Chapter 69
YUKI CASTELLANO SPRANG to her feet and said in a strong voice, “Objection.”
Judge Robert Cousins turned his head slowly toward the defense attorney.
The cross-examination of this prosecution witness felt like it’d been going on for two days.
In fact, it had only been about forty-five minutes since the start of the trial this morning.
Court had convened especially early today.
The judge said in his calm and monotone way, “Ms. Torres, please avoid leading the witness. I know it’s cross and you have some leeway. Don’t abuse it. I would prefer not to have to mention this again. Is that understood?”
The defense attorney, Angela Torres, flipped her jet-black hair over her shoulder. “Of course, Your Honor. My apologies.”
Yuki sat back down at the prosecution’s table. Nick Gaines, her second-chair attorney, leaned in and said, “Could she be any more full of it?”
Yuki mumbled, “Not even if she was a septic tank.” She glanced over her shoulder and noticed the crowd in the courtroom was growing.
Spectators were shoulder to shoulder. Word was getting around the Hall of Justice that this was a heavyweight bout.
She was gratified to see that the three young, muscular patrolmen she’d coerced to help with a witness had come back to watch the trial on their own.
They sat together in the very front row.
Two of them were in uniform, and must’ve been there with permission from their sergeant.
The third one was off duty and dressed in civilian clothes.
Yuki acknowledged them all with a little nod.
Angela Torres was taking her time before she got back into the cross-examination of the witness.
Torres was the narcotics attorney in San Francisco.
Ever since she’d gotten a serious crack dealer released on a technicality, she’d shot to the top of every drug dealer’s Contacts list. She was young, good-looking, and seemingly without any conscience whatsoever. A Stanford law degree also helped.
Torres turned back to the witness. “Mrs. Ortega, you said that you’d spoken with detectives and with ADA Castellano. Is that correct?”
The older woman nodded her head. She said with a heavy accent, “Yes, that is correct.” Her gray hair fell to her shoulders, and her left hand had a slight tremor where it rested on the edge of the witness stand.
Torres leaned in as if gossiping with a relative. “You didn’t know the name Elio Huerta until you spoke to the detective and ADA Castellano. Is that also correct?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Ortega’s reedy voice didn’t sound like it could say much more.
“You’re not in any trouble, Mrs. Ortega. I just want to know if it was ADA Castellano who suggested that Mr. Huerta was who you saw with a gun.” Torres had used exaggerated air quotes around the word “suggested.”
Yuki sprang to her feet again. “Objection, Your Honor.”
Torres turned and opened her eyes wide, like an innocent kitten. It was almost comical, Yuki thought. The problem was, she knew some of the jury would eat it up.
Judge Cousins said, “I’d like both the prosecution and the defense to approach the bench.” His command had an edge to it, unlike his usual neutral tone.
When both attorneys stood in front of the judge, he shut off his microphone and leaned forward for the sidebar conversation. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to accomplish here, Ms. Torres.”
“I’m trying to show that the police and prosecution influenced this witness.”
Yuki cut in. “What are you getting at by saying I suggested the name Elio Huerta? Of course I brought up the name. She didn’t know his name. She just saw him with a gun. You’re purposely trying to muddy the waters.”
Angela Torres looked directly at Yuki and said, “Hello? I’m a defense attorney. That’s my job.”
Judge Cousins let out a quiet laugh but regained his composure quickly. “Perhaps you can do your job without impugning the integrity of a respected prosecutor,” he chided Torres.
“Of course, Your Honor. But I’m concerned that this is just a witch hunt. I’m told the witness who was scheduled for this afternoon won’t be appearing.”
Yuki said, “You mean the witness who got in a fight”—she used her own air quotes around the word “fight”—“and is currently in the hospital?”
Torres spread her hands out in front of her and said, “I have no control over what goes on outside this courtroom.”
“You can’t convince your client to stop attacking witnesses?”
“There is no indication my client had anything to do with your witness. Like I said, I have no say in what happens outside. I barely have a say in what goes on inside this courtroom.”
Judge Cousins said, “But I do. And we’re going to quit this minor bickering. We will get on with this trial. And we will do it in a professional manner.”
Yuki and Angela Torres both responded, “Yes, Your Honor,” at the same time, then were dismissed and returned to their respective seats.
Yuki still had her best witness ahead of her. Roberto Paz was the grocer who Elio had shot, and who was now a paraplegic. She knew the defense was not looking forward to seeing a man in a wheelchair tell the jury who shot him. Yuki couldn’t wait.