The Lawyer's Lawyer

CHAPTER Sixty-Seven



Monday was a sunny day and Tom had a spring in his step when he bulldozed through the crowd and the press into the courthouse. He was late, and he did not have time to talk to Jack before the proceedings began.

Judge Holbrook entered the courtroom promptly at nine o’clock. He had a full courtroom again, and he was going to give them a piece of his mind before the jury was brought in.

“I reminded you all on the first day, although many of you were not here, that your presence in this courtroom is a privilege, not a right. I emptied the courtroom on Friday and I will not hesitate to empty it again. I sequestered this jury at the beginning of this trial to make sure they were not affected by public opinion. Your reaction in this courtroom affects this jury. If you react in any way to anything that happens in here, your privilege to be in this room will be revoked immediately.”

Once again, he did not ask them if they understood his message.

Then he turned to the two lawyers.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to know what we’re going to do today before I bring in the jury. Mr. Wylie, are you going to rest your case?”

Tom stood up. “No, Your Honor. I have one more witness.”

“Who is it?”

“I’m recalling Danni Jansen.”

The buzz in the gallery started and then stopped almost immediately as if people’s emotions had reacted before their brains.

“And Mr. Merton, I assume that your decision will be based on what this witness says.”

“That’s correct, Your Honor.”

“Okay, anything else before we bring in the jury?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Bring in the jury.”

Tom sat down next to Jack. “When did this happen?” Jack asked.

“This morning. She called Henry at seven and said she wanted to testify for you. Henry called me.”

“What is she going to say?”

“I don’t know. Henry says she is going to talk about what happened ten years ago. She wouldn’t tell him what she was going to say though.”

“You don’t know?” Jack asked.

“I hear you. Who calls a witness without knowing what they’re going to say?”

“We have no choice, do we?”

“We always have a choice, Jack, but what are our options?”

“I guess we don’t have any. I said I believe in Danni. When you believe in people, you have to trust them.”

“You’re making a believer out of me. I never thought this woman was going to testify on your behalf. Half of me is still a little worried.”



When the jury was sitting, the bailiff brought Danni in from the witness room. She wore a blue suit with a skirt, not pants, and she looked terrific. This time she made eye contact with Jack. Her eyes were calm. She looked relaxed as she took the oath and sat in the witness chair.

“Ms. Jansen,” Tom began, “when you testified in this case previously, you testified primarily about what happened on the day Thomas Felton was killed. Is that accurate?”

“Yes.”

“I want to go back a ways to the time when you were a homicide detective and were in pursuit of Thomas Felton. In particular, I want to talk to you about the murders of Vanessa Brock and Pedro Diaz.”

“Sure.”

Tom didn’t know exactly where he was going so he just asked general questions.

“Were you involved in the investigation of those murders?”

“Yes.”

“And what was your part?”

“Let me go back a bit and tell you very briefly where we were in the investigation at the time of those murders.”

Robert Merton stood up at this point. He, too, didn’t know what was coming, but he didn’t think it was going to be good. “Your Honor, I object to this line of questioning. It is totally irrelevant to our reason for being here.”

Tom was ready to make his argument but he didn’t get the chance.

“Overruled. You opened this door, Mr. Merton, with your direct examination of Chief Jeffries. Continue, Mr. Wylie.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” To the witness he said, “Ms. Jansen, you were about to tell us where the investigation was prior to the murders of Vanessa Brock and Pedro Diaz?”

“Yes. Those two people were the ninth and tenth individuals murdered. The eighth was Alice Jeffries, Sam Jeffries’s wife.

“One of the other people murdered was a young woman named Stacey Kincaid. The killer had tried to kill Stacey earlier, but she had managed to escape and she identified a bowie knife with a gargoyle handle as the weapon the assailant tried to kill her with. Because of her identification, we were focused on that bowie knife.”

The jury was listening intently. She was so much more compelling in her testimony this time.

“I was convinced that Thomas Felton was the murderer. I didn’t have any real evidence other than the fact that there was a serial killer at the University of Utah when Felton was a student there and the fact that he had an unusual knife in his house, although it looked nothing like a bowie knife. However, with the number of people dead, I felt we needed to move on this flimsy evidence. I went to Sam Jeffries, the head of the task force, and asked him to get me a search warrant. He refused to support the request because he did not believe we had probable cause. I then went to Janet Pelicano, the state attorney at the time, and asked her for a search warrant. She refused me for the same reason.

