"That"s right."
Fleckstein held up his hand. "Now then," he said virtuously, "don"t tell us what Mr. Randolph told you, but after you talked to him, what did you do with the check?"
"I deposited it to Cora Felton"s account."
"Would you know that check if you saw it again?"
"Yes."
"I hand you a check marked Plaintiff"s Exhibit Number One and ask if you have seen it before."
"Yes. That is the check I showed to Mr. Randolph. The one Cora Felton gave me to deposit."
"Thank you. That"s all."
Judge Hobbs looked over at the defense table. "Ms. Baldwin, if you have any questions of this witness, please ask them now."
Cora Felton was tugging at Becky"s sleeve.
"One moment, Your Honor," Becky said. She leaned over, whispered, "What?"
"Ask her about her relationship with Randolph."
"Why?"
"Probably be interesting."
"You"re going to get me disbarred, you know it." Becky stood up and said, "Miss Clemson, what was your relationship with Mr. Randolph?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Was he your boyfriend? Were you dating? He ever ask you out?"
"Objection, Your Honor!" Fleckstein said. "Of all the improper questions."
"It"s always proper to show bias, Your Honor."
"Bias?" Fleckstein said. "How in the world does that establish bias?"
"Mr. Randolph was killed, Your Honor. If the witness was dating him, that would certainly have an effect on her testimony."
"That"s not what bias means, and you know it! Your Honor, she"s trying to turn the courtroom into a circus."
"I want to answer!"
Judge Hobbs looked at the witness in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"
"I was not dating Mr. Randolph. I was never dating Mr. Randolph. He asked me out once, but I didn"t go."
"He asked you out?"
"Yes."
"How long ago was that?"
"Oh, Your Honor," Fleckstein said. "How is that relevant?"
"It probably isn"t. But since the witness volunteered the information, counsel can certainly ask her about it."
"How long ago?"
"Six months ago."
"He asked you out?"
"Yes."
"And you said no?"
"Yes."
"How did he take it?"
"He seemed disappointed."
"Did his att.i.tude towards you change in the bank?"
"No. He was very professional."
"Now, Ms. Baldwin," Judge Hobbs said, "I think we have exhausted the subject."
Becky looked at Cora as if to say, "Are you satisfied?"
Cora whispered, "Good. Now you got her rattled. Get her to admit she doesn"t remember the check."
Becky looked exasperated. "I thought you were upset that I was making a fuss about the check."
"Yeah, but if you"re gonna play the game, you might as well win."
Becky took a breath. "Miss Clemson, going back to the check you say you received from my client..."
"Well, it"s about time," Fleckstein said.
Judge Hobbs banged the gavel. "If we could avoid these side comments."
"Sorry, Your Honor."
"You say my client presented you with a check."
"That"s right."
"And you noticed a discrepancy in the name of the payee, so you showed it to Mr. Randolph?"
"That"s right."
"And the check was presented to you by Cora Felton?"
"Yes, it was."
"I believe you said the check was made out to a Cora Felton Markowitz."
"Yes, I did."
"You pointed this out to Mr. Randolph?"
"That"s right."
"Did you tell Mr. Randolph the check was made out to Cora Felton Markowitz? Or did you merely tell him it was made out to a different name?"
Lilly Clemson frowned. "I don"t understand the question."
"It"s a very simple question. Did you tell Mr. Randolph the name on the check was Markowitz?"
"I don"t remember."
"You don"t remember if you said the name Markowitz?"
"No, I don"t."
"Then you probably didn"t."
"Objection, Your Honor."
"Sustained."
"Did you say the name Markowitz?"
"I don"t know. Is it important?"
"The truth is important. I want the truth. When you presented the check to Mr. Randolph, did you tell him the problem with it was it was made out to someone named Markowitz?"
"No."
"Objection, Your Honor!" Fleckstein jumped to his feet. "That"s not what the witness means."
"That"s what she said."
"Counsel is attempting to confuse the witness."
"She has every right to," Judge Hobbs said. "It may not be a shattering revelation, but it is certainly relevant. You may proceed, Ms. Baldwin."
"Thank you, Your Honor. Miss Clemson, is it not a fact that to the best of your recollection, when you showed this check to Mr. Randolph you did not use the name Markowitz?"
"Well, I guess I didn"t."
"I didn"t think so. You merely presented him with the check and said the names didn"t exactly jibe. Is that right?"
"Yes, it is."
"You testified on direct examination that my client, Cora Felton, presented you with a check made out to Cora Felton Markowitz. Why did you say that?"
"Because she did."
"But you didn"t know that."
Lilly Clemson frowned. "Huh?"
"You didn"t even remember the name Markowitz, isn"t that right?"
"I suppose so."
"You just testified that when my client presented the check to you, the name didn"t make a big impression. You merely noticed the name was not exactly the same. And when you presented the check to Mr. Randolph, you did not even point out the name on the check was Markowitz, isn"t that right?"
"Yes."
"On direct examination you testified the check was made out to Cora Felton Markowitz. Now how did you know that?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you didn"t know the name Markowitz at the time, how do you know it now?"
"Well, I talked to the attorney."
"You went over your testimony with Mr. Fleckstein?"
"Objection, Your Honor. Attorneys always talk to their witnesses beforehand. There"s nothing nefarious about it."
"There"s nothing wrong with talking to witnesses. Coaching witnesses is something else."
"That is a slanderous accusation! Your Honor, do I have to put up with-"
The gavel silenced Fleckstein"s outburst.
Judge Hobbs glared around the courtroom. "This is rapidly degenerating into a situation I do not like. Mr. Fleckstein, Ms. Baldwin"s cross-examination may be vigorous, but it is certainly legal. Proceed, Ms. Baldwin."
Becky turned back to a rather fl.u.s.tered witness. "Miss Clemson, no one"s blaming you for anything. I"m just trying to test your recollection. As I understand it, when you presented the check to Mr. Randolph, the name Markowitz didn"t mean anything to you. It was only later, when you were preparing for court, that you remembered the name Markowitz. Is it fair to say that when first asked you couldn"t remember the name Markowitz, and it"s only after discussing the matter that you know it now? So, on direct examination, when you were asked what was the name on the check, you were able to respond, "Cora Felton Markowitz"?"
The witness blinked several times, trying to digest all the verbiage. "I think so."