Sleepers. Part 34

"And are the two men you saw in the Shamrock Pub in this room today?"

"Yes," Mrs. Salinas said. "They are."

"Can you point them out to me, please?"

"They're sitting right over there," Mrs. Salinas said, aiming a finger at John and Tommy.

"Your honor, will the record reflect that Mrs. Salinas identified defendants John Reilly and Thomas Marcano as the two men in question."

"Noted," Judge Weisman said.

"I have no further questions," Michael said.

"Counselor?" Judge Weisman said, lifting an eyebrow in Danny O'Connor's direction. "Are you ready to proceed?"

"Yes, your honor," Danny O'Connor said. "The defense is ready."

"It better be," Carol whispered.

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DANNY O'C O'CONNOR WAS wearing a charcoal-gray suit that needed cleaning and a white shirt tight around his neck. His shoes were scuffed and his blue tie stopped at an Oliver Hardy length. wearing a charcoal-gray suit that needed cleaning and a white shirt tight around his neck. His shoes were scuffed and his blue tie stopped at an Oliver Hardy length.

"He's got that Columbo look down," I muttered. "All he's missing is the cigar."

"It's probably in his pocket," Carol said. "Still lit."

"Good morning," Danny O'Connor said to Mrs. Salinas.

"Good morning," she said.

"I just have a few questions," he said. "I won't take up too much more of your time."

"Thank you," she said.

"You said you had only wine to drink with dinner," O'Connor said, looking away from Mrs. Salinas and making eye contact with the jury. "Is that correct?"

"Yes," she said. "That's correct."

"Are you sure about that?" O'Connor asked. "Are you sure that was all you ordered, one bottle of wine?"

"Yes," she said. "A bottle of red wine."

"Had you had anything to drink prior to that?"

"What do you mean, prior?" Mrs. Salinas asked.

"At lunch, maybe," O'Connor said. "Did you have anything to drink at lunch?"

"Yes, I did," she said. "But that was hours earlier."

"What did you have, Mrs. Salinas?"

"I went shopping and stopped for lunch at a place on Madison Avenue," she said.

"I didn't ask where you went," O'Connor said. "I asked what you had to drink at lunch."

"A martini," she said.

"And what else?"

"And some wine," she said.

"How much wine?"

"One gla.s.s," she said. "Maybe two."

"Closer to two?" O'Connor asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Salinas said, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "Probably two."

"What time did you have lunch, Mrs. Salinas?"

"Objection, your honor," Michael said without standing. "What Mrs. Salinas did on the day of the murder has nothing to do with what she saw the night of the murder."

"How much she had to drink does, your honor," O'Connor said.

"Overruled," Judge Weisman said.

"What time, Mrs. Salinas," O'Connor said, "did you have lunch?"

"About one-thirty," she said.

"And what did you have for lunch?"

"A salad," she said.

"A martini, two gla.s.ses of wine, and a salad," O'Connor said. "Is that correct?"

"Yes," Mrs. Salinas said, her eyes looking to Michael for help. "Yes, that's correct."

He gave her none.

"And then you had wine at dinner," O'Connor said. "About six hours later. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right," she said.

"How much wine did you have to drink by the time my clients allegedly walked into the Shamrock Pub?"

"Two gla.s.ses," she said, anger now undercutting the confident tone.

"Do you drink this much every day, Mrs. Salinas?"

"No," she said. "I do not."

"So would you say four gla.s.ses of wine and a martini in a six-hour period is a lot for you to drink?" O'Connor asked.

"Yes, it is," Mrs. Salinas said.

"Are you married, Mrs. Salinas?" O'Connor asked.

"Yes, I am," she said.

"Happily?"

"As happy as anyone married for fifteen years can expect to be."

"I've been divorced twice, Mrs. Salinas," O'Connor said, smiling at the jury. "Fifteen years sounds like a lifetime to me. How happy would that be?"

"I'm still in love with my husband," Mrs. Salinas said.

"Objection," Michael said. "This line of questioning is out of order."

"I'll allow it," Judge Weisman said, looking at O'Connor. "But get to your point."

"Yes, your honor," O'Connor said. "Thank you."

The defense attorney now walked alongside the jury, one hand inside the pocket of his wrinkled pants, his thin brown hair combed straight back.

"What is your relationship with Mr. Carson?"

"I've already said."

"Tell me again," O'Connor said. "Please."

"We're friends," she said. "Very old and dear friends."

"Is Mr. Carson a friend of your husband's as well?" O'Connor asked.

Mrs. Salinas paused and pursed her lips before she answered.

"No," she said. "He isn't."

"Mrs. Salinas, what were you talking about at dinner?"

"The usual," she said. "Catching up on things."

"What things?"

"His family," she said. "Mine. Things like that."

"And did you and Mr. Carson have any plans beyond dinner?" O'Connor asked.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Salinas asked.

"I mean, was your evening going to end with just a dinner?" O'Connor asked.

"No," she said, her eyes cast down. "It wasn't."

"Sounds romantic," O'Connor said.

"Objection," Michael said. "The twice-divorced counsel seems to have an overactive imagination."

"Sustained," Judge Weisman said. "Let's get on with it, Mr. O'Connor."

"Had you ever heard a gun fired, Mrs. Salinas?" O'Connor asked, shifting his questioning and walking closer to the witness stand. "Prior to the night in question, that is."

"No, I hadn't," she said.

"How would you describe the sound?"

"Loud," she said. "Like firecrackers."

"Did the sound frighten you?"

"Yes, very much," she said.

"Did you close your eyes?"

"At first," she said. "Until the shooting stopped."

"Did you think the men who did the shooting were going to kill everyone in the pub?"

"I didn't know what to think," she said. "All I knew was that a man had been shot."

"Did you think you you might be shot?" O'Connor asked. "Shot dead by two cold-blooded killers?" might be shot?" O'Connor asked. "Shot dead by two cold-blooded killers?"

"Yes," Mrs. Salinas said, nodding her head firmly. "Yes, I did."

"Yet, despite that fear," O'Connor said, "despite the risk to your life, you looked at their faces as they left the pub. Is that right?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, that's right."

"Is it?" O'Connor said, his voice rising. "Did you really look at their faces?" O'Connor said, his voice rising. "Did you really look at their faces?"

"Yes."

"Did you, Mrs. Salinas, really look look at their faces?" O'Connor asked, now standing inches from her. at their faces?" O'Connor asked, now standing inches from her.