The Perfect Game (25 page)

Chapter Sixty-three

(Tuesday Afternoon, October 3)

They filed back into the crowded courthouse for afternoon session. The clerk announced the judge was still reviewing the motion before him and court would be delayed. Reporters tapped into their electronic devices, Jake laughed with his lawyers, Candace was writing furiously at the Prosecution table. Lauren and Ryan sat silently side by side, Lauren fervently hoping for a favorable decision from the judge.

Finally, the court clerk returned. “Hear ye, hear ye, court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Robles presiding. All rise.” Everybody stood up as Robles ascended the bench.

“We are back on the record in the Wakefield matter. After considerable research into the issue before me, the Defense's motion to subpoena Detective Boyd's telephone records is denied for lack of probative evidence.”

Pratt jumped to his feet to object, but Robles seemed to have anticipated this. “Defense counsel may appeal my decision upon verdict if so desired. You may bring in the jury.”

Ryan relaxed on the bench seat beside Lauren. She let out a deep sigh, realizing she had been holding her breath since court was called to order.

Pratt indicated he had more questions for Ryan, who resumed the stand.

“Defense counsel is strongly cautioned that all questions must be limited to the content of Ms. Keene's cross-examination,” Robles reminded Pratt.

“Detective Boyd, do you recall testifying that you conducted this investigation with objectivity?”

“Of course.”

“And that wasn't the truth, was it?”

Ryan looked taken aback. “That was the absolute truth. Detective Wallace and I both took considerable care in conducting a sound investigation.”

“But you are no longer objective about this case, are you?”

“I remain objective about this case. I continue to track down leads and let those leads take me where they will. I don't assume they are going to take a particular direction and yet they always do. They always lead me back to Jake Wakefield. For that reason, I guess you could say I am somewhat less objective today than I was when the case started because I am now convinced of Jake Wakefield's guilt.”

“And nothing could persuade you that Mr. Wakefield was not guilty?”

Ryan paused to consider how to answer this trick question. “No, I think I could be persuaded otherwise if some compelling evidence to the contrary was presented, but thus far, I have only seen evidence that implicates him.”

“Or maybe that's how you choose to see it, Detective Boyd?”

“No. I had no preconceived notions about a suspect in this case when we first started, but the investigation always led us back to Jake Wakefield.”

“Isn't it true you are having a sexual relationship with Lauren Rose…” Pratt pointed an accusing finger at Lauren, “…and that has caused you to sacrifice your objectivity in this case?”

Robles was pounding his gavel before Candace could even jump to her feet. “The witness will not answer that question. Mr. Pratt, you have been warned several times that accusing this witness of an inappropriate relationship would not be permitted and you have defied my orders. I hereby find you in contempt. Matters to follow immediately. You are done questioning this witness, Mr. Pratt. Ms. Keene, do you have additional questions for this witness?”

“No, Your Honor,” Candace said, the corner of her lips quivering as she struggled to suppress a smile.

“Court is dismissed for the day. Mr. Pratt will remain behind.” Robles said gravely.

Lauren and Ryan maintained a professional distance as they exited the courthouse. Lauren paused to speak to reporters, expressing her disappointment that the Defense would stoop to accusing the investigators of improprieties without any substantive evidence.

As soon as they were in the car, Ryan said, “It must've been Jake.”

“What?”

“Jake told his lawyers about his phone conversation with you and they acted on it. That's why they pursued it so aggressively.”

“You think Jake had the audacity to admit he called me?”

“It's the only thing that makes sense. Why else would Pratt be so determined?”

“The newspaper article?”

“I don't think so. The headline was suggestive, but the article itself was harmless. This is Jake's handiwork again.”

“Well, Jake's nothing if not persistent.”

“Persistently evil.” Ryan let out an enormous sigh, “I feel like I dodged a bullet. I wasn't going to lie under oath.”

“I know. I wouldn't have expected you to. You wouldn't be the person I like and admire so much if you were willing to lie on the stand.”

“It is incredibly lucky the judge ruled I didn't have to answer that last question of Pratt's.”

“Speaking of Pratt, I wonder how he's faring right about now. Robles looked none too happy with him.”

“I don't envy that poor bastard right now, but he must've thought it was worth it. He knew that question would infuriate Robles and he asked it anyway. He really wanted the jury to think you and I were sleeping together. I hope it doesn't ruin the whole case.”

Chapter Sixty-four

(Tuesday night, October 3–Wednesday, October 4)

Candace called Lauren that night to let her know the mock jury had not been influenced by Pratt's efforts to discredit Ryan. They still voted unanimously for conviction.

