Three months later …
A long line of curious visitors formed in front of the security gate to the courtrooms, along with the court reporters from the Boston media. Numerous representatives of national and international publications supported them at this trial, which had even made it into the coverage of the nationwide morning show. Nobody seemed to want to miss the trial of the recently fallen political star Cantu. The preliminary reporting had reached an extent reminiscent of the mafia trials against underworld figures like Al Capone or John Gotti.
Ashlyn had agreed with Garner that she would represent him as a joint plaintiff for the time being and that Garner would not have to be present in the courtroom. In addition to the purely emotional component of not exposing Garner to the public and not putting him in an incriminating situation, this also had a procedural advantage. Garner was called as a witness on the fourth day of the trial. Witnesses are not allowed to attend the trial before they testify to prevent them from being influenced by other testimony. Hearing what the other Trial participants report can have an impact on one's own memory. However, there are exceptions to this rule for joint plaintiffs. They can participate daily to reflect on their unique position in the trial. The problem, though, is that the court may then give their statements less weight. This can always be the case when there is some evidence that they may have been influenced by other events at the trial. So Ashlyn and Garner killed two birds with one stone here: Garner escaped the pressure of constant observation by the media and spectators and, simultaneously, could claim the most significant possible objectivity in his appearance as a witness.
Ashlyn had arrived at the courthouse a little earlier in anticipation of the crowds. She quickly got an overview of the crowd in front of the courtroom and passed past the crowd to a court guard. She identified herself as a representative of the joint plaintiff by showing her attorney ID, which was more of a pro forma gesture. No employee in the courthouse did not know her. Consequently, the guard just nodded and let her enter the courtroom. Ashlyn had spent more time in the tall, wood-paneled room than some of the judges who served here. At the front was the slightly raised bench. From the audience's perspective, the tables were on the left, and the seats for the prosecutors were on the right.
The courtroom was still empty. In addition to the court reporter, whose job it was to record what happened in the trial properly, only Micaela, the prosecution representative, was present.
The judge and jury were not present, and Marcus Cantu's defense attorney presumably spoke with his client in a separate room. Cantu had been arrested three months ago following his testimony and had been in custody ever since. To Ashlyn's amazement, Cantu had not yet requested a habeas corpus to be released. In fact, the prospect of success in the case at hand, namely inciting a killing, would have been extremely slim. But not impossible. Ashlyn wondered if there was a procedural reason behind it that she didn't recognize. An uneasy feeling.
She looked at Micaela. When the brunette recognized her, she waved at Ashlyn as the blonde, out of habit, almost put her briefcase on the defense table.
"Someone can't change their spots," Micaela teased the former prosecutor. "Whether you like it or not, you'll have to sit next to me in this trial." She gestured invitingly to the seat next to her.
Ashlyn raised her eyebrows and tried to look serious, failing completely. Then she took her briefcase and lined up on the prosecution side.
"Quite a lot of press today," she said, looking at Micaela.
"Indeed. It's not exactly surprising, either. Since we filed the charges, not a day has passed without them reporting on the trial. They've even had a tabloid newspaper counting down to today over the last few days."
Ashlyn shook her head at the thought of the tabloid-style campaign of sensationalist articles they had run in the last few weeks to attract attention and sell more copies. You almost felt sorry for Cantu. He had fallen very low. There wasn't much left of the politician who was popular across party lines. And even though he was obviously partly responsible for the suffering of so many children, Ashlyn had no sympathy for the nasty smear campaigns that were making the rounds on social media. Ashlyn wondered whether the haters posted their posts out of conviction or sought applause and approval from an artificially incited mob.
"Brankovic is probably with Cantu right now," Ashlyn asked with a slightly furrowed brow.
"Yes, they're still consulting."
"Unusual choice," Ashlyn added. John Brankovic was not a criminal defense attorney but a corporate lawyer and partner in a top international law firm.
"You can say that again," Micaela agreed with the blonde. "I wonder why celebrities keep making the same mistake. Hiring a corporate lawyer to represent you in a criminal case is like going to an orthopedist with a toothache."
Ashlyn nodded slowly but couldn't shake the feeling that Cantu knew precisely what he was doing. Besides, Brankovic wasn't his only defense attorney. He was assisted by a younger colleague from the same law firm who had at least in the past defended some white-collar crime cases, such as embezzlement. "What I still --" she began.
At that moment, John Brankovic entered the room.
Ashlyn's and his eyes crossed for a moment. Then Brankovic shook his head with a slightly disparaging look as if he wanted to criticize her for being on the wrong side, on the side of the prosecution. And then, just before he turned away, he gave Ashlyn an unobtrusive wink while a smile played around the corner of his mouth.
Ashlyn knew that it looked all too good from her own experience. It was the look of a man who still had an ace up his sleeve.
xxx
After the bailiff opened the door at Judge Pedro Berrios's instruction, the masses poured into the dignified courtroom. The reporters went to the reserved rows and immediately began photographing the scene with their cell phone cameras while the rest of the audience fought for the best seats.
