Special Circumstances (32 page)

“No.”
“Mr. Kim,” I say, “you’re under oath. We can subpoena your bankrecords.”
He looks at Skipper.
“Yes. I received a bonus.”
“And would you mind telling us who promised you the bonus?”
He looks around the room wildly.
“Mr. Arthur Patton.”
“Mr. Patton? The managing partner of the Simpson and Gates firm?”
“Yes.”
“And why did Mr. Patton promise you twenty thousand dollars?”
“He wanted to be sure I was available to testify at this trial. Hesaid he wanted to bring Mr. Holmes’s killer to justice.” Suddenly,his hesitant English is more fluent.
“Mr. Kim, let me ask you again. There was no argument between Mr.Holmes and Mr. Friedman, was there? You were paid to say there was,but there really wasn’t.”
“No. I mean, yes. There really was an argument. Mr. Friedman wasvery very angry.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
CHAPTER 36
MY FORMER PARTNERS
“It is unfortunate we must testify in the murder trial of one of ourcolleagues.”
—arthur patton. NEWS CENTER 4. wednesday, march 25.
At six-thirty the following morning, I’m watching the early news onChannel 4.
Every day at this time, Morgan Henderson, a self-absorbed formerfederal prosecutor who now works for a big downtown firm, reports onthe trial and gives a preview of today’s attractions.
“Today should be very interesting,” he drones.
“District Attorney Gates is going to call several of his formerpartners to testify against Mr. Friedman. Things should liven upquite a bit.”
I’m surprised he isn’t giving odds.
“My name is Charles Stern. I have been a partner at Simpson and Gatesfor twenty-seven years.” Chuckles looks stiff as he takes the stand atten-fifteen.
Skipper’s primed. He gets to put on his guys now. No more idiot copswho can’t get a legitimate confession. No more arrogant medicalexaminers and uppity lesbian evidence technicians who won’t give himexactly the answers he wants to hear. The Skipper Network is on theair.
He slowly walks Chuckles through his resume. Chuckles gives clippedanswers directly to Skipper. He never turns his eyes even slightlytoward the jury. He confirms he was at the office the night of theincident. He says he was preparing for a partners’ meeting the nextmorning. He doesn’t go into detail on the ceremonial reading of theEstimate.
“Mr. Stern,” Skipper says, “did you attend a meeting with the firm’sassociates that evening?”
“Yes.” The crow’s-feet around his narrow eyes become morepronounced.
“We had convened a meeting to discuss certain issues involvingassociate compensation and the partnership track.”
To me, the “royal we” doesn’t fit Chuckles very well. The jury mayhave other ideas, however.
“Was the defendant there?”
He glances at Joel.
“Yes.”
“And could you tell us what happened?”
“We announced that we were extending the track to partnership by oneyear. The vote on Mr. Friedman was going to be postponed. Mr.Friedman became very angry.
He was upset that my partner, Mr. Holmes, had not told him about ourdecision.
He expressed his displeasure and stormed out.”
“Did you see the defendant later that night?”
“Yes. He came to my office. He said he was going to read Mr. Holmesthe riot act.”
“Did his tone sound threatening?”
“Objection. State of mind.”
“Sustained.”
“Did the defendant appear very upset to you?”
“Objection. State of mind.”
“Overruled.”
Chuckles fingers his reading glasses.
“Yes. He appeared very upset to me.”
“Upset enough to kill two people?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” I shout.
“Sustained,” she says loudly. She glares at Skipper.
“The jury will disregard the last question.”
Skipper looks contrite and turns back to Chuckles.
“Mr. Stern, you and the defendant found the bodies of Mr. Holmes andMs. Kennedy the following morning, did you not?”
“Yes.” Stern describes how he and Joel found the bodies. He says thathe called 911 and went back to the partners’ meeting.
Skipper picks up the revolver from the evidence cart.
“Mr. Stem, do you recognize this gun?”
“Yes. It belonged to Bob. We found it on the floor.”
Skipper bobs his head melodramatically.
“Did you touch this revolver at any time that morning?”
“No.”
“Did you see the defendant touch this revolver at any time?”
“No.”
Joel leans over and whispers, “He’s lying.”
“Did you see the defendant unload the gun?” Skipper asks.
“No.”
“Mr. Stem, is it possible that the defendant unloaded the gun whileyou weren’t watching?”
“It’s highly unlikely. We went to the partners’ meeting together. Wereturned to Bob’s office together. We were both there until the firstofficer arrived.
If he unloaded the gun, I didn’t see it.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
I’m up right away.
“Mr. Stern,” I say, “you said you were with Mr. Friedman the entiretime before the police arrived.”
Tes.”
“Mr. Stem, Officer Chinn testified that you met him in the lobby.”
