A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's reading and for the reviews.
Chapter 25:
Once court was back in session, he organized everything on the defense table and set up the laptop. Then he stood and addressed Judge Mason, "Before I present my first piece of evidence, I would like to call KVKC Channel 4 reporter Scott Hendricks."
Jefferson was on his feet instantly, objecting. "Judge, Mr. Hendricks is not on—"
He cut him off, saying, "His only purpose is to authentic to the court—"
"I must object—" Jefferson said again.
"Federal Rule of Evidence 901 permits—"
Jefferson was growing highly impatient, saying, "I know what the FRE 901 is, Dr. Grissom—"
"Then why are we arguing?" he asked Jefferson in all seriousness, causing a few people to snicker in the courtroom. "You know that I have to lay a foundation before I can present a piece of evidence. It has to be authenticated, but I've been in jail and have been limited in my ability to question and prep witnesses prior to court. I didn't know who to ask to authenticate the evidence since I was unaware of which Channel 4 reporter would be in court today. Scott Hendricks is present in court, which won't delay the proceedings. Judge, I ask the court to grant me a little leeway."
Jefferson was practically steaming as he shook his head.
Judge Mason was unreadable, and he didn't like it. It took him a long time to debate the issue, unnerving him. If he couldn't authenticate the piece of evidence that he was about to show the court, then he wouldn't have a defense. Everything they worked on would be thrown out.
"Objection overruled. Dr. Grissom can call his witness."
He let out a breath. There were murmurs around the courtroom as Channel 4 news reporter made his way to the witness stand. As he did so, he and Sara set up the projector and the screens for the jury to see. Once Scott Hendricks was on the stand, he went to the podium and asked, "Mr. Hendricks, could you please state for the court what it is you do for a living?"
Scott Hendricks sighed in annoyance before saying, "I work for KVKC Channel 4 Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm a correspondent."
"As a correspondent, you report the news "live as it happens", isn't that the motto of the news channel?"
Hendricks smiled as he answered, "It is our motto. I go where the action is."
"You see a lot of action outside of my house?" he asked.
Hendricks's smile dropped as he shifted in the seat. "I was just doing my job."
"Staking out my residence is part of your job?"
"You are news," Hendricks shot back.
"Mr. Hendricks, is it normal for a news reporter to be a constant presence at the residence of a suspected murderer? I've watched the news many times and I've never seen a reporter stake out the residence—"
"This was different. National coverage. Julia Holden was a prominent member of our community and I—"
"Wanted a promotion?"
Jefferson was up out of his seat as he said, "I object to this entire line of questioning. Mr. Hendricks is not on trial—"
"I'm just establishing that Mr. Hendricks was reporting live outside of my house on a nearly twenty-four-hour rotation," he said as he cut Jefferson off.
Judge Mason leaned forward on the bench as he told him, "I'm giving you some leeway, Dr. Grissom. You called Mr. Hendrick's to the stand so he can authenticate evidence. Get on with it, or I'll strike this from the record and deny you your witness, thus your evidence. Objection overruled."
He let out a breath as he looked down at the podium and then over at Sara and gave a nod. The television screen was clicked on and showed a freeze frame of a recorded news footage. She then pressed play. The news footage was outside his house and reporting was Scott Hendricks. "Mr. Hendricks can you confirm that this is your footage that was recorded by your cameraman?"
Hendricks studied the recording closely and gave a nod as he said, "That's my footage, yes."
"There's nothing different about it?"
Hendricks shook his head, "No."
"Do you see any editing done to the footage?"
Again, Hendricks watched the footage and shook his head. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."
He gave a nod. "Your honor, if you don't mind, during my testimony I would like Mr. Hendricks to remain on the stand and to observe the news footage. If he notices anything that could be an edit or out of the ordinary, to inform the court."
Judge Mason took that into consideration before saying, "I'll allow Mr. Hendricks to remain on the witness stand."
"Then, Your Honor, I would now like to call myself to testify while I also make my opening remarks. Since I am acting as my own attorney, I'd like to remain standing."
