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The videographer inched forward on his seat, but the librarian hung back.
“Think about what I’m saying, ladies and gentlemen. If you can understand how someone else could have killed Detective Della Porta and framed Alice for it, then you ca
“Your Honor, objection!” Hilliard said, and Judge Guthrie leaned across the dais with a deep frown.
“Sustained,” he ruled. “Ms. Rosato, I warn you.”
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“Objection!” Hilliard shouted. “Your Honor!”
“Sustained,” Judge Guthrie said, reaching for his gavel and holding it poised over the dais. “Ms. Rosato, you may not refer specifically to the arresting officers.”
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“Ms. Rosato.” Judge Guthrie set his gavel down. “You may not argue that the police officers were involved in the underlying murder. Any inference the jury would draw in that regard would be unreasonable and speculative. Move on, counsel, before you are cited for contempt.”
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“Objection, Your Honor!” Hilliard said, reaching for his crutches and standing now behind counsel table. “Defense counsel is boldly flouting your rulings, Your Honor!”
Judge Guthrie banged the gavel. Crack! “Ms. Rosato, this is your final warning. The very next improper reference and you will be held in contempt!”
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“Ladies and gentlemen, in my opening argument, I told you I did not know whether Ms. Co
“Objection, Your Honor!” Hilliard said, rising on his arms. “Move to strike! I demand that Ms. Rosato be cited for contempt.”
Crack! Crack! Judge Guthrie pounded the gavel to the desktop, them slammed the gavel down, handle and all. “Ms. Rosato, I’ve warned you and you’ve disregarded my warnings. I find you in plain contempt of court! Mr. Deputy, take Ms. Rosato into custody!”
In the jury box, the librarian gasped, the videographer looked stu
89
The deputy in the courthouse holding area had seen many a strange sight in his cells, but he’d never seen a sight as strange as this one. He looked through the bulletproof window of his station at the two cells, each holding a pretty blonde in a gray suit. Each woman sat on the white bench in her cell, rested her chin on her hands, and crossed her legs left over right, at the knees, the same way as the other. But though the women looked and acted like twins, it was obvious they were barely friends.
The guard peeked again. Their heads were turned away from each other, in opposite directions, like newspaper photos of couples in the middle of a divorce. One twin faced the stainless steel sink in the left corner of her cell, and the other faced the stainless steel sink in the right corner of hers. The guard forgot for a minute which broad was the defendant and which the lawyer, then gave up trying. As far as he was concerned, the Lord would be the judge of them both.
“Now what happens?” Co
“I’m not sure.” Be
“Does the case go forward with us sitting here?”
“No. I’m dispensable, but you have a right to be present at your own trial. The judge will calm down and let me out with a fine, or he’ll stay pissed, have Carrier take over the case, and leave me locked up. Either way, it doesn’t matter. The case is going to the jury.”
Co
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“In my case, you lost it?”
“Why would I lose it in anybody else’s case? I got another twin?” Be
“Right.”
“There you go.” There was nothing else to do but laugh, and Be
Co
“You mean, did I just lose it for us?”
“I mean did you just lose it for me.” Co
“No, I don’t think so. I got my closing out, and the jury didn’t like what Guthrie just did. He overplayed his hand. I think the defense is in good shape. In a fu
“Why?”
“The jury won’t forget it. Also, I was right. I was telling them the truth, and they can feel that. I could feel it.” Be
“What happened?”
“I can’t explain it, I just feel it. Sometimes I get the feeling, like a little click during a closing, and sometimes I don’t. This time I felt the click.”