Sydney awoke from an awful nightmare to the bright sun streaming into her room. She gasped when she looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was almost noon. She never slept that late. Granted it had been almost 3:00 a.m. before she’d practically willed her body to sleep last night.
She pushed any thoughts about Rick out of her mind and instead focused on the current man in her life—Max. Talk about a major breakthrough. Even through this awful ordeal, God was good. Max’s return to faith gave her a morale boost that she desperately needed, given all the danger that surrounded them.
Max was a good man. A loyal and honest man. The experience with Rick had damaged her for what she assumed would be forever, and she’d reconciled those feelings within herself. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be friends with Max.
She started to move out of the bed, and her body yelled at her. Her muscles ached, and she looked down and saw the bruises on her arm. A flash of the night before hit her hard, causing her to suck in a quick breath. Once again she felt Rick’s strong hands pressing into her arms. She saw his intent to inflict as much agony on her as possible.
I’m not going back there, she told herself. Yes, she might be sore and bruised, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from moving forward. Rick Ward no longer held any power over her.
After she went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, she headed downstairs where she heard voices getting louder.
Elena and Max were having what looked to be a heated discussion. Elena stood with her hands on her hips as she spoke to Max.
Sydney walked into the kitchen. “What’s going on, you two?”
Elena immediately stopped talking and turned to her but didn’t say anything.
“Come on.” She was starting to get frustrated at being locked out of the important discussions. “This all involves me. I think I have a right to know. Was there a problem with the FBI or the marshals?”
Elena shook her head. “No. Everything went smoothly. The marshals are enacting special security protocols in case Davies isn’t the only one involved. They’re also looking for Davies. The FBI is assisting.”
“That’s all good news.” Sydney was confused. What was she missing? “If that’s all true, then what’s the problem between the two of you?”
Silence filled the kitchen and Elena avoided making eye contact with her.
“Max?” she asked.
He let out a breath. “It’s the Diaz trial. The court has reset the trial to begin tomorrow.”
As she looked into his green eyes, her pulse quickened. “Wait. That doesn’t make any sense. Why so fast?”
“Let me explain,” Elena said. “After we got done talking to the FBI and marshals first thing this morning, we had a status conference with the judge and the attorneys for both sides. Everyone in that conference agreed that since we now have a much better idea of the threat assessment the trial could proceed. Including your expert testimony against Kevin Diaz.”
Sydney turned her attention away from Elena and back to Max. “And let me guess, you are not in favor of me going to the courthouse and testifying tomorrow?”
He took a step toward her. “Of course I’m not in favor of it. It’s far too risky.” He paced around the kitchen. Then he turned toward Elena. “Am I the only one who remembers what happened the last time we went into that courthouse? Sydney almost got killed! We shouldn’t be taking those types of unnecessary risks. I don’t care that the players involved think they have a handle on the threat. Because let me tell you, they’re wrong. They don’t really have any idea of how deep this could go or the power that East River could exert. The damage they could do—will do—if we attempt to restart this trial and put Sydney back up on that witness stand.”
“What about that woman who was murdered?” Elena said. “She was only in her twenties. A teacher with her entire life ahead of her. Without Sydney’s testimony, Kevin Diaz will probably be found not guilty by that jury. That victim deserves justice. Are we just going to pretend like her life isn’t of value, too?”
“Elena’s right.” Sydney walked to Max and put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing. “I’m ready to testify. I’ve been ready to testify and put that behind me. It’s my job. I’m an expert witness. It’s what I do.”
Max shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“This time we’ll be better prepared,” Elena said. “Davies won’t be able to get in there because everyone now knows about him. There will be plenty of security. Probably more security than you can imagine. The higher-ups in both the FBI and marshals want to clean up their public image, especially after what happened before. I can guarantee you that they will not be stingy with resource allocation on this. I know we can get this done. Ward’s picture is being circulated to every law enforcement agency in the state. We’re on the attack now. You can’t even begin to compare what happened before to our current situation. We have a completely different understanding of the facts on the ground.”
“Yeah, but what about all the other East River gang members that we don’t know? It’s a public trial. Other gang members could easily get inside, and no one would even identify them as a possible threat. What about that?”