Jefferson had given his opening statement at the start of the trial, but he withheld, telling Judge Mason that he'd make his statement when he presented his defense. Once Judge Mason granted his request, he turned to the jury whom he hadn't really addressed much this entire time.
Now was the time, he thought, before saying, "This trial isn't about my sex life. It's not about Sara, or my relationship with her. This is about the senseless murder of Julia Holden. I keep thinking that when Julia needed me the most, I wasn't there. I've been trying to remember the events of what happened that night and the early morning of the 22nd, trying to figure out why, how, and who…So many questions…" He realized he was drifting again into his thoughts.
Trying to get himself back on track, and focused, he looked to his daughter and saw Charlotte watching the sign language interpreter before looking at him. She was in tears and there wasn't anything he could do at the moment to comfort her. This was going to be hard on her as she was going to learn details of her mother's death. He was going to have to deal with that, but in time he knew Charlotte would heal. She was strong; so much stronger than he was.
He wanted to tell Charlotte how sorry he was, all he could do was tell the jury instead, "When Julia told me, on the night of March 21st, that she wanted a divorce…I was so happy for her. She found someone to love; someone she wanted to marry. "Finally," I said. And I meant it. I can't tell you how I felt when I heard the voicemail that night, but I can tell you how I felt hearing it today. Sad. Julia must have been so heartbroken. I would have gone to her, I would have, but not because I was angry and wanted to kill her. I would have wanted to be there for her, to help her feel better. I would have stayed with Charlotte if she wanted to leave, or I would have taken Charlotte home with me so she could be alone. Whatever she wanted me to do, I would have done it. I can't prove to you that it wasn't me in my car going back to Julia's house that night. I can't even prove that it wasn't me in the driver's seat leaving her house. But, based on everything I do know, I don't think I ever left Dr. Heather Kessler's house until that morning. The sleeping pills would have kept me asleep. I think I was placed in my car after it was used to abduct Julia and then I was driven to the car wash…From there we know what happened."
He paused as he turned to Sara and gave her a nod. She used the mouse on the laptop and picked up the remote for the projector. The projector turned on and, on the screen, appeared an interactive map of Las Vegas.
Turning back to the jury, he told them, "What I can prove, with all of you as my witnesses, is where I was when Julia was killed and where I was when she was buried. Now, this map of Las Vegas will keep track of my movements during the time before and after the crimes were committed. My movements will be highlighted green and stops I made in blue."
Picking up a file folder, he flipped it open and went over the timeline. He didn't want to miss a thing. "As previously stated, Julia Holden was abducted on March 22nd, however, her death occurred on April 20th; nearly a month later." Someone had kept her for weeks as a prisoner. Weeks of being beaten and raped and for what? He tried not to think about it as he said, "Let's start on April 19th."
Sara started the recorded news footage. It showed reporters outside of his townhouse early in the morning; the sun was still dawning.
"At 7 am exactly, I left my house along with my daughter," he said as he watched as they left the townhouse together. "Drive time from my townhouse in Henderson to Charlotte's school in Spring Valley was thirty-five minutes." He saw a green line light up on the map of the path he took from his residence to Charlotte's school. "Then I drove back home, which roughly took me the same amount of time." He saw the news footage of his return to his townhouse at 8:12 in the morning. "Given the few minutes that it took me to drop Charlotte off and see her inside, a total of 72 minutes round trip. And from there I become the most boring person on the planet as I stay inside my home, working on my case, until it's time to pick Charlotte up from school. In which I leave…"
The news footage changed from Channel 4 to CNN as they had reporters outside his house in the afternoon. Again, he left his townhouse and drove to Charlotte's school. The green path was illuminated on the map.
"Along the way, I bought gas," he said as a blue dot appeared on the map screen indicating his stop. He grabbed a sheet of paper off the desk and said, "The stop occurred at 2:42 at the gas station off Russell and Decatur Boulevard. Here's my bank statement as proof of the transaction. According to the school, I picked Charlotte up on time. If a child isn't picked up between 2:45 and 3 o'clock they stay in after care. That wasn't the case. I was there between that time period to pick up Charlotte. Then I drove home but stopped at a grocery store off Wendigo Parkway along the way. Again, my bank statement has the transaction for the groceries at 4:12. Given the half-an-hour drive it takes for me to drive from Spring Valley to Henderson, we took about another thirty minutes shopping before arriving back at my residence at 4:38, according to the news report."
