The Pardon

Chapter 41

Jack and Manny arrived in the crowded courtroom just before nine that morning. Jack was a bit worried that he hadn’t been able to spot Gina in the court-house lobby earlier, but he told himself that she must have been delayed. She’d show up, he was sure. Something in her eyes the night before convinced him that she determined to set the record straight.

Quite quickly though he sensed something was wrong. McCue, who normally arrived early, was conspicuously absent from the courtroom, and the bailiff seemed to have disappeared as well.

Ten minutes passed. The murmur of the spectators built as there was still no sign of the prosecutor. Finally the bailiff appeared, showing no expression as he stepped up to the defense table. “Mr. Cardenal,” he said politely, “Judge Tate would like to see you and Mr. Swyteck in her chambers.”

Jack’s heart sank as he and Manny exchanged glances. This was not standard procedure. Something had to be wrong. “All right,” said Manny, and they followed the bailiff to a side exit.

The judge’s chambers had the air of a funeral parlor. Judge Tate sat in the leather chair behind her imposing desk, framed by the state and American flags. Wilson McCue sat in an armchair to her left, before a wall of law books. Their expressions were somber.

“Good morning,” said Manny as he entered the room.

“Please sit down,” the judge said formally, her tone suggesting that this was very serious.

Jack and Manny sat in the Naugahyde chairs facing McCue. Jack swallowed hard, fearing the worst-perhaps some wild accusation that he had threatened Gina. The judge folded her hands on her desk and leaned forward to speak.

“Mr. McCue has just informed me that Gina Terisi is dead,” she said.

“What?” Manny uttered with disbelief.

“She was murdered,” said the prosecutor.

“That can’t be,” Jack said, stunned.

“Mr. Swyteck,” said the judge, “you would be advised to remain silent.”

He sat back in his chair. The judge was right.

Judge Tate glanced at Manny, then at McCue. “I am not trying to be cold or unsympathetic, gentlemen, but I didn’t assemble this group to discuss the how and why of Ms. Terisi’s murder. The purpose of this meeting is to decide what impact the murder will have on Mr. Swyteck’s trial. Fortunately, we have a sequestered jury, so they won’t hear anything about it.”

“But, Your Honor,” said Manny, “the jury has already heard the witness’s testimony, and now I won’t have an opportunity to cross-examine her. My client can’t get a fair trial under these circumstances. The court has no choice but to declare a mistrial. We have to start all over again-without Gina Terisi.”

McCue slid to the edge of his chair, unable to contain himself. “Judge,” he implored. “I knew They’d try to pull this. You can’t grant a mistrial. You’d be playing right into their hands. Look at the sequence here, Judge. And look at the motive. This is no coincidence. The government was building an ironclad case. Gina Terisi devastated Mr. Swyteck on the witness stand. And then a few hours later she turns up dead. Now, you don’t have to be a genius to see-”

“That’s an outrageous suggestion!” said Manny.

“The hell it is!” McCue fired back. “Swyteck’s car was spotted at Gina Terisi’s last night.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “Now wait just a minute-”

“Gentlemen!” the judge barked. “That’s enough.”

There was silence. The prosecution and defense exchanged glares. Jack glanced at the judge, then looked away. Judge Tate was no easy read, but her suspicious eyes had revealed a glimpse of her feelings. And Jack didn’t like what he saw.

“I will not declare a mistrial,” she announced, shaking her head. “Mr. Swtyeck’s trial will proceed. However, Miss Terisi’s testimony will be stricken. I will instruct the jury that it must disregard her testimony, and I will further instruct them that they are to draw no inferences whatever from the fact that she has not returned to the courtroom.”

“Judge,” Manny argued, “a curative instruction isn’t going to help anything. The jury has already heard her testimony. You can’t tell them to ignore it. That’s like telling a shark to ignore the blood.”

“Mr. Cardenal,” she said sternly, “I’ve made my decision.”

McCue’s face was aglow. “It may go without saying, Judge,” he said in his folksy manner, “but I presume that Ms. Terisi’s disappearance would be fair game on cross-examination, assumin’ Mr. Swyteck were to take the witness stand in his own defense. The court’s instruction will not curtail my ability to question him about that, will it?”

The judge leaned back in her chair, thinking. “I hadn’t thought about that. But I would have to agree with you, Mr. McCue. If Mr. Swyteck takes the witness stand, the door is open. You’re free to question him.”

Manny shook his head incredulously. Even the judge, it seemed, had concluded that Jack was guilty. “Your Honor, you have just made it impossible for Mr. Swyteck to testify on his own behalf. I can’t put him on the stand if you’re going to allow the prosecutor to suggest that my client murdered the government’s star witness. Your ruling is a death sentence. I strenuously object and urge you to reconsider-”

“That’s all,” said the judge, heading off any further argument. “You understand my position. Now, I’m giving both the prosecution and defense twenty-four hours to regroup. We shall reconvene at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Mr. McCue, be prepared to call your next witness. Thank you, gentlemen,” she said with finality.

“Thank you,” McCue told the judge.

The lawyers rose and turned away. Jack stood more slowly, in a state of disbelief. He followed his lawyer down the hall, past the water cooler. Neither said a word until they reached the exit and McCue caught up with them.

“Better circle your wagons, Swyteck,” the old prosecutor said sarcastically, all trace of his good-old-boy accent having vanished. “Because if you don’t get the electric chair for killing Eddy Goss, you can bet I’ll be coming after you for the murder of Gina Terisi.” He nodded smugly, like a gentleman tipping his hat, then headed out the door.

Jack stood in the open doorway, looking at his lawyer with dismay. “This can’t be happening,” he said quietly. But it was. Innocent people kept getting killed. Fernandez, Garcia, now Gina-and Jack, it seemed, was next in line. The only thing more unfathomable was the reason it was happening-why his life, like Gina’s, might end before his thirtieth birthday. Never to be a husband or a father. . never to achieve his dreams-for the first time since the trial began, the weight, the enormity of what was at stake pressed down on him, nearly crushing him with its load.

Being convicted. A death sentence. The electric chair. All those things had seemed so abstract before, but suddenly they were palpable, real. A memory came to him-of lying in bed as a young boy and trying to scare himself, trying to imagine what death felt like. He’d picture himself crouched over a hole in the earth, a dark hole. And then he’d see himself falling into it. It was a descent that never ended. Nothing could stop it. .

He shook off the memory and tried to focus. What had the stalker said when he attacked Jack on the bus? Something about “innocent people” getting hurt if he turned to others for help. He looked at Manny with apprehension, then sprinted down the hall to a bank of pay phones near the rest rooms. He quickly dialed Cindy’s work number.

He nearly fainted with relief as the sound of her voice came on the line. “Thank God you’re all right.”

“I just heard about Gina,” she said. “Her brother called me.”

“They’re saying I did it.”

“They’re liars,” she said. “The things that animal did to her. .” She shuddered. “No sane human being would do that.”

He didn’t know the details, but he didn’t have to ask. “Please, be careful,” he said, “I’m worried about you. If there’s anything you need or want, just call me.”

“I’ll be all right,” she said. “Really, I will.”

He wanted to say something else, anything, to keep her on the line, but words eluded him.

“Good luck,” she said, meaning it.

“Thanks,” he said softly. “Cindy, I-”

“I know,” she said, “you don’t have to say it.”

“I love you,” he blurted out.

He heard what he thought was a sob on the other end of the line, and then she said, “Good-bye, Jack.”