“All right, all right,” the judge said, giving the room a chance to quiet. “Any opening remarks before we begin, Mr. Hellstrom?”
Hellstrom stroked his chin. “Your Honor, I will keep it short. My client is innocent. The government has no witnesses connecting Mr. Montgomery to this terrible crime. No murder weapon. No DNA or other physical evidence. What they have is a rush to judgment driven by factors that should have no bearing in a court of law. What’s—”
“Your Honor,” Fallon said, already on her feet. “Mr. Hellstrom is improperly arguing the merits. We’re here today to hear his motion to suppress evidence—a curious motion given that he’s so confident in the supposed lack of evidence.”
Judge Chin swatted away the bickering with a wave of her hand. “Mr. Hellstrom, save it. The same goes for the government.”
Hellstrom flicked an admiring glance at Fallon. “Your Honor, the government has the burden of showing its search did not violate the Fourth Amendment, so I will defer further remarks until we’ve had the opportunity to hear from the people.”
The judge looked toward Fallon, who offered a small roll of the eyes, but nodded.
“The government calls Franklin Pacini.”
As Pacini took the stand and was sworn in, Sean noticed Hellstrom sneak a glance in Sean’s direction. Hellstrom whispered something to Malik Montgomery, who nodded, and both turned back to Pacini. Fallon had warned that Hellstrom may request that Sean be sequestered while Pacini was testifying, a common procedure to avoid one witness from influencing the testimony of another. But Hellstrom, who didn’t know if Sean would take the stand, apparently decided against it. Why?
Sean listened as Patti Fallon walked Pacini through that night. From Sean’s call, to Abby’s apartment, to Malik’s place where they found the phone. Emily sniffled and Sean wondered if they both would have been better off sequestered. Fallon skillfully led Pacini down a path to establish two things. First, he was there that night as a friend, not as a government agent, which was important because Fallon argued that the Fourth Amendment did not apply to private searches. Second, that Malik had consented to the search of his home, which again precluded any finding of an illegal search. Fallon then turned to Malik’s statements to Pacini and Sean.
“At some point during the night did your role change?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I mean you started off helping out just as a friend, but at some point did you put your FBI hat on?”
“Yes, after Sean found the phone hidden in the defendant’s house.”
“And what did you do?”
“I interviewed the defendant.”
“Did you read the defendant his Miranda rights before asking him questions?” Fallon asked.
“Yes. I remember because the defendant got angry about it. He said, ‘I’m not like the poor dumb black kids you’re used to dealing with,’ and that he had nothing to hide.”
A rumble filled the spectator section and the judge gave a glare that spanned the room.
“Did you ask the defendant when he’d last seen Abby?”
“Yes, he said they’d had a fight at dinner and Abby stormed out of the restaurant. He said he went after her and gave her a ride to the Supreme Court, where she liked to study. He said the last time he saw her was when he dropped her off at the curb in front of the building.”
“What happened after you spoke to the defendant?”
“Some agents came to speak with him, and Mr. Serrat and I headed over to the Supreme Court.”
“You thought Abby would still be at the court a day later?”
“No. But I thought it would be helpful to speak to officers from the court’s police department and see if security camera footage showed Abby in the building.”
“And you went to the court?”
“Yes.”
“Did the officers show you any security footage?”
“Yes, footage showed Abby Serrat entering the court and walking to the library. There’s no cameras in the library, so we couldn’t see inside, just that she walked there.”
“Was she alone?”
“At first, yes.”
“You said that the defendant told you he didn’t go inside the court that night, correct?”
“That’s what he told us at his house. He said he dropped her off at the curb and that he went home.”
“Did you see anything else on the surveillance footage?”
“About ten minutes after Ms. Serrat arrived at the court, the defendant entered the building.”
“So, he’d lied to you?”
“Yes.”
Sean looked over at Hellstrom expecting an objection, but Hellstrom just sat at counsel’s table and gave an audible yawn.
“And you went to the library?”
“Yes.”
Fallon waited a long beat before the next question. “And what happened in the library?”
The courtroom was still. Not a sound.