"Swing for Death", Part 2
Disclaimers: See Part 1.
At an early Saturday morning arraignment, Joseph is held without bail even though he pleaded not guilty by reason of extreme emotional distress, with Alexandra surprised to see her predecessor, Serena Southerlyn defending Joseph.
Jack is then surprised to see Serena walk into his office a short time later.
"Why are you so surprised? You knew I'd probably be back here eventually", said Serena, who further surprised Jack by showing up in his office on a Saturday morning wearing a knee-length skirt suit, albeit with a t-shirt under the jacket and ballet flats (Jack was wearing a polo shirt, jeans and boat shoes), then asking Jack where Alexandra was.
"Lexi is getting some sleep as she had to be up all night because of what happened", said Jack.
Serena replied, "Such memories of those kinda nights. Anyway, my client is claiming emotional distress because he also hired a private investigator to look into what happened with his son down in Florida, and apparently there is new evidence that unbeknowest to him and their son Ben, his wife was in Florida in March, having an affair with another man and that both Ben along with Marcy Donnellan saw them together, with Chara and the man she was having the affiair with killing Marcy out of fear she would tell my client about it, and apparently took the body to a cemetary near where the man lived and buried it there", with Serena then getting a phone call that actually confirmed that was the case, with the man who helped Chara kill Marcy Donnellan now in custody there, with Serena then leaving.
Arthur then walks in after Serena leaves "This is something else. Man kills his wife because she not only was having an affair with another man, but because it turns out she was trying to make it look like someone else committed the murder of a girl in a highly celebrated case that she was going to possibly allow her own son to take the fall for?"
"That's what it looks like, bizarre as it sounds", said Jack.
"And Serena is defending Mr. Feinstein?", asked Arthur.
"Yes", said Jack.
"I knew she'd be back soon enough", then said Arthur.
"Yes, and I shouldn't have been so shocked. I was just surprised it would be on a Saturday morning and she'd actually be wearing a suit. She told me when I last saw her before this she's making six times what she made here, and wasn't even out of work 12 hours", then said Jack.
"I know. Big firm that has a lot of gay and lesbian clients wanted her immediately after I fired her. I suspect she would have left here anyway if I hadn't", then said Arthur.
"You're probably right. They had to know she was a lesbian for a while before she was fired from here. I know the firm, a lot of their clients like to have 'their kind' representing them", then said Jack.
"Anyway, I heard Lexi had a very long night with the Detectives", then said Arthur.
"She did, otherwise, she'd be here helping me now. She was in no shape to continue after arraignment this morning", then said Jack.
"I can imagine. She was at some exhibit with Susanne and my daughter when she got the call about 12:30 this morning. I only know about that because I happened to be up when my daughter came in early this morning", then said Arthur.
"Of course, Susanne Gorton and your daughter have been friends longer than they've been friends with Lexi", then said Jack.
"Since they were kids", then said Arthur.
"Anyway, Serena told me that it apparently was the truth, and the man who apparently helped Chara Feinstein murder Marcy Donnellan in Florida is now in custody for that", then said Jack, with Arthur about to say to Jack that he had to separate the two, but Jack stopped him and then said, "I know I have to separate the two cases. What's going on down in Florida is going to make this case very difficult to win."
With that, Arthur leaves Jack to working, with Jack watching the all-news channel that does in fact confirm that the alleged lover of Chara Feinstein was now in custody for the murder of Marcy Donnellan.
Meanwhile at Rikers, Joseph Feinstein talks to George Huang, who is handling this examination:
"I heard the man who helped your wife murder that woman in Florida is now in jail for what happened there", said George to Joseph.
"Yes, I heard about it about an hour ago. I hope that man gets the death penalty for what he did to that woman and for along with my wife causing my son to go through hell the past four and a half months", replied Joseph.
"I know he was originally charged with murdering Marcy Donnellan", said George.
"Yes, he was, but it was proven he had no involvement in the murder other than happening to be with the girl before she was killed", said Joseph.
"That's how I understood it", said George.
"And that is what happened. The problem is, Marcy Donnellan's parents refused to believe that my son was not responsible for what happened, and they had their private investigator try to prove that. There were so many others who believe it was my son that I had to send him into hiding a month ago", then said Joseph.
"I can imagine their frustration, after all, they did lose their daughter", then said George.
"I can't imagine losing a child, however, the evidence clearly showed my son wasn't involved. Of course, I didn't know my wife was involved in the killing until the new evidence came about", then said Joseph.
"What made you want to kill your wife?", then asked George.
"I just snapped. Her betraying me on so many levels, cheating on me with another man like she did and helping kill a woman just to keep her affair a secret, and top of that putting our own son through hell to do so, that was too much. 26 years of marriage and you don't understand why she would do that", then said Joseph.
"Was there any problem you didn't think of?", asked George.
"That's just it, nothing where I would expect her to suddenly become unfaithful like that. She never even hinted she was having an affair", asked George.
