Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 173733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 869(@200wpm)___ 695(@250wpm)___ 579(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 173733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 869(@200wpm)___ 695(@250wpm)___ 579(@300wpm)
“Three years.”
“How many times did you hear Ms. Warren say she hated her father in that time?”
“At least half a dozen.”
“When was the last time you heard Ms. Warren say that she hated her father?”
“The day before Mr. Warren died,” Martha states.
“Who was she speaking to?”
“Him. She came to the office and shouted it at him.”
“How did he react?” Wicker asks.
“He shut his door. He didn’t come out for hours. That’s how he handled stress.”
The softball questions that all aim to make Dana look like a spoiled brat go on for forty minutes. Finally, again, Reese approaches and he wastes no time digging in. “Did you ever sleep with Mr. Warren?”
Her eyes go wide and Milton stands up. “Objection. Relevance?”
Reese looks at him and arches a brow. “You don’t know what this witness having a personal relationship with the deceased has to do with this?”
The judge gavels his desk to death. “Enough.”
“Judge, I’ll get to the point quickly.”
“You better,” he says.
Reese refocuses on Martha. “Did you have a sexual relationship with the deceased, Mr. Warren?”
“I did not,” she lies.
“You do know you’re under oath, correct?” Reese asks.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Did you ever take intimate photos with the deceased without any clothes on?”
Milton pops to his feet to object and the courtroom erupts in murmurs that has the judge pounding away again. “Recess until one-thirty, and counselors, to my office.”
“Judge, I’d like to request the current witness return to the stand after recess.”
“Granted.”
I smile. She lied. That’s not good for the prosecutor. Reese walks back to his table and when his eyes find mine in the crowd, he doesn’t wink, but he doesn’t have to. I know my husband. He just got exactly what he wanted.
Reese
I walk into the judge’s chamber with Milton already up in arms. “What the hell was that, judge?” He looks at me. “What the hell was that?”
“She lied.” I hand the judge the envelope Royce gave me. “That won’t be admissible into evidence, but she lied.”
He opens it and looks inside, his expression tightening as he does. He looks at me. “How did you get this?”
“Walker Security,” I say. “They frequently work with law enforcement and are highly respected.”
“What is it?” Milton asks, sounding irritated.
The judge settles his glasses on his nose and looks over at him. “Naked pictures of your last witness with the deceased. I won’t allow those photos into evidence, but I’ll send her to jail. I don’t tolerate lies under oath in my courtroom.”
He doesn’t offer to let Milton see the photos. He hands them back to me and I look at Milton. “Lies is what the entire prosecution is all about.”
“Says the man defending a killer,” Milton snaps, his face pinched with anger. “Do I get to see the photos, judge?”
“You’ll have to trust me,” he says. “She’s naked. I don’t run a girly show here. I assure you I can validate what I saw.”
“Seems to me your witness, who was taking naked photos with her boss, the focus of this trial, has something to hide,” I say.
“Your client is the one who has something to hide.”
I don’t even consider outing his text messages with Dana’s boyfriend. Not yet, but I will I have to end this trial and get my wife out of town soon. “Did you know about Martha banging Mr. Warren when you charged Dana or did you even do an investigation?”
“Enough,” the judge says. “Martha will be taken into custody when the court reconvenes.”
“I need an afternoon recess, judge,” Milton says. “Please, I need to talk to my team.”
The judge gives him a keen look. “I suspect you do and I’m going to grant your recess for one reason: I don’t want another lie in my courtroom. We’ll reconvene at one-thirty when the witness will stand before me and be arrested for lying. After which, we will recess.” He waves us away.
I exit to the exterior of the office and text Cat: I need you. Have Savage bring you back here. I exit to the hallway and as soon as I’m in my team’s private hallway, Richard and Elsa are on top of me. “The judge is having her arrested at one-thirty. After which, we recess. Go drill Dana about Martha. I need to see my wife.”
I walk around them and head for the end of the hallway to wait on Cat and Savage. The minute Cat rounds the corner, I pull her to me and kiss her. “That was incredible,” she says.
“We need to talk,” I say, lacing my fingers with hers and leading her toward a private office.
Chapter seventy-five
Reese
Ishut the door to the office and my need to control everything, especially my wife’s safety, has me backing Cat against the wall, my hands on her waist, my legs caging hers. “Reese?” she asks. “Why are you so intense right now? You killed it in court.”