“Oh, no, Ma’am. Never. In fact, he kept stressing how I needed to tell everything exactly how it happened.”
“And do you feel your relationship with Officer Parks compromises the jury’s ability to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”
Defense attorney Chase jumped to his feet. “Objection, Your Honor. How can this woman possibly testify to what the jury will hear? Is the witness a mind-reader?”
Turnbull stepped forward. “Your Honor, I’m not asking the witness to read the jurors’ minds. I’m just asking her if SHE thinks her relationship with the officer compromises her ability to tell the jurors the truth about what happened.”
“Then, perhaps counsel should rephrase her question,” Judge Ortiz advised.
“Okay, thank you, Your Honor.” Turnbull looked at Rachel. “Mrs. Coolidge — do you feel your relationship with Officer Parks compromises YOUR ability to tell this jury the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about what happened the night of June 12?”
“No, Ma’am. One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
Turnbull smiled at the jury. “Thank you, Mrs. Coolidge. No further questions.”
Judge Ortiz nodded at Chase. “Your witness, sir.”
Whittaker’s sleazeball attorney cocked his head and stared at Rachel for several unsettling seconds. “Do you love your husband, Mrs. Coolidge?”
“Objection!” Turnbull yelled.
“Sustained.” The judge scowled at the lawyer.
Chase glanced at the jury and shrugged. “Mrs. Coolidge: Did you ever tell your husband you were having an affair?”
“Objection!” The ADA held up her index finger.
“Sustained.”
Chase turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I’m trying to show that the witness’s husband DID know about the affair, which would subject him to perjury because he claimed in earlier testimony that he didn’t know.”
Ken gasped. When the reporters all craned their necks to look at him in the back row of the courtroom, he realized with a sinking feeling that his disguise hadn’t fooled anyone.
Judge Ortiz leaned back in his chair. “Mr. Chase, what I think you’re doing here is, you’re trying to dig up lurid details that are not relevant to the trier of the fact. I believe the presence of television cameras in the courtroom is prompting counsel to attempt to make this trial a circus — and I can tell you right now, Mr. Chase, I will NOT tolerate that in my courtroom. I know your reputation for this kind of nonsense and I won’t have it. Do you understand me, Mr. Chase?”
Chase nodded. “Yes, Your Honor.”
Ken heaved a sigh of relief, although it was a small victory. At least nobody would know that he’d been putting up with his wife’s affair like a sap for several months. And he wouldn’t be facing perjury charges. While he hadn’t actually lied on the stand, he sure as hell didn’t want to have to get up there and testify again. With everything that had been heaped on him lately, Ken figured he’d take any little win he could get.
Chase returned to the podium and threw out a bomb: “So, Mrs. Coolidge. Is it true that Officer Parks has had it out for my client for a long time, and that you and your husband conspired with him to cook up this outlandish story?”
“Objection!” Turnbull pointed at her counterpart. “Your Honor, counsel can’t just accuse the witness of a criminal conspiracy with absolutely no facts whatsoever to back it up. We’ve seen the body-cam footage from the two officers that shows Mr. Whittaker’s actions on June 12. There’s been no conspiracy to make up the facts — the facts of this case are recorded on video for the jury to see.”
The judge squinted at Chase. “Do you plan to offer any evidence that the witness conspired with her husband and the arresting officer to give false testimony? Or, are you just throwing out more garbage in the hopes it might taint the jury and grab headlines?”
“Your Honor, that’s why I was asking whether or not the witness’s husband knew about the affair.” Chase nodded toward Rachel. “They don’t want the jury to find out that Mr. Coolidge knew all about the affair, because they don’t want anyone to know THAT THE THREE OF THEM GOT TOGETHER TO FRAME MY CLIENT FOR THIS CRIME FOR WHICH HE IS COMPETELY INNOCENT, AND NOW THEY’RE TRYING TO HIDE THE FACTS FROM THIS JURY BECAUSE THESE WITNESSES ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER AND THEY’RE ALL LYING FOR EACH OTHER!!!
Ortiz pounded his gavel nine times during Chase’s diatribe, each strike louder than the previous one. “Mr. Chase, I’m going to give you one last warning. Another outburst like that, and I WILL have you thrown in jail for contempt of court. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Thank you.” The judge turned to the jurors. “If you would please strike that last question from the record, and the jury will disregard that testimony.” He frowned at Chase. “Does counsel have any further questions for this witness, or evidence that she or any other witness engaged in any kind of conspiracy to alter the facts in this courtroom?”
Chase bowed his head. “No further questions.”
Turnbull declined redirect, and Rachel was dismissed. A bailiff escorted her into an anteroom. Ken scurried out of the courtroom, reporters at his heels. They closed in on him as he waited in the hallway for the elevator, peppering him with machine-gun questions.
