“You’ve done enough to make yourself look guilty, I didn’t have to do a thing.”
Now anger seeped into his voice. “Watch your mouth. When you make accusations, you better have something to back them up with.”
“What if I said I do?”
Not used to having women stand up to him, he sputtered, “I’d say you better quit this case and stay with the police department while you still have a job.”
She cocked an eyebrow, hoping to piss him off even more. “That’s not how this works. David Spencer deserves a good legal defense. I’m just following the evidence.”
“Follow something else. You’re making a mistake, Detective.” He suddenly turned and snapped his fingers. The younger version of him jumped in the driver seat of a sleek black sedan and revved the engine while Vine headed for the passenger side.
“I’m just doing my job!” Lauren called after him.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he tossed back, getting in the car and speeding away, leaving Lauren standing on the sidewalk.
Parking ramps, she thought as she walked toward her building. Or maybe I’d have better luck with buses.
68
The next day Lauren dropped by Violanti’s office with copies of the disk he had asked for, which showed the intersection activity outside of the condo the night of Katherine Vine’s murder. She’s been so caught up with the Stenz and Ortiz cases she hadn’t gotten around to bringing them over. She also wanted to tell him about the weird little run-in she had with Anthony Vine, but Violanti was hustling out of his office as she crossed the threshold.
“I can’t talk right now. I’m due in court. Drop those off to my secretary.”
“What case?”
She turned and followed him back to the elevator. He was definitely avoiding her. “It’s a suppression motion in David’s case. It’s nothing.” He stabbed the button on the panel with one short finger and looked up at the numbers descending over the door.
“What’s Church trying to suppress?”
“He isn’t,” he said, still looking up. “We are.”
“What are you trying to suppress?” The doors slid open. Two women were already in the elevator, business dressed, but with sneakers on so they could walk on their lunch break.
Violanti sighed. “It’s nothing, okay? It’s a witness who has no relevance to this case. They added her on the witness list two days ago. The trial starts Monday. I had to schedule this fast.” The door opened and he walked out without checking to see if she was following him, which she was. She’d wanted to tell him about Vine’s visit, but that took a backseat now to whatever Violanti was up to.
“Who’s the witness?” she pressed as they crossed the lobby, his short legs doing double duty to stay one step ahead of her.
“Someone who was dealt with two years ago and should never have been brought up.”
“Violanti.” They hit the revolving door and spilled out into the street. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Just go do whatever it is you do and let me handle this, okay?”
“Do you mind if I watch?”
He stopped and faced her. “I do mind. Please, just let me handle this.”
She studied his face. “Who’s the witness?”
“Please, Lauren? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
“Now you know I’m coming.”
The stand-off lasted another second before he stomped off toward the courthouse. “Suit yourself. I’m trying this case in less than a week. I don’t have time for this.”
Lauren followed him from a distance to the courthouse. It was an odd-looking mashup of old and new architecture. When you caught a case at the Erie County courthouse you never knew if you’d be in the 1800s with soaring ceilings twenty feet high, the boxy 1970s, or the airy open 1990s. Today they were in the ’70s.
As Violanti unloaded all his files on the defense table, Lauren found a seat in the gallery. Hard plastic chairs were linked together so no one could throw them. There was a woman she’d never seen before sitting in the front row with a young girl. The girl was cute and a little chubby, with a bob haircut and black glasses. She looked nervous and the woman with her, presumably her mother, looked ready to pass out. Her face was flushed and her hands were clenched around the bamboo handle of a straw bag. The only other person in the courtroom was a single deputy until Lynn Ferro came in with her briefcase. Church didn’t handle such mundane tasks as suppression hearings. Not enough splash for him.
Another deputy came in, whispered to the first, then they both disappeared down a side hallway. As if on cue, the court clerk and stenographer came in together from the right side of the judge’s bench and took their places. The bailiff came in, looked around, and then announced, “All rise. The Honorable Judge O’Keefe presiding.”
The three women in the gallery stood as the judge made his way from behind his seat and slid into place. “You may be seated,” he said. The three women sank back into their plastic chairs.
His court clerk pulled a file from a stack on her desk, handed it to the judge, and announced, “This is docket number 324567 on the calendar. A hearing to suppress the testimony of Samantha Godwin pursuant to the case of the People versus David Ryan Spencer.”
The judge opened the file and leafed through the motion. “This is a last-minute witness for the prosecution?”
“It is, Your Honor,” Lynn Ferro piped up. “We apologize for the delay, but her existence was only made known to us by Garden Valley Detective Joe Wheeler five days ago.”
“And it is your contention, Mr. Violanti, that this witness should be suppressed on a number of grounds.”
“These are unproven allegations that were dealt with by the police two years ago. They found no evidence to support her claim. No charges were ever filed. The report was sealed. These allegations have no relevance to the matter at hand and would be extremely prejudicial to the jury. I’d also like the record to reflect that this matter is set for trial starting this Monday, October 23rd.”
