What was happening to Cassidy was right out of the brochures they kept at the front desk of Safe Harbor: name-calling. Excessive possessiveness. Destruction of personal property.
And from experience, Allison didn’t think it would stop with Rick making Cassidy get rid of her sexy underwear.
“Cassidy,” Allison said carefully, “you have to promise me you’ll think twice next time Rick wants you to change some part of your personality. It makes me nervous that he doesn’t like you the way you are.”
As she spoke, Nicole nodded.
Cassidy shook her head. “He likes me the way I should be.” She managed a teary-eyed smile. “And isn’t that better?”
“No,” Allison said. “Frankly, it’s not. You should only change for yourself. Not because someone tells you they won’t love you unless you do. Let me ask you something, Cassidy, and you have to promise to tell me the truth.”
“Okay,” Cassidy said slowly.
“Has Rick ever hit you?”
“No.” Cassidy laid her hand over her heart. “I promise you, Rick has never hit me. Ever.”
Watching her, Allison felt sick. She had known Cassidy long enough to know when she was lying.
MARK O. HATFIELD UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
January 12
Allison had faxed a target letter to Stone. It told the lawyer that not only was his client the subject of a grand jury investigation, but Allison believed she had substantial evidence to link him to a crime. Fairview was now compelled to leave rehab and testify before the grand jury. He could still take the Fifth to any and all questions that might incriminate him, but he’d run a higher risk of being indicted because the grand jurors might think he was hiding the truth. And once you were indicted, the public decided you were guilty. As a politician, his life would be over.
And did Fairview even have a life outside of being a politician?
Allison figured that Fairview and Stone had to be weighing the odds. Did Fairview need to focus on saving his career—or on saving his skin?
What they didn’t know was that she had a videotape that would be nearly impossible to explain away.
Although they would probably have rehearsed Fairview’s testimony a dozen times, Stone would not be allowed to accompany his client into the grand jury room. Instead, he would be forced to sit in the hall, twiddle his thumbs, and hope that his client didn’t open his mouth and hang himself. Inside the grand jury room, it was only the prosecutor, the jurors, and the witness. Grand juries were supposed to hold a prosecutor in check—but they also gave a prosecutor a lot of power.
Allison could have skipped the grand jury indictment and gone right to a probable cause hearing in front of a judge. But in that case, the defendant and his lawyer were on hand to hear every word of her argument. And then the balance of power was tipped the other way. A probable cause hearing gave the defense an early crack at the case, and an opportunity to cross-examine the FBI agents who testified to the evidence.
Allison began by bringing the grand jury up to speed on the events of the last few days. She put Leif on the stand to set the scene by testifying about what the ERT had found in Forest Park. But just as important, she had him identify a photo of Katie’s body. Behind her, she heard the jurors gasp as the photo was passed from hand to hand.
In a way, it was overkill to show these photos to the jury. Given the evidence of the videotape, Allison knew they would indict Fairview with-out them. But at the same time, she wanted to hear their reactions, gauge how everything would go when it really came for trial.
Next, she called Nicole to the stand. Nicole testified about how the Converses had taken the news that their daughter’s body had been found. While this was hearsay evidence that couldn’t be used at trial, it was permissible at a grand jury hearing. At this point, with the facts of their daughter’s murder still fresh in their mind, it would be too volatile—as well as too cruel—to call Wayne and Valerie to the stand. Nicole also identified autopsy photos of Katie’s throat and the injuries it had received. By the gasps Allison could hear coming from the jurors, these photos were just as powerful as the previous ones. And Nicole explained that the autopsy results meant that Katie had definitely been murdered.
Finally, Fairview was brought into the room and sworn in by the court reporter. His face wore an expression that Allison was sure had been practiced in front of a mirror. It mingled equal parts sorrow and righteous indignation.
Allison got up to turn on the TV-VCR unit she had requested. “Senator, I am going to show you a tape that was shot on December thirteenth. The day Katie Converse went missing. The day, we now know, that she died.”