Chapter 48 #2
“What I want to do is save my neck, and I’ll do anything, and say anything, that will help me walk out of here a free man.
Do you know what it’s like to think about going to prison for the rest of your life?
Carry that around with you all day long, okay?
Try to get a decent night’s sleep with that nightmare screaming at you.
It’s terrifying. I’ll do anything, say anything. ”
The final witness for the prosecution was Sami Lu, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Tan Lu, the restaurant owner.
She had worked part-time in the family business since she could walk and would soon enroll at Virginia Tech with a full scholarship.
Sami did not want to get involved in the trial and would not agree to testify; thus, she had been served with a subpoena.
She took the stand holding some notes, copies of which had been provided to the defense.
Cora asked her if she remembered serving the defendant and his client, Ms. Eleanor Barnett.
She replied that she did not know the name of the client, but yes, they had eaten in the restaurant on three occasions the previous year and she had waited on them.
Using her notes, she gave the dates and said that each meal was paid with Mr. Latch’s credit card.
Almost on cue, Raymond stood, appeared to be thoroughly exasperated, and said, “Your Honor, please. Why are we wasting so much time?”
“State your objection, Mr. Lassiter,” Her Honor said sharply, as if irritated by him.
“Your Honor, we have tried and tried to stipulate that Simon Latch dined there several times, then later stopped on two occasions to buy two boxes of ginger cookies. He bought them for Ms. Barnett while she was in the hospital. But he didn’t poison them.”
“That’s enough! Overruled. Please continue, Ms. Cook.”
Sami produced the credit card receipts as the prosecutor projected them on the screen.
Simon used the diversion to glance at the jury.
Number two was Linda Garfield, age thirty-seven, a real estate appraiser for a bank, an attractive woman with large, sad, brown eyes.
If it was possible to flirt with a cute woman sitting on your jury, then Simon had been flirting.
There was no way Linda would convict him.
Cora picked up two exhibits, the carryout containers for Tan Lu’s orders to go, and Sami identified them as being identical to the ones she had sold to Mr. Latch.
At first, Raymond thought about waving off the witness and forgoing any cross-examination, but decided to poke some fun at the prosecution’s case. He ambled over to the podium and asked, “Now, young lady, who bakes these Saigon ginger cookies in your restaurant?”
Sami offered a lovely smile, her first of the day, and said, “Oh, everyone. Me, my parents, my sister, my aunt. The entire family works in the restaurant.”
“So you can bake these cookies all by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“And for how long have you been doing this?”
“I don’t know. Many years.”
“What are the ingredients?”
“White flour, cane sugar, brown sugar, butter, baking powder, eggs, ground ginger, molasses, a little salt, some ground cinnamon. I think that’s all.”
“Sounds delicious. Do you need to use a recipe when you bake these cookies?”
“No. I’ve done it many times.”
“And they’re baked fresh every day?”
“Yes.”
“Approximately how many are baked each day?”
“About ten dozen.”
“Did you bake the cookies purchased by Mr. Simon Latch?”
“Oh, there’s no way to know. We sell a lot of them and, as I said, the entire family works in the kitchen.”
“Has anyone ever complained about getting sick from eating your cookies?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Are you familiar with a poison called thallium?”
“No.”
“Have you or anyone in your family ever added thallium to your cookies?”
“No.”
“So, as far as you know, when Mr. Latch bought the cookies, both to carry out and to eat in the restaurant, they were free of thallium and all other poisons?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Well, has Mr. Latch complained of being poisoned by your cookies?”
“I don’t think so. Not to my knowledge.”
“Thank you.”
Judge Shyam said, “You may step down.”
It came as no surprise when Cora stood and said, “Your Honor, the Commonwealth of Virginia rests.”
Her Honor thought for a second as she reviewed some notes.
She directed the bailiff to dismiss the jury, then adjourned until 9 A.M. Thursday morning.
With the early adjournment, Simon, Raymond, and Casey disappeared into an empty courtroom down the hall.
Raymond was of the opinion that the Commonwealth had mismanaged its case and allowed it to end without a punch.
It simply ran out of gas. The last witnesses were ineffective and Cora Cook appeared to be stalling, trying to burn some clock.
Casey was more pessimistic. Because he was not on his feet interrogating witnesses, he spent more time watching the jurors, and he was worried about most of them.
Simon was still praying for a miracle but expecting the worst. From a third-floor window, he watched the news vans close up shop and leave the courthouse. When all was clear, he said, “I’m going for a drive. Call me if you need me.”
Raymond said, “What about tomorrow? Do you want to testify?”
“I don’t know. I’ll sleep on it. Let’s meet for coffee at seven and we’ll decide.”