“Does Ryan know?”

“Yes, I just talked to him. He's doing much better now.” Candace didn't apologize, but Lauren detected a tone of contrition in her voice.

Lauren was relieved not only because this meant they could still expect a guilty verdict from the real jury, but also because Ryan could stop kicking himself for a single night of indiscretion.

Lauren laughed when she found an entire box of bear claws waiting on the passenger seat, along with the morning edition of the
Arizona Republic
, when she climbed into Ryan's car the next morning. “Oh my. What are you guilty of?”

“I'm afraid I was testy with you yesterday. I was mad at myself, convinced I had screwed up this entire case, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry.”

“That's how you act when you're angry? If so, I'll take it. You have nothing to apologize for. This stinking trial has been hard on all of us.”

“Thank God it's almost over. The Defense should rest today and closing arguments should wrap by the end of this week.”

“And the jury should vote to convict shortly after that.”

“And we can all get our lives back.”

“Except for Jake.”

“Yeah, except for that rat bastard.”

“I was worried that Candace would pull you off the trial.”

“She definitely considered it, but she concluded that would make it look like I have something to hide. However, she did threaten to remove precious body parts if I so much as look at you sideways from here on out.”

Lauren nodded and began to peruse the newspaper.

“Check out the story by your friend, Doug Collier,” Ryan said.

“Wakefield Defense Attorney Found in Contempt” read the bold headline on the front page. The accompanying article described how Pratt had openly defied Judge Robles' established limitations when questioning Detective Boyd. It was followed by a formal retraction from the editor. Lauren read it aloud. “Correction. The September 29th edition carried a headline that inadvertently suggested that Detective Ryan Boyd and Dr. Lauren Rose, both of whom are key players in the Wakefield murder trial, were involved in an inappropriate relationship. The
Arizona Republic
has no facts to support any such suggestion and we sincerely regret any damage it may have caused.”

“Nice work. You know how to take care of business,” Ryan remarked.

“I do now.”

As they settled into their front row courtroom seats, Candace turned around to greet them. “Can you believe this circus is finally about to pack up and leave town?”

Judge Robles opened the day's session with directions to the jury. “Yesterday, Mr. Pratt asked inappropriate questions of Detective Boyd in direct violation of this court. As such, Mr. Pratt had been charged with contempt of court, pled guilty, and been fined. You are strongly admonished to disregard any of Mr. Pratt's questions about a relationship between Detective Boyd and Dr. Lauren Rose, questions for which no factual basis had been established.”

Judge Robles turned to the Defense table expectantly. Pratt got to his feet. “If it pleases the court, the Defense would like to file a motion to call a witness not previously identified on the witness list.”

“Your Honor,” Candace protested, “the State objects to the Defense's attempt to drum up new witnesses at the eleventh hour, witnesses that the State has had no opportunity to depose. This is another unconscionable effort by Mr. Pratt to distract this jury from the facts of this case.”

The judge called for a sidebar. After the hushed debate among the lawyers raged for twenty-five minutes, Robles announced, “Court will be recessed for the remainder of the morning to allow attorneys on both sides to prepare oral arguments for the motion before this court. Those arguments will be heard in a closed courthouse this afternoon. For the rest of you, court will resume tomorrow morning at nine.”

Candace beckoned Ryan over and the two of them consulted briefly before Ryan returned to talk to Lauren. “I have to try to chase down another of the Defense's red herrings. I'll give you a ride home first and explain on the way.”

The courthouse was already clearing of its usual contents of journalists, Jake's groupies, and courthouse junkies. As Lauren exited down the center aisle, Buffy Wakefield smacked into her with her enormous Gucci bag. Upon impact, Buffy glared coldly at Lauren, but said nothing.

Ryan stayed quiet until they had retreated to the safe confines of his car. “The Defense is claiming to have an alibi witness for Jake. A young woman from Scottsdale. Candace is pissed as hell, to put it mildly. She asked me to dig around to see what I can find out about this woman in case Judge Robles allows her to testify.”

“An alibi witness? I thought his alibi was he was on his way to D.C. at the time of the murder.”

“Now they claim he stopped off to see this woman on his way to the airport.”

“Who is she?”

“Her name is Madison Hart. Does that name mean anything to you?”

Lauren shook her head. “Never heard of her before in my life. If Jake was really with her the night of the murder, why are we just now finding out about her?”

“That's what I have to try to find out,” Ryan replied determinedly.

Chapter Sixty-five

(Thursday, October 5)

Lauren was surprised when she opened her door to Detective Wallace the following morning. “Boyd got busy with some stuff,” was all he offered by way of explanation.

