Questions that lead to more questions

Chapter 18

The trial continued.

There had been a brief recess. Cantrell was back on the witness stand, looking much more amendable to answering questions. The defense lawyer, Stanford Bennett, had probably pulled Cantrell aside and briefed him.

Mike walked up to the witness stand. His new strategy wasn't to show that Cantrell had planned to set Paige up; he was going to show that Cantrell was actually crushing on her.

"Mr, Cantrell, did you think Paige Regan was attractive?"

"Um..." Cantrell began before Bennett shot up.

"Objection!" Bennett exclaimed, "that question cannot not be answered with a simple yes or no! What if, for example Mr. Cantrell thought Miss Regan was only mildly attractive?"

The Judge took the objection under advisement, "Sustained."

Mike paused to think, "Alright, Mr. Cantrell, how would you describe Miss Regan's attractiveness? You may do so on a one to ten basis, with ten being a swimsuit model."

There was a slight snickering from the crowd, as Paige tried not to look embarrassed.

Bennett looked ready to object, but as he scanned the room, he could see everyone was interested in Cantrell's response, including the judge.

"Uh, "Cantrell's eyes went up to the ceiling as though this was a cerebral question requiring exact specifications, "I'd say she was...uh...six, bordering on seven, maybe?"

"Fine, thank you," Mike said. He turned away from the witness stand, and when he caught Connie's eye, he smiled confidently.

Connie smiled back.

He was up to something, she thought.

"So, Mr. Cantrell, we are still discussing the first time you met Miss Regan, a week before the alleged attack…at some point in the evening, did you get to talk to Miss Regan privately?"

"I suppose..yes."

"How long did you talk with her?"

"I have no idea."

"Was it…say, more than five minutes?"

He shrugged.

"Probably."

"More than half an hour?"

"Definitely not."

"More than 15 minutes?"

"No..."

"Hmm...between five to fifteen minutes..." commented Mike pensively "I'm thinking that is a long time to converse with a 'stripper', isn't it? Withdrawn!"

Mike paced the courtroom floor as he continued.

"Moving on.. " Mike changed the subject, "Miss Regan testified earlier that she had made extra money by performing sexual acts on several of the young men at the party that previous week. Do you know that as a fact?"

Cantrell anxiously looked back and forth, unsure as to how to answer.

"Uh…I don't know…"

"Really?" Mike feigned surprised, "So, is it safe to assume you did not engage in any of these extra services for yourself, Mr. Cantrell?"

Cantrell looked offended.

"I should say not! No!"

"And you never heard anyone else mention Miss Regan performing acts of a sexual nature on them?" Mike asked.

Excellent, Connie thought, Mike had put Larry Cantrell in a dilemma. Cantrell was either going to outright lie on the stand or admit to an illegal activity that was performed at his residence.

He could not win either way.

Cantrell nervously licked his lips.

And then to Connie's delight, Cantrell did the worst thing he could possibly do.

He took the middle road.

"Uh…I think I may have heard some whisperings about it…" Cantrell at last testified.

"May have?" Mike look of incredulity did not escape the jurors' notice, ..."Did you just testify that you may have heard some whisperings about it?"

Connie liked what was happening. Mike was making Cantrell sound wishy washy, thereby implying that his testimony could not be trusted. When she looked over at the jury, she read apprehension in their eyes.

"T-that's right."

"So, Mr. Cantrell, " Mike pounced, "You're not sure if you've heard some whisperings, meaning you may have or you may not have heard, or perhaps a third option... you just don't remember if you heard the whisperings or not? Did I get that right, Mr. Cantrell?"

Mike's fast talking seemed to confuse Cantrell.

"Objection!" Bennett stood, "Your Honor...Is Mr. Cutter now working vice here? Is his case so weak that he must grasp at straws and try to indict these young men on soliciting a prostitute?"

"Your Honor," pleaded Mike, "There is definitely a point I am trying to make…"

Though the testimony was mesmerizing, the Judge knew it needed to move forward.

"Mr. Cutter," chided Judge Cruz, "I think the court has been more than patient with your line of questioning. I must insist you stick to asking this witness questions that pertain only to the alleged assault, and not to recite every misbehavior Mr. Cantrell and his friends have committed."

Bennett shot Mike a smug smile.

"Very well, your Honor, "complied Mike, nonchalantly, as Bennett sat down again.

"So, Mr. Cantrell," Mike asked "did you ask Miss Regan for her phone number that night, the week before the alleged assault? Please bear in mind that I can easily call Miss Regan back on the stand."

