The Lawyer's Lawyer

CHAPTER Sixty-Two



It was one thirty when the judge finally took a lunch break. The testimony of Sam Jeffries had been long and sometimes tedious and the judge rightfully didn’t want to break before it was over. He gave the jurors an extra half hour for lunch, though.

“We’ll reconvene at three,” he told them.

Tom once again stayed in the courtroom with Jack, two old trial lawyers who couldn’t get enough of it, although Jack didn’t particularly like being the defendant. Tom produced two Snickers bars and handed one to Jack.

“You’re such a thoughtful lawyer,” Jack said. “You think of my sustenance along with everything else.”

“Let’s hope the everything else is as good as this Snickers bar.”

“It is,” Jack said. “Remember, I’m an expert at this.”

Tom ignored the compliment. “So what do you think so far?”

“I think you set the case up exactly as it should be. Merton did an excellent job with Jeffries, but you got what you needed. It’s going to come down to me or him.”

“Yes and no. They are with him all the way. But he’s out there on a limb all by himself and some of his stuff is very weak. The throwing the gun away into a certain portion of the woods is a little far-fetched. It could literally lose them the case if they don’t have anything or anybody to corroborate the theory, and I don’t see how they are going to come up with anything at this late date.”

“Well, they’ve got nobody left except Danni,” Jack said.

“We don’t know that but it’s our best guess. She’s going to corroborate Jeffries’s story about your knocking on her door and your saying you shot Felton. She’s also going to testify about the telephone calls to Felton being from you because she knows your number, but that’s not a big deal since we haven’t denied that. She’s not going to add much if that’s all she’s going to testify to.”

Jack caught the note of sarcasm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just have a feeling.”

“And what’s your feeling?”

“I think you trust this woman way too much. And I think we’re in for a surprise.”

“You’re right, I do trust her. And I don’t think there will be any surprises.”

“We’ll see,” Tom said. “I hope you’re right about that…”



They were both right about one thing—Danni was the next witness. She wore a black dress as if she were in mourning. Jack tried to catch her eye just to let her know he had no hard feelings about her testifying for the prosecution, but she wouldn’t look at him. Even though he was on trial for his life, and even though she was about to testify against him, Jack still had intense feelings toward her that he could not suppress. Danni swore to tell the truth, took the stand, and answered Robert Merton’s questions in a dull, expressionless voice.

As to the questions, Tom and Jack were right about most of them. Merton took her through Felton’s death scene, and she corroborated everything Sam Jeffries had said. Then he asked her if she knew Jack’s number and she said she did. He had called her on several occasions when they had been on opposite sides of a case. Merton then showed her the calls on Felton’s phone—the one two days before the shooting and the one moments before the shooting. She identified both calls as Jack’s number. Then came the surprise testimony—at least it was a surprise to Tom Wylie. He’d never heard it before.

“Now it’s my understanding that after you and Mr. Tobin returned to the scene where Mr. Felton lay dead and Mr. Tobin told Chief Jeffries that he had shot him, you were both taken to the station for questioning, is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“How did you feel as a twenty-year veteran of the force, being taken in for questioning?”

“I felt fine. It was purely routine.”

“Were you and Mr. Tobin separated at the station?”

“Yes.”

“And you were eventually released?”

“Yes, about an hour later.”

“Was Mr. Tobin released with you?”

“No.”

“Did you wait for him?”

“No. I went home.”

“When was the next time you saw him?”

“That evening.”

Merton and his assistant set up the easel and the diagram again.

“Ms. Jansen, a smaller version of this diagram has already been entered into evidence as State’s Exhibit number ten. Do you recognize what’s depicted in this diagram?”

“Yes. It’s my house, my back porch, my backyard, and the woods surrounding my house.”

“Now if you would, I’d like you to come and take this pointer and point out a few things for the jury.”

Danni stepped down from the witness chair and took the pointer as Sam Jeffries had done that morning.

“Now, would you point out approximately where in the woods Thomas Felton’s body was situated.”

Danni pointed to almost the exact same spot that Sam had pointed to.

“Thank you, Ms. Jansen. Now you said you saw Jack Tobin that evening—and you were referring to the evening of the shooting, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you see him?”

