Perfect Game

by Leslie Dana Kirby

  “You testified earlier that you did a Google search for deaths from traumatic injuries, is that correct?”

  “Yes, my supervisor at work asked me that day what percentage of deaths result from traumatic injuries. I didn’t know the answer so I wanted to look it up and let him know I had found it.”

  “And did you report your findings back to your medical supervisor?”

  “Yes. Unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and the number one cause of death for people under the age of thirty-four.”

  “Was he satisfied with those findings?”

  “Yes, though he would have preferred I had known them without having to consult Google.”

  More laughter in the gallery.

  Candace allowed Lauren to clarify several more issues before wrapping up and court recessed for lunch. Over a quick meal in the war room, Candace prepared Lauren for the upcoming re-direct. “Answer honestly, completely, and calmly. Don’t let Pratt cage you in. And, remember he’s only allowed to return to subjects broached by me so if he tries to open up something new, wait for me to object.”

  Although Lauren was the witness on the stand, the afternoon court session turned into the Candace vs. Pratt comedy sketch. Pratt attempted to rehash issues exhausted on direct examination. Candace objected on the basis that the question had already been asked and answered.

  Reviewing his notes, Pratt fixed his gaze upon Lauren. “Do you remember testifying you did not fantasize about a relationship with Jake Wakefield because you were in a serious relationship yourself?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell us when that serious relationship ended?” Pratt asked.

  “Objection, outside the scope,” Candace said. But this time, the judge ruled against her, Pratt finally hit upon a topic he had not already exhausted.

  “In May of last year,” Lauren answered.

  “And how long had that relationship lasted?”

  Despite Candace’s objection, the judge allowed Pratt to continue. As Pratt’s face twisted into a self-satisfied smirk, Lauren got the distinct feeling he already knew the answer to these questions. Had somebody from the Defense team talked to Michael? Wouldn’t Michael have had the courtesy to contact Lauren and let her know?

  “It lasted about three and a half years.”

  “Three and half years? That sounds very serious. Had the two of you discussed marriage?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what was the outcome of those discussions? Had you agreed to get married?”

  “Not exactly. We were never officially engaged.”

  “But you were planning marriage in your future, weren’t you?”

  “Yes, we both thought that would happen after we graduated from medical school.”

  “But it didn’t?”

  “No.”

  “Why did the relationship end?” Pratt asked with a malicious grin.

  “He got involved with somebody else,” Lauren said, trying very hard not to allow the pain to show on her face.

  “After three and a half years and plans for eventual marriage, he got involved with somebody else?”

  She felt embarrassed and exposed. Details about her private personal life splashed around for public display as if she was a circus sideshow. “Yes.”

  “Did you know the other woman?”

  “Yes.”

  “So your boyfriend of three and a half years got involved with a woman you knew?”

  “Yes.”

  “And whatever happened between your ex-boyfriend and the woman he cheated on you with?”

  “They got married.”

  “They got married,” Pratt repeated. “That must have really hurt you, didn’t it?”

  “I was hurt at the time of the breakup, but now I feel relieved.”

  “Relieved?” Pratt asked as if he had not heard her correctly.

  “Yes, my ex-boyfriend wasn’t the man I thought he was. I’m so glad I discovered that before we married.”

  Several women in the courtroom nodded their heads.

  “But you admit you were really hurt at the time of the breakup, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And he broke up with you, hurting you, just a few months before your sister was killed, correct?”

  Candace was on her feet. “Your Honor, I object to this entire line of questioning. Mr. Pratt is attempting to establish a link between two events when there is no evidence they are related.”

  “Ms. Keene,” Judge Robles responded, “you have already been overruled on this matter. I will hear your motion to appeal my decision now if you so choose.”

  Candace paused as if she were deliberating the issue, “No, Your Honor.”

  “Very well, let’s proceed.”

  Pratt didn’t miss a beat. “And your hurt reaction to your relationship breakup occurred only a few months before your sister was killed, isn’t that correct?”

  Any idiot with a calendar could answer that question, Lauren thought. “Yes.”

  “So, last May you got dumped by your longtime boyfriend, in June you moved to the Phoenix area and started spending more time with Jake and Elizabeth, in July your sister was killed, and in August you started spending a lot of time with Jake. Is that accurate?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly?” Pratt mocked.

  “I started spending more time with Liz after I moved here, but not really Jake.”

  “No, you didn’t start spending time with him until after your sister was conveniently dead, did you?”

  “I resent the representation that my sister’s death was convenient. It has never been anything other than tragic to me.”

  “Allow me to rephrase the question. “You didn’t start spending a lot of time with your sister’s husband until after your sister’s death, isn’t that right?”

  “We were supporting one another through the grieving process…”

  “Yes or no, Miss Rose. Yes or no?”

  “Yes.”

  He grinned and turned to the judge, “No more questions for this witness.”

  Court was adjourned for the day.

