ended?”
 

“I believe so, yes.”
 

“Do you know whether Professor Greenfield had any contacts with the Defendant after the relationship ended?”
 

“No, I don’t believe so.
 
Not until recently anyway.”
 

“What do you mean by recently?”
 

“Daniel mentioned to me not long before he died that he had spoken to her.”
 

“Did he tell you what they spoke about?”
 

“No, he didn’t.
 
He just said he was happy to talk to her and told me how much he still cared about her.”
 

Ben eyes narrowed.
 
Somehow this didn’t ring true.
 

“Did Daniel Greenfield tell you anything else about the Defendant?”
 

“He just said that he looked forward to seeing her again at the Reunion.
 
He even wondered whether she was still available.”
 
Ben didn’t like the way that sounded in front of the jury.
 
“Other than that,”
Dorlund
added, “he didn’t say anything directly about her.”