The car ride to court was not as pleasant as usual. Lauren had mistrusted Wallace during the early phases of the investigation. She no longer felt that way, but it was hard to dismantle the wall that had been built between them. After making small talk about the weather and traffic, they made most of the trip in silence.

“Look,” Wallace finally said. “I know how hard it can be when you've been falsely accused. You've taken a lot of heat throughout this whole crazy incident. How are you holding up?”

I'm fine,
Lauren almost said. But she resisted the urge to answer with the socially acceptable response. Instead, she assessed how she was really doing. She had been operating on autopilot for so long, she didn't even know anymore
.

“I'm beyond ready for this whole thing to be over,” she finally said.

He nodded. “I'm sure you are. Look, Lauren, I want to apologize for whatever role I might have played in contributing to your stress. I was pretty hard on you. I never really believed you did it, but I was hearing a lot of accusations against you and I was just trying to do my job thoroughly. I hope you can forgive me.”

“I already have.”

The courthouse was more chaotic than usual. Even more satellite press trucks than usual lined the streets and it took Wallace, who was unfamiliar with this madhouse, quite some time to navigate the traffic and locate a parking spot.

Excitement vibrated in the air. The courtroom was abuzz with unrelenting speculation about the Defense's mystery witness.

Court was called to order and Judge Robles took his seat.

“I have considered the matter before me with the utmost gravity,” Robles opened. “On one hand is the defendant's right to introduce witnesses on his own behalf and on the other is the State's right to discovery which allows them the opportunity to review the statements of Defense witnesses and conduct a deposition of their own. I am not pleased with the Defense's delay in adding this individual to the witness list. However, I do believe they did not previously intend to call this witness. I have weighed the rights of the defendant against the rights of the people and all things being equal, feel I must err on the side of the defendant who is presumed innocent until proven guilty. As a result, I will allow the Defense to call the witness, but they must first make her available to the Prosecution for deposition. Ms. Keene, how long will you need to prepare?”

“The better part of a week, Your Honor,” Candace answered. Candace's body language betrayed her emotions. She was seething just beneath the surface.

“Very well,” the judge continued. “I will allow you an entire week to prepare. Court shall reconvene next Thursday at nine a.m. sharp.” He banged his gavel and court was dismissed.

Chapter Sixty-six

(Thursday, October 5–Thursday, October 12)

After months of attending the trial day in and day out, the following week was a strange liberation for Lauren. She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She scrubbed her entire apartment, caught up on all of her laundry, watched several DVDs, and even spent one entire day reading by the pool at her apartment complex, feeling oddly guilty.

LaRhonda and Ritesh insisted on taking Lauren out on Saturday night, jumping through several hoops to swap out schedules to make it happen. They went to Suede, a swanky Scottsdale nightclub where LaRhonda and Ritesh hit the dance floor with abandon. Lauren attracted a frenzy of attention there based upon her pseudo-celebrity status. Fearing photographers would show up and she would piss off Candace yet again, she begged off early, catching a taxi home.

Strangely, Lauren realized she missed the trial, that very beast from which she had been fantasizing about emancipation. Her household chores seemed insignificant compared to the mission of the Prosecution. Her days of leisure were boring relative to the endless twists and turns of the trial. Her brain didn't feel as challenged, not even when she was at work. She missed Candace and Kyle and most of all Ryan, all of whom Lauren now realized had become her closest friends over these past few months.

Lauren knew little more than the general public as she watched the news for updates about the case. While the trial continued to lead the news most nights, very little useful information was forthcoming. The press had not yet uncovered the identity of the “alibi witness” so they were left to speculate endlessly. The trial and all of its breathless spectators were on pause.

Lauren was relieved when the week had passed and her doorbell rang at seven on Thursday morning. However, she was disappointed to find it was Wallace again.

Wallace struggled to maintain a cheerful discussion on the trip to the courthouse. Lauren managed to keep up her end of the conversation, but was weighed down by her feelings of disappointment and rejection. Perhaps Wallace picked up on this. “Boyd has been busy running down leads for Candace.” Lauren merely nodded.

Wallace dropped her off at the courthouse, citing cases he needed to return to. As Lauren entered the courtroom, her pulse quickened when she saw Ryan was already there, engaged in a hushed conversation with Candace and Kyle. She had neither seen nor spoken to him for more than a week. As Lauren took her seat behind the Prosecution table, nobody even turned to acknowledge her. Feeling conspicuously alone, she glanced around the room and noticed Jake somehow managing to look like the most relaxed person in the room. Lauren was struck by the incongruence between his demeanor and the gravity of the situation. If you photographed him, removed the background and showed the photo to a group of test subjects, they might guess he was about to be honored at an awards banquet.