Cantrell knew he'd better answer truthfully, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Uh, why?" Cantrell repeated in befuddlement.

"Yes, Mr. Cantrell," Mike asked patiently, "Why did you ask Miss Regan for her phone number?"

" "I..uh..thought… I might call her..."

"But, to what purpose?"

Cantrell shrugged, "To, uh, talk about maybe hiring her for the following week."

"Really?" asked Mike surprised, "You had already privately talked to her for almost 15 minutes at the beach house...why didn't you hire her then for the next week?"

"Uh...we were tallking about other stuff."

"Oh, I see!" nodded Mike, "So you discussed matters of a personal nature with her?"

"No...not really..."

"Perhaps, then," Mike suggested, You were discussing the lag of consumer's confidence in the economy, then?"

Cantrell started to look annoyed, "Stuff! We just talked about...stuff!"

"And what was the essence of this "stuff" you've discussed?" Mike questioned, making air quotations around the word 'stuff', "and if you don't recall, I'm sure Miss Regan will."

Cantrell darted a glance at Paige.

"I wanted to... ask her to the wine party the following weekend."

"To exotically dance, Mr. Cantrell?"

"Uh, well," Cantrell took a deep swallow, "I…uh…asked her as a guest to the party…"

There was a low murmuring in the courtroom.

Connie could feel Mike was on a roll.

"So you enjoyed her company then," Mike concluded, as he walked over to the jury box, " after all, a lot of personal stuff could be said in 15 minutes."

Cantrell felt boxed in.

"Alright...yes," he admitted reluctantly, "I was...interested in her..."

"But wasn't she, " Mike pretended to look confused, "according to your rating system, merely a six, bordering on seven?"

Connie nodded her approval. So that's why the ranking question. Mike was doing a great job of casting doubt on the witness's testimony and making Cantrell seem like a liar.

Cantrell could sense things were not going his way, "I may have scored her a little low..."

"I'm sure as we view Miss Regan today in court, we are all in agreement that you had been originally mistaken," said Mike, as Paige smiled.

Mike then walked back to the witness stand, "And did Miss Regan accept your invitation for a date, Mr. Cantrell?"

"Well," Cantrell responded, "I asked her to come to the party, but I didn't specifically say she was my date."

Cantrell seemed to be making petty distinctions, assessed Connie.

"I see..." Mike nodded, "so let's skip to the party on the night of the alleged incident...did you volunteer to get the punch for her?"

"I did."

"And is it your testimony that you told her the punch was spiked?"

"Yes," stated Cantrell, contradicting Paige's previous testimony.

"Really?" Mike looked incredulous, "Tell us how the conversation went."

"What?" asked Cantrell, "Why?"

"Mr. Cantrell, " Mike said, "Let me remind you that I ask you the questions…So, let's start again...First you asked Miss Regan if she wanted some punch?"

"Yes."

"And did she say yes?"

"Yes."

"And then what?"

"Then I told her it was spiked."

Mike stood in total befuddlement.

"Just like that, Mr. Cantrell?" Mike asked surprised, "I must say, that just doesn't sound like a natural flow of conversation to me!"

"Objection!" Bennett stood, "Mr. Cutter is testifying! Mr. Cantrell testified the punch was spiked. Asked and answered, your Honor!"

But Connie could see Mike was scoring points. First with Cantrell obviously having personal feelings for Paige and now the possibility of lying about the spiked punch.

Mike then led Cantrell through some testimony regarding how Paige was flirting with Edward North.

"So, Mr. Cantrell, how did you react when it seemed as if Miss Regan seemed more focused on your roommate, Edward North?"

Cantrell shrugged, "She can do with she wants! I don't have control of her!"

His frustrated response belied his neutral words. Everyone could see that Cantrell was getting worked up. So by the time Cantrell testified how he witnessed Paige Regan go up the stairs holding hands with Edward North,everyone could read the jealousy written on his face.

"Now afterwards.." Mike asked, "did Paige Regan seem upset when she came back down from Mr. North and Mr. Martin's shared bedroom?"

"No," Cantrell seemed to have calmed his anger by now, "If anything, she was smiling and happy and light as air."

"Really? Smiling, happy and as light as air?" Mike repeated, and then added a "You mean like…Tinkerbell?…Withdrawn!"

Cantrell's last statement had sounded too saccharinely sweet; there were murmurings from everyone present.

Mike changed his line of questioning.

