Chương 3
For years, Daniel had represented people who sat across from him insisting they were innocent.
He had learned that innocence and proof were different things.
He had learned that good people could appear guilty.
He had learned that facts mattered more than feelings.
Now those lessons were being used against him.
The judge returned to the bench.
Everyone stood.
When they sat again, Judge Whitaker looked at both sides.
"The court will allow the prosecution to continue questioning the witness regarding the creation and handling of the document."
Evelyn remained standing.
"Your Honor, may I request a brief recess to examine the underlying electronic records?"
"You may request it."
Daniel almost smiled despite himself.
Evelyn had a way of making polite sentences sound like challenges.
"And?"
"And I am denying it until after this witness completes initial testimony."
Daniel watched Evelyn sit.
She did not argue.
That worried him more.
Laura returned her attention to Mark.
"Ms. Bennett," Mark said, "you testified that you verified the authorization."
"Yes."
"How did you verify it?"
Laura hesitated.
"I compared the signature to previous documents."
"Was that standard procedure?"
"Yes."
"Did you have any reason at the time to believe the signature was not authentic?"
Laura looked down.
"No."
Daniel felt something shift.
Not because she had answered.
Because she had paused.
Evelyn noticed too.
"Ms. Bennett," Mark continued, "did Mr. Mercer ever provide you with his computer login information?"
"No."
"Did he ever allow you to use his account?"
"No."
"Did he ever ask you to process a transfer without personally reviewing it?"
Laura's fingers tightened.
"Sometimes."
Daniel turned toward her.
Sometimes.
The word sat there.
Small.
Dangerous.
"Can you explain?"
Laura looked uncomfortable.
"Mr. Mercer was a senior partner."
"That is not an explanation."
She swallowed.
"There were occasions when he was traveling or in court, and he would ask me to prepare documents for review."
"Did he authorize you to act on his behalf?"
"Yes."
"Then you had authority to process financial documents?"
"Some documents."
The courtroom shifted.
People heard the answer they wanted to hear.
Daniel saw it happen.
The quiet movement of heads.
The slight change in posture.
A person deciding before all the evidence was presented.
Mark walked slowly back toward the table.
"So you had access."
"Yes."
"You had knowledge of his procedures."
"Yes."
"You knew his signature."
"Yes."
Laura closed her eyes briefly.
Daniel felt anger rise.
Not at the question.
At the reality that every truthful answer could become a weapon.
"Did Mr. Mercer ever tell you that the client account transfer was improper?"
Mark asked.
Laura looked at Daniel.
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Daniel noticed.
So did Evelyn.
"Nothing further," Mark said.
Evelyn stood.
She approached the witness stand with a folder in her hand.
"Ms. Bennett, you said you compared the signature to previous documents."
"Yes."
"How many previous documents?"
Laura looked uncertain.
"I don't know."
"Approximately."
"Several."
"Ten?"
"More."
"Fifty?"
"I don't know."
Evelyn opened the folder.
"Would it surprise you to learn that the firm had more than four hundred documents containing Mr. Mercer's signature in the last two years?"
Laura looked at her.
"No."
"And would it surprise you that his signature changed after his wrist injury last year?"
"No."
Daniel looked down.
He had forgotten about that.
A minor accident.
A broken wrist from slipping on ice outside the courthouse.
He had spent six weeks writing slowly with his left hand because his right hand hurt too much.
Small things.
Ordinary things.
Things that existed before everything became evidence.
Evelyn placed a document in front of Laura.
"Is this one of the signatures you reviewed?"
Laura studied it.
"I don't know."
"Because you did not personally compare every document?"
"I reviewed the records provided to me."
"Provided by whom?"
Silence.
The room changed.
Laura looked toward Mark.
Only for a second.
But everyone saw it.
"Ms. Bennett?"
Laura lowered her eyes.
"The accounting department."
"Who in the accounting department?"
"I don't remember."
Evelyn nodded slowly.
"You do not remember who gave you the evidence that helped determine my client's guilt?"
Mark stood.
"Objection."
"Sustained."
Evelyn adjusted her approach.
"Ms. Bennett, did you personally retrieve the authorization form?"
"No."
"Did you personally access the computer system where it was created?"
"No."
"Did you personally see Mr. Mercer sign it?"
"No."
The silence afterward felt heavier than any answer.
Evelyn returned to the defense table.
Daniel looked at her.
She did not look victorious.
She looked concerned.
That frightened him.
A lawyer who found a weakness in testimony usually felt relief.
Evelyn looked like she had found something worse.
During the afternoon break, Daniel sat alone in the empty courtroom while everyone else moved through the hallway.
The judge's bench stood above him.
The witness chair remained empty.
For a few minutes, he allowed himself to feel how strange his life had become.
A month earlier, he had been arguing over contract language in conference rooms.
Two months earlier, he and Claire had been planning a vacation they probably would not take now.
Six months earlier, Laura had brought a birthday cake into his office because his employees had forgotten his birthday.
The memory came without warning.
Chocolate cake.
A crooked handwritten message.
Laura laughing because the candles kept falling over.
It was a harmless memory.
That was what bothered him.
The past had not changed.
Only the meaning of it had.
Evelyn entered carrying her laptop.
"We need to talk."
Daniel looked up.
"That usually means something bad."
"It usually means something complicated."
"Same thing."
She sat beside him.
"I checked the filing records."
"And?"
"The document was uploaded from your firm's system."
Daniel waited.
"That is good, right?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
He felt his stomach tighten.
"Why?"
"Because whoever uploaded it used your credentials."
Daniel looked toward the empty courtroom.
"Someone stole my laptop."
"Yes."
"Someone accessed my account."
"Yes."
"Then we prove that."
May you like
Evelyn did not respond.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