  Lauren dreaded the questions Ryan might ask during the afternoon drive, but he did not pry. However, he did say with a small grin, “Detective Pretty Boy thinks you did a fantastic job on the stand.”

  Although Lauren felt beat down, she couldn’t resist smiling. “He does? When did Wallace tell you that?”

  It took a fraction of a second for Ryan to comprehend her response and then they both laughed.

  Very little surprised Lauren anymore. Wedding pictures of Michael and his bride showed up on the covers of several tabloid magazines over the next few days underneath captions such as “Lauren Rose’s Ex-Boyfriend Speaks Out at Last.” Michael had capitalized on the trial publicity by selling his story to the tabloids. He probably needs the money to support his gold-digging wife, Lauren thought. He had staggering student loans and his new bride had quit her nursing job as soon as they had married. Lauren reminded herself once more of how lucky she was that she hadn’t ended up married to that scruple-less scumbag.

  Chapter Fifty-two

  (Wednesday, September 27)

  The following morning, Lauren returned to the stand for more cross-examination under Candace’s careful guidance.

  “Have you ever killed anybody, Dr. Rose?”

  “No.”

  “In fact, you have taken a solemn oath to help people heal, have you not?”

  “The Hippocratic Oath, yes.”

  “Under what circumstances might you intentionally kill someone?”

  “Only if it were necessary to defend my own life or the life of somebody else.”

  “What if it would bring you fortune?”

  “No
.”

  “What if it would bring you fame?”

  “No.”

  “What if it would bring you romance?”

  “No.”

  “So, you didn’t play any role in the death of your sister?”

  “None whatsoever. I had nothing to do with my sister’s death.”

  Candace left it at that.

  Over lunch, the prosecutors reviewed the Defense witness list, debating who might be called next. Most of the people on the list were character witnesses for Jake, mostly fellow baseball players. Candace said, “I would love to cross-examine some of these guys, but I doubt the Defense will call them now that the lid has blown wide open on their out-of-town escapades. What are they going to say? That Jake adored Liz when he wasn’t sleeping with other women? Besides, none of those guys is going to be willing to expose their own bad behaviors.”

  Candace bet Jake’s parents would testify next. Kyle’s money was on the hired gun the Defense had hired as an expert forensic witness. When court reconvened, Pratt called Mrs. Buffy Wakefield to the stand and Kyle owed Candace twenty bucks.

  Buffy was dressed in an expensive platinum-colored dress. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, her eyebrows dramatic arches over her icy blue eyes. Too-tan skin and too-white teeth made her look like a caricature. The personification of wealth.

  Buffy spoke with affected speech, which sounded like aristocratic British although she had been born and raised in Massachusetts. Perhaps she had once had a British nanny or had spent too much time watching Mary Poppins. In her polished manner, Buffy described Jake as the perfect son, a generous philanthropist, and the ideal husband.

  Candace kept it brief on cross-examination. “Mrs. Wakefield, Jake is your only child?”

  “Yes, we struggled to conceive and Jake was our miracle.”

  “And you love him very much, don’t you?”

  “More than anything else in the world.”

  “And you would be devastated if he were convicted of this crime, wouldn’t you?”

  “Very much so.”

  “No more questions for this witness.” Candace had made her point; mothers don’t make good witnesses.

  And fathers aren’t much better. Pratt called Jake’s father next. Jacob, Sr. looked impressive with his square shoulders, strong jaw, and expensive suit. He, too, testified Jake had been a joy to raise, demonstrating a special talent for throwing a ball from a very young age.

  Ryan, who had been running an errand for several hours, slipped back into court and passed some documents to Candace before resuming his seat next to Lauren. Candace skimmed over the documents and rewarded Ryan with a smile.

  Candace started her cross-exam with a line of questions similar to those she had asked Buffy. Jacob Sr. testified he and his wife had been thrilled to conceive after many fruitless years of trying and Jake had immediately become the center of their universe.

  “And it would be impossible for you to believe Jake guilty of this crime, wouldn’t it, Mr. Wakefield?”

  “Yes. He could not have done this.”

  “And what makes you so certain?”

  “He’s simply not capable of it.”

  “Mr. Wakefield, isn’t it true Jake got into some legal trouble when he was still in high school?”

  Pratt leapt to his feet, “Objection, irrelevant.”

  Candace was ready for this. “Your Honor, this information directly relates to the impeachment of Mr. Wakefield’s earlier testimony.”

  “Overruled.”

  Mr. Wakefield looked rattled. “He was never convicted of anything.”

  “But he was arrested for a crime and you had to pick him up from the police station, isn’t that right?”

  “That was many, many years ago,” Mr. Wakefield waved his arm as if dismissing the matter.

  “What was he arrested for?”

  “He and his girlfriend had been in a…a bit of a minor scuffle at school.”

  “A minor scuffle?” Candace referred to the documents in her hands. “Wasn’t he arrested for aggravated assault?”

  Mr. Wakefield brushed his fingers through his silvering mane. “Yes, but he was never formally charged.”