“I was sitting on my back porch, and he came out of the woods and approached my house.”

“Were you surprised?”

“Yes, I was.”

“And did you ask him what he was doing out there?”

“I did.”

“And what did he tell you?”

“He said he was looking for the gun.”

“What gun?”

“Felton’s gun.”

“The gun that Thomas Felton supposedly pointed at him?”

“Yes.”

Danni was still standing in front of the diagram as she testified.

“Now would you show the jury on this diagram where you saw Jack Tobin come out of the woods that evening?”

“Sure.” Danni pointed to the woods to the left of her back porch, the exact spot where Sam Jeffries had testified he believed Jack would have thrown the gun and where he believed Jack would have gone to retrieve the gun.

“Now, Ms. Jansen, were you surprised that Mr. Tobin was looking for Felton’s gun in the woods to the left of your back porch?”

“Yes.”

“And why were you surprised?”

“Because Felton was shot up here.” Danni pointed to the area of the woods directly in front of the back porch—the area she had already pointed out. “If he had a gun on him when Jack shot him, it should be up there. I don’t know why Jack was looking where he was looking.”

“Did you ask him about that?”

“I did. He told me he could not look in the area surrounding the murder scene because there were SWAT team members up there. He said Sam Jeffries had told him nobody would be out there.”

“Now did you see any SWAT team members out there in the area where the body was found at any time that evening?”

“No.”

“And you were sitting on your back porch?”

“That’s correct.”

“Did you subsequently ask Sam Jeffries if he had deployed any SWAT team members at the crime scene that evening?”

“I did.”

“And what was his response?”

“He said he hadn’t.”

“And did you ask Chief Jeffries if he had told Jack Tobin that nobody was going to be out there that evening?”

“Yes.”

“And what was his response?”

“He said he hadn’t. He said Tobin was a suspect. He wouldn’t have given him any information.”

“As a retired homicide detective did that answer make sense to you?”

“Yes.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

Tom could have objected to the questions about what Chief Jeffries had told Danni because Merton was seeking to elicit hearsay testimony, but Merton could have cured that problem simply by calling Jeffries back to the stand. The much bigger problem was that Danni Jansen had just corroborated Jeffries’s testimony about the State’s biggest hurdle—the fact that Jack had thrown away the gun he was going to plant on Thomas Felton’s person and then had come back to retrieve it after he was released by the Oakville Police Department.

Tom knew he would have to go after her. He was searching his brain for anything he could use to attack her credibility. She had once been involved with Jack; maybe she has some lingering animosity toward him from that relationship. While he was thinking, Jack leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“Everything she said is true. Don’t cross-examine her.”

Don’t cross-examine her! She just put a rope around your neck. Are you serious? We have to take a piece out of this woman’s hide or this trial is over.

Up until now, Tom had abided by the deal he had struck with Jack. Now he felt he could no longer listen to his client. The man was not thinking rationally. He needed time. He needed an opportunity to talk some sense into Jack. He stood up.

“Your Honor, may we approach?”

It was ten minutes to five. The judge didn’t know for sure what it was about but after twenty years on the bench, he had an idea. “Come on.”

When they reached sidebar, Tom pleaded his case.

“Judge, it’s ten minutes to five. The jury has already had a long day. If I start now, my cross could be very lengthy. If I wait until the morning and digest everything, it probably will be much shorter. At this time, I’m asking for a recess until tomorrow morning.”

The judge looked at Robert Merton. “What says the State?”

Merton knew he had them on the ropes. He didn’t want to let up on anything.

“I think we should finish this witness right now, Your Honor.”

Judge Holbrook was inclined to go along with Merton on this one. He didn’t like adjourning for the day when a witness was still on the stand, especially a major witness. He was about to rule in Merton’s favor when he glanced at the jury box and saw two of the jurors yawning. His first obligation was to make sure they were able to listen to and absorb the evidence. And it had already been a very long day.

“I think the jury is tired,” he said. “We’re going to adjourn until tomorrow morning at nine a.m.”

Tom was relieved. Merton was angry. Jack had no idea what had happened until the judge announced in open court that they were adjourning for the day.