Love's Verdict

by Carsen Taite

  “Detective, I’m showing you what has been marked as Exhibit A27. Without telling the jury what it says, please give us a description of this document.” Donna’s trial partner, Ed, leaned over and shoved a copy of the exhibit at Landon. She picked it up and skimmed the lines. At first glance it appeared to be a straightforward inventory of the evidence collected at the crime scene, a copy of which was already in her file. Landon started to set it off to the side, but then something caught her eye. Canine hairs.

  She leaned over to Carly and scrawled on a piece of paper. Pull the original report. She almost underscored the note with a smiley face just to get Carly to show some emotion, but refrained. From the moment Carly had shown up at the courthouse, Landon had sensed a shift in her mood from the sexy, playful woman she’d made love to all night. Surrounded by press, other lawyers, and their client, she hadn’t had a chance to ask Carly what was wrong. It was entirely possible she was imagining the whole thing and this was just Carly’s game face, but for now she needed to keep her attention on the drama unfolding in the courtroom.

  Carly slid the report over and Landon lined up the copies side by side. Her instinct had been right. Dog hairs weren’t listed on the original report. She turned her attention back to Donna’s exchange with Royal.

  “This is a comprehensive list of the evidence gathered at the crime scene,” he said.

  “Did you assist in the preparation of this list?”

  “I did.”

  “And does it represent a full and complete list of all the evidence gathered by either you, your partner, or other law enforcement professionals working the case?”

  “It does.”

  Donna turned to Judge Grafton. “Your Honor, the state offers Exhibit A27 into evidence at this time.” Judge Grafton looked at Landon. “Any objection?”

  Landon scooped up both reports and stood even though such formality wasn’t customary in state court. She was walking a minefield here and she needed every advantage. “Sidebar, Your Honor?”

  Judge Grafton waved them forward. Landon was the first one there with Carly and Jane close behind. Donna and Ed walked slowly forward, engaged in a frantic whispered conversation. When all five attorneys were huddled to the side of the bench, Judge Grafton turned her microphone in the opposite direction of the group. “What is it?” her brisk tone a signal she wasn’t a fan of delaying the proceeding.

  Landon handed over both reports. “One of these is the exhibit that the state just handed to us, but the other one is the report of the crime scene evidence that was provided to us in pretrial discovery.” She pointed to a line on the exhibit. “This line isn’t on the first report. Before we can properly assess whether we have an objection to admitting the report into evidence, I’d like to know why we were provided a different version of this report than the one that state is trying to get into evidence today, and whether the difference matters.”

  Grafton held the reports up and skimmed each page before turning to Donna. “Ms. Wilhelm, why the difference?”

  Donna cleared her throat and glanced over at Ed before speaking. “The item that Ms. Holt pointed out on the trial exhibit came to light just last week. It was my understanding that a new version of the report was provided to defense counsel days ago, but I’ve just learned that it was not.” She reached a hand out to Ed, who handed her a clipped stack of paper. “It has also come to my attention that this lab report, which is related to the item on the list of evidence, was not provided to defense counsel. I promise you this was an innocent mistake—careless, but not malicious.”

  Landon stared at the papers in her hand, only able to make out the words “DNA report” and “canine hair” through the blur of anger marring her careful preparation. “Judge, the mistake may be innocent, but the consequences aren’t. How are we supposed to cross-examine this witness or any other, on lab reports we’ve never seen, let alone been able to share with an expert of our own?”

  The judge sighed. “I have a feeling this is going to take more than a few minutes to sort out. Go have a seat.” Once they were back at their respective counsel tables, she addressed the jury. “From time to time throughout the trial, I may need to meet with the attorneys outside of your presence to address some administrative issues. If the meeting will take longer than a few minutes, the bailiff will take you back to the jury room where you can relax until it’s time to reconvene. This is one of those times. I promise we’ll do everything we can to make the process go as efficiently as possible, but for now, please go with the bailiff.”

  The attorneys stood as the jurors filed out of the room, and Landon could hear Trevor whispering to Carly, asking what was going on, but Carly’s response was cut off by the judge telling them to be seated.

  “Ms. Wilhelm, would you like to make a proffer as to what exactly these new reports contain and how it matters to your case?”

  The sour expression on Donna’s face told Landon she’d rather chew nails than reveal her strategy, but she really didn’t have a choice at this point. “Detective Royal will testify that the crime scene techs accidentally bagged together two sets of hair gathered at the scene, one from the victim and one from a previously unknown source. The mistake was discovered at the lab.”

  “What’s the significance?”

  “The second set of hairs were determined to be from a dog. A second look at fibers gathered from the scene revealed several strands of canine hair. The strands were sent for analysis and they are a match for the defendant’s French bulldog.”

  Landon’s head shot up. “What?”

  “You have something to say?” Judge Grafton didn’t look pleased at the outburst.

  “Yes, Judge. If I could have a moment.” Without waiting for permission, Landon started digging through her files.

  Carly tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, “If you’re looking for the search warrant, here it is.”

