The Fifth Witness Part 51

"Yes."

"Now were there any specific instructions from Mr. Borden in regard to Lisa Trammel?"

"No, it was just sort of see what you can find out there."

"And when did this become your a.s.signment?"

"It was last year. I started working at ALOFT in April and so it would have been a few months after that."

"Could it have been July or August?"

"Yeah, right about then."

"Did you give the information you got to Mr. Borden?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did there come a time that you became aware that Lisa Trammel was on Facebook?"

"Yes, it was sort of an obvious thing to check."

"Did you become her friend on Facebook?"

"Yes."

"And this put you in a position to monitor her posts about the FLAG organization and the foreclosure of her home, correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell your supervisor about this specifically?"

"I told him that she was on Facebook and was fairly active, and that it was a good spot for monitoring what she was doing and planning for FLAG."

"How did he respond?"

"He told me to monitor it and then summarize everything once a week in an e-mail. So that's what I did."

"And did you use your own name when you sent Lisa Trammel your friend request?"

"Yes. I was already on Facebook as, you know, myself. So I didn't hide it. I mean, I doubted she knew who I was anyway."

"What sort of reports did you give Mr. Borden?"

"You know, like if her group was planning a protest somewhere I would tell them the date and time, that sort of stuff."

"You just said 'them.' Were you giving these reports to someone other than Mr. Borden?"

"No, but I knew he was forwarding them to Mr. Opparizio because Mr. O. would send me e-mails every now and then about the stuff I sent Mr. Borden. So I knew he was seeing the reports."

"In all of this, did you do anything illegal while snooping around for Borden and Opparizio?"

"No, sir."

"Now did one of your weekly summaries of Lisa Trammel's activities ever include reference to her posts about being in the garage at WestLand National and waiting to talk to Mitch.e.l.l Bondurant?"

"Yes, there was one. WestLand was one of the company's biggest clients and I thought maybe Mr. Bondurant should know, if he didn't already, that this woman had waited for him out there."

"So you gave Mr. Borden the details of how Lisa Trammel had found Mr. Bondurant's parking spot and waited for him?"

"Yes."

"And he said thanks?"

"Yes."

"And this was all in e-mails?"

"Yes."

"Did you keep a copy of the e-mail you sent Mr. Borden?"

"Yes, I did."

"Why did you do that?"

"It's just kind of a general practice of mine, to keep copies, especially when dealing with important people."

"Did you happen to bring a copy of that e-mail with you today?"

"I did."

Freeman objected and asked for a sidebar. At the bench she successfully argued that there was no way of legitimizing what purported to be a printout of an old e-mail. The judge wouldn't let me introduce it, saying I would have to stick with Driscoll's recollections.

Returning to the lectern, I decided I had made it clear to the jury that Borden knew Trammel had previously been in the garage and that Borden was a conduit to Opparizio. The elements of a setup were right there. The prosecution would have them believe that the first time Lisa was in the garage was a dry run for the murder she would later commit. I would have them believe that whoever set Trammel up had all he needed to know, thanks to Facebook.

I moved on.

"Mr. Driscoll, you said that Mitch.e.l.l Bondurant was one of the people you were asked to gather information on, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"What information did you gather on him?"

"Mostly about his personal real estate holdings. What properties he owned, when he bought them and for how much. Who held the mortgages. That sort of thing."

"So you supplied to Mr. Borden a financial snapshot."

"That's right."

"Did you come across any liens against Mr. Bondurant or his properties?"

"Yes, there were several. He owed money around."

"And all of this information went to Borden?"

"Yes, it did."

I decided to leave it there on Bondurant. I didn't want the jury straying too far from the main point of Driscoll's testimony: that ALOFT had been watching Lisa and had all the information needed to set her up for murder. Driscoll had been effective and I would now close out his testimony with a bang.

"Mr. Driscoll, when did you leave your position at ALOFT?"

"February first."

"Was it your choice or were you fired?"

"I told them I was quitting so they fired me."

"Why did you want to quit?"

"Because Mr. Bondurant had gotten murdered in the parking garage and I didn't know whether the lady who got arrested, Lisa Trammel, did it or if there was something else going on. I saw Mr. Opparizio in the elevator the day after it was in the news and everybody in the office knew about it. We were going up but when we got to my floor he held my arm while everybody else got off. We went up to his floor alone and he didn't say anything until the doors opened. Then he said, 'Keep your f.u.c.king mouth shut,' and got off. And the doors closed."

"Those were his words, 'Keep your f.u.c.king mouth shut'?"

"Yes."

"Did he say anything else?"

"No."

"So this led you to quit your job?"

"Yes, about an hour later I gave two weeks' notice. But about ten minutes after I did that Mr. Borden came to my desk and told me I was out. Fired. He had a box for my personal stuff and he had a security guard come watch me while I packed up. Then they walked me out."

"Did they give you a severance package?"

"As I was leaving Mr. Borden gave me an envelope. It had a check in it for a year's salary."

"That was pretty generous, giving you a year's salary, considering you hadn't even worked there a full year and you had said you were quitting, don't you think?"

Freeman objected on relevance and it was sustained.

"I have nothing further for this witness."

Freeman took my place, arriving at the lectern with her trusty file, which she spread open. I had not put Driscoll on my witness list until that morning but his name had come up during Friday's testimony. I was sure Freeman had done some prep work. I was about to find out how much.

"Mr. Driscoll, you don't have a college degree, do you?"

"Uh, no."

"But you attended UCLA, did you not?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you graduate?"

I stood and objected, saying her questions were going way outside the scope of Driscoll's direct testimony. But the judge said I opened the door when I asked the witness about his credentials and experience in IT. He told Driscoll to answer the question.

"I didn't graduate because I was expelled."

"For what?"

"Cheating. I hacked into a teacher's computer and downloaded an exam the night before it was given."

Driscoll said it with an almost bored tone to his voice. Like he knew this was going to come out. I knew this was in his background. I told him that if it came out he had only one choice, to be absolutely honest. Otherwise, he would be inviting disaster.

"So you are a cheater and a thief, correct?"

"I was, and that was more than ten years ago. I don't cheat anymore. There's nothing to cheat for."

"Really? And what about stealing?"

"Same thing. I don't steal."

"Isn't it true that your employment at ALOFT was severed abruptly when it was discovered that you were systematically stealing from the company?"

"That is a lie. I told them I was quitting and then they canned me."

"Aren't you the one who is lying here?"

"No, I'm telling the truth. You think I could just make this stuff up?"

Driscoll made a desperate glance toward me and I wished he hadn't. It could be interpreted as collusion between us. Driscoll was on his own up there. I couldn't help him.

"As a matter of fact I do, Mr. Driscoll," Freeman said. "Isn't it true that you had quite a little business for yourself running out of ALOFT?"

"No."

Driscoll demonstrably shook his head in support of his denial. I read him as lying right there and I realized I was in deep trouble. The severance package, I thought. The year's pay. They don't fire people and give them a year's pay if they've been stealing. Bring up the severance package!

"Were you not using ALOFT as a front to order expensive software, then break the security codes and sell bootleg copies over the Internet?"

"That's not true. I knew this would happen if I told anyone what I know."

This time he did more than look at me. He pointed at me.

"I told you this would happen. I told you these people don't-"

"Mr. Driscoll!" the judge boomed. "You answer the question posed to you by counsel. You do not not talk to defense counsel or anyone else." talk to defense counsel or anyone else."