Five minutes later, after Berrios had asked those present to remain silent, Marcus Cantu was led into the courtroom and sat beside his lawyers. Ashlyn tried to read his mind from a gesture or a look. But Cantu didn't show anything. He nodded almost indifferently toward the bench and then settled into his chair.
What is going on inside of you, Ashlyn wondered.
Then, the judge opened the trial and established the presence of all parties involved. In addition to Cantu and his defense attorneys, Micaela Barboza represented the prosecution. Ashlyn represented the joint plaintiff, and the first two witnesses were summoned for questioning that day. After that, Berrios looked at Marcus Cantu and compared his personal details.
Then it was Micaela Barboza's turn. She rose and began to read the indictment.
"Mr. Marcus Cantu is charged with intentionally directing another to commit an intentionally unlawful act, namely murder."
With a firm voice and complete confidence, she looked alternately between the bench where Berrios was sitting, the jury, and finally, Marcus Cantu and she went on to discuss the execution of the act.
When she had sat down again about twenty minutes later, Pedro Berrios addressed the defendant. "Mr. Cantu, have you heard the charges the prosecution has brought against you? Would you like to comment on them?"
Ashlyn firmly assumed Cantu would remain silent, which she would have strongly advised him to do if she had defended him. Because it was up to the DA to prove Cantu's guilt. It was only during the proceedings that it was possible to see how the trial case was developing. This depended on the evidence. If the prosecution could build such a watertight case based on circumstantial evidence and witness statements that the evidence for a conviction was consolidated, Cantu would still have the opportunity later to positively influence his sentence by making a full confession. But that was now in the stars.
Accordingly, Ashlyn was not surprised when Cantu stood up and refrained from doing so.
"No, Your Honor," he said briefly, looking just as confident as he did when taking a position on a political decision in a press conference. "I don't want to do that at this time."
Berrios nodded and noted it in the protocol. Then, he called the first witness. First, a female officer who was present at the Charles River when Booker's body was recovered testified. Almost monotonously and constantly looking at her notepad, the cop recited the facts in typical officialese. When she had finished her statement and answered the few questions from the defense, Berrios granted the prosecution and Ashlyn, as a joint plaintiff, the right to ask questions, which neither of the two women took advantage of. The testimony was utterly irrelevant because it was not disputed that Booker's body was pulled out of the river, which is why the officer was dismissed shortly afterward with thanks.
The same applied to the passer-by who was the first to see Booker floating in the Charles River. His contribution also provided no new information, so he left the room about forty minutes later.
With that, Pedro Berrios closed the first day of the trial without any surprises having occurred. The spectators and media speculated loudly and discussed how they should evaluate the opening with varying degrees of expertise. Opinions were divided, as was to be expected, and two camps quickly formed. The supporters of Cantu thought that this was a politically motivated show trial. The others felt vindicated in believing a corrupt politician was finally put out of action. Despite these differing views, everyone agreed on one point: they looked forward to the next day of the trial with bated breath. Dr. Maggie Ross will testify as an expert witness on the events as early as Wednesday.
xxx
"I can assure you that today went as expected. Nothing out of the ordinary. The two witnesses merely confirmed that your friend was recovered dead from the Charles River. No more, but no less," explained Ashlyn, who had called Garner immediately upon returning to her office.
"And what happens now?" Garner asked.
Ashlyn could hear the excitement in his voice. Which was not surprising. The trial was much more than just a trial for Garner. It was the reappraisal of his life, which had been marked by so many defeats. Since childhood, he had been a passive plaything of the interests of others, and at no time had he ever really been heard. Until the moment he met Tracy Payne. However, Ashlyn couldn't say whether and to what extent Garner would receive justice.
"Wednesday will be a bit more exciting," Ashlyn continued. 'That's when Ross testifies. I'm sure Cantu's two defense attorneys will try to grill her. If I were them, I would do the same.'
"Why would they do that? Dr. Ross is an esteemed medical examiner."
"She is. And if she testifies that she believes this was a violent crime, that doesn't play into Cantu's hands. But if the defense presents the whole thing as an accident, or at least a possible accident, that would be advantageous for Cantu." Ashlyn paused briefly. 'Don't worry about that,' she reassured Garner. "The game has only just begun. Wednesday is day two. And Ross is an experienced expert. If anyone is the epitome of calm and integrity, it's her. And she's certainly not be cornered by two manipulative shysters."
Ashlyn heard Garner laugh spontaneously. When she realized why, she couldn't help but smile, too. "Well, this time, we're on the other side. And not on the side of the shysters," she continued, amused, before adding soberly, "As far as the following steps are concerned, we're doing it the easy way. We can definitely assume that Ross will hold his own. Then, we also had the BPD cybercrime officer testify about Cantus Darknet's activities. That should give us some trump cards."
Once the conversation was over, Ashlyn slumped back in her desk chair.
Mom, she thought, knocking on her desk three times. Hopefully, this goes well.
In fact, the ME's testimony was more crucial to the case than she had let Garner know.