Trial Junkies (A Thriller) (36 page)

This was nearly ten years ago, but Hutch could still remember the moment. The slight catch his throat as they made eye contact.

It was like one of those film noir moments, where the beautiful woman emerges from the haze or the staircase or the alleyway, so perfect in every way that any man watching is suddenly re-evaluating his life, asking himself,
how can I have that?
 

Who do I need to kill to have that?

But Hutch hadn't been forced to kill anyone. Within a month, he and Jenny were madly in love and a game of musical roommates was played until they were sharing a room. There was some resentment at first—from Ronnie and Nadine in particular—but they all managed to grow past it and their time in that house became something special. Magical.

Oh, how things had changed.

"Isn't it true," Abernathy said to Nadine, "that you also lived with the defendant at that time?"

"Yes. We shared a room for nearly three years."

"So I'd imagine you came to know Ms. Baldacci quite well."

"Sometimes better than I wanted to," Nadine said and several people laughed.

"What about her relationship with Ms. Keating back then? How would you characterize it?"

"Objection," Waverly said. "I don't see how events of nearly a decade ago have any bearing on today's proceedings."

"I'm merely attempting to provide the jury with some historical background, Your Honor."

"Or color their judgment," Waverly said.

"I'm going to allow it," O'Donnell told them. "I'm sure the jury is capable of evaluating the testimony and deciding for themselves what is and isn't pertinent to the matter at hand."

Abernathy thanked the judge and went on. "You can answer the question, Ms. Overman."

Nadine hesitated. "Could you repeat it?"

"Yes, of course. How would you characterize Ms. Baldacci's relationship with Ms. Keating when you were all living together in the house on Miller Street?"

Nadine took a moment, Hutch knowing that she was about to paint Ronnie as a jealous bitch.

But then she surprised him.

"Fairly typical," she said. "They were friends."

Abernathy seemed surprised as well. "Can you elaborate?"

"Their relationship was the same as everyone else's in the house. They had their close moments, they had their spats, but so did Jenny and I. We were college students—on our own for the first time in our lives—thrown together in a living situation that wasn't always ideal, but was often wonderful."

Hutch could see by Abernathy's expression that Nadine had just strayed from the script.

"Did Ms. Baldacci ever show any animosity toward Ms. Keating?"

"Of course," Nadine said. "She was always a little envious of Jenny's relationship with Hutch." She paused. "That's Ethan Hutchinson, one of our roommates. But then
I
was envious, too. I think we all were, in a way. They had something special that the rest of us were still searching for."

Hutch didn't look around, but he was certain that several of the people in the gallery were staring at him now. Some of the jurors as well.

Looking a bit concerned by her response, Abernathy pressed on. "Was there ever a moment during that time that you yourself felt threatened by the defendant?"

Hutch assumed he was talking about the late night incident with the air gun, one that would surely paint Ronnie a little crazy, but Nadine simply said, "No."

And that was the moment Hutch knew that something had changed. That Nadine had finally come to her senses. Somehow the message had gotten through to her that her old roommate couldn't possibly have done what she was accused of. That, despite any problems they may have had between them in the past, there was no way Ronnie could be a killer. It was the very same evolution that he and Tom and Monica had gone through.

Hutch didn't know
when
she had come to this realization. It could very well have been  when she and Ronnie made eye contact here in the courtroom, but he suspected that Tom may have called her and told her about Frederick Langer. And that alone may have been enough to get her to reevaluate her feelings.

Abernathy looked like a man who had just been hijacked by pirates. "Ms. Overman, did you not tell me in a recent conversation about an incident with a—?"

"Objection, Your Honor. Leading the witness."

"Sustained."

Abernathy checked his notes, then said, "Ms. Overman, do you recall a time back then when the defendant possessed a weapon?"

"A weapon?"

"A gun," Abernathy said. "Or, more specifically, an air gun."

Waverly was on her feet now. "Objection. Your Honor, I don't really see the point to this testimony."

The judge eyed the ADA. "Mr. Abernathy?"

"I'm simply trying to establish a pattern of behavior that the defendant engaged—"

"And how does a single incident form a pattern?" Waverly asked.

Abernathy glared at her. "It has to start somewhere, doesn't it?"

"All right," O'Donnell said. "Everyone calm down. The objection is overruled. I'm going to allow Mr. Abernathy to proceed. But only with caution."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Abernathy turned to Nadine. "While you were living in that house together, sharing a room, did Ms. Baldacci ever possess an air gun?"

"Only for a day or two," Nadine said. "It belonged to her boyfriend and he forgot it one night."

"And did she ever threaten you with that gun?"

"No," Nadine said. "She didn't."

Abernathy stared at her, his frustration clear. "You're under oath, Ms. Overman."

"Which is why I'm telling the truth," she said.

Her ability to lie so easily was surprising to Hutch. Or had she been lying to
him
the other night? She certainly wasn't under oath at the time. Had he been right when he'd accused her of exaggerating the incident out of grief?

Abernathy didn't look happy. "So you're saying that the statement you made to me not two months ago was a lie?"

"Objection. Facts not in evidence."

"Sustained."

Abernathy made a show of his irritation, then glanced again at his notes, taking the time to regroup. "Ms. Overman, approximately six weeks ago you called my office and asked to speak to me about the case at bar, did you not?"

"I did," Nadine said.