When the clerk called the court to order, Ryan wrapped up his conversation with the prosecutors and took his seat next to Lauren. Lauren felt strangely uncertain. Should she look at him or not? When she caught his eyes, she saw an unfamiliar emotion there. Guilt? Anger? It didn't look promising.

After the normal courtroom preliminaries, Judge Robles nodded to Pratt, who rose to his feet. “The Defense would like to call Miss Madison Hart to the stand.”

Everybody turned toward the back courtroom doors expectantly, eager to lay eyes on the mystery witness.

Madison Hart was not what Lauren had expected. She was very young and relatively unattractive, but meticulously groomed. Gleaming streaks of blonde and auburn were expertly woven into her own muddy brown hair, which was swept up in an elegant chignon. Her eyebrows had been plucked into flawless arches over her dark brown eyes. Her makeup was artfully applied with a heavy hand. She had slightly crooked teeth showcased by lipstick that was too red for daytime wear. Her acrylic nails were garishly long. Her suit had been professionally tailored, but still could not disguise the fact that she was carrying about fifteen extra pounds on her short frame. Lauren recognized the shoes as Christian Louboutins by their distinctive red soles as Madison clip-clopped her way toward the witness stand. Lauren was reminded of a young girl trying to look older by wearing her mother's clothes and makeup.

She was clearly nervous. Judge Robles had to remind her to speak up as she stated her name for the record.

Pratt got right to business. “Miss Hart, are you acquainted with the defendant, Mr. Jake Wakefield?”

“Yes,” Madison said timidly.

“And can you tell us how you met Mr. Wakefield?”

“I was working at McDonald's and Mr. Wake—, I mean Jake was one of my regular customers.”

“And when he would come in, did you know who he was?”

“Oh yes, of course,” Madison responded with more animation. “We would all talk about how he was a Diamondbacks pitcher.”

“And you saw him regularly at McDonald's?”

“Yeah, he came through the drive-through a lot and I'm the one that would give him his order most of the time.”

“So, at first you just knew him as a customer?”

“Yes,” her voice cracked.

“But your relationship changed over time, didn't it?”

“Yes. We started talking more and more when he would come through the drive-through and one day, he asked if I would meet him after work.”

“And did you agree?”

“Yes, and we've been friends ever since.”

“What kind of friendship do you have with Mr. Wakefield?”

“Oh, eventually we became like best friends,” she responded with a juvenile level of earnestness.

“Where would you meet?”

“Well…we would meet in parks or stuff like that because I still lived with my parents and Jake, uh, lived with his wife.”

“So you didn't tell your parents about the relationship?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“They've always been overprotective and, uh, Jake was still married.”

“Miss Hart, did your relationship with Jake evolve into a sexual relationship?” Pratt asked gently.

Madison blushed. “Yes.”

“When?”

“Jake and I first started hanging out in May of last year, but we didn't, uh, we didn't have sex until June.”

“June of last year?”

“Yes.”

“And, Miss Hart, did you see Jake Wakefield on the evening of July twenty-third last year?”

“Yes. He was on his way to Washington D.C. and he wanted to see me before he left town.”

“Where did you meet him?”

“In a parking lot at Kiva Elementary School near his house. We met there and I got into his car, and we talked for a little while before he had to leave for the airport.”

“What time did you meet that night?”

“At six p.m.”

“And when did you leave?”

“It was seven when we left that night. I remember because he wanted to stay longer, but he couldn't or he was going to miss his flight.”

“What were you doing together that evening from six to seven?”

“We were talking and stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Oh, you know, we were just kissing and stuff.”

“Did you have sex with Jake Wakefield that evening?”

Madison blushed again. “Uh, yeah.”

“Miss Hart, you have known that Mr. Wakefield was on trial for murdering his wife that evening, correct?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Didn't you think it was important you come forward with this information to help him defend himself against these allegations?”

“Definitely. I've been wanting to tell the police that Jake was with me, but he didn't want me to. He wanted to protect me from the reporters and stuff.”

“So why did you come forward now?”

“I finally told Jake I couldn't let him go to jail for something I know he didn't do. He still didn't want me to testify because he doesn't want to see me get hurt by any of this, but I couldn't sit by anymore.”

“And you are certain you were with him on the evening of July twenty-third between the hours of six and seven in the evening.”

“Yes, I'm positive. That's the reason why he was sorta late to the airport that night.”

