“They’re adults.”
“You suggested that they dress provocatively, didn’t you?”
“Of course not.”
“And you suggested that they flirt with the men, right?”
“No.”
“But it was okay if they did, right? Because Mr. King liked it?”
“Objection.”
“Withdrawn. Did any of your business associates go home with the men?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Daley.”
I started another video. “Could you please describe what we’re seeing here?”
“Mr. King’s living room.”
“How many people are here?”
She squinted. “Looks like about a half dozen.”
“Can you describe what they’re doing?”
She swallowed. “Some of them are kissing.”
I stopped the video. “This is what’s known as a ‘cuddle puddle,’ isn’t it?”
She responded in a whisper. “Yes.”
I teed up the video from outside the front door. “This was taken at eleven-fifty-five p.m. Can you please describe what we’re seeing?”
She didn’t answer.
I helped her. “Two of the women left with two of the male guests, right?”
“Yes.”
“The men are Tristan Moore and Alejandro Sanchez, aren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Moore is your fiancé, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Does it trouble you that he left the party with somebody else?”
“Objection. I fail to see how this line of questioning has any possible relevance.”
“Your Honor, I am attempting to demonstrate that this party was a cesspool of behavior typical of Y5K Technologies in general, and Mr. King in particular.” And Chu’s fiancé.
“You’ve made your point, Mr. Daley. Anything else for Ms. Chu?”
“One more item.” I restarted the video and stopped it at eleven-forty-five. “Ms. Chu, can you identify the people in this video?”
“Mr. Patel and me.”
“You were leaving the party with your boss?”
“Yes. We shared an Uber.”
“You and Mr. Patel were holding hands, weren’t you?”
“I don’t recall.”
“You can see it right there in the video.”
“I don’t recall.”
“Were you and Mr. Patel in the habit of holding hands?”
“No.”
“But you would acknowledge that you were doing so here, right?”
“Objection. Asked and answered.”
“Sustained.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Cross exam, Mr. Harper?”
“No.”
“Ms. Chu is excused. Please call your next witness, Mr. Daley.”
“The defense calls Nicholas Hanson.”
58
“INDEED I AM”
The diminutive P.I. adjusted the rose on his lapel. “My name is Nicholas Hanson.”
I was standing at the lectern, and I wasn’t going to move in any closer. “Are you the proprietor of the Hanson Investigative Agency in North Beach?”
“Indeed I am.”
“How long has your agency been in business?”
“We will celebrate our diamond jubilee next year.”
“That would be seventy-five years?”
“Indeed it would.”
The gallery was packed, and a dozen people were standing against the back wall in blatant violation of the fire code. Word had spread that Nick the Dick was on the stand. At the Hall, this was like Christmas. Every courtroom junkie, reporter, cop, bailiff, security guard, and custodian within shouting distance tried to squeeze into Judge McDaniel’s courtroom.
“Mr. Hanson,” I continued, “how big is your agency?”
“We have over a hundred investigators.”
I couldn’t resist. “How many are related to you?”
“Including people who have married into my family?”
“Yes.”
His voice filled with pride. “All of them.”
This elicited a smile from the woman from Salesforce.
Harper decided to stop the love fest. “Your Honor, we will stipulate that Mr. Hanson is a well-known private investigator from a reputable agency.”
Nick corrected him. “We’re listed in the top ten in the country, Mr. Harper.”
“I know, Mr. Hanson.”
Judge McDaniel’s poker face finally broke into a smile. “The record will show that Mr. Harper has stipulated to Mr. Hanson’s national reputation. Please move along, Mr. Daley.”
I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to give Nick a chance to plug his new novel. “Mr. Hanson, you’ve been hired by several tech firms to monitor their employees, right?”
“Yes, but I cannot reveal the names of my clients.”
“Understood. Can you tell us if you have ever been hired by Y5K Technologies?”
“I have not.”
“But you’re familiar with the company?”
“Indeed I am.”
“And Jeff King?”
“Everybody knew Mr. King.”
“In the course of your investigations, have you ever been asked to conduct surveillance at a business called the Gold Club on Howard Street?”
“Indeed I have.”
“Could you please describe the nature of that establishment?”
“It’s a strip joint.” He raised a bushy eyebrow. “And it has an excellent buffet lunch.”
Laughter in the gallery. “How often do you go to the Gold Club?”
“Three or four times a week.”
“Did you ever see Mr. King?”
“Three or four times a week.”
More laughter. “When was the last time you saw him there?”
“About a week before he died.”
“Can you describe his behavior?”
“He used to bring employees from Y5K for lunch, adult beverages, and, uh, the show.”
“The strip show?”
“Yes. He also paid extra for adult services in the private areas behind the stage.”
“What sort of services?”
He closed his eyes and grinned. “I think you know, Mr. Daley.”