The conversation then continued along these lines, with George relaying what happened to Jack, with Jack barely surprised at all, especially having learned by that point that the man who helped Chara kill Marcy Donnellan confessed to the crime, saying he helped Chara because she was scared that Marcy would tell her son Ben, who would then relay the information to his father. With Joseph refusing any and all deals (and Serena reminding Joseph that Jack is her former boss and is the #2 man in the DA's Office for a reason), they go to trial.
The trial goes as expected early on, as Jack first calls the people who saw what happened in Central Park, starting with Colleen Murphy and Richard Bowman, who were walking quickly towards the bench where Chara was killed, but could not get there in time, also explaining that he threw the bat, but luckilly no one was injured, with the bat brought into evidence. Jack then puts on Sarah Joyce, who was first asked what happened that Friday evening.
Sarah would testify, "It was about 6:45-6:50 that evening. I had just gotten off the 96th street crosstown on Central Park West and 97th and was walking back to my apartment between 95th and 96th when as I was getting to the corner, a man wearing a dark turtleneck and dark pants came out of nowhere and I had no chance to get out of the way."
"And what happened next?", asked Jack.
"He stepped on my left foot very hard, with it feeling like a half-ton to a ton that was on my foot. It was remarkable my foot wasn't broken, especially given how badly damaged my shoe was", said Sarah with Jack then admitting into evidence the shoes Sarah was wearing when it happened, with Jack then asking Sarah, "Is that how you remembered seeing your shoe after your foot had been stepped on?"
Sarah replied, "Pretty much. The man who stepped on my foot didn't stop, and I did manage to see him run into the subway station even though I was in a lot of pain at that point. Once I got the shoe off, I got up, and to my amazement was able to put weight on my foot even though it had been squished, limping a half-block to the lobby of my building where about 20 minutes later I saw Detectives Fontana and Green."
"And before you saw them, you had no idea your foot being stepped on was related to a possible murder investigation?", asked Jack.
Sarah replied, "Yes. Before I saw the Detectives, I thought it was someone so caught up in their own situation, oblivious to where anyone else was."
Jack then brought into evidence a picture of Sarah's foot that was taken when this happened, with that shown to the jurors after an objection Serena raised that was overruled. Jack then asked Sarah if that is how she remembered how her foot looked when it was, with Sarah responding, "Yes. Those marks in my foot looked like some sort of a brand, and even now I still have some traces on it, though nothing like when it happened." Jack then brought into evidence the boots that Joseph Feinstien was wearing along with dirt from the part of Central Park he ran through that matched that inside the traction of the boots and pictures of the imprints in the dirt from the time just after the crime happened.
In cross, Serena asks Sarah how sure she was it was someone wearing work boots that stepped on her foot, not believing at all that it was her foot, with Sarah responding, "Very sure. I felt it when it happened, and it was enough to break the shoe I was wearing in half. While I didn't have to see a doctor about it because I was able to put weight on my foot right away, I've worn boots a lot of the time since, including now." (Sarah was wearing a pair of flat boots with an above-the-knee tweed skirt suit).
Serena was then finished with Sarah after she said to her, "I saw that when you walked to the stand."
Jack then re-directed, saying to Sarah, "You mentioned that you still have marks on your foot from when you were stepped on. In light of what Ms. Southerlyn asked, would you mind showing up the marks up close?", with Serena then objecting for relevance, and Jack and Serena both approaching the bench.
Serena would ask why this would be relevant, with Jack pointing out that Serena opened the line of questioning when she brought up the doubts that it was her foot. Judge Hewes then said to Jack and Serena, "Bizarre as this is, I have to overrule given this is relevant to this case. You did open to the line to this Ms. Southerlyn." Judge Hewes then officially overruled Serena's objection, with Sarah then stepping out of the witness area and after being seated on a chair brought out to the middle of the courtroom took off her left boot to show the Jurors that, although very light, she in fact still had marks on her foot that matched the imprints of the bottom of the workboot Joseph Feinstein was wearing along with the fact her foot matched the one that was in the picture taken previously. Jack was then finished with Sarah, and with that court was adjurned for the day.
Outside the courtroom, Alexandra was about to ask Jack why he did that when (after putting her boot back on) Sarah caught up to both and said, "Don't worry about doing what you did in there Mr. McCoy. If it were my case, as long as the witness was willing to do so I would have done the same thing. That's why I was so willing to do that even though it was very awkward."
"Looks like I got my answer as to why you did that", said Alexandra to Jack.
"Yes, and that's the first time in nearly 35 years as an attorney I had to do that. Probably about the only time where a foot from someone not dead and in an unrelated incident winds up being a key piece of evidence in a murder investigation, do I make sense?", replied Jack, with Alexandra laughing a bit thinking of how bizarre that really was as they exited the courthouse.
Testimony continued the next day, starting with Joe and Ed testifying that they went through the path that Colleen, Richard and others said Joseph went through, clearly noticing the prints that looked like workboots that were in the dirt. In each case, Joe and Ed then explained it took them to 96th and Central Park West, and it was when they realized he probably at least crossed Central Park West, they decided to head to the building to see if the doorman happened to see anything, and that was where they found Sarah Joyce, who had explained to them what she went through.
