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“‘I was here. Where were you?’”
CHAPTER 71
YUKI AND GAINES sat at the prosecution table with Mary Elena in the chair between them. She was quiet and as cold as stone.
His Honor Henry William St. John had once again adjourned court for the day, excused the jury, who were returned to the deliberation room. He offered Mary Elena his chambers until “this mess is resolved.”
Gaines wrote the word “mistrial” on Yuki’s pad and she put a checkmark next to it.
Yuki asked Mary Elena, “Would you prefer to wait in my office?” She nodded her head vigorously.
“If the judge agrees, I want you to sit in my office until he is through with me, then I’ll drive you home.”
With permission, Yuki approached the bench and told His Honor her plan. Moments later, Yuki’s assistant, Deirdre Palmer, was at the double doors. Deirdre was a kind and resourceful person and Mary Elena had met her before. Thetransfer was handled quickly, and as soon as the doors closed, Yuki returned to her table. That’s when the judge called Tyler Cates, Schneider, and Castellano to the bench.
His Honor stared .50-caliber rounds through the defendant, saying, “Mr. Cates, this is where your presence in the courtroom ends—with one condition. You swear you will make no more comments unless you are on the stand and under oath. Do you understand?”
“I understand, Your Honor. I promise.”
Judge St. John wasn’t finished.
“If I continue this trial, you will spend the rest of it in a holding cell. No lunch break, no visitors except your attorney. You are dog meat until the jurors have made a decision. Or I will determine that we will have to start all over again. If so, back to jail with you until a new trial is scheduled. So count the months on your fingers. And no discount for time served if you are found guilty. I have a lot of cleaning up to do before I arrive at trial or mistrial.”
The judge turned his head a few degrees and said, “Mr. Schneider, you’ve been a criminal defense attorney for as long as I’ve been a judge. Today you risked a contempt citation by not shutting down your client and removing him from the court.”
“I’m very sorry about this, Your Honor.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. My staff is going to look into this charge your incredibly reckless client has made. We should know by tomorrow if there is such a place as Brookside Psychiatric, and whether or not Ms. Hayes was a patient there—and same for Mr. Cates, and if so at the same time. The results of that research will help me determine how we proceed.”
Cates said, “Your Honor, I’m sorry I blurted out what I did. She’s making horrible accusations.”
Schneider pinched Cates’s arm.
The judge turned his back on the sorrys and excuses and disappeared through the door to his chambers. As guards took Cates to holding, Gaines and Yuki gathered their things, left the courtroom, and headed toward the DA’s offices.
At the same time, Red Dog was coming toward them in the corridor. In Yuki’s current state, Len Parisi looked like a bristling, rust-colored heart attack.
Yuki said to Red Dog, “Len, Gaines will fill you in. I have to make a call. Deirdre is keeping Mary Elena company for a few minutes in my office and then I’m going to drive her home.”
Turning away from Parisi, Yuki spoke into her phone. “Dr. Aronson, its ADA Castellano. I need your help.”
The frightening scene in the courtroom played over and over again in Yuki’s mind as she drove a silent Mary Elena to her apartment. Yuki felt that she had set a bear trap for herself then walked right into it. Could she have known?
Yuki stayed with Mary Elena before, during, and after her tele-session with Dr. Aronson. She made tea and then helped Mary Elena into bed.
CHAPTER 72
JOE PARKED HIS car at the intersection of Divisadero and Pine, giving him a 360-degree view of the street and cross streets. If the guy who’d left the computer was on foot, Joe might recognize him. If he was driving, Cyber Security Incorporated was St. Vartan’s best or only chance to get the ghosts out of the machine.
Bao said, “I still don’t get it. Why did he leave his laptop? ‘I was here. Where were you?’ What’s that?”
“What do you think?”
“He was stood up.”
Joe laughed. “Thanks, I needed that.”
He really did need a laugh. He was tense, tired, hungry, and exhilarated. If they succeeded, they’d be elated. People would live. If they failed, St. Vartan’s was going to have to find millions and Apocalypto would still be in business.