"And as a result of that call, we agreed to meet at the Ballinger Restaurant in Wicker Park, did we not?"

"We did."

"And did we indeed meet?"

"Yes," Nadine said.

"And what was the topic of conversation during that meeting?"

"It mostly centered around a phone call I received from Ronnie Baldacci about a month before Jenny was murdered."

Abernathy looked relieved. "And can you tell us about that call?"

"I was at home, going over some paperwork for the Evanston development when Ronnie called my cell phone. We hadn't spoken in quite a while, so I was surprised to hear from her."

"And what did she say to you during this call?"

"Well, a lot of it was incoherent. She was obviously drunk."

Abernathy gave her a tight smile. "Tell us about the coherent parts."

"The gist of it had to something to do with a play she'd attended a couple nights before. During intermission she had run into Jenny and I got the impression that the two of them had gotten into a fight over Ronnie's custody case—although this was all coming out in bits and pieces. I had to decipher it as I went along."

"Did Ms. Baldacci threaten you or Ms. Keating during this call?"

Nadine thought about this. "She definitely called me a few names, but I'm not sure any of it could be considered a threat."

"What sort of names?"

"To be honest, I don't recall. The usual assortment, I guess. Like I said, she was drunk."

Abernathy's jaw clenched. "Your Honor, may I have the court's permission to treat this witness as hostile?"

O'Donnell blinked at him. "She seems to be answering your questions openly and honestly, counsel. Request denied."

"But her answers aren't consistent with what she—"

"Objection," Waverly shouted. "How many times do we have to go over these phantom statements my colleague keeps crowing about?"

O'Donnell raised a hand at her. "Calm down, Ms. Waverly, I'm well aware of the problem here." He turned to Nadine. "Ms. Overman, I'm sure you know of the consequences of perjury."

"Yes, Your Honor."

"So is it your contention that the statements you made two months ago to Mr. Abernathy were untrue?"

"Yes," Nadine said.

"Would you mind explaining why you made false statements to an officer of the court in the middle of a murder investigation?"

Nadine looked at Ronnie now, and in that moment seemed to be speaking to her, rather than the court. "My only excuse is that I was extremely upset about losing one of my best friends, and in my grief, I said things to Mr. Abernathy that were either overstated or untruthful. And if that means facing some kind of charge, then so be it. I'm not about to lie under oath."

Abernathy looked as if he were about to burst a blood vessel. "With all due respect, Your Honor, I have to strenuously object to—"

"Stop right there, counsel. It's sounds to me as if you got the answer to the question you've been trying to ask for the last several minutes. I'm sorry if it isn't what you wanted to hear. Now, unless you have anything further, I'd suggest you call it a wash and wrap this up."

Abernathy was silent for a very long time, no doubt weighing his options. Then he heaved a defeated sigh. "I'm done with this witness, Your Honor."

"All right. Ms. Waverly?"

"No questions, Your Honor."

"Very well, then. Ms. Overman, you're excused."

— 52 —

I
T WAS A
small but significant victory, and Hutch resisted the urge to high-five his friends as Nadine left the witness box and headed for the doorway she had emerged from. More than anything, it was a
personal
victory, because she was a friend.

Just before she disappeared inside, she threw a wan smile in his direction, as if asking for his approval. He gave her a subtle nod, then she was gone, and he wondered if she would head straight back to her apartment and pour herself another rum and Coke.

When the time was right, when this was over, he would call her and ask if she needed his help. It was hard to read her right now, in this situation, but he sensed that she was adrift—a feeling he knew all too well.

"Who would have guessed it," Andy murmured. "The bitch has a heart after all."

"Shut the hell up," Hutch told him.

W
HAT HAPPENED NEXT
was a surprise to everyone, but its significance didn't become clear until several minutes later. Just as Abernathy was about to call his next witness, Detective Meyer entered the courtroom, moved quickly up the aisle and gestured to him.

"Your Honor," Abernathy said, "may I have a moment?"

"A moment. And make it a quick one."

Hutch watched as Abernathy moved over to the low rail that separated the gallery from the well of the courtroom. Meyer leaned close and whispered in Abernathy's ear, the ADA's eyes widening slightly, a small smile crossing his lips. Whatever the news was, it couldn't be good for Ronnie.

Abernathy nodded, said something to Meyer, then turned toward the bench. "Your Honor, I'd like to request a sidebar."

O'Donnell raised a brow, then said to Waverly. "Any objection, counsel?"

Waverly hadn't seen Abernathy's face and still seemed to be riding the high of Nadine's reversal. She got to her feet. "None whatsoever, Your Honor."

She and Abernathy moved to the bench as O'Donnell cupped his hand over his microphone and leaned toward them, the three speaking quietly. Waverly and Abernathy had their backs to the gallery and their faces couldn't be seen, but it was easy to see that Abernathy was doing most of the talking.

Waverly grew rigid beside him, then it was her turn to talk. They went back and forth for several minutes, O'Donnell cutting in occasionally, then the two attorneys returned to their tables—

—and Waverly's expression said it all.

Something very, very bad had just happened.

As Waverly sat, she leaned toward Ronnie and began whispering in her ear. If Ronnie had looked defeated before, she now seemed absolutely devastated, her body sinking deeper into her chair with each word.

The two spoke quietly—and urgently—for several moments as Abernathy threw papers into a briefcase and Judge O'Donnell conferred with his clerk.