Larry Styles was next, testifying as to what he saw, that of who turned out to be Joseph running down the steps at breakneck speed, nearly running over two people and onto a train that had entered the station. After an objection by Serena that was overruled, Jack introduced into evidence the tapes that proved it was in fact Joseph who ran into the station and then after getting off at 103rd street (one stop north) going downstairs to get the downtown train back 81st street, where he was then seen getting out of the subway.
With that, Jack was finished, while Serena began her defense. She first called George Huang to the stand, who basically re-interated what he said to Jack about his snapping when he found out Joseph's wife Chara actually was involved in the murder of Marcy Donnellan, and how he felt he was not responsible, with Jack then asking George why he felt that was the case:
"He had to endure his son being charged and then having to put his son Ben into hiding because of the murder victim's father steadfastily believing along with others that Ben actually killed Marcy Donnellan when it was actually his wife Chara and a man he was having an affair with", said George, after which Jack was finished with him.
Ben Feinstien was next to the stand. Serena would open by asking how he met Marcy Donellan, with Ben saying, "I was on the beach with a few guys, and this girl and some friends came up, who turned out to be Marcy. The attraction was mutual, and we wound up spending a couple of days together."
"And it was when your mother saw you and Marcy together that you sensed something was up with her?", asked Serena.
"Yes. She was with a man whom while I thought she was having an affair with, I should have in retrospect come out and asked, especially when she said he was his "business partner." She did act awfully suspicious then, and I was puzzled as to why she was down in Florida", said Ben.
"When you learned Marcy was missing, what did you think?", asked Serena.
"I was concerned because I had dropped her off at her hotel, and didn't see her go in because the entrance was crowded with a lot of kids. I assumed at that point someone might have taken her to a bar, but she actually decided to head back to the beach as I found out later", said Ben.
"And no one on the beach saw your mother and the man who turned out helped your mother kill Marcy?", asked Serena.
"From what I understand, yes. The police assumed that it was me and my friends who did it, because there were pieces of beer bottles that had our fingerprints on them that were broken that were used on Marcy. It was later proven that both my mother and her lover used gloves so it would look like we did it", then said Ben.
"Even after the police cleared you when it was proven you were not near the crime scene when it happened, there were those who didn't believe that?", asked Serena.
"Yes. Marcy's parents for one. It got bad enough where I had to go into hiding", said Ben.
With that Serena finished her questioning, with Jack asking Ben, "If you were so sure your mother was having an affair, why didn't you tell your father?"
"I couldn't say that because I wasn't sure. If I was wrong, it would have caused needless anger", said Ben.
"Even after you were a suspect in the murder?", asked Jack.
"Yes, because my mother helped clear me", said Ben.
Jack was then finished with Ben, with Serena then calling Gary and then Flora Donnellan to the stand. Both said they were blind to the possibility that it was Ben's mother who killed Marcy to cover up an affair. They were convinced Ben did it right up until the man now in jail for Marcy's murder admitted he did it to cover up an affair he was having with Chara, with both apologizing in court to Ben and Joseph for not believing them. Jack didn't cross either witness.
Serena's final witness was Joseph, who basically re-interated what Ben had said, adding, "I became totally incensed when I found out that Chara along with that man in Florida actually killed Marcy Donnellan, and making it at first look like Ben did it. I knew she'd probably be having to head back to Florida at that point, and after what she did to Ben and I, I became so enraged that I just took a bat out of the closet and got dressed with the intent to make it look like it was a random killing by some maniac. I'm just glad in getting out of there I didn't break that woman's foot."
In cross, Jack would ask why didn't he think to go another route, "I had already been humiliated and threatened by what Chara did, as did my son. I just simply snapped!"
With that, in closing arguments Serena tried again to portray Joseph as a man who was driven insane by what his wife did, while Jack reminded the jurors that Joseph brutally murdered his wife in broad daylight in front of many people in Central Park. Jack's reminder would turn out to be the difference, as while it took two and a half days, Joseph would be found guilty of second degree murder.
"Not fair Jack. This was just like those other cases we were on the losing end where they got off on distress charges", said Serena.
"The Jury felt otherwise", then said Jack as Serena walked out first, followed by Jack and Alexandra.
The final scene takes place later that late October evening outside the DA's Office (one that was seasonable with temperatures in the 50s), with Alexandra saying to Jack, "So the stepped-on foot turned out to be the difference."
Jack replied while Alexandra took off her left shoe and began bending it inward while they slowly walked, "The jurors said it did. They realized this was someone who committed a crime and should be punished, and that it was the fact the cops were able to figure from the workboots and the marks on Sarah Joyce's foot that made him guilty. That has to go down as the most bizarre piece of testimony I think I'll ever have at trial", then looking at Alexandra and asking, "What are you doing Lexi?"
"I'm still facinated at how her foot wasn't broken by the impact. These are the same kind of shoes Ms. Joyce wore when that happened, and these I might add are very sturdy shoes. That impact had to be even more than she said it was", replied Alexandra (who was wearing them with an above-the-knee skirt suit, white turtleneck and black trench coat and clear hosiery) who then stuck out her foot and said while looking at it, "My foot would have almost certainly been broken if I felt what she did" then putting her shoe back on, with Jack and Alexandra then splitting up once Jack got to his motorcycle.