The Perfect Alibi (Robin Lockwood #2)(17)
“I am not going to prison,” Hastings said. “Do you understand me?”
“Calm down, Blaine—”
“I’ll calm down when I hear ‘not guilty.’ And you better make sure that’s what I hear, or you are going to be very sorry.”
Armstrong’s stomach turned. “What are you talking about?”
“Do your job,” Hastings answered. Then he walked away.
* * *
“Do you have any witnesses, Mr. Armstrong?” the judge asked.
“Mr. Hastings is going to testify.”
Doug spent the first part of his direct examination asking his client about his academic and athletic accomplishments.
“And are you planning to attend medical school?”
“Yes, sir, if I’m not drafted by an NFL team. But medical school is definitely in my plans for the future after a career in the NFL.” Blaine turned to the jurors. “I want to work with children in some capacity.”
“Let’s talk about the night of the party after the Portland State–Oregon game. Did you see Miss Stark at the party?”
“Yes, sir. She came up to me and started talking.”
“Had you been drinking when Miss Stark approached you?”
“Yes, sir. I was tired from the game and I had a little more alcohol than I should have.”
“How were you feeling?”
“A little tipsy.”
“Did you dance with Miss Stark?”
“Yes.”
“What happened while you were dancing?”
“She came on to me. She started kissing me and she started stroking my crotch.”
“What happened next?”
“She led me down the hall to a bedroom.”
“So, going to the bedroom was her idea?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mr. Hastings, please tell the jury what happened inside the bedroom.”
“We started making out on the bed. And right away, she unzipped my fly and began stroking me. I was pretty excited and I came right away.”
“Inside Miss Stark?”
“No, sir. In her hand.”
“What happened next?”
“She screamed, ‘Get off me.’”
“Did that startle you?”
“Yes, because she’d been really willing up until she screamed.”
“She never said she didn’t want to continue making out?”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
“The door flew open and Annie Roche came in and started yelling at me.”
“What did you do?”
“I was confused. Stark was hitting me on my chest and Roche was yelling at me. I was embarrassed, so I left.”
“Did you force Miss Stark to have sex of any kind with you?”
“No, sir. She initiated everything, and she never said she didn’t want to make out.”
“No further questions,” Doug said, relieved that his direct examination was over.
“Do you have any questions, Mr. Kellerman?” the judge asked when Doug returned to the defense counsel’s table.
“Just a few,” Kellerman said. “If you are convicted of rape, will that affect your ability to get into medical school?” Rex Kellerman asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“How about your draft status with NFL teams?”
“I probably wouldn’t get drafted.”
“So, you have a lot to lose if this jury believes Miss Stark?”
“Yes.”
“Which gives you a lot of reasons to lie about what you did to Miss Stark in that bedroom, doesn’t it?”
Hastings’s face flushed with anger just as it had in the stairwell. “I’m not lying—she is. She’s made this whole thing up to get my money. She and her crowd always resented me, and now she wants to bring me down to her level.”
“What level is that?”
“Stark always ran with losers. I worked hard to get good grades. I want to make something of myself. She can’t stand that I’m rich. She wants my money. That’s why she’s lying.”
Rex Kellerman smiled at Hastings. “You just accused Miss Stark of being a liar. Is she also a magician?”
Hastings looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“If what you say is true, you never penetrated Miss Stark.”
“Yes.”
“Well, then, in addition to crying and screaming at you to get off her, did Miss Stark say ‘abracadabra’ and make your sperm magically appear inside her?”
Hastings’s mouth opened, and he stared at the DA. Then he stammered, “I … I didn’t rape her.”
“No further questions,” Kellerman said.
CHAPTER NINE
“Madam Foreperson, have you reached a verdict?” Multnomah County Circuit Court judge Mary Ann Redding asked after telling Blaine Hastings to stand.
“We have, Your Honor,” answered Juror Number Four, a fifty-year-old CPA.
“Is your verdict unanimous?”
“It is.”
“How do you find the defendant on count one in the indictment, which charges that Mr. Hastings raped Randi Stark?”