“I’m telling you, Max, the security will be airtight,” Elena said. Then Elena turned and looked at her. “Ultimately this is your call, Sydney. The prosecution wants you to testify. They retained you as an expert and believe that your testimony is vital to obtaining a murder conviction. But given the circumstances no one is going to go after you for breach of your expert-witness agreement if you back out. I’ve confirmed that fact with the prosecutor.”
Sydney pushed her shoulders back and knew her answer. “I am not backing out. No way. I’m going to testify against a murderer and help put that man away so he can’t harm any other innocent women.”
“But, Sydney, I’m already worried about what could have happened to Brian,” Max said. “Now you’re putting yourself right in the line of fire.”
While she was grateful for his concern, she had a job to do. “I understand that you’re upset and concerned about Brian. We all are. But I’m sorry, Max. I have to testify.”
Max walked out of the room without saying another word, leaving her alone with Elena.
“He’ll come around,” Elena said. “It’ll just take him a little time to get his head wrapped around all of it. Then he’ll want to go full in on the details and security preparation. He’s just frustrated by his lack of control over everything, and especially the uncertainty looming about Brian.”
“I know he means well, but you understand that I have to do this, right?”
Elena smiled. “Yes, I do. And I still don’t feel right about what I did with Davies. I know you said that you moved past it, but I can’t help but think that was the biggest mistake of my career. One I won’t ever be able to put behind me. I appreciate you being understanding, but it was a colossal failure on my part. A lapse in judgment that I can’t even really explain.”
She grabbed Elena’s hand. “I don’t want you to think another thought about that. At the time you did what you thought was best. You had no idea how things would spiral out of control. Nor did you know anything about Rick. Like you said earlier, things have changed. We’re operating under a different set of circumstances now.”
“That means a lot to me. My job is my life, Sydney. And to think that I put you in danger through my actions is antithetical to everything I believe in and stand for.”
“We all make mistakes. You’re a solid marshal. Don’t doubt that.”
“Thanks, Sydney. You have both been great in a very difficult and complex situation.” Elena smiled and so did Sydney.
Sydney thought that under different circumstances, Elena was someone she easily could call a friend. But they had more pressing matters to attend to now. As if she read her mind, Elena brought them back to the task at hand with another bit of news.
“I did some more digging on Ward’s conviction.”
“And what did you find?” Sydney asked.
“He did time for robbery. He cut a deal, and it never went to trial. The interesting thing is that there were no witnesses. I think Ward definitely took the fall for someone in East River. I just don’t know who or why. But that could be the reason why he and Lucas Jones are so tight now. If Jones asked him to help a fellow gang member, then that would explain why Jones is willing to help him out now with you.”
She let out a breath. “And to think this whole thing could all go back to Rick’s hatred of me. It’s just staggering.”
“Max told me how you handled yourself with Rick last night,” Elena said with admiration in her dark eyes. “You’ve proven yourself to be very tough. How long have you been training?”
“For years. I started a couple months after I ran away from him.”
Elena reached out and touched her shoulder. “You’re a strong woman, Sydney. I admire how you’ve handled yourself in this very difficult predicament.” Elena stopped for a moment and looked away. “Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve been that brave if I had been in your shoes.”
“Oh, you would have and then some. It took me a long time to get where I am now. But I’m thankful that I’m stronger and better equipped to take on a man like Rick.”
“We’re going to catch him, Sydney. That’s my promise to you. I may have failed you with regard to Davies, but I won’t fail you again. I’ll be there at the courthouse. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“I know.” And the strange thing was she really believed that.
* * *
Max couldn’t believe he was back yet again in the courthouse parking lot with Sydney. The last time they had gone in that building it was a near disaster. Why would this be any different?
He was apparently the only one who was concerned about something bad happening. Everyone else was totally on board with Sydney going to the trial and testifying. It was taking a lot of self-discipline to put on a professional face and be a team player when all he really wanted to do was take Sydney out of there and keep her safe from Ward and East River.
“Max?” Sydney asked. “Shouldn’t we be going in now?”
Max nodded. He wasn’t going to take out his frustration on Sydney. She was just doing what she thought was right. He knew that. His car was parked in the back of the courthouse, and they had a combination of marshals and FBI agents waiting outside to escort them in.
