The Night Fire (Renée Ballard, #3)(33)

“Oh, come now, Mr. Haller. I have heard you called worse in this courtroom alone. And let’s not kid ourselves: we both know Ms. Saldano has just given you the next slogan for the ads you place on buses and bus benches all over this city. I can just see them now: ‘“A courtroom magician,” says the District Attorney’s Office.’”

There was a murmur of laughter in the courtroom and Bosch saw Saldano lower her head as she realized what she had done.

“Thank you for the promotional advice, Judge,” Haller said. “I’ll get right on that after this trial is over. But what matters right here, right now, is that my client’s life and liberty are at stake, and there is a witness sitting on a bench in the hallway who wants to testify and who I believe will bring clarity to what happened—not only at the coffee shop but an hour later in Grand Park to your friend and colleague Judge Montgomery. The evidence the witness is expected to give is relevant and material to the central issue of whether the prosecution’s evidence is reliable. And finally, I would add that the existence of this witness and his testimony was or should have been known to the prosecution—my investigator got his name from the state’s own discovery materials. I ask the court’s indulgence in allowing me to bring this new witness into the courtroom to testify.”

Haller sat down and the judge looked at Saldano, who made no move to stand.

“Submitted,” she said.

Falcone nodded.

“Okay, let’s bring the jury in,” he said. “Mr. Haller, I am going to allow you to put your witness on the stand, but then I am going to allow Ms. Saldano whatever time she’ll need to prepare her cross-examination, if she indeed wishes to question the witness at all.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Haller said.

He turned and looked back at Bosch and nodded. Bosch got up to get Morales.





18


From the start, Albert Morales seemed like a man with a chip on his shoulder. He clearly did not want to be in court on his day off and showed this by acting uninterested and giving clipped answers to every question. This was a good thing, in Bosch’s eyes. He believed that the EMT’s obvious dislike of Haller would give more credence to anything the defense lawyer managed to extract from him that was beneficial to his client.

Bosch was again watching from the last row. This was not because he had to be near the exit, but because the last row gave him cover from the eyes of the courtroom deputy, who was posted at a desk in front of the door to the courthouse holding pens. The use of electronic devices was prohibited in all but the hallways of Superior Court. The deputies often cut law enforcement officers and prosecutors slack, but never the defense. And Bosch needed to be able to communicate with Haller as he conducted his examination of Morales without having previously questioned him. It was a high-wire act without a net and Haller wanted all the help he could get. He wore an electronic watch that received texts from his phone. As long as Bosch kept his messages short, Haller would be able to get them on the watch and check them as though he was checking the time.

After the preliminaries of name, occupation, and experience were out of the way, Haller got down to business, asking Morales if he had received a call regarding a man down at the Starbucks on First Street on the day of the Judge Montgomery murder.

“I did,” Morales said.

“And did you have a partner with you?” Haller asked.

“I did.”

“Who was that?”

“Gerard Cantor.”

“And you two treated the man who was on the floor of the Starbucks?”

“We did.”

“Do you recognize that man in the courtroom today?”

“Recognize? No.”

“But you know he is in the courtroom?”

“Yes.”

“And how is that?”

“It’s been all over the news. I know what this trial’s about.”

He said it in an exasperated tone that Haller ignored as he pressed on.

“So you know that the defendant in this case, Jeffrey Herstadt, is the man you treated on the floor of the Starbucks that day?”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t recognize him?”

“I treat a lot of people. I can’t remember them all. Plus, he looks like he got cleaned up while in jail.”

“And because you can’t remember all the people you treat, you write reports detailing what you did on each call for help, correct?”

“Yes.”

Foundation laid, Haller asked the judge for permission to bring a copy of the Fire Department incident report that was filed by Morales after the incident with Herstadt. Once that was okayed, Haller put a copy down in front of Morales and returned to the lectern.

“What is that document, Mr. Morales?”

“The incident report I filled out.”

“After treating Jeffrey Herstadt at the Starbucks.”

“That’s right. It’s got his name on it.”

“Can you read the summary to the jury?”

“Yes. ‘Subject fell or seized on floor of business. All vitals good. Oxygen levels good. Refused treatment or transport for minor head laceration from fall. Subject walked away.’”

“Okay, what does that last part mean? ‘Subject walked away.’”