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Dan knew the defendants would call Bradley Ellison. He was in many respects their star witness, even more important than Sweeney himself, at least on the issue of whether Dan’s father was wrongfully convicted.
Ellison seemed cool and collected, but perhaps not in the best shape ever. Maybe Dan was imagining it, but Ellison seemed somewhat less assured than he had at the deposition. Dan also noticed that he was perpetually looking at Sweeney, as if checking for approval.
Caldwell called Ellison to the witness stand. Despite his age, he seemed alert and articulate, even forthcoming. Slowly, she took him through his years of experience, both as a police officer and later as a private investigator. Whether you believed him or didn’t, there was no question about the fact that he had put in his time.
About ten minutes later, Caldwell got him to the night in question, the harrowing shootout at the basketball court when Jack Fisher was killed. Ellison did an excellent job of describing the scene without excessive dramaturgy. He didn’t need to overdo it. Actually, the scene was probably all the more harrowing because he downplayed it. The jury got no sense that he was playing for sympathy. Instead, they got a just-the-facts recitation from a man who had been through a lot and lived to talk about it.
“Sir,” Caldwell said, “let me put the question to you bluntly. Did you see who shot Jack Fisher?”
“I did.”
“And who was that?”
“Ehtan Pike. The plaintiff’s father.”
“That was a tumultuous, chaotic scene. Is there any question in your mind about what happened?”
“None whatsoever. I saw Ethan pull the trigger. I saw Jack fall.”
“And did you report what you’d seen?”
“Immediately. I understood why Ethan did it. I didn’t like Jack much myself, frankly. But he was a fellow officer and we have to put that first. We can never condone murder. Never.”
“Of course not. Pass the witness.”
Maria stood and moved closer to the witness.
“This is not the first time you’ve been involved in a case with my client, is it?”
“No, ma’am.”
“You were both involved in the Ossie Coleman case, right? Dan represented him in his suit to establish his identity, and then later defended him on a bogus murder charge.”
“That is correct.”
“What was your involvement?”
“I was hired to investigate the kid.”
“And it was the defendant, Conrad Sweeney, who hired you.”
“No, ma’am. You’re mistaken. I was hired by the Coleman family.”
“At Sweeney’s recommendation.”
“I believe they may have discussed the matter. They were friends and business partners.”
“You have worked for the Conrad Sweeney on several occasions.”
“True.”
“He’s been a source of income for you during your retirement years.”
“If you’re suggesting—”
“I’m not suggesting anything, Mr. Ellison, and I would prefer it if you did not either. We can let the jury draw their own conclusions from the facts.”
Ellison clammed up. Score one for Maria.
She continued. “Please describe your interaction with my client during the Coleman case.”
“We spoke on one occasion. I knew he was Ethan’s son and he knew that my testimony put his daddy away, so you can imagine the tension. But he held his temper in check.”
This non-compliment, of course, assumed Dan had a temper he had to control.
“Did you threaten him?”
“Absolutely not. I warned him against crossing Dr. Sweeney, but that’s not a threat. That’s just common sense. If the boy had listened to me we wouldn’t be in this courtroom right now. Instead, he went looking for trouble and, big surprise, he found some.”
“Motion to strike the last non-relevant part of the witness’s response,” Maria said.
Judge Fernandez nodded. “That will be granted.”
“The fact is, you didn’t solve the Coleman case, correct? Dan did.”
“I would have to agree with that. Of course, he had the benefit of my investigation, which helped him reach the ultimate solution.”
“And did his success in that case persuade you that he was a more respectable citizen than your employer Sweeney wants the world to believe?”
Ellison craned his neck. “I’m...not sure I can go that far.”
“But you said—”
“I’ll give your man credit for cracking the case. I was impressed. But when I found out about all his connections to organized crime and cartels—”
“Objection!”
Caldwell sprang up. “She opened the door, your honor. She asked about the witness’s opinion of her client.”
“Have to agree with that,” the judge said. “The witness may continue.”
He did. “When I learned that time after time your client was either involved with or had detailed knowledge about the activities of this cartel, I saw things in a different light. It’s a lot easier to solve cases when you have inside information. And I had to wonder what the large-scale scheme was. Cartels don’t let rats talk about their business—unless they have a good reason.”