She reached over and squeezed his arm.
“You shouldn’t be encouraging me, Syd. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
“The way I see it right now we’re a team.”
He smiled. “Let’s keep it that way.” Knowing he couldn’t stall any longer, he told her, “Wait for me, and I’ll come around to your door.” He got out of the car and took a deep breath. This was it. The moment he’d been dreading. He walked around to Sydney’s side of the car flanked by an agent on each side.
They’d agreed that as part of the stepped up security there would be at least three agents plus Max with Sydney at all times. The last thing they wanted was a repeat of the incident with Davies. Looking back, he realized it hadn’t been a smart move to have only the two of them on Sydney. They wouldn’t make that mistake again. Max also had handpicked the people who would have access to Sydney—a combination of marshals and FBI agents that would provide that extra layer of security.
After opening the door, he took her arm. Agents were on each side of him plus additional an additional security perimeter.
“Are we going to the same room we were in last time?” she asked.
“No. I didn’t want to put you through that. We’re going to be in another conference room. Same kind of room, just not the exact one. I thought that would be better for all of us.”
“That’s fine.”
Sydney looked like an expert witness today in a black pantsuit and a light blue blouse with her auburn hair pulled back in a bun. Her slightly flushed cheeks showed a bit of her nerves and excitement. Max knew how much this testimony meant to her.
He guided her to a conference room on the opposite end of the hall. One of the other agents checked the room and yelled “Clear!” before they walked in.
“This is really happening,” she said softly as she took a seat.
“Yes, it is.” He looked at his watch. “Probably in about fifteen minutes.”
She drummed her fingers on the table. Neither Max nor any of the other agents spoke. At this point, he thought, what was there to say? All he cared about was keeping Sydney safe, and so far she was. The sooner she could testify and he could get her out of the courthouse the better.
He’d been adamant that people entering the courtroom be checked a second time for weapons. He wasn’t willing to take any chances and with the possibility of human error, he liked doubling up on precautionary measures.
Minutes later, feeling Sydney’s tension build, he turned to her. “You ready for your testimony?”
“Yes.” She looked at him, her eyes wide, her shoulders squared. “I know you’re skeptical about my abilities when it comes to pure sketch art, but I have the utmost confidence in my work.”
He held up his hand. “Sydney, my issues were based on one bad experience and shouldn’t impact you at all. I don’t want you thinking about that before you testify. I never should’ve even brought up my concerns. If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve kept my mouth closed on that topic.”
“But you didn’t.”
“You don’t have anything to prove to me. I promise you that,” he assured her.
But she didn’t respond.
About twenty minutes later he was starting to get antsy when there was a knock at the door. One of the agents opened it, and Elena stood on the other side.
“We’re ready for her,” Elena said.
Max stood up. “You ready, Syd?”
“Definitely. Let’s do this.”
* * *
Sydney was telling the truth. She was ready to testify and get this behind her. She had to keep telling herself to think about this the way she had thought about all her other cases. Not to focus on the security and threats, but to do her job as a professional forensic artist. A job she knew she was good at. She wanted to do her part to send a guilty man to prison for the kidnapping and murder of an innocent woman. A young woman who had had her whole life ahead of her, only to have it stolen by Kevin Diaz. She had been only twenty-five.
Sydney pushed the doubt Max had unwittingly planted from her mind. He’d made those comments before he’d known her that well. But his misgivings about the accuracy of traditional sketch art still played a little tune of insecurity in the back of her head.
Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as she walked down the hall, and she focused on that noise. Blocked everything else out. The walk down the hallway seemed like the length of a football field. She forced herself to breathe and prayed for the strength and wisdom to do her job to the best of her ability.
They reached the courtroom, and she steadied herself as Max squeezed her arm. He was letting her know it would all be okay. He was focusing on her security so she could focus on what she had to do.
One of the other agents pushed open the courtroom door, and they escorted her inside. She looked up and saw the jury was already in their seats. All of their attention was turned to her as she walked down the courtroom aisle.
The judge looked at the prosecutor. “Are you ready, Ms. Lutz?”
“Yes, your honor. The prosecution calls Sydney Berry to the stand.”
Sydney walked to the witness stand and sat down.