“I think I do, Mr. Hanson.”
Harper got to his feet. “Your Honor, we’re prepared to stipulate that Mr. Hanson saw Mr. King engage in adult activities at the Gold Club. While this is interesting and, for some, entertaining, it wasn’t illegal behavior, and I fail to see any relevance.”
“Anything else for this witness, Mr. Daley?”
“Just one more question. Mr. Hanson, a few minutes ago, we heard testimony from a witness named Jennifer Castle, who is the Vice President of Corporate Messaging at Y5K. She said that Mr. King discontinued visiting strip clubs at the request of the company’s board of directors. Would you say that her testimony was accurate?”
“Indeed I would not.”
“No further questions.”
* * *
I was checking my texts in the corridor outside Judge McDaniel’s courtroom during the morning break when I was approached by two men in matching charcoal suits. I recognized Yoav Ben-Shalom. It took me a moment to place Lawrence Braun, Y5K’s outside counsel.
Braun acted as spokesman. “What the hell were you doing in there, Mr. Daley?”
“Excuse me?”
“You were trying to embarrass Jeff King, Jennifer Castle, and Christina Chu.”
“Mr. King’s behavior is relevant to our defense.”
“It has nothing to do with your defense. You’re just blowing smoke.”
Well, that too. “His character is important to our case.”
“Did you ever consider Mrs. King’s feelings?”
“Yes.” Then again, she’s having an affair with the company’s acting CEO and was playing tennis a few days after her husband died. “She wasn’t in court.”
“I feel badly for her, Mr. Braun, but I need to do what’s best for my client.”
“Do you have any idea what’s at stake here? You’re destroying the company’s reputation.”
Actually, I’m only trying to destroy King’s reputation. “I’m representing my client to the best of my abilities.”
“You need to watch your step, Mr. Daley. Your client isn’t the only person impacted by Jeff’s death.”
“Did you just threaten me?”
“Absolutely not.” He tried to strike a more conciliatory tone. “I would ask you to be sensitive to the feelings of Mr. King’s family and our employees.”
And your venture capitalists, investment bankers, and lawyers who stand to lose millions if the IPO tanks. “I’ll do the best that I can, Mr. Braun.”
“Thank you. Will you be calling any other members of company management as witnesses?”
“All of them.”
59
“HE HAD A VISION FOR THE FUTURE”
Steele sat ramrod straight in the box. “I am the chairman of the board of Y5K Technologies.”
I was standing at the lectern. “You became chairman recently, right?”
“Correct.” He adjusted the eighteen-carat-gold cufflinks under the sleeve of his ten-thousand-dollar Armani suit. “The board asked me to step in after Jeff King’s untimely death.”
“How long did you know Mr. King?”
“About five years. We had met at several Silicon Valley functions.”
“When did you join Y5K?”
“About two years ago. The board wanted to bring in an experienced executive to assist Jeff in taking the company to the next level and eventually complete an IPO.”
“You were also asked to deal with some of Mr. King’s behavior issues, weren’t you?”
“At times.”
“He was accused of sexual harassment at several of his earlier companies, wasn’t he?”
“There were some questions.”
“Those issues carried over to Y5K, didn’t they?”
“They were addressed.”
“By paying multiple confidential settlements to women who accused Mr. King of sexual harassment, correct?”
“In some cases.”
He was being more forthright than I had anticipated. Then again, King was dead, and he no longer had to cover for him. “What was he like?”
“He had a vision for the future.”
Please. “How did you and Mr. King get along?”
“Fine.”
“No disagreements?”
“Differences of opinion are inevitable.”
“You must have been concerned that his behavior would have an adverse impact on the company, right?”
“No.”
“Did it bother you that he took your employees to strip clubs several times a week?”
“We encouraged him to use better judgment.”
“And the fact that he was a heroin user?”
“The board was aware of Mr. King’s issues and spoke to him about it.”
“Did the board consider replacing him?”
“No.”
“Was the board also aware that Mr. King was picking up young women through a sugar daddy site called Mature Relations?”
“They are now.”
“Were your investment bankers and venture capitalists aware of these issues?”
“They are now.”
“Is the IPO moving forward?”
“Yes.”
“You stand to make millions, right?”
Steele turned to the judge. “I cannot respond to Mr. Daley’s question without violating the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
“I’m not going to ask you to answer.”
It was time to address more pressing issues. “Mr. Steele, you were at Mr. King’s house on the evening of December twenty-third, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
I spent twenty minutes walking him through a description of the party, which he tried to portray as similar to a ten-year-old’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Finally, I steered him to the matters at hand. “Did you know that Mr. King had planned a rendezvous with Ms. Low?”
“I knew that he had a date. I didn’t know with whom.”