“I must tell you also that the killer had threatened my daughter so I had a personal stake as well.”

“Why are you telling us all this?” Tom asked. He really didn’t know where she was going.

“Number one, I want the jury to know the pressure that was on us. People in our community were dying and it was our responsibility. And second, for Sam and me it was personal, although his loss was so much greater than mine.”

“So what happened the night of the Brock/Diaz murders?”

“The night Vanessa Brock and Pedro Diaz were killed, I got a call from my partner to come to the scene. However, I didn’t go to the scene right away. I went to Thomas Felton’s apartment.”

The gallery started to murmur at that revelation but Judge Holbrook merely had to raise his head and look out into the crowd for the murmuring to stop. Danni continued.

“Felton wasn’t there, so I picked the lock and went in. I found the bowie knife that Stacey Kincaid had identified. It was located in a dresser drawer in a second or spare bedroom in the apartment. Felton had denied us access to that bedroom when we were there during the investigation. That was my main reason for requesting the search warrant.

“At that point, I knew in my own mind that Felton was the killer. I was so excited that I didn’t put anything together as I should have. What I mean is that I should have realized that since Felton wasn’t home, he must have used a different weapon in the Brock/Diaz murders. I just wasn’t thinking straight.

“I also knew that I couldn’t use the bowie knife as evidence because it was illegally obtained. I couldn’t just close the door and walk away. I couldn’t let another murder happen knowing what I knew. So I went to the Brock/Diaz murder scene and I planted the bowie knife in the woods where I knew it would be found.”

There it was. What Jack had suspected and what he had argued to the Florida Supreme Court was, in fact, true. The bowie knife had been planted. Jack just didn’t know that it was planted by Danni.

“Did you ever tell anybody what you had done before your testimony here today?”

“No.”

“The state attorney, the coroner, Chief Jeffries—none of them knew?”

“I didn’t say that. I said I didn’t tell them. They all knew. These were experienced people but by the time the case came to trial, the murders had stopped. They were faced with essentially the same dilemma as I was—they had bad evidence, but the killing had stopped. They weren’t going to release Felton. So they fudged it.”

Merton’s case was bleeding heavily at this point. He had to at least try to stop the flow. “Objection, Your Honor. Move to strike the last answer as unresponsive to the question and speculative.”

“Overruled. You’ll have your opportunity on cross-examination, Mr. Merton.”

A change had come over Judge Holbrook ever since Merton had tried to suggest Jack had something to do with the killing of a federal judge.

“Nobody picked up on this major problem with the evidence?”

“Nobody discovered what had happened until Jack Tobin came along and read Felton’s file.”

“Thank you, Ms. Jansen. I have—”

“There’s more,” Danni interrupted him.

“I apologize. Were you not finished with your answer?”

“No. When Alice Jeffries was killed, I went to the scene. Sam was in his room and he was as upset as he could be. I was concerned about him. I didn’t know what he would do so I asked him to give me his gun. He then gave me his Glock service revolver and I asked him if he had other guns. Reluctantly, he took a key from his top drawer and opened a hidden door in the back of his closet. He had a room back there with a number of guns in it—”

That was enough for Merton. Judge or no judge, he couldn’t let this woman go on. He interrupted Danni in the middle of her sentence.

“Objection, Your Honor. Relevancy.”

The judge thought about it for a moment. “Counsel, approach.”

When the two lawyers reached sidebar, the judge asked Tom a question.

“Where is this leading?”

Tom had to come clean. “I don’t know, Your Honor. I hadn’t talked to her before she testified here today. However, I suspect she is about to tell us something very important.”

“Well, it could also be objectionable and prejudicial. We’ve already had a little too much of that in this trial.”

Tom knew the judge had a point, but he also knew this was an opportunity that could not be wasted.

“Your Honor, let me make a suggestion. Let’s remove the jury and I’ll proffer the testimony outside the presence of the jury. Counsel can make any objections and you can rule on them.”

