“Mr. Jarvis,” Burdett asked, “what is your profession?”
“I am an attorney-at-law,” Jarvis said with as much dignity as he could muster.
“How long have you been in practice?”
“Thirty-five years.”
“Where is your office?”
“In Portland.”
“Do you specialize in any area of law?”
“Yes, sir. About three-quarters of my practice involves family law.”
“Does a lawyer who practices family law represent parties who wish to obtain a divorce?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mr. Jarvis, were you acquainted with the deceased, United States Congressman Arnold Pope Jr.?”
“I was.”
“When did you become acquainted with him?”
“About two weeks before he died,” the lawyer answered.
“Where and when did you meet?”
“We met at three in the afternoon on a Wednesday in a tavern in Tualatin,” Jarvis said, naming a suburb a short ride from Portland.
“That seems like an odd place for a member of the United States Congress to confer with an attorney.”
“Yes, well, Mr. Pope didn’t want anyone to know about the meeting.”
“Why is that?”
“He was thinking of getting a divorce and he didn’t want the press-or anyone else-to find out.”
“Was there anything unusual about the way the congressman was dressed when he met you?”
“Yes. He was disguised. He wasn’t wearing a suit. He had on old, baggy jeans and a jacket with the collar turned up and sunglasses and a baseball cap. He kept on the jacket, cap, and glasses all the time we were talking.”
“Was there one person in particular Congressman Pope wanted kept in the dark about your meeting?”
“His wife.”
“The defendant, Sally Pope?” Burdett asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Why didn’t he want his wife to know?”
“He was afraid of her…”
“Objection,” Frank said.
“Goes to state of mind, Your Honor,” Burdett said.
“I’ll allow the question,” Judge Hansen ruled.
“You were saying?” Burdett continued, flashing a smirk at Frank.
“He was afraid of what she would do if she found out he was going to divorce her.”
“Was he specific about his concern?”
“Yes, sir. He said he was afraid she would have him killed.”
“Objection,” Frank boomed.
“Yes, Mr. Burdett,” Judge Hansen told the prosecutor. Then she turned her attention to the jury.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am striking that last answer. You are to disregard it.”
Fat chance, Frank thought.
“What happened at the meeting?” the prosecutor asked.
“We talked about the financial ramifications of the divorce and custody. The Popes had a young son.”
“Did the congressman make a decision about what he was going to do at the meeting?”
“No. Just before he left he said he’d get back to me.”
Burdett turned toward the defense table. “Your witness, Mr. Jaffe.”
“Mr. Jarvis, did you tell anyone about this secret meeting with Mr. Pope?”
“No.”
“So, only you and the congressman knew about it?”
“I don’t know if the congressman told someone about it, but I didn’t.”
“Mr. Jarvis, how many people are in your firm?”
“I’m a sole practitioner. So it’s just me.”
“You said that the congressman discussed the financial ramifications of a divorce from Mrs. Pope.”
“Yes.”
“There would have been several million dollars involved, wouldn’t there?”
“Yes.”
“How much money were you discussing?”
“Uh, I don’t recall exactly.”
Frank leaned back and smiled at the witness. “In the past, oh, say, five years, how many divorce cases have you handled involving many millions of dollars?”
Jarvis flushed and looked down. “Uh, I’m not certain.”
“Maybe I can help. If I told you that I had my investigator review every divorce case you’ve filed in the past five years and he told me that he could only find six such cases, all involving sums of less that two million dollars, would that surprise you?”
“Uh, no.”
“You don’t normally handle big-ticket divorce cases, do you?”
“No, not normally.”
“And you don’t normally represent prominent members of the Oregon community, do you?”
“No.”
“So the congressman would be quite an unusual and exciting client for you, wouldn’t he?”
“I…yes.”
“And the sum of money involved would be way more than you normally deal with, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And you want this jury to believe that you can’t remember how many millions of dollars were involved?”
“I, um, it just slips my mind, at the moment.”
“Or, perhaps, you don’t know how much money was in his estate because you never met with Mr. Pope.”
“I definitely met with him. I just don’t remember how much money he had.”
Frank noticed a few jurors taking notes. He moved on.
“Are there Oregon firms that routinely represent parties in divorces who are wealthy?”
“Yes.”
Frank rattled off the names of several law firms in the metropolitan area.
“Any one of those firms would be used to handling cases with assets in the millions of dollars, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes.”
“During your years in practice, have you had ten complaints filed against you with the Oregon State Bar?”
Jarvis flushed. “I’ve had some complaints filed. I don’t remember the number.”
“Have you been suspended by the state bar from the practice of law for six months on two occasions for ethics violations?”
“Yes,” Jarvis answered angrily.
“Mr. Jarvis, do you still want this jury to believe that a man like Arnold Pope Jr., with all the contacts he had, chose to consult about his divorce with a lawyer who has rarely handled a society divorce or a divorce with these kinds of assets and who has bar complaints filed against him and who has been suspended several times for being unethical?”
“I…he didn’t tell me why he chose me. Maybe he was afraid that it would get back to his wife if he went to one of the big firms.”
“How did Mr. Pope arrange to meet you at the tavern?”
“He phoned my office.”
“Was there anything that would have prevented Mr. Pope from calling someone at a big firm to arrange a secret meeting at the tavern where you and he allegedly met?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Do you bill by the hour, Mr. Jarvis?”
“Yes, sometimes.”
“So, you can produce a record of the initial call from the congressman if I subpoenaed it?”
“No. I don’t think there is a record.”
“There must be a record of the time spent during this conference. You can produce the file, can’t you?”
“I didn’t make a file. The congressman didn’t hire me. We just consulted.”
“But he paid you for the consultation? There’s a check, isn’t there?”
“He…he paid me in cash. He didn’t want any record of the meeting his wife could discover.”
“I assume you recorded the transaction somewhere so you’d remember to report the fee as income on your taxes?” Frank asked with a sweet smile.
Jarvis looked like a deer caught in very bright headlights. “Uh, I may have forgotten.”
“I see,” Frank said. “So, let me get this straight: there are no witnesses to this meeting, no records, no proof that it ever happened, except, of course, for your word?”
“Why would I lie?” Jarvis asked, but he sounded desperate.
“Good question. Did Arnold Pope Sr. pay you for your testimony?”
Jarvis shot an involuntary glance at Senior then pulled his eyes away as soon as he realized what he’d done. Frank couldn’t see Senior’s reaction but he did notice several jurors look in Senior’s direction.
“No. That’s not true,” Jarvis answered.
“Then can you explain where you got the money you used last month to pay off the several thousand dollars in debt on your credit cards?”
“I was in Las Vegas recently and I did very well at the tables,” Jarvis answered lamely.