“Good morning, Tex.” Michelle Law, the lead prosecutor, dressed immaculately in a black pantsuit, looked up from her computer. “It’s good to see you again. And you must be Mr. Robert Sulzberger. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I’m a fan of your reality television work, and also your time as a politician. My name is Michelle Law.”
Sulzberger didn’t respond, staring at the prosecutor. She offered her hand, but he didn’t react. Even as Hunter sat down, Sulzberger was still staring at the woman who had gone back to her computer, typing and readying herself for the case.
“Robert,” Hunter said quietly, “you’re supposed to sit next to me over here.”
In a daze, Sulzberger walked to his seat. He sat down, mouth still wide enough to catch a fly.
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked. “I understand there’s a lot of pressure here, but we need you to appear together when the jury walks in. Would you like some water? Coffee? I could even sneak you a stiff drink. You look like you’ve gone quite pale.”
“Tex.” Sulzberger turned to his lawyer.
“What is it?”
“Her. Michelle Law.” He stared at the woman opposite them. “That’s her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Her. That’s her.”
“I don’t follow.”
“That’s her.” Sulzberger’s eyes were focused. “That’s X.”
Chapter 30
“This had better be good.” Judge Dirk Harrison looked at his watch as the prosecutor and defense lawyer entered his chambers. “We have an absolutely packed courtroom, the media are hungry, and we’re due to start this trial in a matter of minutes. You’d better have a mighty fine reason for this conference, Mr. Hunter.”
Judge Harrison sat behind his desk in the narrow chambers, his heavy arms spread wide, staring at the defense attorney, waiting for the excuses to come. His morning wasn’t going how he planned, and he was a man who didn’t like surprises.
He liked defense lawyers even less.
As they walked towards the desk in the dimly lit room, timeworn law books lining the walls, a well-used couch sitting near the entrance, Tex Hunter stared at Michelle Law, looking for any crack in her armor, any hint that she knew what was coming.
But there was nothing. Not a smile, not a twitch, not even a sideways glance.
“Your Honor, I would like to state that the lead prosecutor in this case has a significant and intimate personal relationship with the defendant and should be excused on the grounds of a conflict of interest.”
“Pardon?” Law pretended to be surprised, her head tilting to the side. She stood in front of the judge’s desk, prepared to go toe to toe with her opponent. “That’s an outrageous accusation. Your Honor, this is merely an attempt by the defense to stall this case. Nothing more. We’ve pushed for a speedy trial because it benefits the community for this person to be convicted of this crime. It benefits everyone. Stalling it on the back of outrageous accusations isn’t going to help the community.”
“Do you know the defendant on a personal or professional level?” Judge Harrison turned to the prosecutor, the soft light coming through the window behind him.
“No, Your Honor. I’ve never met the defendant before in my life. Of course, I know who he is, half the city does, but today is the first time we’ve met in person. I have no relationship with him—personal or physical.”
Judge Harrison turned to the other man in the room, raising his eyebrows at the defense attorney. “Are you sure that there’s no mistake here? Could your client be mistaken?”
“My client is willing to sign an affidavit declaring how he knows the lead prosecutor on a personal level.”
“And I will sign one that states that I’ve never met this man before in my life!” Law turned her attention back to the judge, clearly prepared for this. “This is an attempt by the defense to stall this case, to throw it out. He’s looking for anything that can slow this case down. That’s all. The process of law should be above these petty games. The waiting public won’t accept the attempts at stalling from the defense.”
The judge stared at her. “If it’s found to be that you do know this man, then I’m sure you’re aware of the penalties and the risk to your career.”
“I’m very well aware that it would be perjury to declare such a false statement in this court. But I will say it again: I have never met that man before in my life.”
“And you will declare this in court, that you don’t know this man?”
“Yes, Your Honor. I do not know the defendant.”
“Mr. Hunter, if your claim is true, and they have had a significant personal relationship, then I’m sure that you have evidence of this?” Judge Harrison leaned backward, clearly agitated. “I’m sure that if they knew each other on a level that would be deemed a conflict of interest, then there must be photographs of them together? Communications between them, at least. Perhaps you could show me the text messages, emails, or phone contact between them?”
“It’s complicated, Your Honor.”
“How so?”
“They’ve had a secret relationship where no names were exchanged, and no information about each other was swapped. They know each other intimately, but have never taken a photo together or exchanged details.”
“Oh my.” Judge Harrison threw his hands up. “This is worse than I expected.”
“He must’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Law rebutted. “I haven’t had a secret relationship with that man. In fact, I’ve never had a secret relationship with any man. These accusations are completely false.”
“I assume that you have evidence to the contrary, Mr. Hunter? And I really, really hope you have something to back these accusations up with.”
“She’s made comments in his defense on Facebook.”
Judge Harrison waited for him to continue.
He didn’t.
“That’s all we have at the moment.” Hunter was confident and firm.