The judge thought about it for a minute. “I’d have to remove the gallery, too. I don’t want this testimony floating out there if I deem it inadmissible.”

Merton finally spoke up. “Your Honor, this is highly unusual and inappropriate. I have a client here, the State of Florida, and my client will be prejudiced by this last-minute surprise testimony.”

Judge Holbrook glared at Merton. “You opened this door, Counselor. You brought in what happened ten years ago. Besides, this was your witness, you can’t claim surprise. And one last thing: Your client is justice. Remember that. A man’s life is at stake here.

“Okay, Mr. Wylie, I’m going to let you make your proffer.”

He called the bailiffs over. “I want the jury removed and I want the gallery removed. Put the gallery in another courtroom and stay with them. I don’t want anybody walking in here. In fact, lock the doors when you leave. But first, let me make a few remarks to the jury.”

Everybody returned to their respective places while Judge Holbrook addressed the jurors.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have some legal issues we need to address so I’m going to ask you to step out into the jury room. It should only be a few minutes.”

As one bailiff marched the jurors out, two other bailiffs started removing the gallery. In a few minutes, the courtroom was again empty except for the judge, court personnel, the lawyers, Jack, and Danni.

When the jurors were gone but before the gallery was totally empty, Danni stole a glance at Jack, who met her eyes. She pursed her lips in a slight smile to let him know she felt good about what she was doing. Jack gave her an ever so subtle nod. Nobody in the courtroom noticed except Robert Merton, who leaned over to his pretty assistant. “Find Chief Jeffries,” he said to her. “Ask him if there was ever anything between Jansen and Tobin. Get as much detail as you can. And make sure the guard at the door knows you’re coming back so you can get in.”

The woman gave him a look as if to say, I can figure that out. I’m a lawyer, you know, not some ornament to make you look better in front of the jury. She didn’t verbalize her feelings, however. She quickly left the courtroom.

“What are we doing, making a proffer?” Jack asked Tom when Tom returned from sidebar.

“Yeah. I don’t know what she’s going to say though.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be good. I can’t believe the judge is letting you do this.”

“I can’t either. He’s done a complete one-eighty since Merton’s big gaffe.”

“Mr. Wylie, are you ready?” the judge asked.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“You may proceed.”

Tom walked to the podium and addressed Danni on the witness stand.

“Ms. Jansen, you were telling us about a secret room in Sam Jeffries’s house when Mr. Merton made his objection. Can you continue where you left off?”

“Yes. Sam had a secret room in the back of his closet and he had a number of guns in there. There were five semiautomatics, not including the Glock he had given me, a rifle with a scope, several shotguns, and an AK-47. I specifically noticed and mentioned to him that he didn’t have any revolvers and he told me he didn’t like them.”

“Why is that so important?”

“Because I was never sure about things. Jack told me that he thought Felton had a gun, a small pistol, and Sam told me there was no gun, that Jack had set the whole thing up. I didn’t know what the truth was so I just came in here and testified to what I knew. Then when I decided to tell the truth about what happened ten years ago and I specifically recalled what I had done, I thought there was a possibility that I could again find out for sure what happened in this case.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Tom said.

“Ten years ago I assured myself that Felton was the killer by breaking into his house and finding the bowie knife. Early this morning I went over to Sam Jeffries’s house, waited until he left, and broke in.”

“What did you find?” Tom asked.

“I knew where the key to the secret room was so I got it and opened the door. There in the room, along with the other guns, was a small revolver, a 22 caliber Ruger. I knew Sam didn’t like revolvers, so I was sure in my own mind that this was Felton’s gun.”

“Did you dust it for prints?”

“I did. It was clean. I figure Sam wiped it clean once he decided to frame Jack. That way, if anybody ever found the gun, although I don’t know how they would, it would just be another gun in his collection.”

“Where is the gun now?”

“I left it with the head of security at the courthouse entrance. I explained to him who I was and that this gun was potential evidence in this case.”

“Is there anything else that you want to add?”

“No.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

As Tom finished, Merton’s assistant came back into the room. She whispered something in Merton’s ear that made him smile.