“Ms. Berry,” the judge said. “You were previously sworn in. I know it’s been quite a few days, but this is just a reminder that you remain under oath. Do you understand that?”
“Yes, your honor.” The judge had gray hair and kind blue eyes. He was known as a stickler for procedure, but he had a reputation for being fair.
“Ms. Berry,” the prosecutor began. “Last time we were here we got the preliminaries and your background out of the way that properly established you as an expert witness. Now, I’d like to have you explain to the jury what work you’ve done on this case specifically.”
“Of course. I met with the eyewitness, Ms. Sheila Baker, who provided me with details of the man she saw the night the victim was kidnapped and murdered. Based on that meeting, which lasted about two hours, I generated a sketch.” She was careful not to provide any commentary about the actual crime. That wasn’t her area. She was the artist, not the detective.
“Your honor, the prosecution would now move to have the sketch drawn by Ms. Berry entered into evidence,” Ms. Lutz said.
“Any objections?” asked the judge.
“We’d like to renew our motion to exclude the sketch,” Mr. Pines, the defense attorney, said.
The judge shook his head. “Mr. Pines, I’ve already ruled on the general admissibility of the sketch produced by Ms. Berry during pretrial hearings.”
“Yes, your honor. I remember the expert hearing well where we argued over Ms. Berry’s qualifications. But I would still like to respectfully renew the motion to exclude the sketch.”
The judge stood firm. “Mr. Pines, if you have objections to raise that are substantively different, then you can make them. Otherwise, the sketch is admitted as state’s exhibit twenty-two.”
“No, your honor. I don’t have anything new.” Mr. Pines looked down and took a seat.
Sydney had been a part of the protracted pretrial hearing months ago on the admissibility of her sketch as part of her qualifications to testify as an expert. At the end of the day, the prosecution had won that argument which would allow her to testify as an expert witness in the case.
“Thank you, your honor,” Ms. Lutz said. “I’d like the sketch to be published to the jury now, via the monitor.”
Sydney’s sketch went up on the big screen for the entire jury to see. Ms. Lutz was a seasoned prosecutor. She knew exactly what she was doing. She purposely gave the jury a minute to digest the sketch before she continued her examination.
Even Sydney herself couldn’t believe how spot on the sketch was. There was no doubt that the man in the sketch was the defendant, Kevin Diaz. And by the looks on the jurors’ faces they were thinking the same thing. Several jurors sat wide-eyed while others looked back and forth between the big screen and the defendant.
Sydney performed very well during the rest of Ms. Lutz’s questions but that was to be expected since she was a witness for the state and they’d had extensive meetings to prepare for her testimony. But now it was the defense’s turn, and she knew Mr. Pines wasn’t going to hold back. No, he was going to try to destroy her.
Mr. Pines walked toward her, never breaking eye contact. It was his first step in attempting to intimidate her. “Isn’t it true, Ms. Berry, that as a sketch artist you actually come up with faces that you draw based on what people tell you?”
The defense attorney stared her down, daring her to deny his statement. But she wasn’t afraid. The truth was on her side.
“Mr. Pines, you are correct that I’m a sketch artist, but you’re wrong in your characterization that I come up with the faces I draw. My sketches are based solely on information provided by the witnesses. Very specific information. They’re not something I create based on my own whims or imagination.”
Mr. Pines let silence fall over the courtroom. He was in his fifties, a seasoned defense attorney. One of the best around. And Kevin Diaz had paid big bucks for his services.
It bothered her that she felt as though Max probably would agree with Mr. Pines about her work as a sketch artist. But for now she had to put that out of her mind.
Mr. Pines turned in a dramatic fashion, waving his right arm around as he looked toward the jury with his big dark eyes and then back at her. “Ms. Berry, now let’s not be disingenuous to this hardworking jury.”
“Objection, your honor.” Ms. Lutz the prosecutor stood up. “Improper commentary about the jury.”
“Sustained,” the judge said. “The jury is instructed to disregard the last comment made by Mr. Pines.”
“Isn’t it very possible, Ms. Berry, that you saw Mr. Diaz in the news the week before you met with the eyewitness and that you subconsciously used him in that sketch when the witness happened to bring up similar features?”
