Part 23
Quinn qualified for the race. Dr. Paul Whitman did not.
"It's just all that excitement, getting engaged," Paul said to Quinn, with a big smile. "I couldn't concentrate. I'll surely beat you next time."
"Don't bet on it," Zander said.
"Well, congratulations, girl racer," said Elizabeth, and she and Paul walked off hand in hand.
Tim was showing Branwyn the car.
"Oh, you won the argument, Quinn," Zander said, looking at them.
"Huh?"
"The argument we had. You don't know about it, but we had a difference of opinion about Tim's date there, and you won."
"Oh, really? I think you have to explain this, Sander."
"It was like this. I told Tim he shouldn't go out with her again, and he told me you said he should. So you win, see?"
"OK," Quinn said, laughing helplessly. "Do we kiss and make up now?"
"Yes, that is exactly what we do now."
They were still kissing when they heard someone clearing a throat. "Oh, hello," Alexis said. Jerry was standing next to her.
"We're here to congratulate the winner," Alexis said.
"Thank you," Quinn said.
"Zander Smith," said a voice. It was Detective Taggart.
"Yeah," Zander answered, still smiling, arms around Quinn.
"I regret to say you are under arrest for assault."
"What! I didn't do anything?"
"Sorry, witness says you did," Taggart said. "I have to ask you to come down to the station."
"I'm coming with you," Alexis said.
"Sean!" Quinn exclaimed, knowledge dawning on her face.
Bernard Bach sat across from Dara Jenson in her office.
"I can make a motion to keep the seat belt issue out," he said. "It's got nothing to do with intoxication. You only want it in to make the defendant look irresponsible. But it has no bearing on whether she was under the influence."
"OK, say the judge rules in your favor on that," Dara answered. "So what? I'll have the officers to observe that AJ was so insistent that he was driving. He told them more than once and without their asking."
"That's nothing next to the evidence they will have to give to the effect that they found her in the passenger seat. And I can argue it was his car."
"Well, the ER tech has her Blood Alcohol Content down cold," Dara countered. "A blood test. None of your usual arguments about the breathalyzer not being properly calibrated."
"Doesn't matter in the least if she wasn't driving. And the ER personnel didn't notice anything unusual."
"They see so many accident victims," Dara waved a hand is a dismissive gesture. "It's typical to have bruising and swelling in the chest area. If there are no broken bones or internal bleeding, then it's a soft tissue injury and doesn't get further treatment in the ER. They go on to the next emergency and let the non-emergency staff deal with the less urgent injuries. But Dr. Jones noted the bruising, and treats auto accident patients by the dozens, and he says your client's are typical of those of drivers who failed to wear seat belts. Which means, come to think of it, you'll never succeed in keeping out the fact she wasn't wearing a seat belt, because it is relevant to this issue."
"She could have gotten those bruises from the dashboard," Bach said. "And the nurse that noticed it, we have her dating my client's ex-boyfriend. Not exactly objective."
"There was no damage to the windshield. Had your client been thrown against the dashboard with enough force to cause those injuries, her head injury would have been much worse. And we would have expected the driver to have sustained injuries far more severe than hers. Yet here we have AJ without a scratch on him. Now all that's objective. Besides, Dr. Jones saw it all, regardless of the nurse's motives."
Dara saw Bach had no comeback, so she went on. "Then a witness heard AJ talk of 'going after her.' You can try to cloud that all you want, but what could be clearer circumstantial evidence? And if enough circumstantial evidence piles up, it starts to work. Also your client telling someone she was going to see Zander Smith. You don't normally say you're going to see someone if someone else is taking you."
"That doesn't mean anything," Bach waved a hand. "You can talk about where you're going without mentioning your method of going there. Would you say you were driving your car over to Zander's Smith's? No. You'd say you were going to see Zander Smith, period. You wouldn't say you were riding the bus or taking a cab. How about if she pleads to reckless driving and pays a fine and does community service?"
"Paying a fine does her no good," Dara replied. "Her family will just pay it for her. Community Service, OK, but not at the hospital, where the family can have it written up even if she does nothing."
"You underestimate the family, but OK," Bach said. "Do we have a deal, then?"