  Of course, Carly had read her mind. After things between them had seemed out of sync since they’d arrived at the courthouse, Landon was relieved. “Thanks.”

  “I already checked,” Carly said. “They didn’t ask for permission to take a DNA swab from the dog.”

  “Can they get a swab without a warrant?”

  Carly shrugged. “I don’t know. Can’t say that I’ve ever had this one come up.”

  Landon glanced up at the bench where Judge Grafton frowned to show her impatience. “Let me see if I can buy us some time.” She stood. “Judge, may I take the witness on voir dire? Just a few questions.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Detective, I’m holding a lab report that purports to show a probable match between hairs that were improperly classified as belonging to Ms. Meyers and which the state failed to produce to the defense until today, and Mr. Kincade’s dog. My question to you is, what is the basis of the comparison?”

  “I’m not sure I follow you.” He didn’t meet her eyes and she was certain he knew exactly where she was going with her question.

  “Well, how did the lab get DNA from Mr. Kincade’s dog to compare with these random other hairs?”

  He looked at Donna as if seeking permission to reveal his source, and she nodded. “We did a buccal swab on the dog.”

  “And when and where did you do this?”

  “Last week. At the dog park.”

  “I assume my client wasn’t there at the time?”

  “I didn’t see him. There was some guy watching the dog, but he was playing with other dogs and wasn’t on a leash.”

  So that’s how it was going to go. Landon leaned over to Trevor and whispered, “Were you there?”

  He shook his head. “That was Blake, Dijon’s dog walker. He takes him to the park sometimes to socialize.”

  Landon sat for a second, gathering her thoughts, when Carly scrawled on the pad in between them. Ask for a mistrial. Then ask for more time to research legality of search and admissibility of evidence. Landon nodded. “Your Honor, the defense requests a mistrial. The prosecutor
claims this was an innocent mistake, but key evidence has been withheld and there are serious questions about the legality of how that evidence was obtained.”

  Donna shot out of her chair. “A mistrial would be completely inappropriate. Yes, we should have shared this evidence with the defense before today, but frankly, we haven’t had it very long. If they need time to examine the evidence, we have no objections to a brief recess.”

  Grafton steepled her fingers, her forehead furrowed. “We’ve barely begun, and I’m sure this is not the last skirmish that will threaten to derail the process, but I’m not inclined to grant a mistrial, although if this late production of evidence starts to become a habit, I’ll entertain a new motion. Ms. Holt, I’m giving you and your team the rest of the day. You’ll be allowed to supplement the witness list if you identify any experts or fact witnesses to rebut the evidence. If you decide to file any evidentiary motions, I want them on my desk an hour before the jury files in tomorrow morning. Understood?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” Landon hadn’t expected the request for the mistrial to be granted, but she’d had to make the motion in order to preserve the record, and it’d been worth a shot. The takeaway bonus was she would get to spend the day with Carly, sorting through this new evidence.

  Judge Grafton brought the jury back in and gave them some vague excuse for why they were being dismissed for the rest of the day. She issued a stern warning about how they were still subject to all the rules she’d outlined earlier, and everyone stood while they filed back out of the room again. Once the last juror had cleared the door and Grafton adjourned, Landon leaned over to Carly and whispered, “Looking forward to working with you the rest of the day.”

  Carly opened her mouth to speak, but Trevor appeared between them with Shelby right beside him. “What’s going on? Are they saying Dijon was at Vanessa’s house? I never took him over there. She was a freak about her white carpeting. Carly, can you fix this?”

  Landon stared at him, blown away by his cluelessness while Jane took control. “Why don’t we all have a seat in the workroom and talk things over?” Jane said. She started walking toward the back of the courtroom and Landon followed but not before catching Carly shooting daggers at Jane’s back. Something must have happened at the office this morning that had gotten Carly in a bad mood. She made a mental note to ask Carly about it when they were alone.

  The five of them crowded into the small room and stood because there were only two chairs and a desk with a bum fourth leg. Jane explained to Shelby and Trevor that the prosecutors were prepared to present evidence that Dijon’s hairs were found on Vanessa’s clothing at the crime scene.

  “But that doesn’t mean anything,” Shelby said. “She probably picked them up when she was at Trevor’s or they were on his clothes when he went to see her.”

  “Except under his agreement with the NFL, he wasn’t to have any contact with her while the suspension action was pending,” Carly said.

  Shelby rolled her eyes. “Like he could stop that b—” She paused and seemed to realize where she was. “If she wanted to come over and see him, he couldn’t stop her.”

  “Did she?” Carly asked, turning to Trevor. “If she did, you’ll need to remember dates and times, and someone else will need to be able to testify that she did because we haven’t decided if you’ll be taking the stand.”

  “I don’t remember,” Trevor said.

  “Of course, he’ll be taking the stand,” Shelby said. “He didn’t do anything and he has nothing to hide.”

  “That’s not your decision to make,” Carly snapped.

  Landon watched the back and forth between the two of them. It was out of character for Carly to be so confrontational with Shelby, but she was right.

  “Let’s take a breath,” Jane said. “Landon, you’ve had a chance to glance at the report. Any questions for Trevor before we cut him loose for the day?”

