Chapter 17 #2
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Yes or no, Miss Maddox?”
“Yes, I suppose it was.”
“Now, two days later, on April 12th, there was a deposit made into that same account.”
She shifted in her seat before grabbing her glass of water.
“How much was that deposit for?” I asked her.
“I don’t know.”
I glanced down at the statement. “Three hundred thousand dollars.”
I could feel the courtroom and the jurors shift in their seats.
“Three hundred thousand dollars you deposited into your account on April 12th. Two days after you told the detectives you saw my client shoot Mr. Cavalier,” I shouted.
“Objection! Argumentative!” ADA Jacobs shouted.
“Really?” I turned to him. “It’s a timeline, counsel.”
“Overruled,” the judge spoke.
“Miss Maddox, where did that money come from?”
“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her hands trembled as she swiped at a piece of her hair on her face.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” My voice echoed throughout the room. “So, you’re saying that three hundred thousand dollars appeared in your account like magic?”
“I didn’t put it there, Mr. Hamilton.”
“So, someone else did?”
“Objection!” ADA Jacobs barked.
“I’m asking a question, Your Honor.” I glanced at the judge.
His eyes narrowed at the witness. “Overruled. Answer the question.”
“I don’t know.” She lowered her head.
I took a step closer to the stand and rested my hand on the edge.
“Miss Maddox, have you ever, at any point in your life, deposited three hundred thousand dollars into any bank account you’ve owned?”
“I—”
“Yes or no, Miss Maddox?”
“No.” She shook her head.
She was about to break. All I needed was to push her a little more.
“So, three hundred thousand dollars isn’t a normal amount of money for you, is it?”
“No.”
“In fact, on April 8th, two days before the shooting, you were two months behind on your rent. Correct?”
“Objection! Personal financial—”
I cut ADA Jacobs off. “Goes to motive.”
“Overruled. Sit down, Counsel.” The judge raised his hand.
“Miss Maddox?” I stared at her.
“I was dealing with things.”
“Right,” I said. “You were dealing with an eviction notice. And then two days later, you spoke to the detectives.”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“And two days after that, you received three hundred thousand dollars. Did anyone promise you money in exchange for making a statement against my client?”
“NO!” she shouted.
“Did anyone offer to help you with your rent, your bills, your problems, if you told the detectives you saw my client shoot Mr. Cavalier?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Then explain it, Miss Maddox.”
She sat there in silence.
“Miss Maddox,” I said. “You told the detectives you witnessed a murder and identified my client as the shooter. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“You do understand that a statement like that can put him away for the rest of his life.”
“Yes. I know. I know what I saw.”
I was in no mood for this bullshit and all her lies.
“And within forty-eight hours of giving that statement, three hundred thousand dollars was deposited into your account,” I shouted.
“It was deposited by a shell company called Greenberg Consulting! Forty-eight hours later! Do you understand the penalty of perjury, Miss Maddox? You are sitting on this stand and perjuring yourself!”
“Objection, Your Honor!”
“Mr. Hamil—”
“And you’re going away for a very long time!” I shouted at her.
Tears began to stream as she covered her face with her hands.
“They made me.”
“Excuse me?” I cocked my head. “Who made you do what?”
“Mr. Roberts. He knew of my financial difficulties and told me that he could make all my problems disappear.”
“Are you referring to William Roberts, Vice President of Galactic Enterprises?” I asked.
“Yes.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry. I was in a bad financial position and needed the money. I’m so sorry.” She shook her head as tears streamed down her face.”
“One last question, Miss Maddox. Did you witness my client shoot Mr. Cavalier?”
“No.” Her head shook. “I wasn’t even at the office when it happened.”
“Your Honor,” I said. “The defense requests that the jury be excused from the courtroom.”
He studied me for a moment, looked at ADA Jacobs, and then nodded.
“Members of the jury, please step into the deliberation room.”
I walked back and placed the file I was holding on the table.
“Your Honor, at this time, the defense moves for a mistrial.”
“Objection, Your Honor!”
“This Court has just heard sworn testimony from the State’s primary eyewitness admitting she fabricated her account of Mr. Cavalier’s murder.
She further admitted she was compensated to give false testimony.
The State built its case based on Miss Maddox’s testimony as an eyewitness.
She perjured herself on the stand, destroying any evidence the State has against my client. ”
“ADA Jacobs?” The judge looked at him.
“Your Honor, what happened here today is deeply troubling. The State does not dispute that. But troubling testimony does not automatically justify a mistrial. The State’s case does not rise or fall based on one witness.”
“Your witness. The only person who claimed she saw the defendant pull the trigger and shoot Mr. Cavalier just told this courtroom that she lied and was compensated to lie. I would hope that the State will go after the perpetrator who orchestrated this setup. Based on Miss Maddox’s testimony and the other non-facts of this case, I have no choice but to declare a mistrial.
” He banged his gavel. “Court is dismissed.”
A smile graced my face as I looked at Julian.
“This isn’t over, Hamilton,” ADA Jacobs said.
“Oh, but it is. How the hell do you sleep at night?”
“The same could be said about you,” he said.
“I sleep just fine. Maybe in the future, you should verify the credibility of your witnesses. But then again, I like making you look like a fool.” I grabbed my briefcase. “Julian, let’s go.”