Page 8 of Breakdown
Nik straightened up in the chair. “My wife had just been shot. She was undergoing surgery when the police officer took the statement. I was in shock. I couldn’t process anything.”
Stuart had advised Nik to stick to short, directly responsive answers. Luskey was steering him off course.
“Right, certainly, I’m sure it would be a difficult situation for any of us,” Luskey soothed. “Now can you please continue reading the next paragraph? So, the jury can hear it in your own words.”
“‘He was tall, about 6’2”, with dark hair—”
“Let me stop you there for a moment. Tall? Dark hair? I mean, that’s not very specific, is it? That could be half the men here in the courtroom today.” Luskey smiled like a shark, all teeth. “Why, Mr. Petrakis, that could even be a description of you.”
Stuart’s voice was iron-laced. “Move to strike, your honor, there’s no question before the witness.”
“Granted. Jurors, I advise you to disregard the Defense’s last statement.”
“Your honor, Counselor Booth, my sincerest apologies,” Luskey said, with transcendent insincerity. “Now remind me, Mr. Petrakis, how much debt was your garage in at the time of the shooting?”
Nik narrowed his eyes, clearly offended by the question. “I do not know the exact number.”
“But it was in debt?”
“Yes.”
“Just give us a ballpark figure then.”
“Forty thousand?”
“And you took a second mortgage on your home a few months before the event in question, didn’t you?”
“I am not entirely certain, my wife handled most of the finances. I believe so.”
“That’s a big financial burden on any marriage. That, along with starting a new business? Things must’ve been tight,” Luskey said, the words dripping with false concern. Peter clenched his fists hard. He imagined what Luskey’s poisoned simper of a voice sounded like through broken teeth.
“Your question, Counselor,” the judge warned.
“After your wife’s death, I’m sure her life insurance money helped pay off a big chunk of that debt, didn’t it?”
Peter penciled in an appointment to slash Luskey’s tires in a few weeks, when he least expected it.
“It did,” Nik replied, a red flush of anger creeping up his neck.
“In fact, you’ve started a whole new garage that’s doing quite well, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It is doing fine.”
“And to think, all that had to happen to set you up on easy street was for your wife and your business partner to get shot. By this tall, dark mystery man who onlyyousaw leaving the scene, Mr. Petrakis. You must admit, it sounds almost intentionally vague,” Luskey said glibly. “Could be half the guys in this courtroom, right? Including you.”
“I know who killed my wife. These things you... I could never...” Nik spluttered.
Stu cut Nik off. “Objection for speculation, your honor. Council is being openly hostile to my witness. This has been entertained long enough.” If Stu wasn’t such a goody-goody, Peter would’ve invited him to join in on the tire-slashing. Right about now he seemed furious enough to do it.
Though she did a better job of concealing it, the judge looked similarly appalled. “Sustained. The jury is advised to disregard the Defense’s last statement. Counselor Luskey, you will come to a point without any further editorializing.”
“Apologies, your honor, I’ll get back on track,” Luskey said smugly. “Can you please continue reading your statement, Mr. Petrakis? You left off here.” Luskey tapped the paper in front of Nik.
“He was tall, about 6’2”, with dark hair. He had a black shirt and a skull mask—’”
“Stop there please.” He swiveled back to Nik, all easy confidence. “See, what I’m trying to figure out, Mr. Petrakis, is how you could possibly identify anybody at all when they were wearing a mask?”
Booth and Luskey had been back and forth about the mask all yesterday afternoon. There was surveillance footage of Stav buying it with cash from a costume shop a few blocks from Nik’s old garage. Booth argued that the footage, coupled with Nik’s statement and the other witnesses’ testimony, was as good as a smoking gun. Luskey had produced the same mask—a cheap plastic skull with an elastic strap—from his briefcase, saying he’d purchased it himself the night before. It had been a chain party store, he’d argued. Certainly buying a mask on Halloween wasn’t against the law, and the mask itself wasn’t exactly rare.
