Chapter 12
THE COURTROOM WAS so packed that members of the press were standing together like matchsticks at the back of the room. TruTV cameras rolled, and Yuki saw Cindy Thomas sitting four rows back on the aisle.
Cindy winked at Yuki, who smiled before turning to say, “Your Honor, the people call Mr. Graham Durden.”
A tall black man in his late fifties entered the courtroom from the rear, looking straight ahead as he walked purposefully up the aisle and through the wooden gate to the witness box. He was sworn in, then took his seat.
Yuki greeted her witness and began with questions that established his identity and his role in the case.
“Mr. Durden, what is your address?”
“Fifty-seven Lopez Avenue.”
“Is Mr. Keith Herman your neighbor?”
“Yes. He lives directly across the street from me.”
Yuki noticed that Durden’s hands were shaking. It was understandable. The man was a witness against a killer. If Keith Herman got off, Graham Durden would still be living directly across the street from him.
“Mr. Durden, did anything unusual happen on the morning of March first last year?”
“Yes. I’ll never forget it.”
“Please tell the court about that morning.”
“I had gone out to get the newspaper off the porch and I saw Mr. Herman carry his daughter’s dead body out to his car. I could tell that Lily was dead. He put her into the backseat and drove away.”
There was a gasp in the gallery, a satisfying intake of breath, and the jury appeared absolutely gripped by what they had heard.
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did the police question the defendant because of your phone call?”
“Yes. The day after I called nine-one-one, I was asked to come into the station for a lineup. I positively identified the man who put the body of Lily Herman into his car.”
“Do you see that man here today?”
Durden said he did, and at Yuki’s request he pointed to the man sitting next to John Kinsela at the defense table.
“How well do you know Mr. Herman?” she asked.
“I’ve known him for about five years. I knew Lily since she was three. She likes my dog, Poppy. They used to play on my lawn. I know the man’s car, too. Lexus. A 2011 four-door sedan.”
“So you are absolutely sure that the man you saw on the day in question, the man putting Lily Herman into the back of the Lexus, was the defendant, Keith Herman?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“Thank you, Mr. Durden. I have no further questions.”
Yuki returned to her seat at the prosecution table. There was some foot shuffling in the gallery, and people coughed on both sides of the aisle.
Judge Nussbaum scratched his nose, made a note on his laptop, then said, “Mr. Kinsela, your witness.”
Chapter 13
JOHN KINSELA STOOD. He didn’t snort or mug for the jury. In fact, he looked quite grave as he faced the witness.