The Lincoln Lawyer Collection

by Connelly, Michael

  “No, I’m not confused about what happened. I was there. She was kidnapped by your client and after that I never saw her again. There is no confusion about that at all.”

  I wanted to stand and clap. Instead, I just nodded to myself. It was a fine, fine answer. But Royce moved on, acting as though he had not been hit with the tomato.

  “There have been times in your life when you were confused, however, correct?”

  “About my sister and what happened and who took her? Never.”

  “I’m talking about times you were incarcerated in mental health facilities and the psych wards of jails and prisons.”

  Gleason lowered her head in full realization that she would not escape this trial without a full airing of the lost years of her life. I just had to hope she would respond in the way Maggie had told her to.

  “After the murder of my sister, many things went wrong in my life,” she said.

  She then looked up directly at Royce as she continued.

  “Yes, I spent some time in those kinds of places. I think, and my counselors agreed, that it was because of what happened to Melissa.”

  Good answer, I thought. She was fighting.

  “We’ll get back into that later on,” Royce said. “But getting back to your sister, she was twelve at the time of her murder, correct?”

  “That’s right.”

  “This would have been the same age you were when your stepfather began to sexually abuse you. Am I right?”

  “About the same, yes.”

  “Did you warn your sister about him?”

  There was a long pause as Gleason considered her answer. This was because there was no good answer.

  “Ms. Gleason?” the judge prompted. “Please answer the question.”

  “No, I didn’t warn her. I was afraid to.”

  “Afraid of what?” Royce asked.

  “Him. As you’ve already pointed out, I’ve been through a lot of therapy in my life. I know that it is not unusual for a child to be unable to tell anyone. You get trapped in the behavior. Trapped by fear. I’ve been told that many times.”

  “In other words, you go along to get along.”

  “Sort of. But that is a simplification. It was more—”

  “But you did live with a lot of fear in your life back then?”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Did your stepfather tell you not to tell anyone about what he was doing to you?”

  “Yes, he said—”

  “Did he threaten you?”

  “He said that if I told anyone I would be taken away from my mother and sister. He said he would make sure that the state would think my mother knew about it and they would consider her unfit. They would take Melissa and me away. Then we would get split up because foster homes couldn’t always take two at a time.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  “Yes, I was twelve. I believed him.”

  “And it scared you, didn’t it?”

  “Yes. I wanted to stay with my fam—”

  “Wasn’t it that same fear and control that your stepfather had over you that made you go along to get along after he killed your sister?”

  Again Maggie jumped up to object, stating that the question was leading and assumed facts not in evidence. The judge agreed and sustained the objection.

  Undeterred, Royce went at Gleason relentlessly.

  “Isn’t it true that you and your mother did and said exactly what your stepfather told you to in the cover-up of Melissa’s murder?”

  “No, that’s not—”

  “He told you to say it was a tow truck driver and that you were to pick one of the men the police brought to the house.”

  “No! He didn’t—”

  “Objection!”

  “There was no hide-and-seek game outside the house, was there? Your sister was murdered inside the house by Kensington Landy. Isn’t that true!”

  “Your Honor!”

  Maggie was now shouting.

  “Counsel is badgering the witness with these leading questions. He doesn’t want her answers. He just wants to deliver his lies to the jury!”

  The judge looked from Maggie to Royce.

  “All right, everyone just calm down. The objection is sustained. Mr. Royce, ask the witness one question at a time and allow her the time to answer. And you will not ask leading questions. Need I remind you, you called her as a witness. If you wanted to lead her you should’ve conducted a cross-examination when you had the opportunity.”

  Royce put on his best look of contrition. It must’ve been difficult.

  “I apologize for getting carried away, Your Honor,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

  It didn’t matter if it happened again. Royce had already gotten his point across. His purpose was not to get an admission from Gleason. In fact, he expected none. His purpose was to get his alternate theory to the jury. In that, he was being very successful.

  “Okay, let’s move on,” Royce said. “You mentioned earlier that you spent a considerable part of your adult life in counseling and drug rehab, not to mention incarceration. Is that correct?”

  “To a point,” Gleason said. “I have been clean and sober and a—”

  “Just answer the question that was asked,” Royce quickly interjected.

  “Objection,” Maggie said. “She is trying to answer the question he asked, but Mr. Royce doesn’t like the full answer and is trying to cut her off.”

  “Let her answer the question, Mr. Royce,” Breitman said tiredly. “Go ahead, Ms. Gleason.”

  “I was just saying that I have been clean for seven years and a productive member of society.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Gleason.”

  Royce then led her through a tragic and sordid history, literally going arrest by arrest and revealing all the details of the depravity Sarah wallowed in for so long. Maggie objected often, arguing that it had little to do with Sarah’s identification of Jessup, but Breitman allowed most of the questioning to continue.