Watching the news footage, he saw his car pull into his driveway at that time exactly. He got out of the car, grabbed Charlotte out of the back and handed her a bag with her snacks along with her book bag. She went through the garage to the door, he followed after her with his arms full of grocery bags.
"At eight o'clock, Sara arrives, and we have dinner. We both leave at ten. She's going to work. I'm taking Charlotte to her grandmother's house in Paradise before heading to the crime lab." Again, he saw the green line on the map showing his route to his mother's house and then to the crime lab while the news footage showed him, Sara, and Charlotte all leaving his house at ten o'clock that night. "DNA expert Greg Sanders testified that on April 19th, a little before the start of Night Shift at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, I arrived."
The recorded news footage changed to outside of the crime lab that evening, one of the reporters was Channel 4 correspondent Scott Hendricks. Everyone in the courtroom watched as he arrived at 10:44 exactly on the evening of April 19th. He walked by the reporters as they called out to him, asking him questions, before he entered the crime lab.
"Also, according to Mr. Sanders' testimony, I stayed for sixteen hours for the documentation of the blood draw. In fact, I stayed at the lab for the next twenty-five hours, which news coverage will prove."
The news report kept playing on the screen and he was once again seen leaving the crime lab after midnight the next day. He walked right by Channel 4 correspondent Scott Hendrick and his cameraman once again. They had changed clothes, but he hadn't. He'd been at the lab for over a day. He left April 21st.
"I had my blood drawn for sixteen hours, eleven-thirty to three-thirty in the afternoon. However, that wasn't when I left the crime lab. I was still documenting the insect evidence for the case I was working on. That took me close to midnight before I was done. I entered the crime lab before April 20th, and I left it after April 20th. The entire day that time of death was placed for Julia Holden's death, I was at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. So…when did I commit the murder?" he asked as he looked at the jury. Then he looked at D.A. Jefferson.
Jefferson was watching the news footage, glanced at the map on the other screen and saw his movements from April 19th to April 21st. He didn't look happy.
"Now, the D.A. might argue time of death. He might argue that I manipulated the CCTV cameras at the lab, that I snuck out the back door. He might argue that I killed her when I returned home on April 21st, and that time of death was a day off. But the facts are that the time of death determined by our expert Medical Examiner was to have occurred on April 20th. My townhouse had been thoroughly searched and there was no hidden room, no tunnel under my house that led to some secret hideaway…My movements tracked by the media quite literally 24 hours, seven days a week, and nowhere did anyone see me enter an unknown residence or facility where I could have had Julia Holden held captive for nearly a month. So, where was she all this time? Not with me. Next, the burial."
He returned his attention back to Sara as she played the next live news coverage that had been recorded from the morning of April 24th. On the television screen he saw Scott Hendricks outside his house once again reporting. They were talking about the candlelight vigil that was going to be held that evening.
"Saturday April 24th. It'd been a long week, so I planned an outing with Charlotte to give us both a much-needed break from everything. After breakfast, we left and went to her favorite place: Adventuredome at Circus Circus." As the television screen showed him leaving his townhouse at 10:50 that morning with Charlotte, he grabbed another sheet and handed it to Jefferson before addressing the jury, stating, "Bank records show every transaction I made that day; there were a lot. She rode Miner Mike eight times. We had pretzels, pizza, popcorn, and ice cream. We played games for hours, and I bought her a stuffed monkey she named Abu. Lastly, before we left, we did what we always do before leaving, which was get our pictures taken in a photobooth." The strip of photos appeared on the screen next to the map and he smiled as he saw the smile on Charlotte's face. "Stamped on the bottom of the photo strip is the date and time."