“Mr. Coolidge, how long have you known about your wife’s affair?”
“Do you have any message for your wife, Mr. Coolidge?
“What do you have to say about Mr. Chase’s claim that you made up the story about your wife’s attack?”
“Mr. Coolidge, is there any truth to anonymous reports that you’re involved in a poly relationship with your wife and Officer Parks?”
“Are you a threesome?”
A court bailiff finally came along, escorted Ken to a private elevator and scuttled him out of a rear entrance. When he was safely in the Honda, he texted Rachel:
“That was brutal but you did fine. I luv u. I’m in the car. Be careful lots of reporters. Do you want me to pick u up somewhere?”
While he was waiting for a return text, Parks’ F-150 peeled into the lot and parked next to the Honda. Rachel gave her lover a quick kiss and rolled out of the truck. Before she could get in her car, a TV truck careened into the lot and a reporter jumped out followed by a cameraman. Another television truck rolled up, followed by a third.
Instead of going to her husband, Rachel ducked back into Parks’ truck and asked her lover what she should do. He told her it was probably best that they face the music and get it over with. So, he got out of his truck, took her by the hand, and they marched toward the reporters. When Ken saw their public display of solidarity he felt like dying — but he also sensed that his best move would be to go with it, rather than to continue hiding in the car. With grim determination, he wiggled out of the Honda’s passenger seat and joined his wife and her lover in front of the TV crews.
A greasy-looking reporter held up his microphone. “So, are you three involved in a poly relationship?”
Parks sneered at the chubby muckraker. “No, this isn’t a poly relationship. What kind of ridiculous question is that?”
“But you do have a relationship with the alleged victim,” the reporter persisted.
“Yes, I do. I met Mrs. Coolidge and we ended up falling in love. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Isn’t that against department regulations, to get involved with a victim?” another journalist asked.
“That’s a gray area, and all I can say about that is, my union is looking into it. Look, people, the bottom line here is, Mr. Whittaker assaulted Mrs. Coolidge. My partner and I were lucky enough to be driving by, and we were able to stop it. And then, I met Mrs. Coolidge, and … well, okay, it was love at first sight. You want your headline? There it is. Big deal. I met a woman and fell in love. I know she’s married, and I feel bad about that, but this isn’t exactly the first time that’s ever happened, is it? It just happened. I love her and she loves me. If there’s something wrong with that, then I’m happy to suffer whatever consequences come my way. I didn’t do anything wrong. Nobody did.”
One of the journalists held her mic in front of Rachel. “Do you have any comment, ma’am?”
“No.” Rachel squeezed Parks’ hand and gazed at her shoes.
The reporters turned to Ken.
“Mr. Coolidge, how do you feel to hear another man say he’s in love with your wife, and that she’s in love with him?”
“How do you feel that she’s holding his hand and not yours?”
Ken gulped. After drawing a breath, he opened his mouth and let it fly: “Look, I don’t know why you’re all focusing on this TMZ, National Enquirer crap, when the real focus should be on what happened to my wife on June 12, and all the inequities in the criminal justice system that caused it. My wife and I are currently trying to work out all our marital issues, and I’d appreciate it if you’d let us do that in private.”
The sleazy reporter nodded. “But are you a threesome?”
“No, we’re not a threesome.”
“Mr. Coolidge, are you okay with your wife having an affair with Officer Parks?” another reporter asked.
Ken exhaled. “I love my wife, okay? We’re trying to work things out. What else do you want me to say?”
The reporter leaned in. “So, there’s nothing to Mr. Chase’s accusation that the three of you conspired to frame Eddie Whittaker?”
Parks answered for Ken: “That’s the stupidest question I’ve ever heard. Did you see my bodycam? Did you see Officer Yung’s? Listen, I can’t talk any more about the case because the trial’s still going on. Just look at the video. That’ll tell you the truth. Okay? Are we done?”
With lots of footage to work with, the reporters dissipated. Rachel, Ken and Parks heaved simultaneous sighs.
“Well, fuck, at least that nightmare is over.” Parks kissed Rachel’s hand. “You want to go somewhere and grab something to eat? Might as well; everyone knows about us now anyway.”
“Hell yeah, I’m starving,” Rachel said.
Ken played with his sleeve. “Um … do you guys mind if I come?”
Rachel and Parks looked at each other.
“What do you think?” Rachel asked her boyfriend.
Parks grinned. “Sure, why not? You did a good job with those reporters, Kenny — except that shit about equity in the criminal justice system. If you want to come eat with us, I don’t want to hear any of that namby-pamby bullshit. You hear?”
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