  Finally, Royce wrapped up his examination by setting up his next witness.

  “Getting back to the rehabilitation center in North Hollywood, you were there for five months in nineteen ninety-nine, correct?”

  “I don’t remember exactly when or for how long. You obviously have the records there.”

  “But you do remember meeting another client, named Edward Roman, known as Eddie?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “And you got to know him well?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you meet him?”

  “We were in group counseling together.”

  “How would you describe the relationship you had with Eddie Roman back then?”

  “Well, in counseling we sort of realized that we knew some of the same people and liked doing the same things—meaning drugs. So we started hanging out and it continued after we were both released.”

  “Was this a romantic relationship?”

  Gleason laughed in a way that was not supposed to impart humor.

  “What passed for romance between two drug addicts,” she said. “I think the term is enablers. By being together we were enabling each other. But romance is not a word I would use. We had sex on occasion—when he was able to. But there was no romance, Mr. Royce.”

  “But didn’t you in fact believe at one point that you two were married?”

  “Eddie set something up on the beach with a man he said was a minister. But it wasn’t real. It wasn’t legal.”

  “But at the time you thought it was, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So were you in love with him?”

  “No, I wasn’t in love with him. I just thought he could protect me.”

  “So you were married, or at least thought you were. Did you live together?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where?”

  “In different motels in the Valley.”

  “All this time you were together, you must’ve confided in Eddie, y
es?”

  “About some things, yes.”

  “Did you ever confide in him about your sister’s murder?”

  “I am sure I did. I didn’t keep it a secret. I would have talked about it in group therapy in North Hollywood and he was sitting right there.”

  “Did you ever tell him that your stepfather killed your sister?”

  “No, because that didn’t happen.”

  “So if Eddie Roman were to come to this courtroom and testify that you did indeed tell him that, then he would be lying.”

  “Yes.”

  “But you have already testified yesterday and today that you have lied to counselors and police. You have stolen and committed many crimes in your life. But you’re not lying here. Is that what we are to believe?”

  “I’m not lying. You are talking about a period of my life when I did those things. I don’t deny that. I was human trash, okay? But I am past that now and have been past it for a long time. I’m not lying now.”

  “Okay, Ms. Gleason, no further questions.”

  As Royce returned to his seat, Maggie and I put our heads together and whispered.

  “She held up really well,” Maggie said. “I think we should let it stand and I’ll just hit a couple high notes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Ms. McPherson?” the judge prompted.

  Maggie stood.

  “Yes, Your Honor. Just a few questions.”

  She went to the lectern with her trusty legal pad. She skipped the buildup and got right to the matters she wanted to cover.

  “Sarah, this man Eddie Roman and the phony marriage—whose idea was it to get married?”

  “Eddie asked me to get married. He said we would work together as a team and share everything, that he would protect me and that we could never be forced to testify against each other if we got arrested.”

  “And what did working together as a team mean in that circumstance?”

  “Well, I… he wanted me to sell myself so we would have money to buy drugs and to have a motel room.”

  “Did you do that for Eddie?”

  “For a little bit of time. And then I got arrested.”

  “Did Eddie bail you out?”

  “No.”

  “Did he come to court?”

  “No.”

  “Your record shows you pleaded guilty to soliciting and were sentenced to time served, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long was that?”

  “I think it was thirteen days.”

  “And was Eddie there waiting when you got out of jail?”

  “No.”

  “Did you ever see him again?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Maggie checked her notes, flipped up a couple pages and found what she was looking for.

  “Okay, Sarah, you mentioned several times during your testimony earlier today that you did not remember specific dates and occurrences that Mr. Royce asked you about during the time you were a drug user. Is that a fair characterization?”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “During all of those years of drug abuse and counseling and incarceration, were you ever able to forget what happened to your sister, Melissa?”

  “No, never. I thought about it every day. I still do.”

  “Were you ever able to forget about the man who crossed your front yard and grabbed your sister while you watched from the bushes?”

  “No, never. I thought about him every day and still do.”

  “Have you ever had a moment of doubt about the man you identified as your sister’s abductor?”

  “No.”

  Maggie turned and pointedly looked at Jessup, who was looking down at a legal pad and writing what were probably meaningless notes. Her eyes held on him and she waited. Just as Jessup looked up to see what was holding up the testimony she asked her last question.

  “Never a single doubt, Sarah?”

  “No, never.”

  “Thank you, Sarah. No further questions.”

  Thirty-eight

  Thursday, April 8, 10:35 A.M.

  The judge followed Sarah Gleason’s testimony by announcing the midmorning break. Bosch waited in his seat at the railing until Royce and Jessup got up and started to file out. He then stood and moved against the grain to get to his witness. As he passed by Jessup he clapped him hard on the arm.

