Page 55 of Sinner's Bond

“You had walked away from everyone else outside the courthouse, and gone to stand next to the defendant, is that correct?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Was it your intention to go stand next to the defendant?”

“Yes,” I answer.

“Why did you intend to go stand next to the defendant?”

“I went to say ‘hello’ to him.”

“You alreadyknewthe defendant?”

“Yes, I had met him a few days prior.”

“You met him a few days prior? Where did you meet the defendant, Mateo Barone?”

“Objection!” Mateo stands up from his table. “Your honor, that’s irrelevant.”

“Your honor,” Foley argues. “The origins of Ms. McKenna’s and Mr. Barone’s relationship is entirely relevant to Ms. McKenna’s testimony.”

“Objection overruled,” Judge Korbel says not unkindly. I can tell that he was somewhat impressed Mateo even knew enough to try to object. I know I was. “Please answer the question,” Judge Korbel finishes.

“I met Mateo Barone the Friday before I saw him at the courthouse,” I explain. “We met at a nightclub.”

I’m starting to see what Foley is doing. They know they’ve lost this case. But they’ll try whatever they can. And they’re going to do everything they can to drag my name through the mud before they give up.

But I’m not ashamed.

“Is your relationship with the defendant an intimate relationship?” Foley asks.

I see Nicoletti grin.

“Objection!” Mateo bangs his fist on the table. “Your honor, how does this relate to her testimony?!”

Foley doesn’t have an explanation.

“Objection sustained,” Judge Korbel says. “Ms. McKenna, you do not have to answer that question.”

“I know Mateo Barone well enough to know that his instincts to protect me during the attack are part of who he is,” I answer anyway. “Blaine Roycroft’s testimony is false, mis-remembered at best. Any other evidence you find will support my testimony and negate his.”

I look directly at Blaine as I say this. He’s sitting next to Nicoletti. He leans forward and places a note onto Foley’s table. Foley goes to the note and reads it. He glances up at Blaine. Blaine nods back to him.

Foley takes a breath, then folds the note back in half. He keeps holding the note while he asks me his next question.

“Do you have any idea who may have coordinated the attack on the courthouse?” Foley asks. He almost asks it begrudgingly. Not with the determination and confidence of his other questions.

It’s a strange question to ask. Opposing counsel would normally object to a question like this. He’s asking me to speculate. You’d never go down this path in a trial you were trying to win. But I think I see what Blaine is up to.

“Yes,” I say. “I do.” Foley looks almost confused. He has no idea what I’m going to say. The courtroom is silent.

“There was a cellular phone,” I explain. “One of the attackers had it on them during the attack. The location records for that phone number will show you that it traveled from a quarry an hour north to the courthouse just before the attack. Then the phone travelled back to the quarry after the attack.”

Foley checks his note, but I think I know what he’s going to ask next.

“Were there any phone calls that were made to this phone?” Foley asks.

“Yes,” I say. “There was a phone call the day before the attack. I believe this phone call was made to give the go-ahead for the attack on the courthouse the next day.”

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