“That’s it? You can’t be serious. That won’t do. Do you have anything concrete, Mr. Hunter? Anything that proves your claim that there has been an intimate relationship between the prosecutor and the defendant?”
“At this point, no, Your Honor.”
Judge Harrison shook his head again, groaning. “Then it’s his word against Law’s. If you’re willing to declare that there’s no conflict of interest in this case, Ms. Law, then I must rule in your favor. Unless you have something more to add, Mr. Hunter?”
Hunter stood silent, staring at the woman next to him.
He had nothing.
Not a phone call, not a note, not a text message. His client didn’t even know the woman’s name until a few minutes earlier.
There was nothing that he could prove in court.
Judge Harrison indicated to the door. “Then get out of my chambers and stop wasting my time. This case must proceed.”
Chapter 31
As the attorneys walked back into the courtroom, Sulzberger stared at his former lover, mystery woman, and fellow thief. She didn’t even give him the pleasure of a smile, not a wink, not even a glance.
“What happened?” Sulzberger whispered as Hunter sat down; the lawyer was unbuttoning his jacket, keeping his eyes focused forward.
“Nothing happened.”
“What do you mean nothing happened?” Sulzberger leaned closer, feeling the eyes of the packed crowd on him.
“Just that. Michelle denied ever having met you, and Judge Harrison needed evidence of you and X having a relationship. All we did was make Judge Harrison angry, and he’s not going to be on our side in this case.”
Sulzberger’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then he looked across to X.
Despite feeling his eyes on her, she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to give Sulzberger the satisfaction.
Right now, she was ahead in the case, and she didn’t want to give the defense even a slither of hope, not even a grain of optimism.
<
br /> As the court listened to the bailiff’s instructions, Hunter was still shaking his head, rubbing his fingers over his brow, his posture slumped, defeated in his chair. As he backtracked over the timeline, it all began to fall into place—Law’s specific request to be on the case, her need to see him, her desire to know how Sulzberger was emotionally handling the case.
But theories were one thing; proving it in court, under the pressure of a media-hungry trial, was something else altogether. Over the coming days, his every move would be watched, his every word overheard, and he’d barely be able to move sideways without the social media universe being informed.
With the case scheduled to run for the next five days, he was already consigned to the fact that his movements would be mostly between his office, the court, his home, and if he could, a sneaky trip to his favorite bar.
Although Hunter had scheduled one full day for his evidence, he had planned for most of his work to be done during the prosecution’s four days. He had planned to plant an element of doubt in every testimony, discredit the witnesses’ credentials, and demolish any evidence they presented.
A lot of what they had was circumstantial, and their case relied heavily on Sulzberger being the only person present at the scene of the crime. They’d bring witnesses to the stand who would testify that Sulzberger was a loose cannon, and build a picture of a broken man on his last legs. Their case would be as predictable as it was plain.
There would be no bells or whistles in their case.
He had a plan.
But everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the face.
And Tex Hunter had just been given a solid right hook to the jaw.
“One minute,” the bailiff called out, warning that the judge would enter the courtroom in a few moments, and the event would begin.
Judge Dirk Harrison walked into the room as a dominant figure. This was his courtroom, and anyone who dared get in his way would be crushed. He wouldn’t stand for theatrics and had even less patience for distractions. His hair was all but gone, and his skin looked like it had spent too many vacations in the Miami sun, but his mind was as razor-sharp as his voice was fierce.
After Judge Harrison had introduced himself and taken the court through the details of the trial, he asked for the bailiff to bring in the twelve regular, unqualified people that were about to assess the workings of the law.
The jury selection had been arduous—trying to find people who weren’t overly influenced by the blanket media coverage was difficult. In a city with a history of political corruption, the news outlets had created a monster in this case.
Despite the defense’s objections during selection, the jury was exactly who Law wanted in the box. Nobody too political. Nobody with a past in the armed forces. And nobody who might fall for Tex Hunter’s charms.
Judge Harrison spoke to the twelve chosen individuals, telling them that they needed to listen to the evidence, or lack thereof, to determine their judgment for this case. They needed to make no assumptions, provide the defendant the presumption of innocence, and assess the guilt of the defendant on the evidence alone.
The jurors all nodded in agreement, but they were only human. They’d already made their first impressions of the defendant, perhaps even weeks ago.
Hunter had spent hours teaching Sulzberger how to sit, stand, and react to the statements in the court. To prevent him appearing defensive, he advised Sulzberger that he couldn’t fold his arms, slump in his chair, or look away from a testimony. He also couldn’t lean backward, sigh, yawn, or appear disinterested. His shoulders had to be relaxed, his facial muscles calm, and his demeanor attentive. He needed to take long, slow, deep breaths when the testimonies about his guilt were spoken.
But that strategy was also gone.
The shock and unease that was written on the faces of the men at the defense table spoke more than any witness testimony.
Looking across to Law’s desk while she prepared to deliver her opening statement, Hunter saw a woman prepared. Everything on her desk was perfectly organized and set out. Her laptop was ready, with her assistants shadowing her every move.
