“Objection, Your Honor. Incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.”
“It’s the same conversation, Your Honor. If the prosecution asks for part of a conversation on direct, the defense is entitled to the entire conversation on cross.”
“Objection overruled.”
“You did say something to that effect.”
“Didn’t I tell you that you might well be a witness, and didn’t I suggest that you tell me what you knew and I would then take the responsibility of advising you whether or not you needed to communicate with the police?”
“I believe you said that, yes.”
“And after you told me what you had seen, what did I advise you to do?”
“You advised me to go to the police.”
“You told me about seeing the woman?”
“Yes.”
“You told me about seeing the man?”
“Yes.”
“You described them to me? At least in as much as you’ve described them here today?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And after you did that, I advised you to tell what you knew to the police?”
“That’s right.”
“You remember telling me about the woman?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you remember comparing her to the woman who worked upstairs?”
“I don’t remember comparing her, no.”
“Did you say she looked like the woman who worked upstairs, but you knew it wasn’t her because she hadn’t been there for a while? Wasn’t that what you said on direct?”
“Yes, I said that.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The woman you saw going in looked like the defendant?”
“Yes, she did.”
“She wasn’t the defendant, she just looked like her?”
“Objection.”
“Overruled.”
“I didn’t say she wasn’t the defendant. I didn’t say she wasn’t and I didn’t say she was. I only said she looked like her. She did look like her.”
“You subsequently picked her out of a lineup?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How is that possible, if you didn’t recognize her as the woman you saw going upstairs?”
“Well, I knew her.”
“Ah,” Steve said. “Now we’re coming to it. You knew the defendant?”
“Well, not personally. I mean I had seen her.”
“You mean because she worked upstairs from you? You had seen her coming and going from work?”
“That’s right.”
“So when you picked her out of a lineup, you were identifying her as the woman you knew who worked there, not as the woman you saw going into the building that night?”
“That’s not entirely true. I knew she worked there, yes. But she also looked like the woman I saw going into the building.”
“But you cannot identify her as such?”
“No.”
“And the reason you know her is because she used to work there?”
“That’s right.”
“I assume you also knew the decedent, Frank Fletcher?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You saw him going in and out of’ the building as well?”
“That’s right.”
“You knew he was one of the partners of F. L. Jewelry?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You knew that in particular because you sued F. L. Jewelry when their sink overflowed and leaked down into your shop and ruined some of your guitars?”
“Objection.”
“It shows bias, Your Honor.”
“Objection overruled. The witness will answer.”
“That’s right,” Branstein said.
“You sued the decedent?”
“I sued F. L. Jewelry.”
“On what grounds?”
“For negligence. Just as you said. Their sink overflowed, and ruined some of my instruments.”
“Was F. L. Jewelry willing to accept responsibility for this.”
“No, they were not.”
“Tell me, Mr. Branstein, before you filed suit, did you make any effort to settle this in an amicable manner.”
“Yes, I did.”
“What did you do?”
“I told them what had happened, asked them if they wanted to make restitution.”
“Who did you tell this to?”
“Actually, Mr. Fletcher.”
“What did he say?”
“He said his attorneys could talk to my attorneys.”
“Was this said in an amicable manner?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
“What was your impression of Frank Fletcher’s attitude? How did it make you feel?”
“It made me angry.”
“How angry.”
Branstein looked at Steve Winslow a moment. Then he smiled. Shook his head. “Not angry enough to kill him.”
Steve Winslow let that remark sit there a few moments. Then he smiled slightly, said, “No further questions.”
42
When court reconvened after lunch, Harry Dirkson said, “Call Jerome Keddie.”
At the defense table, Amy Dearborn whispered, “Who’s that?”
“That will be the cab driver who drove you downtown,” Steve whispered back. “I was afraid they’d find him.”
“What can you do about him?”
“Challenge the identification. Odds are, he didn’t see you well.” With a big smile on his face he added, “Only if you keep looking so anxious and asking so many question, it won’t matter what the guy says, the jury will believe him anyway.”
Jerome Keddie took the stand and testified to being a New York City cab driver.
“And were you on duty on the night of June tenth?” Dirkson asked.
“Yes, I was.”
“And on that evening, did you have occasion to go to a midtown address?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And who did you take to that address?”
“A young woman.”
“She hailed your cab?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Would you recognize this woman if you saw her again?”
“Yes, I would.”
“Fine,” Dirkson said. “Mr. Keddie, let me ask you this? Do you keep a record of your trips?”
“Yes, I do.”
“A written record?”
“That’s right.”
Dirkson marked a paper for identification, then handed it to the witness. “Mr. Keddie, I hand you a paper marked for identification as People’s Exhibit Four and ask you if you recognize it?”
“Yes, I do.”
“What do you recognize it to be?”
“That is my trip sheet for the night of June tenth.”
“Now, the jurors will have an opportunity to see this, but for the purpose of your testimony, could you explain briefly what a trip sheet is?”
“Sure. It’s a record of all the trips I was hired for in the course of the day. It records where I went, what time and how much I was paid.”
“Now, the trip you were referring to-when you took the young woman-is that on the sheet?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Could you point it out to me and tell me where the trip was to?”
“Yes. It was to Seventh Avenue and 48th Street.”
“Seventh Avenue and 48th Street?”
“That’s right.”
“That was the address to which you brought the young woman?”
“That’s right.”
“Is the time of that trip noted there?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And what is the time of that trip?”
“Eight o’clock.”
“Eight P.M.?”
“That’s right.”
“You picked up a young woman and took her to Seventh Avenue and 48th Street at eight P.M.?”
“That’s correct.”
“You say you would recognize this young woman if you saw her again?”
“Yes, I would.”
Dirkson nodded his approval. “Thank you, Mr. Keddie. Now, let me ask you this-did you communicate what you just told me to the police?”
“I didn’t go to the police. They came to me.”
“I understand. But once they did, did you tell them substantially what you told me?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And did they subsequently ask you to look at a lineup?”
“Yes, they did.”
“And who was in the lineup?”
“Five young woman.”
“Was one of those young women the defendant, Amy Dearborn?”
“Yes, she was.”