  “I think your makeup’s starting to run, Jason.”

  He said it with a smile as he went by.

  Jessup stopped and turned and was about to respond to the taunt when Royce grabbed him by the other arm and kept him going.

  Bosch moved forward to collect Gleason from the witness stand. After parts of two days on the stand, she looked like she was both emotionally and physically drained. Like she might need help just getting up from the chair.

  “Sarah, you did great,” he told her.

  “Thank you. I couldn’t tell if anybody believed me.”

  “They all did, Sarah. They all did.”

  He walked her back to the prosecution table, where Haller and McPherson had similar reviews of her testimony. McPherson got up out of her seat and hugged her.

  “You stood up to Jessup and you stood up for your sister,” she said. “You can be proud of that for the rest of your life.”

  Gleason suddenly burst into tears and held her hand over her eyes. McPherson quickly pulled her back into the hug.

  “I know, I know. You’ve held it together and stayed strong. It’s okay to let it go now.”

  Bosch walked over to the jury box and grabbed the box of tissues. He brought them to Gleason and she wiped away her tears.

  “You’re almost done,” Haller said to her. “You’ve totally finished testifying so now all we want you to do is sit in court and observe the trial. We want you to sit up here in the front row when Eddie Roman testifies. After that, we can put you on a plane home this afternoon.”

  “Okay, but why?”

  “Because he’s going to tell lies about you. And if he is going to do that, then he’s going to have to tell them to your face.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with that. He never did.”

  “Well, then, the jury will want to see how you react. And how he’ll react. And don’t worry, we’ve got something else cooking that’ll make Eddie feel some heat.”

  At that, Haller turned to Bosch.

  “You ready with this?”

  “Just give me the sign.”

  “Can I ask something?” Gleason said.

  “Sure,” Haller said.

  “What if I don’t want to get on a plane today? What if I want to be here for the verdict? For my sister.”

  “We would love that, Sarah,” Maggie said. “You are welcome and can stay as long as you like.”

  Bosch stood in the hallway outside the courtroom. He had his phone out and was slowly typing a text to his daughter with one finger. His efforts were interrupted when he received a text. It was from Haller and was only one word.

  NOW

  He put his phone away and walked to the witness waiting room. Sonia Reyes was slumped in a chair with her head down, two empty coffee cups on the table in front of her.

  “Okay, Sonia, rise and shine. We’re going to go do this. You okay? You ready?”

  She looked up at him with tired eyes.

  “That’s too many questions, po-liceman.”

  “Okay, I’ll settle for one. How’re you feeling?”

  “About how I look. You got any more of that stuff they gave me at the clinic?”

  “That was it. But I’m going to have someone take you right back there as soon as we’re finished here.”

  “Whatever you say, po-liceman. I don’t think I’ve been up this early since the last time I was in county lockup.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not that early. Let’s go.”

  He helped her up and they headed toward Department 112. Reyes was what they called a silent witness. She wouldn’t be
testifying in the trial. She was in no condition to. But by walking her down the aisle and putting her in the front row, Bosch would make sure she would be noticed by Edward Roman. The hope was that she’d knock Roman off his game, maybe even make him change it up. They were banking on his not knowing the rules of evidence and therefore not understanding that her appearance in the gallery precluded her from testifying at the trial and exposing his lies.

  Harry hit the door with a fist as he pushed it open because he knew it would draw attention inside the court. He then ushered Reyes in and walked her down the aisle. Edward Roman was already on the stand, sworn in and testifying. He wore an ill-fitting suit borrowed from Royce’s client closet and was clean-shaven with short, neat hair. He stumbled verbally when he saw Sonia in the courtroom.

  “We had group counseling twice…”

  “Only twice?” Royce asked, unaware of the distraction in the aisle behind him.

  “What?”

  “You said you only had group counseling with Sarah Gleason twice?”

  “Nah, man, I meant twice a day.”

  Bosch escorted Reyes to a seat with a reserved sign on it. He then sat down next to her.

  “And approximately how long did this last?” Royce asked.

  “Each one was fifty minutes, I think,” Roman answered, his eyes holding on Reyes in the audience.

  “I mean how long were you both in counseling? A month, a year, how long?”

  “Oh, it was for five months.”

  “And did you become lovers while you were in the center?”

  Roman lowered his eyes.

  “Uh… yeah, that’s right.”

  “How did you manage that? I assume there are rules against that.”

  “Well, if there’s a will, there’s always a way, you know? We found time. We found places.”

  “Did this relationship continue after you two were released from the center?”

  “Yes. She got out a couple weeks ahead of me. Then I got out and we hooked up.”

  “Did you live together?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes. Can I ask a question?”

  Royce paused. He hadn’t expected this.

  “No, Mr. Roman,” the judge said. “You can’t ask a question. You are a witness in these proceedings.”