Page 75 of Witness 8

She could handle the case, and was confident in her skills, but she felt better having Eddie beside her. Whatever Castro could throw at them – Eddie could throw back a lot worse. Kate was astraight shooter. But to win, with the entire weight of the State of New York thrown against you, sometimes you had to play a little dirty to even the odds. That was Eddie’s department.

Right now, he wasn’t even in the building.

She thought about Harry, lying in his hospital bed. She missed his strength and his wisdom. Most of all, she missed his friendship.

‘All rise,’ said the clerk.

Everyone in the courtroom stood. The excited chatter from the prosecution table ceased. John kissed Alison, and left the public benches to take his place at the defense table beside Kate.

The Honorable Arthur Zell took his seat in the judge’s chair. He wasn’t a bad judge. Not a lot of experience and very little of it in criminal law. Fair minded in that he often had to check the law in the privacy of his chambers. He didn’t just rely on what the prosecutor told him. He was still getting used to wearing the robes of his office. There were stitches visible all along one side of his robe where he had repeatedly caught it on doorknobs and stair railings. With any luck, he wouldn’t interfere too much in the case, which was all you could hope for in a judge.

Judge Zell reminded the jury of their obligations to keep an open mind, not to discuss the case among themselves until all the evidence had been heard, and then asked Castro to give his opening statement.

Kate felt the defense table rocking. She bent down to check if the paper wedge had come loose. It was still in place. It was then that she noticed John was shaking. His hands were clamped together, resting on the table.

Gently, Kate put her hand over his, and separated his fingers from each hand, told him to put his palms on his thighs. He couldn’t help his hands from shaking, so there was no point in him trying. But Kate told him the best thing he could do was not to let the jury see his nerves. People interpret others’ anxiety indifferent ways. Some would see John sweating, shaking in fear, and believe him to be guilty – right then – right there. No need for any testimony or evidence. The guy looks guilty, so he must be guilty.

Kate didn’t need any more hurdles to leap over. Not with this jury.

She leaned over, whispered to John, ‘Take it easy. I know this is hard, but the jury are watching now. Don’t react to anything Castro says. He wants you to get pissed off and show anger in this room, in front of this jury. Just keep your expression neutral. No nervous smiling, no angry looks.’

John nodded.

‘Remember, Castro has some forensic evidence, but he doesn’t have a story to tell the jury. There’s no motive. That’s our first strong point in this case. We need the jury to have unanswered questions in their minds. No story, no conviction. Okay?’

He nodded again, took a deep breath.

Kate turned her attention to Castro, who stood in front of the jury.

‘Members of the jury, I want to thank you for your service during this trial. By the end of this case, you will have performed your sworn civic duty. You will have returned the only true verdict in this case – guilty. And you will have put a murderer behind bars for life. That is what this city requires of you. And I have no doubt you will not shy away from this duty. When it all comes down to it, this case is very simple. The defense . . .’

Castro pointed at Kate, and then continued. ‘The defense will try to make this more complicated than it really is. It’s up to you if you want to listen to them. Me, I keep things simple and true. Facts, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We deal in facts. The who, what, where and when.

‘Who killed Margaret Blakemore? What happened during that crime? Where and when did it happen? The prosecution case will prove the following, beyond all reasonable doubt. Margaret Blakemore died from multiple gunshot wounds. She was shot in her home on June second, sometime around midnight. The gun that fired those fatal shots was found during a lawful police search of the defendant’s property. The murder weapon was in his closet. And it has his DNA on it.’

None of this was news to Kate, or to John – it was as she expected. A simple, clean and powerful statement to the jury. An attempt by Castro to frame the case within his parameters. She had made a note while he talked. Castro had talked about the facts – Who? What? Where? And when?

But he had left out the most important question. The one the jury would be asking themselves constantly.

Why?

‘That is more than enough for any jury to convict this defendant . . .’

Kate knew Castro was winding down. She felt that tingle of nerves in her stomach. It would very soon be time for her to make the defense opening statement.

‘. . . and, members of the jury, once you have heard the testimony from the prosecution witnesses, those facts will become concrete in your mind. And, with that, there is only one verdict – guilty.’

Castro sat down. The judge offered Kate her chance to frame the case for the jury. Like all good lawyers, she knew the best thing to do was to ball up the prosecution’s speech and throw it right back at them.

‘Members of the jury, my name is Kate Brooks. I represent the notable pediatric neurosurgeon, John Jackson. He is an outstanding member of our community.’

She glanced at John. He had threaded his fingers again, held them on the table, shaking the whole damn desk. One thing Harry had taught her was that a disadvantage, or a weakness in a case, was just a matter of perspective. If you looked at it from a different angle, maybe it could be a strength.

She continued, ‘Hundreds of children have had full and meaningful lives because of the skilled hands of my client, John Jackson. Take a moment, please, members of the jury, and just take a look at my client’s hands now.’

The jury turned to look at John. They saw the fear and hurt in his eyes, and ripples of that pain fanned out into his shaking fingers.

‘My client is afraid. He is an innocent man on trial for his life. And all he has done is serve our community and save the lives of our children.’