“Sir, the people contend that this shows a pattern of conduct and a propensity for violence against women—”
“Objection! The girl herself never alleges my client physically hurt her in any way.”
“Enough,” the judge said wearily. “Bring in the defendant. Are the people ready?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Violanti?”
“Yes, sir.”
There was a long moment of silence as everyone waited for David to be brought out. He was wearing the jail uniform; presumably because the hearing was scheduled so fast, Violanti didn’t have time to prep him. Lauren knew he wouldn’t be testifying anyway. Not here. Not yet.
Looking a little confused and scared, David sat at Violanti’s table. He closed his eyes tightly together, as if he hadn’t fully processed what was going on yet, then opened them while releasing a heavy breath. David whispered something to his godfather, who silenced him with a small sweep of his hand.
The judge addressed Lynn Ferro, “Call your witness.”
“Sir, the People call Samantha Godwin.”
Rising from her seat in the gallery, the teenage girl came forward and walked through the gate that one of the deputies held open for her. She passed David without looking at him and let herself be guided to the witness stand. The court clerk held a Bible out to her and asked as she placed her hand on it, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“You’ll have to speak up,” the court stenographer admonished.
“Oh, okay,” she stammered a little. “Sorry.”
“Have a seat.” The judge motioned her to the witness stand. Sinking down onto it like it was an electric chair, she sat on the very edge, her mouth almost touching the microphone in front of
her. Her simple pale blue dress seemed to make her look younger, along with her chubby cheeks and studious glasses. Lauren wondered if Church had suggested that outfit. He was a stickler for dramatic detail.
Lynn Ferro rose and crossed the courtroom. She went through the usual pedigree information: name, age, address. What grade was she in? Where did she go to school?
Then she got to the meat of the inquiry. “Do you know the defendant, David Spencer?”
“Yes.”
“From where do you know him?”
Her eyes darted to David then back to the prosecutor. “From school. He was a year ahead of me in school.”
Ferro walked over and leaned her arm on the edge of the witness box. A classic lawyer move. “When did you first meet David Spencer?”
“When I was a sophomore and he was a junior.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Everybody knew who David Spencer was. He was the best football player in school. He made varsity his freshman year.”
“He was popular?”
“Yes.”
“How did you meet him?” Lynn prompted.
“My friend invited me to a party in the quarry—”
“What quarry is that?”
“Oh, it’s the old abandoned quarry off of Lakeshore Road. I don’t know if it has an official name. Kids have parties there. Beer, fires, and stuff. They were having a party there because it was homecoming that weekend and we had won the game and everyone was happy and celebrating.”
“You and your friend went to the party?”
Samantha nodded. “Kaitlyn Kelly. She’s a cheerleader and she knew a lot of the guys. We got there just when it was getting dark. Some of the guys went and got firewood and built a fire. Everyone was drinking beer. David had pulled his Jeep down to the quarry and had music playing from it. He knew my friend Kaitlyn, she introduced us.”
“What happened next?”
“The cops came. Everyone scattered because we could see the flashing lights coming from the road. David said for me and Kaitlyn to get into his Jeep and we did. He drove out the other way, up onto the tracks. He followed them to a back road and then we got back onto the main road. He said he would take us home.”
“Did he?”
She nodded. “He took Kaitlyn home first because she lived the closest. He dropped her off at the top of her street and then we watched until she got in. I told him where I lived and he asked if I wanted to hang out for a little while longer.”
“What did you say?”
“I said okay, but I had to be home by ten thirty. He said okay and we started to drive around. After a while, he pulled over under an old railroad bridge by the school. He said he wanted to talk.”
“What did you talk about?”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Nothing. He kissed me and at first I kissed him back. Then he tried to take my shirt off and I said no.”
“He tried to take your shirt off and you said no? Clearly said no?”
“He stopped and we kept kissing and then he did it again. And I said no again. And he stopped for a while. Then he tried to put my hand on his penis and I pulled away and told him to take me home. He just kept kissing me and kept trying to get me to do things, then he just went ahead and had sex with me.”
“What do you mean, ‘he had sex’ with you?”
Samantha sputtered, clearly distressed. “He pulled his pants down and just went ahead and had sex with me. I just lay there because I didn’t know how to stop him. When he finished, he started up the Jeep and dropped me off. I was so shocked, I ran upstairs and took a shower. I was freaking out because he didn’t use a condom. I didn’t know what to do.” Her tears were free flowing now. The judge held out a box of tissues he kept on his desk for just such an occasion. She took one and wiped her eyes and sniffed.
“For the record, Samantha, did you say the word no to David Spencer when he tried to have intercourse with you?”
She sniffled. “Yes.”