Pratt turned over the witness to Candace.

“Good morning,” Candace said coolly.

Madison licked her lips. “Good morning.”

“Miss Hart, can you tell us about the nature of your relationship with Mr. Wakefield now?”

Madison smiled nervously. “We're boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“And you've been boyfriend and girlfriend for how long?”

“Since last May. I know it's wrong to date a married man, but I couldn't help falling in love with him.”

“And what did he tell you about the status of his marriage?”

“Uh, he said he still loved her, but she didn't appreciate him the way I did.”

“And were you aware he was having sex with other women while he was out of town?”

Madison practically whispered, “That was a long time ago.”

“Miss Hart, you testified your relationship with Mr. Wakefield became sexual last June, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you and Mr. Wakefield have sex?”

Pratt bellowed, “Objection, irrelevant.”

“Your Honor,” Candace stated, “we are attempting to establish the veracity of this relationship.”

“I'll allow it,” Robles said.

“Where did you have sex with Mr. Wakefield?” Candace repeated.

Madison looked at Jake who nodded at her, “Uh, in his car.”

“In his tiny convertible car in the heat of the Phoenix sun?” Candace asked with upraised eyebrows.

“Yes.”

“How romantic,” Candace quipped. Pratt roared another objection and Candace's comment was stricken from the record.

“How did you make arrangements for when and where you would meet the defendant?” Candace asked.

“He would come by my work and give me a note through the drive-through.”

“You never called each other on the telephone?” Candace asked.

“No, we had to be careful.”

“How did you feel about having to keep the relationship a secret?”

“Oh, I didn't care so long as I got to be with Jake, but the good news about me testifying is it doesn't have to be a secret anymore.” She beamed at Jake.

“And did Jake Wakefield or anybody else offer you anything in return for your testimony today?”

Madison Hart squirmed in her seat. “No.”

Judge Robles recessed court for lunch. As soon as the war room door closed behind them, Candace let out a derisive laugh. “God, those idiots must be desperate. Where did they find this dolt?”

Silence.

“Doesn't anybody have anything to say? Boyd, you couldn't dig up any fucking dirt on this girl?”

“Sorry, Candace. I told you I couldn't find anything. She's only nineteen years old. How much dirt can a nineteen-year-old have? She's been working at McDonald's for a couple of years. She graduated from high school last May. I talked to a bunch of her classmates and coworkers, but didn't come up with anything. She's a nobody.”

“You know Jake best.” Candace directed at Lauren. “Do you think there's any truth to any of this?”

Lauren shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know. At first, I thought there wasn't a chance in hell. I mean, she's not his type. The one thing you could say about all those other girls he bedded is that they were all gorgeous, right? But there must be some truth to it. The way she looks at him. She clearly adores him. Either she's completely delusional or there's some truth to it.”

“If she is telling the truth, she was his girlfriend for two months before Liz was killed and all throughout his relationship with you. No offense intended.”

“None taken,” Lauren said.

“But why? What does he get from her that he wasn't getting from his other hook-ups? I mean, even if we suppose he was only cozying up to you to get information about the investigation, why would he continue to take the risk of seeing her?”

“Maybe he was worried she would turn information over to the police if he dumped her,” Ryan speculated.

“Yeah, maybe she knows something,” Kyle agreed.

“Or maybe he revels in her adulation,” Lauren speculated. “I can see him getting off on the way she idolizes him. I hate to admit it, but I think I might have been the same way a little bit, at least about his baseball. Jake and I used to discuss the highlights after all of his games. He loved that I paid so much attention to his performance. It was the only part of our relationship that I think was real for him.” It was uncomfortable for Lauren to discuss this at all, but especially in front of Ryan.

“Do you think Madison even knows anything about baseball?” Candace asked.

“You should ask her,” Kyle suggested. “Ask her some questions about baseball and see if she can answer them.”

“You interviewed all of her friends and coworkers?” Lauren asked Ryan.

“Yeah, none of them knew anything about her relationship with Jake. She did tell a friend about it a few weeks ago, but her friend didn't believe her.”

“Does she have any old boyfriends?”

“No. This is her first relationship.”

Candace snorted. “Relationship? It's casual sex in a hot car.”

Lauren shook her head. Ryan was watching her, “What are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking there's no way an adolescent girl falls in love for the very first time with
the
Jake Wakefield and doesn't tell anybody about it.”

“Jake asked her to keep things quiet because he was married and then because of the investigation,” Ryan reasoned.

Lauren continued to shake her head. “She would still be bursting to tell somebody.”

“She did eventually crack and tell one of her friends.”