The judge's ruling snapped Peter out of his funk. He was concerned about the introduction of evidence about the peeping incident and the magazines, but he had been scared to death that judge Kuffel would admit evidence about the other murders. If the judge had let O'Shay argue that Gary was a serial killer, there was no way Peter could have won an acquittal.
"Do you have an update on Kevin Booth's condition?" the judge asked. Peter leaned forward. If Booth was too ill to testify, Peter's day would be complete.
"I spoke with Mr. Booth's surgeon this morning," O'Shay said as she consulted her notes. "Dr. Farber says that Mr. Booth cannot be transported to Whitaker without endangering the success of the skin grafts. However, Mr. Booth is metabolically more stable. His fever is down, he's gaining weight and he requires less pain medication, which makes him more coherent.
"According to the doctor, Mr. Booth will be able to testify in his hospital room in Portland by Monday. Dr. Farber is willing to postpone further skin grafts so the trial will not be delayed. It's my intention to examine Mr. Booth in Portland agreeable."
"I object, Your Hor "What are your gro "Booth's testimony is cru< ial to t states case. If the jury sees imi i i a hospital room it's going to generate a lot of sympatt y. Booth has been burned to a crisp. I'm going to look ike an ogre if I go after him.
"And how am I going to cross-examine effectively?
What happens to Mr. Harmon's right of confrontation if Dr. Farber so that I shouldn't excite Booth? And ys he's on pain medication. He'll be sedated. That means the jury won't be seeing the way he would normally react to questions."
"Your concerns are valid, Mr. Hale, but it seems to me that they are theoretical. It may be that you will be able to carry on a vigorous cross of the witness without any medical problems occurring. We'll deal with confrontation problems if the doctor tries to restrict you.
Of course, we could have a mistrial or Mr. Booth's testimony may be struck, if you are foreclosed from examining Booth because of medical problems, but that's a risk the state runs.
"As to the prejudice caused by Booth's appearance and the location where he will be examined, I plan on instructing the jurors that they may not let any sympathy caused by Booth's appearance affect their decision.
I'll draft a jury instruction to that effect and I'll give it to you to review tonight. Let me know if you want any changes by tomorrow morning, before court.
"With that in mind, I'll have a bus meet us here at seven o'clock on Monday morning. Ms. O'Shay, please notify the hospital that I plan on taking testimony at two in the afternoon.
"If there's nothing further, we'll take a short recess.
Then I'll have the clerk bring in the jury."
judge Kuffel left the bench and the guards took Gary to the holding cell so he could use the rest room. Steve Mancini walked to Peter's side as soon as Gary was out of earshot. There were dark circles under his eyes and Peter noticed nicks on his face where he had cut himself shaving. It was obvious that Mancini had not slept last night either.
"I really fucked up, didn't I?"
"What's done is done," Peter answered resignedly.
"I'll just have to call Bosco as a witness and hope that the jury buys his theory."
"I wonder what else will go wrong."
"What do you mean?" Mancini hesitated. Then, he said, "Donna left me."
"What!" Peter responded, hoping that he looked suitably surprised.
"We had a fight after you went home because I didn't tell you about Bosco."
Jeer, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have barged in like that.
I feel awful."
"It's not your fault. I don't even know why I'm burdening you with this. I guess I just needed someone to talk to."
"How serious is this?"
"Pretty serious. I feel really bad. I love her so much."
Mancini's voice caught and Peter was afraid he was going to cry. If he did, Peter didn't know if he could keep lying.
"Hey, it'll work out. It's just a newlywed spat. She loves you, too. She'll come back."
"I hope so, Pete. I can't stand being away from her. if you run into Donna, tell her I love her, will you? Ask her to call me. I'm sure everything would be all right if we could just talk."
"You bet," Peter said, but he did not mean it. He felt terrible about deceiving his friend, but he remembered Donna's pain and terror too vividly to help Maricini find his wife.
"I shouldn't have bothered you in the middle of trial."
"It's no trouble," Peter answered guiltily. "Maybe we should go out for dinner tonight..
"No. This was selfish of me. You've got to prepare your case. Gary's life is at stake. I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I'll be okay."
During the rest of the morning session, witnesses told the jury about the peeping incident and the pornographic magazines. Becky O'Shay started the afternoon session of court by calling Sergeant Dennis Downes to the stand. just before he started to testify, Christopher Mammon entered the courtroom. This was the second time Mammon had been a spectatorat Gary's trial and Peter remained puzzled by his interest.
Downes testified calmly and professionally about the history of his investigation and the evidence that led him to Gary Harmon. He emphasized the courtesy shown to the defendant and explained how Gary had agreed to come to the station house. Whed his narrative reached the point where the taping began, Becky introduced the tapes of Gary's interrogation into evidence and supplied everyone with a transcript of the five-hour interrogation. Then, Becky played a two-hour, edited version of the interrogation to the jury. The day's session of court ended with a recitation by Downes of his part in finding the hatchet in a storm drain near the Whitaker State College campus.
After court, Peter 'went directly to his office to finish the work on his cross-examination of Sergeant Downes.
He hoped Steve Mancini would not be working late, because he felt a little guilty about helping Donna hide from her husband. Fortunately, Mancini was not in the building.
Peter tried to work on the case, but he kept thinking about his encounter at the courthouse with Steve. Mancini seemed so sad. Maybe Donna had exaggerated when she described her beating. Mancini had definitely hit her, but based on how contrite he seemed, it was hard to believe that Steve had really meant to hurt her.
Peter was also troubled by his part in the Mancinis' marital problems. He should never have barged into their house the way he did, throwing accusations at his friend in front of Donna. He had made it sound as if Steve was intentionally sabotaging Gary's case. The more Peter thought about it, the more he decided that he owed it to Steve to tell Donna how sorry he seemed in court.
As soon as he wrapped up his work, Peter drove across town. Rhonda Kates lived near the hospital in a garden apartment on the other side of the Whitaker campus from city center. Peter rang the doorbell and noticed the curtain that covered the kitchen window move.
Donna looked apprehensive when she opened the door.
She had been afraid to go back to her house for her own clothes, so she was wearing shorts and a green tank top that belonged to Rhonda.
"I thought I'd drop by to see how you're doing."
Donna's apprehensive look turned into a smile of relief and she ushered him in.
"You all alone?" Peter asked.
"Rhonda has an evening shift at the hospital."
"How are your ribs?"
"Nothing's broken. I'm still sore, but it could have been worse."
They sat down in the living room.
"I was too upset to thank you last night," Donna said.
"Oh, hey ... "No. Some men wouldn't have wanted to get involved. Especially with the wife of a friend." She paused. "You haven't said anything to Steve, have you?