“Did you say no repeatedly to David Spencer?”
“Yes.” The pain in her voice was heartbreaking to Lauren.
“Did you want to have sexual intercourse with David Spencer?”
“No.”
Lynn’s voice dropped a notch. Lauren knew this was the part that Violanti would come back to later to attack. “Did you report what happened to anyone?”
Samantha shook her head. “I told my mother and she took me to the doctor and they called the police.”
“How much later did you tell your mother?”
“Two months.”
“Why did you wait so long?”
“I was scared. He was really popular and I was afraid no one would believe me.” She sniffed again and wiped her nose with the tissue.
Lynn Ferro turned to the judge. “No further questions for the witness, Your Honor.”
She turned on her heel and walked back to the prosecution table. Violanti got up slowly, holding a file in front of him and walked toward the girl, keeping a polite distance.
“Are you ready to continue, Miss Godwin, or do you need to take a break?” Violanti asked kindly.
She shook her head. “No, I’m okay.”
“Good. Just let me know if you need to stop. I only have a few questions.”
“Okay.”
“You testified that when David tried to take your shirt off, you said no, correct?”
“I said no.”
“And you testified that when he tried to put your hand on his penis, you said no, correct?”
“Correct.”
“But you testified that you kept kissing him, correct?”
“Yes.” Her answer was just above a whisper.
“And when you testified he had sex with you, you didn’t mention you said no again, is that correct?”
“I’d already said it.”
“But you continued to kiss him?”
“He knew I didn’t want to have sex with him.” Her voice sounded mad and confused now. She was getting defensive and scared.
Lauren’s gut twisted. Sexual assault victims always ended up defending themselves.
Violanti leaned in closer. “How did he know? If you didn’t say it, how did he know?”
Lynn Ferro jumped up. “Objection!”
“Withdrawn. Samantha, what made you decide to tell your mother about what had happened between you and David?”
“I needed to go see a doctor. I thought something was wrong with me.”
“You thought David had given you something?”
She nodded. Her cheeks flushed red, a tear rolled down one cheek and soaked into the front of her blouse.
“You have to say yes or no, Samantha.”
“Yes.”
“Did he give you something?”
“No, I had a yeast infection.”
Violanti took a step back now, putting distance between himself and Samantha. “The doctor called the police, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t call the police?”
Her voice was getting smaller. “No.”
“Your mother didn’t call the police?”
Almost inaudible: “No.”
“What did the police do?”
Barely a whisper now: “They took a report and a detective came to my house. He said since there was no evidence it would be my word against his.”
“Was this Detective Joe Wheeler?”
She nodded.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to speak your answers out loud.”
“Yes.”
“Was it Detective Wheeler who contacted you for this proceeding?”
Louder: “Yes.”
“Did you continue to go to school with David Spencer after the night at the bonfire?”
&nb
sp; Samantha’s eyes slid over to David, then quickly back to Violanti. “Yes.”
“Did he threaten you at all?”
“No.”
“Did his friends threaten you?”
“No.”
“Did David ever speak to you again after that night?”
“No.” More tears, now her shoulders were shaking.
“How did that make you feel? When he didn’t speak to you?”
The prosecutor leapt to her feet. “Objection!”
The judge pounded the gavel, but Violanti quickly said, “Withdrawn. Your Honor, I have no more questions for Samantha.”
She was slumped over in the witness box, sobbing and clutching the tissue the judge had given her. Judge O’Keefe made a motion and the bailiff let her mother approach the box and remove her gently from the stand. The mom glared at David as she passed, arms wrapped around her daughter.
Like a lioness protecting her cub, Lauren thought as she walked Samantha right out of the courtroom.
“Your honor … ” Ferro chimed in, hoping to make a point quickly, but the judge shot her down. He held up one hand, and she stopped mid-sentence.
“Miss Ferro, we don’t have to go any further. Your office knows that Miss Godwin could never be used as a witness. While I have no opinion as to whether or not the event actually occurred the way she described it, you know and Mr. Church knows that you cannot use an unproven allegation of a juvenile against another juvenile at trial. I can only surmise that Mr. Church was hoping that this would leak to the press somehow. I’d expect a stunt like this from Mr. Violanti, but not you, Miss Ferro. I’m sustaining the defense’s motion to suppress this witness. Furthermore, I’m instructing you and your office to make no mention of this witness at trial and to have no comment about this witness should you be asked about her by the press.”
“Your Honor—”
“You skated on some thin ice this time. No more stunts, Miss Ferro.” The judge got up and walked off the stand without another word.
Violanti turned toward Lynn Ferro. “Nice try.” He smirked.
“Asshole,” she shot back and gathered up her paperwork. Violanti patted David on the shoulder. His face was as white as the paper his motion was written on. The deputies came forward and led him out through a side door, back to the lockup.
A Cold Day in Hell Page 22