Sure. “You used the upstairs bathroom at Mr. King’s house, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You left a baggie of high-powered heroin there, didn’t you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Or did you tamper with a baggie of heroin that Mr. King left there?”
“Absolutely not.”
“You were concerned that Mr. King’s behavior was going to impact the company and delay the IPO, weren’t you? And you wanted to send him a message, didn’t you?”
“No, Mr. Daley.”
“Do you know any other members of Y5K’s management who are also subscribers to the Mature Relations site?”
“No.”
We’ll see. “No further questions.”
* * *
Patel was next. We went through a similar exercise. He described the party as tame. He knew that King had scheduled a date, but claimed that he didn’t know with whom. He was aware of King’s behavior issues, and he believed that the board had addressed them adequately.
“Mr. Patel,” I said, “in addition to investing in Mr. King’s company, you had a personal relationship with him, didn’t you?”
“I try to maintain distance from members of management of companies that we fund.”
Especially after they’re caught picking up women on a hookup site. “Your personal relationship was a little closer, wasn’t it, Mr. Patel?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you familiar with the term, ‘polyamorous relationship?’”
“No.”
“I think you are.”
“Objection. Asked and answered. And I fail to see the relevance.”
I kept my tone even. “It will become readily apparent in a moment, Your Honor.”
“I’ll give you a little leeway, Mr. Daley.”
I turned back to Patel. “A ‘polyamorous relationship’ refers to a loving and committed relationship among more than two individuals, doesn’t it?”
“So I’ve heard.”
Here goes. “You and your wife were involved in such a relationship with Mr. King and his wife, weren’t you?”
He glared at me. “No.”
“Our next witness will be the private investigator that Chloe King hired to monitor her husband’s behavior. The P.I. is aware of the details of all of his relationships, including the one with you and your wife. I really don’t want to ask Mrs. King to testify, Mr. Patel.”
“Objection. There wasn’t a question there.”
“Let me repeat my original question and see if Mr. Patel wishes to change his answer. You and your wife were involved in a polyamorous relationship with Mr. King and his wife, weren’t you?”
Patel swallowed. “It was complicated.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes.”
“Your description is too simplistic.”
“Mr. King violated your agreement by sleeping with other women, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“One of those women was Ms. Low, wasn’t it? Whom he met on a sugar daddy website called Mature Relations, right?”
“So I’m told.”
“Do you know anybody else who is a subscriber to the Mature Relations site?”
“No.”
We’ll get back to that later. “Mr. King’s behavior upset you and your wife, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“You attended Mr. King’s party after he had cheated on you and your wife, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you were still angry at him, weren’t you?”
“Some time had passed.”
“You knew that Mr. King had a heart condition and a heroin proble
m, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You put a baggie of high-powered heroin in the drawer in Mr. King’s bathroom where you knew that my client would find it, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“And you knew that she would inject Mr. King, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“And you knew that an injection of high-powered heroin into a man with a serious heart condition was likely to be fatal, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I mean, no. If you’re suggesting that I brought heroin to Mr. King’s house, you’re crazy, Mr. Daley.”
“Am I, Mr. Patel?”
“Objection. Mr. Patel is not qualified to opine as to Mr. Daley’s mental health.”
“Sustained. Anything else, Mr. Daley?”
“One more item, Your Honor. Mr. Patel, you work with Ms. Chu, don’t you?”
“Yes. She’s a valuable member of our firm.”
“You left the party with her, didn’t you?”
“We shared an Uber.”
I punched a button on my laptop and the video of Patel and Chu leaving King’s house appeared on the screen. “Is it your practice to hold hands with your employees, Mr. Patel?”
“I was escorting her to the car.”
“By the hand?”
“We had been drinking. It was dark.”
“You and Ms. Chu are involved in a romantic relationship, aren’t you?”
He swallowed. “No.”
“No further questions.”
“Cross-exam, Mr. Harper?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“You can call your next witness after our lunch break, Mr. Daley.”
The jury was in for a treat. They were about to meet Kaela Joy.
60
“THEY HAD AN UNCONVENTIONAL MARRIAGE”
All eyes in Judge McDaniel’s courtroom were focused on the photogenic blonde sitting in the box. With perfect hair and makeup and sporting a Valentino blouse, Kaela Joy commanded attention.
I spoke to her from the lectern. “How long have you been a private investigator?”
“Almost twenty years.”
“I understand that your business is very successful.”
Kaela Joy’s face transformed into the million-dollar smile that once graced the cover of People Magazine. “It is.”
The jury was captivated as I walked her through her life story. Born and raised in Redding, the daughter of a cop and a high school teacher had built a thriving business after her ex-husband—a Niners lineman—had cheated on her and gambled away their money. Two decades later, she was running a multi-million-dollar security business, and her ex- was working at the Cinnabon at SFO. Every so often, karma wins.
Higher Law Boxset, Volume 3 Page 76