Page 105 of The Best Lawyer
“I’ll remind you you’re still under oath, Ms. Rodney,” the judge instructed her.
“Thank you for coming back on such short notice,” I said. “Ms. Rodney, it’s been a few days since you testified, so I just want to remind the jury of a couple of facts. You said you worked for Tom Loomis for over four years, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“So two years before Katy married him.”
“Yes.”
“And the nature of your relationship with him was the same. You were his housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
“You came on Friday mornings for all that time.”
“Yes.”
“It was your habit, or rather Mr. Loomis’s habit, and lately Mrs. Loomis’s habit, to leave the house for the majority of the time you were cleaning, correct?”
“Yes.”
I paused. Get here, Eric. Just get here.
“So you well knew Mr. Loomis’s schedule. When he left for work. When he would be out of the house.”
“Your Honor,” Quick objected. “Counsel was given a very limited scope for this questioning. I’ve yet to hear a single question within the parameters of it.”
“Get on with it, Ms. Leary,” Castor said. “But the witness may answer.”
“Yes,” Jenna said. “I knew his work schedule. I wouldn’t say I always knew when he would be out of the house.”
“Fine,” I said. “Thank you for clarifying that. Ms. Rodney, I’d like to show you a photograph. Could you tell me if you recognize what it depicts?”
I handed her a picture of the brick siding behind Tom Loomis’s grill on the patio. She shrugged and handed it back to me.
“It looks like a section of Mr. Loomis’s back patio.”
I admitted the photo into evidence. “Do you recognize what’s shown in this photo?” I handed her a close-up of the fake brick after it had been removed from the side of the house.
“It just looks like somebody moved a brick from the wall,” she said. “But I’ve not seen that before.”
“What about what’s depicted in this photo?” I said. I handed her a photo of the key box.
She stayed cool. If the photo caused her distress, she didn’t let her expression change. Was I wrong? I couldn’t be. I knew it.
“I’ve never seen that before,” she said.
It was my turn to stay cool. Step one: commit her to the lie.
“You’ve never seen that before,” I said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said. “What is it?”
“Ms. Rodney, you testified under oath last week that you were never given alternative access to Tom Loomis’s house other than his garage code. But that’s not true, is it?”
“Objection!” Quick said.
“She can answer the question,” Judge Castor said.