  “Just one. How long have you had Dijon?”

  “About eight months,” Trevor said and looked to Shelby for confirmation.

  Shelby nodded. “He bought him from a breeder here in Dallas. Do you need the name of the breeder?”

  “We’ll let you know if we do. Thanks.”

  Jane closed the file. “Okay then. We’ll all be at the office working if you need us.”

  Shelby started toward the door while she was still talking with Trevor in tow. Carly jumped in before they cleared the door. “I think we should split up the work. I can research and develop a line of questioning for the lab tech about the canine DNA, and Landon can take on the search issues. And, Jane, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to work from home. I’ve got an article on my computer there about this very topic.”

  Landon muddled through Carly’s words, looking for a hidden meaning. Did Carly expect her to go with her? Was work at home code for work a little, play a little? Carly’s expression gave her no clues and she wasn’t making eye contact. Landon decided to wait until they were alone to ask.

  She didn’t have to wait long. Jane told them she needed to make some calls and would check in later, and was out the door. Carly was close behind, barely giving Landon a glance.

  “Hey, wait up,” Landon said, reaching for Carly’s arm.

  Carly took a step away. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “I know that, but is there some reason we can’t work together?”

  “Maybe because when we work toward the same goal, it’s a losing proposition.”

  Landon tried for some levity to break the icy mood. “Does really hot sex make you speak in riddles? Because I can get down with that, it’s just unexpected is all.” She smiled, but Carly didn’t smile back.

  “When’s the last time you spoke with your father?”

  “What? Why are you asking about him?”

  “Just answer.”

  “Actually, we spoke this morning. I was going to tell you about it, but then we got here and things started ramping up and there wasn’t a chance. You wouldn’t believe it. We actually had a nice conversation. He—”

  Carly held up a hand. “I don’t need to hear all the specifics. It’s bad enough you didn’t tell me yourself.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “That your dear old dad already got you the partnership. Bought and paid for courtesy of Holt Industries.”

  “Wait a minute.” Landon’s brain shifted into slow motion. “He did what?”

  “It doesn’t matter. None of this matters.” Carly took another step toward the door. “This is how the world works. I’m going home to work now. Please leave me alone outside of the office, and then don’t talk to me unless it has to do with the case.”

  And she was gone, leaving Landon staring at the door, wondering what the hell had just happened.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The minute Carly opened the door of her apartment, memories flooded back. It had been a mistake to come back here to work when everywhere she turned something reminded her of Landon and last night—the receipt from Royal Thai, Landon’s coffee cup in the sink, and her scent lingering on the bedsheets. But working at the office with Landon two doors down would have been even worse. All she had to do was steer clear of Landon until this trial was over, and then her time at Sturges and Lloyd would be done.

  She would survive. She was smart and capable and lots of firms would be lucky to have her. But she was beginning to realize she’d been simply surviving her entire life. Now that she’d had a glimpse of how rich her life could be with someone to share her hopes and dreams, someone who thought she was desirable for something more than her sharp brain, settling for survival was a tough blow.

  Maybe someday, she’d look for something more—something to fill her heart as well as her mind—but right now the bruises of Landon’s betrayal were too fresh. Since her brain was in demand, she went into autopilot. She quickly changed into jeans and a sweater and settled in at her computer to look for the article she’d seen in a past issue of the NACDL magazine about
search warrants and pet DNA. There were two issues: whether the police had unlawfully obtained the DNA sample from Dijon, and whether the science was reliable enough for the expert from the lab to state whether the hair from the scene belonged to Dijon. What a bunch of jerks, dragging a guy’s pet into this mess.

  She skimmed the article and then signed onto Lexis and started researching case law. The subject was a black hole, and when she heard a knock on her door and looked up from the computer, she was surprised to see that she’d been at it for a couple of hours. She willed whoever was outside her door to go away, but the knocking persisted. Certain it was Mr. Jasper wondering what she was doing home in the middle of a workday, she walked to the door, fully prepared to shoo him away, but when she looked through the viewer, she saw Shelby standing outside.

  She opened the door. “Shelby? Is everything okay?”

  Shelby’s eyes darted around and she was obviously distraught. “No. It’s Trevor. He’s panicked and won’t talk to anyone but you. I’m seriously worried. He’s been trying to reach you, but you haven’t answered any of his calls.”

  Carly bit her lip. She hadn’t turned her phone ringer back on after leaving court. No wonder she’d gotten completely immersed in her research. “Sorry about that. I’ve been working on the case. We have a tight deadline to get some motions filed. Can you tell Trevor I’ll call him as soon as I’m done?”

  Shelby sighed. “I don’t think it will keep that long. He’s talking about going on one of those talk radio shows and making his case. He’s very upset and there’s no telling what he’ll say. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but I think you’re the only one he’ll listen to. He respects you.”

  Carly looked back at her computer and ran through a list of work she still had to do. As if sensing her reluctance, Shelby said, “I know I haven’t always been nice to you, but Trevor thinks you’re the best. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”