  “And why wasn’t he charged?”

  “Objection, calls for speculation,” Pratt shouted.

  “Allow me to rephrase the question. Mr. Wakefield, do you know why your son, Jake, was not formally charged with that crime?”

  Mr. Wakefield hesitated.

  “I’ll remind you that you’re under oath,” Candace prodded.

  “Yes, I believe I do,” Mr. Wakefield responded tentatively.

  “And why was that?”

  “The Paradise Valley Police chief felt the matter should be dismissed.”

  “Mr. Wakefield, aren’t you friendly with the man who was the Paradise Valley Police chief at that time?”

  “Well, I don’t know about the word friendly, but we do belong to the same country club.”

  “And did you make an appeal to him about your son’s arrest back then?”

  “Not an appeal, but we did speak about the issue.”

  “So, you helped your son avoid punishment for a crime he committed?”

  “A minor scuffle he was accused of committing,” Jacob Wakefield, Sr. retorted.

  “And wouldn’t you like to help him avoid punishment for the crime he is now accused of committing?”

  Wakefield looked at Pratt as if hoping for an objection, but none came. “Because he didn’t commit this crime,” he finally answered.

  “And how do you know he didn’t commit this crime?”

  “Because he’s my son and I just know, for crying out loud.”

  “Because you don’t want to believe your son is capable of any wrongdoing, do you Mr. Wakefield?”

  “Of course I don’t.”

  “No, of course you don’t,” Candace agreed.

  And the words hung in the courtroom air as court adjourned for the day.

  Ryan filled Lauren in on the ride home. Candace had sent him out on a fishing expedition for anything that might be helpful in impeaching the rosy picture Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield intended to paint of their son.

  “I didn’t think it would amount to much, but I thought I might as well stop in at Jake’s high school and ask around. The young receptionist at the front desk was sweet as punch with the same IQ. I asked her if there was any record of problems with Jake when he had been a student there. She gave me a glassy-eyed look and said she wouldn’t even know how to find such information. It was a crapshoot in the first place so I was walking out the door just as an older woman entered. She must have recognized me from the trial. She addressed me as Detective Boyd before I could introduce myself.”

  “She probably liked the looks of you,” Lauren remarked. Candace had not been joking when she said Ryan had the best success with female witnesses of any detective she knew.

  “Please. She was old enough to be my mother.”

  “A cougar,” Lauren made a purring noise. She got the result she was angling for when Ryan laughed.

  “You’re distracting me from this story, which is about to get good.”

  “Because it shows what a crackerjack detective you are?”

  “Exactly. She tells me they only maintain school disciplinary records as long as a student is enrolled so Jake’s should have been destroyed long ago. But then she confessed they don’t always get shredded in a timely manner. I’m still thinking nothing is going to come of it when the cougar hit print on her computer and handed me a copy of the disciplinary report. Jake decked his high school girlfriend in the face when he found her talking to another boy at school. She was transported to the hospital with a broken jaw and Jake was arrested for assault.”

  “Then Daddy got him out of his little scrape with the law?”

>   “It pays to have money and connections.”

  “I wonder if they can track down the old girlfriend?”

  “They can’t introduce old crimes in court. Candace can only use it to impeach Mr. Wakefield’s testimony that his son was the perfect angel.”

  “Geez, our legal system is biased in favor of the defendant,” Lauren observed, thinking of other things the jury would never hear, like Kathryn Montgomery’s knowledge of Jake’s physical abuse and the phone calls Jake had made to the anonymous tip line.

  “Ain’t that the truth?”

  “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Lauren agreed, reciting the oath she had already taken twice in this trial.

  Chapter Fifty-three

  (Thursday, September 28)

  The Defense called Dr. Scott Rankin as their next witness. Rankin had been a very well respected forensic pathologist working for the medical examiner’s office in Chicago. He had since retired from that position and now consulted on high profile criminal cases.

  Pratt spent the entire morning asking Dr. Rankin about the forensic testimony introduced by the Prosecution. No matter Pratt’s question, Rankin offered a polished explanation replete with multisyllabic scientific terms that refuted the Prosecution’s interpretation of the scientific evidence. He testified that Jake’s DNA and blood could have gotten under Liz’s fingernails during impassioned sex, the true killer might have worn gloves and a hat to avoid leaving behind evidence, somebody trained in medicine would be knowledgeable about how to avoid leaving DNA evidence behind at the scene, and so forth. Basically, Rankin provided several hours worth of testimony explaining why all of the evidence collected in this case could implicate Lauren.

  When Pratt could think of no other questions that would enable Dr. Rankin to incriminate Lauren, he turned the witness over to the Prosecution.

  Candace approached Rankin. “When was the last time you worked as a medical examiner?”

  “I have consulted on dozens of cases over the past…”

  “I’m so sorry,” Candace interrupted with a smile that appeared genuinely apologetic. “I think you must have misunderstood my question. The question is, when was the last time you were employed as a medical examiner?”