Missing Evidence (Goodlove and Shek Book 5) by Al Macy

Author:Al Macy [Macy, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

IN COURTROOM 4, I paged through my notes, waiting for Belinda’s preliminary hearing to start.

Belinda had been arraigned via Zoom, but she sat next to me for her hearing. She looked especially small in the grand courtroom, the one that had been renovated to look like something from the movies. Reporters, some from the national media, filled the front row of the spectator area, chatting among themselves. In addition to their boisterousness, I’ve learned that reporters tend to wear too much cologne and perfume. Unfortunately, the Humboldt architects had mandated expensive hardwood floors to recreate the feeling of the original courthouse. It increased the general noise level, and the judges had all signed a petition to get carpeting installed.

In a preliminary hearing, which must occur within ten court days of arraignment, the state must show that a crime was likely committed and that it was perpetrated by the defendant. The prosecution usually wins, meaning that the defendant is “held over” for trial, because they need only prove those things are probable. In Belinda’s case, there was no question that someone had been killed and that she had done it, but we hoped to have the charges reduced from first- to second-degree murder. The hearing also gave us our first opportunity to see, evaluate and, most importantly, attack any evidence or witnesses presented.

Derek came up behind me, slammed a sheet of paper down on the defense table, and kept walking. Whoa! I looked at it. Ah, jeez. It was that famous one-page test that the former president had taken, the MOCA or Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The one where you had to identify a lion, a rhinoceros, and a camel. Other tasks included drawing a clock, counting down from one hundred by sevens, and drawing a cube. I looked at the memory test, in which Derek had to recall the words “face, velvet, church, daisy, red.” Apparently, he’d aced it. The photocopied sheet was on standard paper, but it wasn’t a full eleven inches long. I turned it over, but the back was blank.

I passed it to Nicole, sitting on the other side of Belinda. She looked it over then held it up next to a standard sheet of eight-and-a-half-by-eleven paper.

I made the sign for “right.”

Judge Quisha Wilson swept in and ascended the bench. She could be as intimidating as a wrestler on steroids, and she wasted no time with pleasantries, reading off the case number and the charges and asking whether the prosecution and defense were ready to proceed. Her tone of voice communicated that she’d done this thousands of times before.

She slid her reading glasses down her nose. “You may call your first witness, Mr. Slater.”

Derek stood. “Your Honor, before we begin, I’d like to move to place a media gag order on these proceedings.”

It took me a second to realize what was going on, and when I started to stand, Judge Wilson waved me down.

“For what purpose?” she asked.

At that point, Derek looked puzzled. “Well, to limit media reporting and give us a chance to seat an unbiased jury and conduct a fair trial, of course.

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