She knew that Hunter was going to object to her presence, and if there were evidence that she was X, he would’ve presented it already.
She’d played him, played him well, and he didn’t like that one bit.
“May it please the Court. On the evening of October 2, Ms. Martina Lopez was due to clean the residence of Robert Andrew Sulzberger, starting her routine at 9 a.m. She was late, starting at 9:15 a.m., and she walked into the house using the key that the owner had given her. She noticed that nobody was home, and she cleaned the house, as usual—the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms. On this day, the first clean of every month, she would go to the basement. The door to the basement was unlocked.
When she walked into the basement, what she found was disgusting. Utterly disgusting. She found the dead body of a young woman tied to a chair.
She screamed.
After racing outside, she called 911 on her mobile phone.
She waited outside, in her car, with the engine running, until she saw the first police car arrive. She was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, and the operator confirmed that it was the car indeed dispatched to the property.
Ms. Martina Lopez will tell you that she did not directly call Robert Sulzberger, the owner and resident of the home, out of fear of what he would do. She will tell you that she did not hang up the phone from the 911 dispatcher out of fear of what Robert would do. She did not wait inside the house out of fear of what Robert would do.
She was terrified of the man.
What the police found when they entered the property was an unidentified woman, her arms and legs tied to a wooden dining room chair. When the paramedics arrived, they pronounced her deceased at the scene.
We still do not know who the young woman was. We have no record of her. There is no record of her missing, no file on her fingerprints or DNA. What we do know is that the young woman was around 21 to 24 years old, of Mexican descent, and she died in the basement of Robert Sulzberger’s home.
For the purpose of this court case, we will call the deceased Jane Doe.
The medical examiner will testify that Jane Doe was killed by a blunt force to the skull, one strike, and that she was deceased between two to six hours before Ms. Martina Lopez found her body.
Jane Doe died as a direct result of a blow to the face. When she was hit, the bone in her nose severed the ophthalmic artery in her brain, causing a massive internal hemorrhage, and this caused her death.
Alone. Cold.
And helpless.
Robert Sulzberger told the police that he was the only person that was staying at that address that night. When taken in for questioning, Robert Sulzberger stated that he was there all night. He stated to the police that no one else was staying at the property that night.
Robert Sulzberger killed Jane Doe, and as such, he should be convicted of murder in the first degree.
My name is Michelle Law and, with my team, I will present the reasons why you must find Robert Sulzberger guilty of such a cold-hearted crime. A cold-blooded homicide.
My team and I will present expert witnesses to you to show their expert knowledge about the reason why Jane Doe died, and who killed her.
Witnesses such as Detective Thomas Rodman will detail why he was able to deduce that Robert Sulzberger was the killer and make the arrest after questioning the defendant. He will show the evidence that proves that Robert Sulzberger was not only there but also caused the death of Jane Doe.
We will present expert witnesses who will talk about the blood found only yards away from the scene of the crime that matches the DNA of Robert Sulzberger.
Expert witness, Medical Examiner Dr. Matthew Lone, will explain exactly how Jane Doe died.
Witnesses will testify that they saw Robert Sulzberger at the scene of the crime only hours before Jane Doe’s body was found.
Cindy Mende
l, a City Council member, will testify about her friendship with Robert Sulzberger. She will explain that Robert didn’t seem himself in the week leading up to the murder. She will testify that something felt ‘off’.
We will hear from witnesses that will testify about the drug problems that have plagued the accused’s life, and how he could not control his behavior when drunk on alcohol. We will hear that when he was arrested that day, he admitted he was drinking the night before.
You will hear from the neighbors of Robert Sulzberger who will testify that things did not appear right in the Sulzberger household leading up to the murder. They will testify that Robert seemed angry and annoyed in the months prior.
You will hear from expert witnesses who will detail the crime scene, and explain exactly how the evidence shows that Jane Doe was murdered.
As a member of this jury, you have a valuable role to play.
You have to listen to the facts. You have to listen to the evidence. And you have to decide whether Robert Andrew Sulzberger murdered Jane Doe in his basement on the night of October 2.
But I’m not here to convince you of the guilt of Robert Andrew Sulzberger. I won’t have to do that.
The evidence that you will hear will speak for itself. The evidence in this case will make the guilt of Robert Sulzberger abundantly clear to you.
There will be no dispute. There will be no doubt.
After you have heard the facts, there will be no choice but to find Robert Andrew Sulzberger guilty of the crime of first-degree murder.
At the end of this case, I will talk to you again and ask you to think about the evidence and the facts that have been presented to you. It’s at this point that you will be asked to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Robert Andrew Sulzberger is guilty of the callous, planned, and horrible first-degree murder of Jane Doe.
Thank you for your service to this court.”
Law delivered her opening statement with passion, intensity, and fire. When she sat down, her team quietly congratulated her on a job well done.
Power and Justice Page 16