"Do you know anyone named Jesse or Phoenix, Mr. Cantrell?"

Cantrell thought carefully, "I may know a Jesse or two; but Phoenix, no."

"Are you aware that Miss Regan claimed the men who allegedly raped her were named Jesse and Phoenix?"

Cantrell looked over at Bennett who gave a nod to answer.

"I-I heard that."

"I see," said Mike, "and is there any reason why Mr. North and Mr. Martin would call themselves those two names?"

"None at all…no."

"Before the alleged rape incident, Mr. Cantrell, had you ever heard of those two names together?"

"Not that I recall..no."

"So you cannot shine a light as to why Miss Regan would testify that her attackers were named Jesse and Phoenix?"

"No," but Cantrell looked fidgety.

As Connie watched the proceedings, she suddenly felt her phone vibrating.

Mike looked over and saw Connie fiddling with his BlackBerry. When she read the screen, she smiled. She then glanced up and met Mike's eyes and nodded affirmatively.

Perfect timing, Mike thought.

"Your Honor," Mike said, "I need to further question this witness, but it is rather late in the hour..."

The Judge nodded, "Court will resume tomorrow at 10 am."

Court was dismissed for that day. Everyone solemnly filed out of the courtroom.

As the two prosecutors were packing up their papers and folders, Mike glanced over at Connie, hoping she would give the news he was waiting for.

Connie's smile said it all.

"I just got confirmation from TJ," Connie told Mike, "It took awhile, but he was able to find the one piece of evidence we needed."

"Great!" said Mike as they started walking out of the courtroom doors, "I think everything is falling into place now."

"I hope so," Connie agreed, as she started packing her papers.

They were both in a good mood as they walked out and opened the courthouse door leading to the outside.

A lovely sunset greeted them. The sun looked like a large, grand orange fireball in the distance, partially cloaked by the hanging clouds. Random colors of reds, yellows and hints of hot pink were splashed throughout the sky.

"LA certainly has a lot to offer," Mike said aloud, as he watched the scarlet sky.

As he looked over at Connie, his entire body seemed to pulse in response to her observing the sun's descent beyond the horizon.

"It really is beautiful today," Connie agreed.

She turned and could not take her eyes off his disarming blue eyes.

She was close enough to him that she caught the intoxicating scent of his skin, the male spice that would forever saturate her memory of him.

She was determined not to have another lonely night as long as Mike was here.

"In celebration of our small victory," Connie began tentatively, "Why don't share a small dinner together? It'll be my treat!"

She watched Mike's reaction, and surprisingly, he seemed amused.

"Why, Miss Rubirosa," teased Mike, "are you suggesting that my company could be bought tonight?"

Connie smiled, "Why yes, Mr. Cutter, I do believe I am!"

He had planned to keep everything professional, but he was powerless to control his reaction to her. His playfulness was shoved aside by a deeper, more urgent instinct. And once again, he felt off-balanced, that all the emotional certainties he knew in life had become unpredictable because of her.

But then a slight hesitation entered his mind at the thought of North again.

"Connie," he stated, "I have something to tell you. It concerns what I told you about bumping into North earlier today."

Connie looked questionably at him.

"What is it?" asked Connie.

Mike explained to her how North had basically tried blackmail in order to get his way. If Mike would not drop the charges, North would go after Connie's reputation and career.

Connie had a look of defiance.

"So let him!" she insisted, "I don't have anything to hide!"

"I realize that, but men of North's caliber don't play fair...they play hardball," Mike warned, "they can create stories out of thin air and make them stick. I believe him when he said he has the power to ruin your career."

"So your answer is that we just kowtow to whatever he demands?" challenged Connie, "Mike, that doesn't sound like you at all!"

"It does when it concerns your career!" Mike asserted.

"I will not lead my life according to someone else's ultimatum!"

"Connie, I'm just saying we lay low...besides, with this trial, we've got enough to deal with!"

Mike had a point, Connie thought, at last backing down.

"So we go our separate ways?" Connie asked him, with a sinking heart.

She watched him with a heavy, sad ache.

Mike's thoughts collided inside of him, his lungs dilating in swift expansions as he watched her fallen expression.

No way in hell was he going to pass up being with Connie! Mike concluded.

Their moment at the Observatory had verified that something was happening between them. And whatever it was, he determined, he was not going to let it get away from them!

Now it was Mike's turn.

Mike watched her intently as he answered, "Connie, I know of a place where we can be privately alone, away from prying eyes."

.

.

Please review