The Proving Ground, page 23
“I told the truth. You don’t have to rehabilitate it.”
“I know you told the truth, but it’s about credibility. It’s about trust. They’ve caught you in a lie and we need to — ”
“What lie? I didn’t lie. I was never asked about any relationship. Plus, I thought maybe they knew about it because Patrick was the one who recommended me to the company as an ethicist for the project. I had no idea he had left out that we were dating.”
McEvoy cleared his throat and I looked over at him.
“What?” I asked.
“She’s sort of right,” he said. “Her employment application is in the materials she gave us, and I don’t remember any question about relationships with other employees of the company.”
“Look, we’re talking about semantics here,” I said, looking back at Naomi. “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t lie on the application. You had a relationship your employer should have been told about. And the whole thing doubles down because you were supposed to be the conscience of ethical programming and behavior, and now it looks like you were hiding what many would say was an unethical relationship with a fellow employee below you in the corporate hierarchy. So, think, Naomi. Is there anything we can go back into court with tomorrow that helps us?”
Naomi wiped her cheeks and her nose with the tissue and looked at me.
“I told you not to do this,” she said. “I didn’t want to testify.”
“Well, maybe if you’d told me about Patrick May, I wouldn’t have asked you to,” I countered.
“That lawyer made it sound like I was his boss. I wasn’t. He may have been below me in the corporate hierarchy. But he was in the coding lab and I almost never even walked in there. He didn’t work for me directly and I never once told him what to do.”
“All right, that’s good. We can use that. Can you think of anybody else at work who knew about the relationship?”
“No, we never flaunted it. We never even took breaks together.”
“Well, that’s not good. It looks like you were trying to hide that you were together.”
“We weren’t. My office was in administration, he was in the lab. It was never the twain shall meet. Until after work.”
“Were you living together?”
“No. I had my daughter at home. This was before she went to USF.”
“Well, when the two of you were together and away from work, did you talk about work? Did he tell you about some of the training of Clair that was alarming you?”
“Well, yes. We did. How could we not talk about work? Is that good or bad?”
“It could be good. I don’t know yet. When was the last time you had contact with Patrick May?”
“Contact? You mean like physical contact?”
“When was the last time you met or communicated with him?”
“That would have been on his birthday, back in August. We were broken up by then but I texted him. He didn’t reply.”
“Any idea at all why he decided to tell the company about your relationship?”
“How do you know he did?”
“You said nobody knew about it. Was there somebody else?”
“No. No one.”
“Then it was him. Could they have had something on him that forced him to reveal the relationship?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, I’m going to need you to think about that tonight.”
“Am I testifying tomorrow?”
“I don’t know yet. But I want to move you and Lily from the hotel you’re in to a new one. One of us will pick you up tomorrow morning to bring you to court.”
“This is really bad, isn’t it? For the case.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, it’s bad,” I said. “I thought we won yesterday. But today, I think they got the W. And that’s on me, Naomi. Not you. I should have known what they had, and I should’ve seen it coming.”
36
THIS TIME IT was me in the wave’s trough when I got home. Maggie was riding high on the crest. It had been that way with her since the fires, a rhythm of quick ups and downs. So this time it was her consoling me. We’d shared takeout from Pace down in the canyon. I told her how I had miscalculated things in court and opened the door to the defense sending the jury home with testimony indicating that my key witness could not be trusted. Now we sat in our chairs in front of the picture window, backlit from the kitchen, her with a glass of sauvignon blanc and me with a full glass of guilt over letting myself be outplayed in court.
“Mickey, you could not have seen that coming,” she told me again. “Your witness deceived you. How could you be ready for that?”
“I’m supposed to be ready for anything,” I said. “Every lawyer knows that.”
“Well, you will be tomorrow. Are you going to put her back on the stand and try to rehabilitate her?”
“I think that’s going to be a game-time decision. It might just be best to move forward rather than spend the morning doing damage control. That always looks bad to the jury.”
“Moving forward is a good idea.”
I nodded. I had not heard anything from Cisco, so I hadn’t decided how the following morning would go and wanted to change the subject.
“You sure seem chipper after last night,” I said. “What happened with the Times?”
“Supposedly they’re holding the story,” Maggie said. “It was based on unnamed sources, and an editor over there got smart and said, get somebody on the record saying she’s incapacitated or we don’t run the story.”
“Glad they still have somebody there who’s thinking right.”
“Plus I did what you suggested and held a press conference. Just not about your client.”
“I haven’t seen any news. What was it about?”
“We filed on a cold case LAPD brought in. A serial killer who’s not dead or already incarcerated. They got him on at least four kills here in L.A., but it looks like there are others up in the Bay Area. Alameda County. And we already have a name for him: the Pizza Man. He’d follow a woman home, then come back later with a pizza and act like he was delivering it but had the wrong address. It got him through the woman’s door. The Open-Unsolved Unit got him on DNA off a pizza crust.”