Sara moved the cursor over the photo as it was enlarged to show the date and time. 04/24/2004 3:51 pm.
"We had a good day. Since Julia's disappearance, I remember thinking those were getting few and far between."
The map reappeared on the screen and the photos were gone. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Charlotte sitting behind the defense table. She was leaning forward, nearly draping herself over the barrier as her attention was drawn to the screen. She smiled at him. He smiled back.
"We left Circus Circus and went to my mother's house for dinner. I also had a thought. I wanted to go talk to Jerome Kessler at his night club, Anonymous. I made a phone call to Captain Jim Brass while I was at my mother's house. My phone records show that I called him at 4:38. The call lasted ten minutes."
On the screen with the map, a yellow circle lit up a radius around a neighborhood in Paradise, Nevada, indicating his cell phone call. A red triangle lit up the cell tower his call pinged off of.
"The triangle is the cell tower that the cell phone pinged off of and the yellow circle the radius from where the call originated. As you can see, the call came from a neighborhood in Paradise where my mother lives. I left my mother's house around 6 pm, I'm not sure of the time, all I know is that I stopped for gas along the way. I used my credit card at a gas station off Pecos and Owens Avenue at 6:34. From my mother's house, that's roughly twenty minutes away, so I'd say that I left no more than ten minutes after six to head up to Anonymous, which is located in North Las Vegas."
The location of Anonymous nightclub lit up on the map with a blue dot. A green path line ran from his mother's neighborhood to the gas station and then from the gas station to the nightclub.
He checked the timeline and said, "As I waited for Captain Brass to arrive, I called Sara." Another cell phone record was presented as he handed it to Jefferson before Judge Mason as another yellow radius circle and triangle of the cell tower was shown on the map. "We talked for over half an hour. Captain Brass, who can be recalled to the court in order to testify, arrived shortly after seven o'clock. It's in his call log which I have," he said as he walked back over to the defense table and grabbed a dispatch call log that had been transcribed for the court. "Under the CAD system, administrative codes are only used when not assigned to a dispatched event. Log shows that Captain Brass radioed in a 4-95 at 7:03 that evening at club Anonymous. A 4-95 is a "miscellaneous administrative matter". He radioed dispatch at the end of the 4-95 at 8:25." He handed that to Jefferson also.
"I was in the club for over an hour questioning the owner Jerome Kessler along with several of the staff—" he trailed off as his mind thought about being at the club.
He had left his car unattended; window partly down because he'd been smoking. Ever since Nick told him about the saddle soap that had been on the tie the day that he testified, he'd been wondering when his car was broken into. He knew it had to have been when no one was watching his car. There had been all kinds of eyes on his car at his townhouse, media cameras there nearly all day and night. The crime lab was also watched. It also had to have happened after he became a suspect and after Julia's murder.
The dry-cleaning tag on the tie was how the killer had initially planned on linking him to the murder. Him arriving at the nightclub had presented an opportunity to get his DNA on it as well. Jerome Kessler must have either gone out to the parking lot himself to wipe the tie over the interior of his car, or he'd given it to Roger Jennings, who could have been at the club at that time selling drugs. Either way, he was certain that was when his DNA got on the tie.
Then Jerome Kessler or Roger Jennings, or both of them, left the club, got Julia's body, and then took it to the dumpsite. He looked at the map and saw the route it would take to get from the night club in North Las Vegas to the dumpsite that was out near Indian Springs. It was a straight shot up I-15 to the Beltway, the Beltway west to I-95 North. It was less than an hour's drive. Forty-five minutes at most.
"Gil?"
He heard Sara's voice and realized that he was still presenting his case and hadn't said anything in at least a full minute. Leaning down over the table, he told her, "Jerome Kessler used that time while I was in the nightclub to get my DNA on the tie. He then left and got Julia's body, and then took it out to the dumpsite. It would have taken an hour to dig the grave and dump the body, the bugs…The call came in at 10 o'clock, immediately after Julia was put in the ground. Given the time it took, Julia had to have been somewhere close to the nightclub or somewhere along the way."