He shifts in his chair.
“That’s true,” he says slowly.
“And Mr. Friedman wasn’t with you when you met Office Chinn, washe?”
He takes a drink of water and clears his throat.
“No.”
“So you weren’t with Mr. Friedman the entire time before the policearrived, were you?”
He looks at the clock.
“I guess not.”
“And it’s possible Mr. Friedman may have unloaded the weapon while youwere meeting with Officer Chinn, isn’t it?”
“Objection. Speculative.”
“Overruled.”
Chuckles shakes his head.
“I was with Officer Chinn in the lobby for only a few moments. I don’tsee how Mr. Friedman could have unloaded the gun so quickly.”
I look at the revolver.
“Mr. Stern, you were in the military service, weren’t you?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“Your Honor, Mr. Stern has expressed an opinion as to how fast thisparticular weapon could have been unloaded. His background andexperience with weapons is relevant.”
“Overruled.”
Chuckles pinches the bridge of his nose.
“I was in the Marines.”
“And you’re familiar with firearms, aren’t you? In fact, you’ve shotthis weapon, haven’t you?”
He adjusts the microphone.
“Yes. Mr. Holmes and I went to the range from time to time.”
“And you’ve unloaded this weapon at the range, haven’t you?”
He scratches the back of his head.
“Yes.”
“How long did it take you to unload it?” I emphasize the word “you” asI say it.
“A few seconds.”
“And it took you more than a few seconds to meet with Officer Chinn,didn’t it?”
“Yes,” he says grudgingly.
“Mr. Stern, you knew Mr. Holmes kept this revolver at his desk,didn’t you?”
“Yes,” he replies.
“For self-protection, I might add.”
Of course.
“And he kept it loaded, didn’t he?”
Heavy sigh.
“Yes, he did.”
“No further questions.”
During the recess, I ask Joel when he unloaded the gun.
“Right after we walked in,” he replies.
“He saw me do it. He’s lyin’.”
“Did anybody else see you?”
“No. We were the only people there.”
“Why would he lie?”
“I have no idea. Maybe he has something to hide.”
“The people call Arthur Patton,” Skipper announces forcefully laterthat morning.
Patton lugs his chins through the courtroom. He smiles at the jury ashe’s sworn in. He says he’s the managing partner at S&G. He confirmshe was there on the fatal night.
“Did you have occasion to see the defendant late that evening?”Skipper asks.
“Yes.” The avuncular Art has joined us today. His tone is sincere,meant to charm.
“I saw him in the hall around twelve-thirty in the morning. He waswalking into Bob’s office.”
“Could you describe his demeanor?”
“He was very upset.” He describes his brief conversation with Joel. Helooks toward the jury and scowls.
“That’s when he started shouting at Bob.”
“Do you know what he was shouting about?”
“I believe he was expressing his unhappiness about the fact that Bobhadn’t told him that the vote for his election to the partnership hadbeen deferred.”
He pauses.
“And I believe they were arguing about Ms. Kennedy. I heard her namementioned several times.”
“Mr. Patton, were you at the firm retreat at the Silverado CountryClub last October?”
“Yes.”
“And did you have an opportunity to see Mr, Friedman at about threeo’clock in the morning on Saturday, October twenty-fifth?”
“Yes. He was in his condominium.”
“Why did you have occasion to see him in the middle of the night?”
“There was a loud noise coming from his room. I wanted to make sure hewas all right.”
Skipper hides a smirk.
“Was he alone?”
“No. There was somebody else in his room.”
“And who was in his room at three o’clock in the morning?”
“Diana Kennedy.”
“No further questions.”
“Mr. Patton,” I begin a few minutes later, “what time did you go homeon the morning of December thirty-first?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“Overruled.”
“Around one-thirty in the morning,” he replies.
“And you heard a discussion between Mr. Holmes and Mr. Friedman?”
“It was an argument. It lasted a few minutes. I heard most of it.”
“Was the door to Mr. Holmes’s office open or closed?”
He looks up toward the American flag.
“Closed.”
“You stood outside the closed door and eavesdropped on theirconversation?”
He takes a drink of water and chews on the ice.
“I wanted to help my partner.
Mr. Friedman was quite upset.”
Sure.
“Of course, for all you know, they could have been arguing aboutwork.”
“I don’t think so,” he says with disdain.
“But you aren’t sure.”
He looks right at me.
“I’m sure,” he says with authority.
“Let’s talk about the incident at Silverado.”
His eyes brighten. Skipper looks eager.
“Mr. Patton,” I say, “there was a party earlier that evening in yourroom, wasn’t there?”
Skipper’s no longer happy. Tes,” Art says curtly.
“And Ms. Kennedy was at that party, wasn’t she?”
“Yes.” His eyes dart. He looks over my left shoulder.
