The first day of the trial dawned bright and fiery hot. The sun bounced off the sidewalks with blinding force as I walked up Broadway on my way to the courthouse. I could’ve driven, but the walk always gives me a chance to think and charge my mental batteries. Today, especially, I needed that interruption-free time to review my opening statement. But as I walked I could feel the heat penetrate my suit and blouse, and sweat began to run down my neck and into my bra. I’d just pushed through the security door on the eighteenth floor and headed down the hallway for my office when a familiar voice called out, “Now I know what they mean by ‘something the cat dragged in.’ Girl, you look like hell.”
That unflattering assessment was provided by Toni LaCollier, who, like me, was a prosecutor in the Special Trials Unit. If she weren’t my “bestie,” I’d have nailed her in the head with the heel of my Stuart Weitzman.
“So it’s a good thing I’ve got opening statements in one hour, isn’t it?” I groused. “Damn it. Please tell me this isn’t a bad sign.” Trial lawyers are notoriously superstitious. Which is why I was wearing my standard navy “believe me” suit, the one I always wore when I was going to talk to the jury.
“This isn’t a bad sign,” Toni parroted obediently.
“Okay, now say it like you mean it.”
“I do mean it. But remind me to give you my juju just in case. Better safe than sorry.”
“Your what?” I asked. “Toni, since when do you—”
She held up a warning hand. “Stop, do not go there, hear me? Just trust me, it works. Now, come on, I’ll fix you up.”
An hour later, makeup restored and hair expertly blown dry thanks to Toni and her ever-present beauty kit of wonder, I was standing before the jury, the poster-size photograph of Melissa’s white SUV propped up on an easel to my left.
As I’d hoped, the photograph was a siren song the jury could not resist. Time and again, as I described the evidence I’d present, I saw their eyes stray and linger on the image. Taking heart, I hit my final points slowly but firmly.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, we will show you the signs of a struggle in the garage, Melissa’s bloody scarf near the stairs, and the drop of blood on the undercarriage of the car seat, but that’s only the forensic evidence…”
I paused, partially for effect, partially to let the jury catch up. I’d deliberately not mentioned the wipe marks that were evidence of cleanup in the car because I always like to promise less than I deliver. That way, when I present the “new” evidence, it has an extra punch.
I turned back to counsel table, and Bailey handed me the enlarged photograph of Melissa’s diary. I held the photo up for the jury to see.
“Because, ladies and gentlemen, we will bring you the voice of Melissa herself.”
I held the photograph in front of them as I spoke. “Through this diary, Melissa will speak to you from the grave. With her very last entry, on the day that was likely her last day on this earth, she will tell you that this defendant, Saul Hildegarde, took her life. This is what she said:
“ ‘Every time I mentioned divorce, he’d say the only way I’d get out of this marriage was in a pine box. I didn’t believe he really meant it. But then I found him with that volunteer, and I finally knew I’d had enough. So that night, I told him it was over and I didn’t care what he wanted anymore. I was getting a divorce. He grabbed me by the throat and started to shake me. “I’ll kill you!” At that moment, his voice, his face…I’d never seen him look like that before. I was so scared. It was real. He really meant it. I know if I don’t get out of here, he’s going to kill me. If I’m dead when you read this, it’ll be because he killed me.’ ”
I paused again, letting her words sink in. “Sadly, though the evidence will show she tried to get away, Melissa never made it. What we will prove to you, ladies and gentlemen, is that this defendant”—I turned and pointed at him for emphasis—“took her life even as she desperately, valiantly, tried to escape. Then he dumped her body into the ocean and purposely tried to make it look as though she’d been killed during a robbery.”
I saw Juror Number Four nod slightly, then toss a skeptical look in the defendant’s direction. Excellent. I’d already pegged Juror Number Four as the likely foreman.
“But that scenario won’t fly. So my guess is that he’ll say Melissa deliberately left her blood in the car to set him up, and that she’s not dead at all. She’s just getting even. But, ladies and gentlemen, when it’s all said and done, you’ll see that’s just another defense ploy, and that Melissa is truly, tragically, dead. We will prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that Melissa was murdered and that this defendant was the killer. And at the conclusion of this case, I will be asking you to return a verdict of guilty for murder in the first degree.”
On that note, I strode back to counsel table with a bravado I definitely wasn’t feeling. The truth was, though I’d trumpeted Melissa’s last diary entry, it posed a big problem for me. It started off great, but it ended with Melissa saying she had to get out of there. I knew Ronnie O’Bryan would make it the cornerstone of his defense. But there was no point in trying to avoid it. The defense would trot out that line every chance they got—probably a thousand times before this trial was through. Better to front it myself and show the jury it didn’t bother me. Anyone who tells you a trial isn’t a performance is a damn liar.
As I sat down, I glanced at the defense table and saw Saul whispering animatedly to O’Bryan. Saul was handsome, but his thick arms and torso gave him a hulking look that could appear menacing, especially hunched over at counsel table. His dark eyes and heavy, sensual features added to the effect. And I’d noticed during pretrial motions that he had a hard time controlling his reactions. Every time I said something to the judge, he’d nudge his lawyer and write furiously, and occasionally I’d catch him glaring at me. This was great stuff for the jury to see, and I hoped O’Bryan wouldn’t be able to break him of the habit. Now, I saw O’Bryan pat him on the arm, then stand to address the judge. My guess was that Saul had been pushing him to make an opening statement—something the defense rarely does, and rarely should do.
“Your Honor, the defense will reserve opening statement at this time.”
“Very well,” the judge said. He turned to me. “People, call your first witness.”
My only hope was that the physical evidence would tip the jury in my favor. So I intended to lean heavily on my experts. Because Dorian was in charge of evidence collection, she was the most logical witness to start with. And of course the strongest.
“Please tell the jury what you found in the garage.”
“I noticed a large suitcase, navy blue and yellow in color, which was under the tool bench,” Dorian answered.
“What drew your attention to that suitcase?” I asked.
“A corner of it stuck out from under the bench.”
“As though someone had shoved it underneath in a hurry?”
Dorian shot me a warning look. “The way it was situated would have put it in the way of anyone moving around the garage. So it seemed logical to conclude that it wasn’t intentionally placed in that position.”
I declared victory with that answer and moved on.
“Did you notice anything that indicated a more likely place where the suitcase was normally stored?” I asked.
“Yes. I noticed other suitcases of similar appearance, blue and yellow, on a shelf above the tool bench.”
I paused to let the information—and hopefully the implications—sink in with the jury. It was one of those “sleeper” pieces of evidence, the significance of which can take a moment to appreciate. The fact that the suitcase had been dragged down off that shelf indicated that Melissa had been trying to get away. And the fact that the suitcase was still there in the garage, out of place, indicated not only that she hadn’t made it but that there had possibly been some kind of struggle. So this single piece of evidence helped paint an entire scenario for the last moments of Melissa’s life. After stalling for as long as I dared to give the jury time to catch on, I asked Dorian what else she’d found noteworthy in the garage.