“Nice. LAPD cold case comes to the rescue. Take that, L.A. Times.”
“Exactly.”
“How cold was the case?”
“It was late nineties down here. He then moved up to Oakland. They arrested him there.”
“Cool.”
“By the way, did you know Harry Bosch’s daughter is now working with the Open-Unsolved Unit? With Harry and Reneé Ballard, who runs it, as mentors, that girl is going to be a top-notch investigator, and she’s not even thirty.”
“Yeah, Harry told me that last time we talked. Was this thing her case?”
“She was part of it. They work everything as a team. She wrote some of the reports I looked at. They were well done. Made my job easy.”
“And the press conference was well attended?”
“We got them all. Five local stations, the Times, the Daily News, and La Opinión — one of the victims was Latina.”
“Cool. Hopefully you get all of them when you clear my guy Snow.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
“As soon as this trial is over, I’m coming in with that case.”
“Bring it, we’ll sling it.”
I smiled at the old prosecutor’s line. I was happy to see that Maggie was out of the trough. But I was still down there on the low end of the wave, and my thoughts drifted back to the debacle at the end of what had been a good day. I had put an ethicist on the stand who was revealed to be unethical after just five minutes of questioning by the defense. There was nothing Maggie or anybody else could say to ameliorate the situation. Besides not knowing what I should have known about my own witness, I was guilty of underestimating Marcus Mason. He had landed the first significant blow of the trial and I had not seen it coming. In a way, that stung more than the damage he had done to my witness. I resolved not to let that happen again.
My phone buzzed and I dug it out of my pocket to look at the screen.
“It’s Cisco,” I said. “All right if I take it? He’s been working damage control tonight.”
“Of course,” Maggie said. “Take it. I need a refill.”
She got up with her glass and headed back toward the kitchen as I took the call.
“Cisco,” I said. “What have you got?”
“Well, I got Patrick May,” he said. “They’ve got him here in town, so I guess he’s going to testify. Is that kosher? His name isn’t on the witness list.”
“He’ll be a rebuttal witness. They can do that. Where did they stash him?”
“The Bad Adventure. Under Mitchell Mason’s name. I’m in the lobby now.”
The local nickname for the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown.
“But here’s the real news,” Cisco said. “Your client Bruce Colton was here too.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “He’s staying in the hotel?”
“I don’t think so. He was sitting in the lobby when I got here. Like he was waiting for someone. Then — ”
“Did he see you?”
“No. This place has so many levels, I was able to keep an eye on him from a distance. Then I see the Mason brothers coming down in one of the glass elevators, and they meet up with Bruce for a while. I couldn’t get close enough to hear what was said but Bruce didn’t look happy. He ended up signing a piece of paper that Marcus took out of his briefcase. After Bruce signed it, everybody stood up, shook hands, and went their separate ways.”
“Did the Masons leave the hotel or go back up?”
“No, all three of them left. I think Patrick May is probably up there by himself if you want me to go door-knock him.”
I had to think about that for a moment. I also had to think about what Bruce Colton was doing there and what document he had signed. I had already dealt with a runaway witness. It now appeared I had a runaway client.
“No, don’t go up,” I said. “The defense won’t get the case till Friday, so he’ll be there a few days at least.”
“Whatever you say,” Cisco replied.
It struck me as odd that the Masons had brought May down days before I would rest my case and they could start presenting witnesses. It told me they believed I might shorten my presentation after Naomi Kitchens was destroyed on the stand.
“Cisco, how do you know it’s actually Patrick May they have up there?” I asked.
“His cell,” Cisco said. “I got my guy to track it to a tower, and it’s on the roof of the hotel. I can go up and confirm it’s him if you want. I’ll use a cover story. He won’t know me from Adam.”
I knew Cisco had a source who could track cell phones to whatever cell tower their signal was currently connected to. It was illegal and that was why the source was paid a thousand bucks a pop.
“No, don’t go up,” I said. “Let’s see how things play out tomorrow.”
“You’re the boss,” Cisco said. “You want me to clear?”
My phone started to buzz with an incoming call. I took it off my ear and saw that it was Marcus Mason.
“Cisco, I’ve got another call,” I said. “It’s Marcus Mason. Let me take it and you can clear.”
“Roger that,” he said. “See you mañana.”
I switched to the other call. “Marcus, what’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that you’re down to one client, Haller. We just settled with Bruce and Trisha Colton, and being the good guy I am, I thought I’d check to see if you wanted to talk about a settlement with your remaining client. I figured after the witness implosion that occurred today, you might want to bring this thing to a quick and still profitable end.”
“Don’t gloat, Marcus. It’s not a good look on you. What did you give the Coltons to go away?”
“Well, there is a nondisclosure component to this, but since you are still the attorney of record, I can tell you that we agreed to a cash settlement of three million dollars, all in. After what happened at the end of court today, leverage has shifted. The fifty million is off the table. We gave them three; we’ll give your client five to be done with this.”
