Jane, almost protectively, took Hardy’s arm, holding him as they watched her walk away.
As she opened the courtroom doors, Celine turned back to look again, seeing Hardy, Jane’s arm through his. From her perspective he realized that this attractive woman who had been at his side since the trial started was at least a new girlfriend. Celine knew it wasn’t his wife, whom she’d seen twice at their house.
More reason for her to be hostile, he thought. Celine must believe he had lied to her, that he had decided to stop seeing her not because he was married but because he had found someone new.
When Fowler was led in, Jane squeezed Hardy’s arm. ‘Oh my God.’
He was wearing the clothes Jane had brought, but he looked more like a bum wearing a borrowed suit. Everything seemed to hang wrong. The tie wasn’t tightened and his top button was undone. The pants, beltless, fell over his shoes. His hair didn’t look like it had been washed or combed. His eyes were red-rimmed.
He patted his daughter’s hand after the guard led him to the table. Smiling weakly, he told her and Hardy that he was all right, he would be fine. May’s death had hit him hard, that was all.
Jane did her best to get him fixed up before they brought the jury in – tie, top button, hair. When the disgruntled jury started to file in, she went back to the gallery, and everybody waited for the judge.
Chomorro’s first order of business was to apologize to the jury for the need to sequester them. ‘At the end of the day yesterday we had an extraordinary set of circumstances develop and I determined that, having put all of you through as much of this as we’ve already done, we would try our best to keep those efforts from being wasted in a mistrial. In brief I will tell you that a central prosecution witness in this case – May Shinn – committed suicide yesterday.’
This was not news to anyone in the gallery so there wasn’t the expected buzz, but Hardy could see the effect it had on the jury. Each of them – some more obviously than others – scanned the defense table.
‘At the time there was considerable media conjecture, as you might imagine, as to how this development related to the case we are hearing now, and my purpose in having you sequestered was to keep you from that exposure. I apologize for the need to have done that, but in my view it was essential to keep this trial on track.
‘That stricture has now been eased and I will be letting you go to your homes for the weekend. However, let me admonish each and every one of you again, do not discuss this case or the evidence you are considering with anyone while we are still in this proceeding.’ Chomorro took a sip from a glass of water. ‘You are probably going to be unable to avoid hearing opinions about the defendant’s relationship with Ms Shinn. You may also hear that Mr Fowler visited Ms Shinn yesterday morning. I must make it clear to you, however, that these two events – Mr Fowler’s visit and Ms Shinn’s death – are causally unrelated and, for the purpose of this trial, not relevant.
‘The coroner has issued an unequivocal verdict of death by suicide for Ms Shinn. The police department has already determined from their investigations that there is no evidence linking Mr Fowler to Ms Shinn’s death. In light of that I instruct you to disregard any rumors or opinions you might come across that purport to establish that link – there is no factual basis for it.’
Chomorro stopped again. Hardy patted the back of Fowler’s hand and got a wan smile in return.
The judge took another sip of water. ‘Now, moving along, counsel for both parties here have stipulated to the facts Ms Shinn was to present in her testimony.’ Chomorro stopped reading and made eye contact with the jury. ‘You may want to take notes, as the facts you are about to hear may possibly not make the impression they would if you heard them recited by a witness on the stand.’ He adjusted his glasses and again looked down at the desk in front of him. ‘One, you are to take as an established fact that Ms Shinn spoke to Mr Fowler in March and told him that she had removed the murder weapon, People’s Exhibit One, from her apartment and kept it stored in the desk next to Mr Nash’s bed aboard the Eloise.’
From the reaction, the jury understood the significance of this fact. Even without ornamentation, it was a compelling point, but Hardy had decided there was nothing he could do about it. Those points were on the board; Hardy put them behind him. He had fought for the phrasing of the rest of the stipulation and sat forward in his chair waiting for it.
‘Two,’ Chomorro continued, ‘it is also a fact that, during that same conversation, Mr Fowler asked Ms Shinn if she would consider reestablishing their relationship – Fowler’s and Shinn’s – if she stopped seeing Mr Nash.’
Hardy let out the breath he’d been holding. That was better than ‘if something happened to Mr Nash.’
Chomorro kept reading. ‘Ms Shinn answered that she did not know and could not say. She did say she loved Owen Nash and that Mr Fowler had been someone she felt very close to.’
Hardy winced inwardly at the emphasis.
Pullios, speaking in a relaxed tone, was nonetheless teeing off on Gary Smythe. Fowler’s broker and sometimes golf partner was clearly reluctant to give what he thought was testimony damaging to his friend. Ironically, this worked in Pullios’s favor. If he were openly excoriating Fowler the jury might have reason to think there was a grudge against Andy, something personal he was paying back and enjoying. But to the contrary, every word was wrung out of him, which provided strong credibility to what he said.
Pullios was enjoying herself, as well she might, Hardy thought, after the events that had begun with Andy showing up late in the courtroom, May’s death, the sequestering of the jury, Chomorro’s admonition to the jury this morning and finally the stipulations about May’s testimony.
Freeman may have told him the previous night that he thought he still could win it, and with the new questions he had for Farris and the Marina guards Hardy was the most convinced he’d been of Fowler’s innocence, but right now he knew he was losing the jury while Pullios had the floor.
‘Mr Smythe, I show you here the May sixteenth page from the desk calendar of the defendant, showing the initials “O.N.” and the word “Eloise.” She entered the page into evidence as People’s Exhibit 18, then went back to the witness. ’On or about May sixteenth, did you have a discussion with Mr Fowler about Mr Nash?‘
‘Yes.’ Smythe didn’t like it.
‘Tell us the substance of that discussion.’
‘Well, it wasn’t much…’
Chomorro leaned over from the bench. ‘Try not to characterize what it was, Mr Smythe. Just tell us what was said.’
Smythe nodded, was silent for a minute, then tried again. ‘Judge Fowler and I have been active in fund-raising for a long time. I mentioned to him I had received an invitation to a charity event that Owen Nash was sponsoring aboard his boat and he asked me if I could get him an invitation. We could double-team him.’
‘And how did you respond?’
‘I thought it was a good idea.’
‘And you got him an invitation?’
‘Yes.’
‘So did both of you go?’
‘No. As it turned out, neither of us did. I became sick and Andy decided not to.’
‘Did he say why he so decided, after going out of his way to get the invitation?’
Smythe looked at Fowler, then down at his lap. ‘He was having a hard time back then, he didn’t feel like going out.’
‘A hard time? Personally?’
Hardy got up, objecting, and was sustained.
‘So what happened to your fund-raising plans with Mr Nash?’
‘You have to understand, these things go on continuously. They’re fluid in their timing. But I was a little disappointed that neither Andy – Judge Fowler – that neither of us had taken advantage of such an opportunity, and I said as much to Andy.’ He paused, looking again at his friend at the defense table. ‘Andy said he had other reasons to talk with Owen Nash anyway and he promised he’d get to him within a month.’