“There will be no need for you to cross-examine this witness, Mr. Merton,” Judge Holbrook said, “because I’m ruling this testimony inadmissible. This evidence has been obtained by the commission of a crime and Ms. Jansen is a former police officer. More important, however, I find this testimony has little probative value. Ms. Jansen’s belief that this gun was Thomas Felton’s is nothing more than her own speculation. There is no evidence whatsoever linking this gun to Thomas Felton.”

Robert Merton was a good attorney, almost a great attorney, because he understood human nature, particularly the skeptical, jaded side of human nature. So far, Danni Jansen’s testimony before the jury had been believable. She had made a dent in his case and he wasn’t sure how to handle her on cross-examination—until this moment.

“Your Honor, I’m going to withdraw my objection to this testimony.”

The judge looked shocked, as did Tom and Jack.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Counselor? Are you sure you want to allow that gun into evidence?”

“Your Honor, the Court has reminded me that my client is justice. If the defense wants to put this evidence on as truth, I think the jury should be allowed to evaluate it in that context.”

The judge didn’t say anything for a moment or two. He just gave Robert Merton a bewildered look as if to ask, What the hell are you doing?

“Very well,” he said finally. “The objection being withdrawn, you are free to proceed, Mr. Wylie. Since this has taken a little more time than we anticipated, I think we should break for lunch. Who knows, perhaps we’ll have different ideas after the lunch break.”



Jack and Tom had to share a Snickers over lunch.

“I didn’t get to the candy store last night,” Tom said.

“I’ll just take it out of your fee,” Jack told him. “Interesting turn of events here.”

“Very interesting.”

“I can’t believe Danni got on that stand and confessed to two crimes—to save me.”

“I’ve got to say I was not a Danni fan no matter what you and Henry said about her, but today she stepped up to the plate in a big way. And I understand why she did what she did. She had to stop Felton any way she could, and she had a strong feeling that Jeffries was setting you up and that he was going to get away with it.”

“Why did Merton drop his objection?” Jack asked.

“I think I know,” Tom said. “Danni’s testimony about what happened ten years ago was very believable. A jury could understand after that testimony why you decided to represent Felton. They could let you go without ever determining that Sam Jeffries did anything wrong. This gun testimony, even though it’s true, requires the jurors to believe Danni over Sam Jeffries and makes Jeffries a criminal. Jeffries is well thought of in this community and he is the ultimate victim in this case. Making Jeffries look like a criminal is going to be a hard thing for them to do and that’s what Merton is banking on.”

“But it’s the truth. Why would Danni lie? Why would she subject herself to criminal prosecution?”

“That’s Merton’s hurdle—finding a motive for Danni’s having lied. I’m sure he’ll come up with something. He’s a very resourceful fellow. We could pull the plug on him though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have to ask another question. I don’t have to put the proffered testimony before the jury. That way, Merton could only cross Danni on what she already testified to—and that’s basically planting the knife ten years ago.”

“What’s our advantage in that?”

“If the jury believes her, they see you in a different light. They don’t have to determine that Jeffries is a criminal. It’s still a risk, but you and I both know that you win in this game hitting singles and doubles. Trying for a home run, like Merton did when he cross-examined you, can get you in a lot of trouble.”

“What do you recommend, Tom?”

“Let’s play it safe. Let’s throw Merton a curve ball. We’ll leave the gun stuff out.”

“I can’t do that. I hear everything you’re saying, Tom, and I agree with you for the most part. But Danni put her life on the line by breaking into Sam’s home and then by testifying about it. I can’t just throw that away because it’s good strategy.”

“This isn’t about Danni’s feelings, Jack. We want to get you out of jail. You can spend the rest of your life with her if you like.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s pretty obvious to me that you love this woman. I think Henry and Ron would tell you the same thing if they were here. I just don’t want your feelings for her to cloud your judgment as a lawyer because this is your decision to make.”

“You’ve been straight with me all the way through this trial, Tom, even though I don’t agree with all of your assessments. And you stuck with me when I made decisions you didn’t agree with. As a lawyer, I know how hard that is. But I’m going to ask you to do it one more time. I want Danni to testify to everything. That’s what she came here to do, and it’s the truth. I’ll live with the consequences.”

“Okay, Jack. I just hope Merton is not as good as I think he is.”