Chapter 54
"Mr. Bailey, in your capacity as body guard, for Mr. Greenley, did you accompany him wherever he went?"
"Objection, Your Honor. The question is irrelevant. What Mr. Bailey normally did as part of his employment has no bearing on this case."
"Your Honor, I beg the court's indulgence. If the witness is permitted to answer the question I will show the relevance."
"Very well, Mr. Barkley. I will let the question stand, but I insist that you demonstrate that relevance quickly, or I will shut down this line of questioning. Objection overruled. The witness will answer the question."
"Yes. I was hired to protect Mr. Greenley … could hardly do so if I wasn't with him."
"Is it your experience then, that Mr. Greenley, more often saw business associates in his office, or elsewhere?"
He wasn't sure how it mattered, but Bailey sensed this question was leading into dangerous territory. He felt trapped. "In his office."
"So, it could be considered out of the ordinary for Mr. Greenley to see this man in his room?"
"Well sort of. But he'd seen other people in his room, so it wasn't like he never did so." He'd fallen into the trap without even knowing it.
"Mr. Bailey, do you know how it was determined whether associates were seen in the office … or elsewhere … his room for instance?"
"I don't know how it was determined."
"I see. When did Mr. Greenley rent this hotel room?"
Tony Bailey, once again, was left trailing in the dust of the defense counselor's thought processes.
"He rented it when the other trial started. He said he didn't want to have to travel back and forth from his ranch to town every day."
"By the other trial, are you referring to the civil action recently brought against Mr. Greenley, by Mr. Thomson?"
Again, Bailey felt uneasy, and didn't know any means of not answering the question.
"Yes."
"Mr. Bailey, in the time that Mr. Greenley had this room, did he see people in his office?"
"Yes, of course he did. Mr. Greenley was a successful man, had lots of people he saw on a regular basis."
"I see. And, in the time he rented this room, did he have certain people he regularly saw in his room, that he never saw in his office?"
Manus was shouting. "Objection, Your Honor. The question is argumentative. It suggests the murdered party deliberately saw people in his room, rather than his office. No such evidence exists, or can be established."
"On the contrary, Your Honor. It establishes a pattern … a pattern which demonstrates a particular behavior on the part of Mr. Greenley … a behavior that includes choosing to see some people in a private setting rather than a public setting. I merely wish to establish that such a pattern existed."
Vanderburgh locked eyes with the defense counsel. He was sliding on thin ice, but it was the learned judge's opinion that as yet he had not slid into forbidden waters. "Objection overruled. The witness will answer the question."
"I don't recall the question." Sure is getting hot in this room.
"The court recorder will read back the question."
He did so.
"Yes."
"To clarify. Since the start of the previous court case, Mr. Greenley saw people in his room that he never saw in his office."
Manus didn't bother to object. "Yes. That is correct."
"Was the man who was there, the morning of the murder, one such person?"
As he saw the witness hesitate, he added a caveat. "Let me remind you. You are under oath."
Bailey licked the moisture off his upper lip. "He was."
"I see. Since you are not aware of his name, and he could be a potential witness, please describe this man."
Bailey paused. Answer the question and keep it simple.
"Nothing special about him. Average height. Average build. Brownish hair. Didn't notice the color of his eyes. Mr. Greenley knew him, he wasn't a threat, so I didn't pay much attention." He shrugged.
"I invite you to think a bit more. Did he have any scars, even small ones … on his face, on his hands? Were his hands rough like he worked out-of-doors, or smooth? How did he dress … expensive clothes, work clothes, suit? Did he look comfortable in what he wore, like it was normally what he would wear? What kind of footwear? Did he carry a gun? Was he dressed essentially the same that morning as on his previous visits?"
Bailey once again experienced that trapped sensation. Knew he had to be careful, and wasn't sure he knew how to do so. He decided to remain as noncommittal as possible. Didn't want the man to stand out in any way. Then he realized he'd need to paint him as someone that Greenley would have reason to see, more than once, in his room. Not some common cowhand, or whatever.
"As I said, I didn't pay too close attention. Didn't notice any scars or such. Don't know about his hands. Didn't seem to have anything special about the way he looked … like a crooked nose that had maybe been broken a few times. Just looked like a regular fellow."
In truth, he could not recall whether he had been wearing a suit that morning or regular clothes. Decided to play it safe … at least as safe as he could.
"Always dressed nicely … don't know if his clothes were expensive, but they were always clean, looked kind of new. Don't recall looking at his feet. Never saw him with a gun." He shrugged as if to emphasize that he hadn't paid attention and was sharing all he knew.
Jarrod didn't believe it … and couldn't rightly challenge him further. "You have stated you do not know his name. Do you know the names of any of the other people who were seen exclusively in Mr. Greenley's room?"
"Objection, Your Honor. The question is irrelevant. Defense counsel has established no connection between any other persons and this case. It is of no relevance whether the witness knows the names of other persons … persons not related to this case."
Vanderburgh sighed. The defense counsel was off the ice and into the murky waters. "Objection sustained."
Jarrod did not mind. He'd made his point. He also suspected, if Bailey were forced to answer, he would choose to perjure himself … undoubtedly quite certain no one could prove differently. He had seen the man squirm when the question was asked.
Jarrod Barkley, Esq. was more than certain the man knew the names of those people … and he could be squeezed. He would not invite Nick to do the squeezing. There were people capable of doing so with greater finesse … and without jeopardizing the admission of the evidence so obtained.
Time to shift direction again. "Mr. Bailey, would you say, that except for these particular unidentified men, Mr. Greenley most often saw people in his office?"
"Yes. Probably why he had an office." His need to, as he saw it, show up the lawyer, again had him forgetting to limit what he said.
"Yes indeed. Probably why many people have offices. And that being the case … that most people have offices so people have a place to see them … is it reasonable to you to assume that were a person wanting to see someone, without having been told differently, they would go to the person's office?"
"Objection, Your Honor. The question calls for speculation."
While Bailey had no idea what Barkley was getting at, it quickly came clear to Manus. He wanted opposing counsel stopped.
"Your Honor, I merely asked if the assumption was reasonable to the witness. I am not asking him to speculate on what anyone else has assumed."
Vanderburgh hid his smile. He didn't often get cases that invited the involvement of attorneys with this level of talent. He suspected he might enjoy the next few weeks … assuming, of course, that the defendant was remanded over for trial. At the same time, he had no difficulty in reminding himself that there was nothing either enjoyable, or humorous, about murder.
"Objection overruled. The witness will answer the question."
"Guess it seems reasonable," his furrowed brows clearly indicative of the fact he was still at a loss to understand what the man was trying to prove.
"To the best of your knowledge, who would have known, that morning, that Mr. Greenley was meeting, in his room, with this unknown man?"
"No one I know of, except maybe his clerk. He would know Mr. Greenley's schedule … he booked his appointments. No cause for anyone else to know."
"I see. No cause. So, Mr. Bailey, to the best of your knowledge, would there be any means by which another person could have known Mr. Greenley was in his room at that time? A person, other than someone intimately acquainted with Mr. Greenley and his schedule?"
"Don't see how."
The answer was out long before Manus could object or the witness could appreciate its significance.