I knew that meant they would probably go to ten, but it was still a dramatic fall from the last sum Tidalwaiv had offered. My hope was that I would be able to convince Brenda Randolph to turn the money down and stay the course. Today had ended badly, but it had inspired me to do better. I was still convinced I had a winnable case.
“I have to talk to my client,” I said. “I’ll give you an answer before court begins tomorrow.”
“Perfect,” Mason said.
“And Marcus, just so you know, I’ll be advising her to forget any settlement and go the distance at trial.”
“Then, Haller, you’ll be making a bigger mistake than the one you made today.”
He disconnected and I immediately called Cisco back. He answered with the roar of his Harley in my ear and a yell to hold on. He pulled to a stop somewhere and cut the engine.
“What did Mason want?” he asked.
“To tell me he settled with the Coltons,” I said. “They took three million to go away.”
“Shit. What’s that do to us?”
“Nothing. He made a lowball offer to Brenda that I’m pretty sure she’ll give a pass to. So we go on. The one good thing is I won’t need to handle Bruce with kid gloves when I put him on the stand. First thing tomorrow I’ll get a subpoena from the judge. I want you to find him and deliver it. I’m calling him tomorrow afternoon and I want him there.”
“You got it. What else?”
“That’s it for now.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I heard the big Harley rumble back to life before he disconnected. I put the phone on the table next to my chair.
“Mags, you coming back?”
“Are you finished with your calls?”
Her voice came from the kitchen.
“Done for the day,” I called back.
I heard her put the bottle back in the fridge. Then the kitchen light went out, leaving only the dim glow from the city lights in the room. Maggie came around my chair and put her glass down on the table next to my phone. She then climbed on top of me, straddling me with her legs. She had changed into her soft cotton sleep shirt, which meant she had nothing on underneath. She lifted my chin up with a finger and leaned down into a long kiss.
She started gently rocking her hips against me, and pretty soon I was riding the top of the wave with her again.
37
WEDNESDAY MORNING STARTED with a meeting of both parties’ lawyers in Judge Ruhlin’s chambers. Marcus Mason reported that Tidalwaiv had reached a settlement with the Coltons and I reported that my client had turned down a settlement offer and would continue with the trial. The judge gave me the side-eye when I said I was prepared to continue.
“Is your client sure about that, Mr. Haller?” she asked. “She did have a front-row seat at the end yesterday.”
“She — and I — believe that was a minor setback, Your Honor,” I replied. “This has never been about money for her. It’s about getting the truth out there, and we have much more of that coming.”
Marcus Mason shook his head.
“You’re dreaming,” he said.
“Well, if so, it’s not my dream,” I said. “It’s my client’s, and she wants to expose Tidalwaiv for what they did to her child and continue to do to others.”
“By putting liars on the stand?” he shot back.
“Gentlemen, that’s enough,” Ruhlin said. “Mr. Haller, do you wish to talk to your client one more time before we proceed?”
“I don’t think so, Your Honor,” I said. “She is resolute. As am I.”
“I am prepared to go to ten million,” Mason said. “Just to end this charade.”
The judge raised her eyebrows.
“That is quite a number,” she said.
“For my client, yes,” I said. “For Tidalwaiv, it’s nothing. I will bring her the offer, but I don’t think it will make a difference. Does that number come with an acknowledgment of Tidalwaiv’s reckless behavior and an apology?”
“No, it does not,” Mason said.
“Then I think we will be continuing the trial,” I said.
“Perfect,” Mason said. “It’s my client’s offer, not mine. If it were up to me, I’d keep going until a verdict, and I told them that.”
“But there is an offer on the table,” Ruhlin said. “Mr. Haller, go to your client, and if I were you, I’d use your powers of persuasion. Let us know, please.”
I paused as I digested the judge’s words.
“I think this will be quick,” I finally said.
The judge said nothing else. Before standing up to leave, I opened my briefcase and pulled out the subpoenas I had prepared the night before. I handed them across the desk to the judge.
“Just in case we don’t settle,” I said, “I’d like to subpoena my former clients to testify.”
“Wait, what is this?” Marcus Mason said.
I turned to look at him.
“Subpoenas for the Coltons,” I said. “They’re already on the witness list the judge approved. I just want to make sure they show up.”
“But they’re not your clients anymore,” Marcus insisted. “You can’t make them testify.”
“If I subpoena them, they will testify,” Ruhlin said.
“Of course,” Mason said. “I just meant … never mind. Fine, subpoena them.”
I turned back to the judge, and she was already signing the papers.
After returning to the courtroom, I huddled with Brenda Randolph at the plaintiff’s table and told her that the offer from Tidalwaiv was now up to ten million. She didn’t even take a moment to consider what she could do with what Bruce Colton might have called change-your-life money. Her response was one word: “No.”
I got up from the table and went to the clerk’s corral.
“Andy, you can tell the judge that we are ready to proceed with the trial,” I said. “My client has declined the settlement offer.”