Sydney was ready for this. She’d had her deposition taken months ago and had told the truth then, as she would now. That she had in fact seen Kevin Diaz before. But she was firm in her position that seeing him in passing on the news a week before she met with the witness had nothing to do with her sketch. Diaz had been interviewed about his latest construction project that was supposed to bring millions into the city, and he’d done multiple local TV news interviews.
Before she could answer, the defense attorney kept going. “And since you filled in those blanks with a similar-looking man that you could use as a point of reference, you’re now asking the jury to convict an innocent man?”
“No,” she said quietly. “That’s not true.” She didn’t know why she didn’t respond more loudly.
“You’re under oath, Ms. Berry.” His voice rang out loudly, and he pounded the podium.
She flinched at his show of force.
“Can you say, under oath, that you are one hundred percent certain that seeing Mr. Diaz in the news only days before you met with the witness didn’t impact your drawing?”
“It did not.” She felt her composure slipping. He was calling into question her integrity.
“And you’re sure?”
“Mr. Pines, I think I’ve answered your question.” Right after she said those words, she wanted to take them back. She sounded too defensive, and that was not how she wanted to project herself to the jury.
“How can you be so certain?”
She sat up taller in the witness chair. “Because I’m telling you the truth, and I’m certain that seeing Mr. Diaz on the local news didn’t impact me at all.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she was faltering. Pines smelled blood and was going in for the kill. Why was she letting him get inside her head? She never should’ve let Max’s opinion get to her.
“You don’t sound too convinced to me,” the attorney said. “But I know you don’t want your professional credibility called into question for the whole world to see. That would definitely impact your ability to keep getting hired as an expert witness now, wouldn’t it, Ms. Berry?”
“Objection, he’s badgering the witness, your honor,” Ms. Lutz said.
“I’ll withdraw.” Mr. Pines took a step back. “That’s all I have for now.”
Sydney tried to calm her breathing, though she was having a hard time. Pines had sown the seeds of doubt. And that was all he needed as a defense attorney. Reasonable doubt.
“Redirect, your honor,” Ms. Lutz said as she stood up.
Good, Sydney thought. The prosecutor was going to attempt to clean this up.
“Ms. Berry, at the time you met with the witness, what did you know about Mr. Diaz?”
“Just that he was a successful businessman and quite active in the local community.”
“And when you’re drawing based upon a witness interview, do you ever think about people you know or famous people and use them as a guide for your sketch?”
“Never.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Quite sure, Ms. Lutz. I am confident that I drew that sketch based purely on the information given to me by the witness, and not on any outside influence of any kind.”
“That’s all I have for the witness, your honor.”
“You’re dismissed, Ms. Berry.”
As Sydney stepped down off the stand, she wondered if the prosecution’s redirect would be enough, but she feared it was not going to be. The defense had rattled her and put a plausible alternative theory into the jury’s mind.
The prosecution would want to use her sketch to strengthen the testimony of the eyewitness. Since eyewitnesses could often be discredited, having the sketch as a contemporaneous piece of evidence was critical to the state’s case.
She heard the judge speaking as Max and the other agents escorted her to the door. “I understand that was the final witness. Closing statements to start in thirty minutes.”
Sydney’s stomach clenched as she realized it was entirely possible that a verdict could come down as soon as today.
Max’s strong arm steadied her as they walked out of the courtroom and down the hallway.
“You did great,” he said.
She kept her eyes straight ahead as she retorted, “Don’t patronize me, Max. There’s definitely reasonable doubt planted by Mr. Pines.” She felt sick knowing that a killer could be set free. “I was honest. If I wouldn’t have been so honest in my deposition, this wouldn’t have even been an issue.”
“But you were honest as you should’ve been. You did everything you could, Syd. It’s completely out of your hands now. Let the jury do its job.”
She looked at him then. “So you’re trying to tell me that given your preconceptions about sketch artists, you would convict based on my testimony?”
“There are a lot of factors that would go into my decision.”
She felt anger bubbling beneath the surface. She needed to take a deep breath before they got into a useless argument.
They walked out of the courthouse surrounded by security. “What’s next now?” she asked.
“I’ll explain once we’re secure at the FBI safe house.”
She didn’t like the sound of that one bit.