Page 13 of Trial Run

Rigley passed the witness shortly after the break and Gloria Leland leaned way back in her seat with her arms crossed in front of her chest for an uncomfortably long time without asking any questions.

“Do you have any cross-examination for this witness?” Judge Hunt finally asked.

Gloria sighed and pushed off from the table. “My apologies, Judge. I’m not entirely sure where to begin.” She took a moment to sift through the papers in front of her, ultimately setting them to the side with a small huff. She stared at Patricia long enough to have her squirming in her chair before she asked her first question and when she did, it caught her totally off guard.

“How’s your family?”

A puzzled expression crossed Patricia’s face before she schooled her features back into the somber look she’d worn throughout her testimony. “I’m sorry, what?”

Gloria turned toward the jury and raised her eyebrows like she was inviting them into her mental space. “You testified that my client threatened your family, right?”

“True.”

“She threatened to hurt them.”

“Yes.”

“If you reported her.” Gloria flicked another glance at the jury before boring her eyes into Patricia’s until she was certainPatricia knew exactly where she was going with her questions. “Right?”

“Yes, but once I reported her to the police she knew she’d get in trouble if she tried anything.”

“That’s interesting. So, what you’re saying is Ms. Mitchell wouldn’t do anything if she thought law enforcement might take action against her?”

“Exactly.”

Gloria smiled brightly. “Isn’t that how laws work? I mean, I like to drive ninety miles an hour on the tollway, but fear of getting pulled over keeps me in the seventy range.” She waited a beat, but Patricia was still scrambling for a response. “Never mind, let’s pretend that was a rhetorical question. But I have another one for you.”

Patricia looked like she wanted to crawl under the seat while she waited for the next round. Gloria slowly walked back to counsel table and opened a folder. She skimmed the contents, closed it, and stuck it in the crook of her arm. “How much was your bonus for last year?”

Patricia looked confused at the complete change of subject. “I’m not entirely sure.”

“Fine, let’s try this another way. Was it more or less than the year before?”

“I’m not sure I recall.”

“Are you sure about that?” She drummed her fingers on the edge of the folder.

“It might have been lower than the previous year.”

“It was thirty percent lower.” She held up the folder. “Would you like to see the paperwork?” Patricia shook her head. “Do you think that was because you went tattling to law enforcement?”

Patricia stared at Gloria for a moment like she was trying to assess if she was laying a trap. “No, because the bonus structure was set up before I talked to her about my concerns.”

Again with the smile. “That’s right,” Gloria said. “I appreciate you pointing that out.” She walked back to the table and tossed the folder down. She pulled out her chair and started to sit down but before her butt was in the seat, she stood back up and held up a finger. “I thought of one more thing.”

The entire courtroom went silent, and the air was thick with tension before she finally spoke. “Is it possible you threatened to turn in your employer because you were unhappy with your bonus?”

Patricia’s face reddened, whether it was from anger or guilt was hard to tell, and when she opened her mouth to answer, Brooke was sure a tirade was coming, but Gloria beat her to the punch. “Never mind. That was another one of those rhetorical questions. Everyone wants to hear the answer, but no one believes it.”

“How dare you imply I would tell a lie because I was unhappy about money.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.” Gloria sat down and stared at Patricia, her calm expression serving as an agitating force threatening to send Patricia spiraling out of control. Rigley asked a few follow-up questions to try to blunt the edge of Gloria’s remarks, but the damage had been done. When Brooke walked out of the courtroom at the end of the day, she couldn’t help but think she knew a little bit of how Patricia was feeling.

Chapter Six

Reggie waited at the courthouse to give Brooke time to get to her car and exit the garage. She had no idea what Brooke’s accusation about a note and her purse meant, but she figured Brooke didn’t want to see her and she was too tired after the long day to argue anymore.

“Hey, Reggie. What’re you doing here? I heard you were going to work in the free world.”

---