Sara wrote that down and then grabbed her cell phone and left the courtroom to call it in.
Once she left, he turned back to the jury and said, "After I left the nightclub, I went to Dr. Heather Kessler's house to talk to her." He reached over the table and hit a button on the laptop and saw the green line of his route from the nightclub to Dr. Heather Kessler's house. "It took me about twenty minutes, getting there a little before 9 pm. And thanks to Dr. Kessler, you heard our conversation. I wasn't there for no more than fifteen minutes before I left. I stopped at the store and bought Sara's favorite bottle of wine," he said as he hit another button. A blue dot lit up the stop on the map as the green line showed his route to the store from Dr. Kessler's house. "I still had the receipt," he said as he picked it up and showed it to Jefferson before giving it to Judge Mason to confirm. Once it was in evidence, he said, "Then I went home."
Going back over to the defense table, he got behind the laptop and hit another button and the news footage started playing again. He saw the news coverage of the candle lit vigil on a split screen with him arriving home at 9:47 pm. Sara was already there waiting for him, having gotten to his house shortly before him.
"And according to dispatch, CSI Supervisor Catherine Willows, and Captain Jim Brass, the anonymous 9-1-1 call came in at exactly 10 pm," he said as sat down in the chair and looked at the map.
He hit another button and a red route line lit up the route out of Las Vegas to the dumpsite between the prison and Indian Springs off I-95 North. He sat there looking at the map. The red route line went from the dumpsite to his home in Henderson. His supposed route if he had killed Julia and dumped her body. The killer had to drive Julia out of Las Vegas to the dumpsite and then drive back to Las Vegas. The grave had to have already been dug or the killer took the time to dig the grave once he got there with the body. The time it took was anywhere between two to three hours. He was leaning more towards three.
Letting out a breath, he said, "The red line is the route out of Las Vegas to the burial site off I-95. It takes almost an hour, depending on traffic, to get from my townhouse to that exact location. We know from expert testimony that she was buried the day she was recovered, and most likely found only two hours after burial. The call came in at 10 pm. Her body was recovered by the CSI team at midnight, meaning she was buried somewhere between eight and ten o'clock that evening. During that time, I was with Captain Jim Brass, then with Dr. Heather Kessler, and finally my girlfriend Sara Sidle. If the D.A wants to argue that Julia was buried before then, I still ask the question: when did I have time to do it? I would have had to drive an hour to the burial site, spend another thirty to forty-five minutes digging the grave and burying her, and then another hour to drive back home or, wherever. That's roughly three hours. When did I have three hours that were unaccounted for on April 24th?" He looked over at Jefferson as he said, "The map, the news media footage, my cell phone and bank transactions are all proof that I could not have committed the crimes I'm accused of committing."
D.A Jefferson was very still as he looked over the map. His eyes followed the red line to and from the city of Las Vegas. The green lines showing all of his movements during the day, all his transactions and cell phone records that proved his whereabouts. There was no time unaccounted for, especially not three hours, where someone didn't know where he was or when he was left alone.
His case was proven. There was only one thing to do. "Jefferson, you know what you have to do." Turning in his chair, he leaned forward as he studied the District Attorney. "The day that Julia was killed, I was at the crime lab all day. The day she was buried, I had no time away from my daughter, my mother, Captain Brass, Heather Kessler, and Sara Sidle to have three hours to bury her body."
Jefferson was trying to find a flaw or an error or some lie in the truth that wasn't there. His jaw flexed as he shook his head slightly. He was so stubborn. His first big case and this was the result.
Leaning closer, he whispered to him, "I want to get this son-of-bitch, and we can do that, Jefferson, but that requires you doing the right thing here."
Jefferson finally looked at him and he saw his resolve dissolving. He felt sorry for the guy, he really did. He was a damn good prosecutor, but his ego had gotten in the way. Moving away, he leaned back in the chair as Jefferson stood before the court.
"Your Honor," District Attorney Jefferson said as he cleared his throat before he lifted his head to address Judge Mason. "Given the evidence presented before this court, the State moves to withdraw all charges against Dr. Gil Grissom in the abduction, rape and murder of Julia Holden at this time."
