Page 53 of Ashes of Us
Danica arrived at the courthouse and found David waiting in one of the break-out rooms for her with Maverick and Watson, who was sitting at Maverick's feet in his vest. They both smiled at her as she walked in, looking very pleased with themselves.
Maverick gave her a quick side hug as she sat beside him, facing David. “What's going on?”
David leaned back and stretched as he smiled broadly at her.
“We just overheard Mrs. Preston's lawyer practically having a meltdown.” He smirked.
“See, I had to disclose our evidence to the opposing council, it's the law and generally, it has to be disclosed five to seven business days before the court date, but, because the judge didn't specify a deadline for discovery disclosure and because of the short timeframe, I didn't send our evidence until we had everything compiled, which was last Thursday at noon, giving them four and half days to review everything and figure out their rebuttals and strategies.” He looked at Maverick, and the two men chuckled before he continued.
“Apparently, Mrs. Preston and Ms. Gamache decided to take a sabbatical over the weekend and left town Friday morning.
We didn't hear everything, but they either didn't have service where they were or they ignored Mather's calls, because he went off on them about being out of reach so close to the court date.”
“But based on what we heard,” Maverick picked up the explanation as Danica felt some of the anxiety that had kept her awake most of the night seep out of her.
“He was aware the text messages had some missing but didn't know there were audio files from the dash cam and is going to try to get them dismissed.” Danica didn't understand why they looked so happy, and her anxiety came back full force.
The dash cam evidence was important, proving Jasper didn't want the child and the fact that Lucy was delusional, plus it was the only reason to call Sergeant Galvin and attempt to provoke Lucy to admit she sexually assaulted Jasper.
David chuckled and reached out, patting her hand reassuringly.
“Massachusetts has pretty strict two-party consent laws around being recorded, but there are caveats to everything.” He explained, making Danica very confused, because he still sounded so cheerful about all this.
“The fact that the police recovered the footage as part of the crash investigation and we were given the transcripts, not the actual recording, gives an authentic chain of custody which proves we didn't tamper with it.
You didn't record it, and, since Ms. Gamache was in Jasper's car, not her own, they can't use the argument that she had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
I'm very confident the Judge will allow it.”
Danica nodded, taking a deep breath and releasing it as she tried to shake off the pit in her stomach. “So, what evidence did they send you?”
“Not much.” David reached down and pulled out a thin folder from his briefcase.
“Mrs. Preston's and Ms. Gamache’s depositions and a list of people they subpoenaed to speak.
Unfortunately, while we went with a private investigator to find out who would have the best information pertinent to the case, they just started subpoenaing people.
So, Lucy's friend Elena Sheridan, Doctor Sabrina Lin and Doctor Caleb Rowen from FocusForward Therapy were subpoenaed by them before we got a chance.” Danica wasn't surprised they got to Jasper's therapist and their couples counsellor before they did.
Emilia said they were going to do that. “But it's not a big deal because I'll get to question them during cross-examination.”
David checked his watch and stood up. “Let's go, the judge will be calling things to order in about fifteen minutes.” He smiled as Danica got to her feet and smoothed down her skirt.
She was wearing her black pencil skirt, a smoky blue blouse, and low, black pumps.
David had told her to appear professional, put together, and subdued, so Emilia had helped her pick out her outfit the night before.
She usually dressed business casual for work unless there was an important meeting she had to attend, and her everyday attire was jeans, leggings or shorts with oversized graphic t-shirts or tank tops, so her professional, but subdued attire was very limited.
Alex had sarcastically offered her a bonus to buy more clothes after their second audit in Washington because she had brought the same clothes she had worn in New York and insisted on taking her shopping in Chicago when she once again wore the same pants, blouse and blazer combination she had in the previous two audits.
As they walked through the courtroom, Danica saw Alex, Emilia, Xavier and a large group of Jasper's family, including Jimmy, who was testifying on Jasper's behalf and Cecil, who had also agreed to testify for their side.
She also saw her therapist, Doctor Julian Marlowe, who gave her a reassuring smile as she passed.
“You subpoenaed my therapist?” She murmured to David as Maverick sat behind them next to Alex, and they took their seats at the table.
She hadn't noticed his name on the list of people David wanted to take the stand and felt guilty because she hadn't been to see him since Jasper died, despite knowing she would have benefited from a session, mostly because she wasn't ready to discuss everything or face her emotions around what happened yet, but also because she had been so busy.
“No.” David shook his head, glancing over his shoulder curiously.
“Your mental state isn't on trial, and the state of your marriage will be discussed with your couple’s counsellor, so I didn't see the point. Which one is he?” Danica pointed him out, and David stood up to talk to him.
He was back pretty quickly. “He's just here to offer you support. He heard about the trial from your marriage counsellor.”
“Oh.” Danica felt a wave of relief go over her.
Her sessions with Dr. Marlowe were very emotionally intense, and she didn't want her private issues announced to everyone.
“Okay, that makes sense. He's part of the same practice as Jasper's therapist and our couple’s counsellor, and I had given permission for him to share some of what we discussed with Dr. Rowan to help talk about in our therapy sessions.”
The court clerk called the courtroom to order and announced Judge Perella, and they fell silent as they got to their feet until the Judge was seated.
Everyone was asked to state their names for the record, the witnesses were all sworn in, then asked to wait outside until they were called, and Judge Perella reminded everyone that they were here for an evidentiary hearing concerning the deposition and control of genetic material belonging to the deceased Jasper Preston and the related claims by the petitioners and respondents.
“Have both parties collected all their evidence and disclosed their discoveries?” He asked as he regarded them over the top of his wire-rimmed glasses.
Both David and Mathers nodded in confirmation, and stated, “Yes, your honour,” together, and the Judge nodded, looking down at his notes.
“Are there any pre-hearing motions?”
“Yes, your honour.” Mather's got to his feet. “We would like the transcripts recovered from Mr. Preston's dash camera barred as evidence based on Massachusetts General Laws Chapters 272 and 99.”
The Judge rifled through his paperwork and fell silent as he read over the transcripts David had submitted as evidence, then he cleared his throat. “Mr. Niehaus, these transcripts were given to you by the Boston Police? Your client didn't have access to them before you received them?”
“Yes and no, your honour.” David got to his feet as the Judge addressed him.
“It was recovered in their investigation of the crash that took Mr. Preston's life, has been entered as official police evidence, and was reviewed and transcribed by investigators. While my client did get to hear the recordings before I received the transcription, she did so in the office of the lead detective and never actually came into contact with the original recordings.”
“And the detectives confirmed it was Ms. Gamache and Mr. Preston on the audio?”
“Yes, they compared Ms. Gamache's voice to the recording of their interview with her after the accident, and my client confirmed it was Mr. Preston's voice,” David confirmed.
Danica had to admire his composure; he seemed completely unruffled about the Judge's questions, while in comparison, Mathers looked flustered and annoyed.
“While I understand Massachusetts is a two-part consent state, I would like to point out that the dash cam was installed by the deceased in his vehicle to record in case of an accident, it was not hidden and was recovered by the police in their investigation.
The recording was not secretly made by my client or her husband.
Ms. Gamache has no reasonable expectation of privacy in a vehicle she does not own, and the evidence on the surviving clips goes directly to the issue, showing intent, consent and Mr. Preston's reproductive wishes.”