“Isn’t it true, Mr, Patton, that you accosted Ms. Kennedy at theparty?”
He tries to look indignant.
“Absolutely not.”
“Isn’t it true that you followed her to her room and attacked her?”
He sits up taller in his chair.
“I did not.”
He sounds just like my daughter.
“Isn’t it true she went to Mr. Friedman for protection?”
He squints through his tiny spectacles. He points a menacing finger atme.
“That’s a lie.”
“We’ll see about that, Mr. Patton. No further questions.”
A few minutes later, Skipper calls another old friend. BrentHutchinson slithers to the front of the courtroom, a smarmy grinplastered on his pretty face. His golden hair glows. Whenever I seehim, I want to punch his lights out.
“Mr. Hutchinson,” Skipper says, “we’ve known each other for some time,haven’t we?”
“We were partners at Simpson and Gates. I still work there.” He lookslike a cocker spaniel who wants to be petted.
“Mr. Hutchinson, you have a nickname around the firm, don’t you?”
“Most people call me Hutch.”
He sounds like Forrest Gump. Makes me sick.
“Would you mind if I call you Hutch today?”
“Sure.” His grin widens. All this male bonding turns my stomach.
“Now, Hutch, you attended the firm retreat at Silverado in October oflast year, didn’t you?”
His eyes light up.
“Yes. We have our retreat there every year. It’s a great time.”
“I know. Could you tell us a little bit about what happens at theseretreats?”
“Objection. Relevance.” This love-test has to stop. Hutch isactually very likable on the stand—if you’re into handsome airheads.
“Overruled.”
“We have attorney meetings and social events. We play some golf andtennis.”
“Did you attend a social gathering in the cocktail lounge at the mainhouse at Silverado at approximately nine o’clock in the evening ofFriday, October twenty-fourth?”
“Yes.”
“And were Diana Kennedy and the defendant also there?”
“Yes.”
“Would you mind describing what happened as Ms. Kennedy was leavingthe party?”
He turns toward the jury and shows them his most sincere expression.
“Joel was sitting at a table near the door. Diana was at the bar. Shewalked toward the door. As she passed Joel, she stopped, leaned overand kissed him.” He smiles.
Good Hutch.
I look at Naomi. She stares at the floor. Joel doesn’t move.
“Did she kiss the defendant on the mouth?”
“Yes.”
“Did she kiss him hard?”
“Objection. The witness has no personal knowledge of the intensity ofthe kiss.”
“Overruled.”
“It looked pretty hard to me,” Hutch says.
A few snickers from the gallery. Judge Chen pounds her gavel, “Hutch,”Skipper says, “did the kiss appear to you to be a romantic one?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Speculative.”
“Sustained.”
Skipper gives the jury a conspiratorial wink.
“Did it appear to you that the defendant was enjoying himself when shekissed him?”
“Objection. State of mind.”
“Your Honor,” Skipper says, “I’m not asking Mr. Hutchinson to make adetermination as to whether he thought Mr. Friedman actually enjoyedthe kiss.
I’m simply asking him to describe it.”
“Nice try, Mr. Gates,” she snaps.
“The objection is sustained. Move on.”
“Hutch, did you also see the defendant and Ms. Kennedy in a hot tubthe next day?”
“Yes.”
“And would you mind telling us what they were doing?”
“They were kissing.”
Skipper turns toward the jury, his eyes wide.
“They were kissing again? Could you describe how Ms. Kennedy wasdressed?”
“She was wearing a bikini, but the top was unfastened.”
Murmurs in the back of the courtroom. Judge Chen slams her gavel.
“Hutch,” Skipper says, “was it a hard kiss?”
“Yes.”
“And did it appear to you that the defendant was, for lack of a betterterm, kissing her back?”
“Absolutely.”
“And how long did this go on?”
“About a minute. Then I thought it would be best if I moved on.”
How sensitive.
“I see.” He looks at the jury, then back at Hutch.
“Did you see Ms. Kennedy and the defendant together at any other timeduring the retreat?”
“Later that evening, I saw them sitting in the same hot tub. I’mpretty sure they were both naked. However, it was dark and I was on myway back to my room.
This time, I didn’t stop.”
“No further questions.”
“Mr. Hutchinson,” I begin, “we’ve known each other for a long time,too, haven’t we?”
“Yes.” His teeth gleam when he smiles.
“We used to be partners, too.”
“And you have another nickname around the firm, don’t you?” The smiledisappears.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Mr.
Daley.”
“Well, most people call you Hutch. But some people call you somethingelse, don’t they?”
He looks around the courtroom.
“Yes.”
“And what’s your other nickname, Mr. Hutchinson?”
“The Party Guy,” he says quietly.
I make my voice go up a half octave.