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Faly
As they rode up to the second floor, Michael tried to plot his strategy with the girl.
He knew that if he could get her to open up in court, get her to look into the face of each juror – just once, just one heart-cinching time – he would put Patrick Ghegan on the gurney with a needle in his arm. And he knew why he wanted this so badly.
As they walked down the hallway Michael watched her. She was observant, smart, ever aware of her surroundings. He knew she saw the Christmas lights that ran along the wall where it met the ceiling, lights no one had bothered to take down for more than five years.
They walked through the small outer office into Michael’s office. Michael gestured to the sofa. “Would you like to sit here?”
Faly
“Would you like a soda?”
Silence.
Michael reached into the small refrigerator next to his desk. Earlier in the day, the only things inside had been a single can of club soda and a bottle of Absolut. When Michael first met Faly
Michael took the chair next to her. He would give it a few minutes before trying again. This was their routine. In their six meetings, Faly
“Can I get you anything else?” Michael asked.
Faly
He glanced at the file in his lap.
Since her father’s murder, Faly
According to the report, the security guards gave chase, but Faly
The report also stated that police found the stolen decals stuck on the concrete columns under the overpass.
Michael watched her. He had to start talking. He had to give this another try. Because if Faly
“As you know, the trial starts tomorrow,” Michael began, trying to sound conversational. “I’ll be honest with you, the defense attorney in this case is very good at what hedoes. I’ve seen him work many times. His name is John Feretti and he is going to ask you tough questions. Personal questions. It would be great if we could go over some of this before tomorrow. If we could get your story out first, it will be a lot better.”
Faly
Michael felt he had one last lever. He sat silently for a while, then stood, crossed over to the window. He shoved his hands in his pockets, rocked on his heels, chose his words carefully.
“When I was really small we lived over on Ditmars, in this small second floor apartment. You know Ditmars Boulevard?”
Faly
“I had my own room, but it wasn’t much bigger than my bed. I had a small second-hand dresser in the corner, a closet next to the door. The bathroom was down at the end of the hall, by my parent’s bedroom. Every night, right around midnight, I always had to go to the bathroom, but I was scared to death of walking past my closet. See, the door never closed all the way, and my father never got around to fixing it. For the longest time I was sure that there was something in there, you know? Some kind of monster ready to spring out and get me.”
Faly
“Then one day my father installed a light in that closet. I kept that light on for the longest time. Months and months. Then one day I realized that, if there ever was a monster in there – and I’m still not convinced there wasn’t – the monster was gone. Monsters can’t stand the light.”
Michael turned to look at Faly
“If you testify tomorrow, you’ll be shining a light on Patrick Ghegan, Faly
Faly
Michael glanced back out the window. A few minutes passed, minutes during which Michael realized he had taken his best shot, and failed. He envisioned this broken young girl sitting on the witness stand, devastated by the murder of her father, adrift on an ocean of sorrow, unable to say a word. He saw Patrick Ghegan walking out of the courtroom a free man.
“Everything is so ugly.”
Michael spun around. The sound of Faly
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Faly
“What’s ugly?” he asked.
Faly
Michael knew she was saying this to get a reaction, but when he looked into her eyes, he saw that she believed it in her heart. “What are you talking about? You’re a pretty young woman.”
Faly
Michael decided to go for it. He had to. “Trust me on this. Except maybe for the hair, you’re very attractive.”
Faly
“What’s . . . what’s going to happen in there?” she finally asked.
Michael’s heart galloped. It always did when he made a breakthrough. “Well, I’ll go into the courtroom with Mr Feretti and we will present any applications we might have – scheduling, legal, stuff like that. The judge might have an evidentiary ruling. There won’t be a jury or gallery for this. After that’s over, the jury will be seated and the trial will begin. After the opening statements you’re going to be sworn in, and I’m going to ask you questions about what happened that day. About what you saw.”