He felt his body finally start to relax as he let out a deep breath. The courtroom was stunned into silence but that had been before Jefferson's statement. No one had made a sound since he started his presentation, and especially after he proved that he could not have killed Julia on April 20th.
Judge Mason had yet to say anything. And as he looked up at him, he saw a look of defeat, then admiration, before a bemused smirk appeared as he said, "Request granted. Dr. Grissom, by the order of this court, all charges are dismissed. Congratulations, you're a free man. The jury is dismissed; thank you for your time and service."
He almost felt dizzy as those words hit him in the chest. The trial was over; he not only won his case but proved beyond all doubt that he couldn't have done it. There would be no speculation of guilt going forward. It was impossible. Now, all they needed to do was get the real murderer.
Turning to Sara who had reentered the courtroom at some point, he saw her tears and the smile on her face. Next to her was Charlotte, she was signing to him.
/It's over, daddy? You won?/
He spoke the words as he signed, "It's over, spider. I can go home."
Charlotte's smile lit up the entire room as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt her tears on his neck as he grabbed her up in his arms as he stood. He wasn't processed out just yet, but he was a free man now. He could hug his daughter and kiss Sara right then and there if he wanted. And he wanted and so did she as she grabbed him behind the head and kissed him.
Resting her head on his, she said, "About time."
He smirked slightly at her sense of humor before turning to Jefferson who was standing next to him. He had his hand out for him to shake. As they shook hands, Jefferson told him, "Dr. Grissom, you have my apology—"
He let go of Jefferson's hand as he told him, "I don't need your apology, Jefferson, I need you to promise me when they get the right guy, you will get him the death penalty."
Jefferson worked his jaw as he gave a curt nod. "As long as your team gets me the evidence, or, a confession would be nice."
"They'll get it. You can count on that." He watched as Jefferson left and saw the reporters gathered outside of the courtroom; one of them was Scott Hendricks. Addressing Sara, he told her, "I have to finish up here, process out, and…I'll meet you in the lobby?"
She was wiping her tears as she said, "I don't think Charlotte's going to let you go."
He rubbed his daughter's back and felt her arms tighten around his neck. Sara was right. He was going to have to pry her off him.
It took almost an hour to clear out the courthouse. Sara took all his notes and files as the evidence was properly handled by the court. Deputy Jenkins showed him to the out-processing center in the courthouse where he had to sign some papers. He would normally have to go back to jail and process out of the jail, but he could also do it at the courthouse since all his belongings had been brought to the courthouse since he was acting as his own attorney.
He met Sara in the lobby and Charlotte ran back into his arms. Grabbing her up, he hugged her again as Sara took his hand into hers.
"Let's go home," she said as they started for the door.
The moment they exited the building, he heard the questions but ignored all of them. Sara was pushing through the crowd of reporters with him as she got her car keys out. He let her pull him along with her to her car and then drive him home.
Mulberry was a few hours away, and with traffic, by the time they pulled into the driveway it was late in the evening. Down the street he saw the news vans. Sitting in the seat, staring up at his house, he felt how tired he was. It'd been days since he last slept. The stress of the trial was finally gone and all he felt was the exhaustion that followed. He could barely move as he unbuckled the belt and opened the door. His arms and legs felt heavy as he lifted Charlotte out of the backseat into his arms and carried her into the townhouse.
Sara said something about dinner as he headed up the steps to his bedroom. Charlotte had fallen asleep in the car, and he laid her down in her bed, kissed her forehead and then left her room for his own. He kicked off his shoes and then took off the suit jacket and tie, completely undressing as he headed to the master bathroom. Getting under the hot spray of his own shower felt like the best thing ever. He washed the stench of jail away, cleaning himself with his own soap and shampoo. Then he dried off and slipped into his own sweatpants and t-shirt before feeling all the energy leave his body.
Laying down in bed, he closed his eyes. He didn't remember falling asleep.
The sound of a gunshot startled him awake.
TBC…