“Again I object,” Maria said. She looked worried. Opening this door had been an error and now she was paying for it. “The witness has no personal knowledge of any involvement with cartels.”
“I never claimed I did,” Ellison insisted. “I just note that, time after time, Daniel Pike seems to have valuable pieces of information about these criminals that no one else has. Not even the police.”
The judge nodded. “I’m going to let the witness’s testimony stand. Do you have anything else, counselor?”
“Yes, your honor. You mentioned that Jack Fisher was in the car parked next to yours. Was he alone?”
Ellison peered at her for a moment. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“You had a partner with you. Ethan Pike had his partner. Who was with Jack?”
It was barely perceptible, but Ellison’s eyes darted to Sweeney before he answered. “I—I don’t remember.”
“Seriously? Your memory seems crystal clear on everything else. Like it just happened yesterday. Who was riding shotgun with Jack?”
“I...would assume it was his partner.”
“And that would be Beth Kramer, right?”
“Uh, yes. That’s right.”
“Funny thing, though. We’ve spoken to Ms. Kramer. She says she wasn’t there.”
Dan didn’t need superpowers to see that Ellison was disturbed. Was he surprised to hear this? Or was it something else?
“Then I guess she wasn’t. I know Beth. She’s a square-shooter.”
“Why wouldn’t Jack’s partner be with him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Wouldn’t that be standard practice?”
“Yes. Perhaps someone else was assigned.”
“Do you know who that would be?”
“No.”
Maria took a step closer, positioning herself between Ellison and Sweeney, blocking his view. “You’re going to tell this jury that you have no idea who was in that car with Jack Fisher? Even though you remember everything else imaginable about this traumatic event.”
“I do not recall who was in the car with him.”
“You don’t recall the other officer who you depended upon for your life? For your common defense?”
“I...do not.”
Dan could see the jurors glancing at one another. No one liked this response. Even the judge bore knitted eyebrows.
“Okaaaaay.” Maria drew in her breath. She was not even attempting to hide her disbelief. “One more thing. You told the jury you saw Ethan Pike pull the trigger with your own eyes.”
“That is correct.”
“Did you see him? Or did you allegedly see his reflection in a mirror?”
Ellison tilted his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“At your deposition you testified that you did not directly witness the alleged shooting. You saw it in a mirror. Which raises all kinds of kinds of reliability issues, giving the darkness and the crossfire and—”
“No, that’s incorrect.”
Maria looked at him as if he had told her one and one was three. “Sir, I was at the deposition. I know what you said.”
“I’m afraid this time it’s your memory that fails you. I saw this murder—this execution, really—with my own eyes.”
Dan had grabbed the deposition transcript before Ellison had even finished answering. He thumbed through the transcript, looking for the relevant passage.
And didn’t find it. Because it wasn’t there.
According to the official record of his testimony, Ellison had turned his head, looked behind him, and seen Ethan shoot Jack in cold blood.
A chill raced down his spine.
Be careful about Marjorie, Shawna had warned Jimmy.
Marjorie. The one sporting a purse most wealthy citizens wouldn’t afford.
Sweeney recognized this was a major weakness in Ellison’s testimony. So he paid Marjorie to change it.
She’d been bought off.
Maria returned to the table, her arm outstretched. She wanted the transcript to impeach the witness.
He shook his head no.
He glanced across the room to Sweeney, who covered his mouth with one hand.
But Dan could still detect the smile Sweeney was hiding.
Maria whirled around. “Mr. Ellison, you have changed your testimony.”
“No, ma’am, I have not.”
Caldwell rose. “This is easily resolved, your honor. Let's read the relevant passage from the deposition aloud in open court. Let the jury decide.”
Which would only make a bad situation worse. “That won’t be necessary,” Maria said. “Nothing more.” She sat down.
No words were necessary. They both knew what had just happened. They had allowed the defendants to go out on a win. They’d made themselves look like fools.
He should have re-read the transcript before the trial. But instead, he’d been trying to find his sister and—
And now they were paying the price.