21st Birthday (Women's Murder Club #21)(57)

“Under close re-examination of the video shot by the parking lot surveillance camera,” Yuki said, “the killer was seen disposing of this evidence.”

Judge Passarelli said, “You’re adding Fogarty’s murder to the charges?”

“That’s right, Your Honor. I’m asking for a continuance so that Mr. Gardner and I can gather our witnesses and recast our cases, taking the new evidence into consideration.”

“Mr. Gardner?” said the judge.

“My client continues to be held without bail, Your Honor. I’m not opposed to a continuance, but I ask you to consider bail at this time.”

“Your Honor, we’re going to charge Lucas Burke with another charge of capital murder. The people maintain that Burke’s a danger to the public and a flight risk, now more than ever.”

“Agreed. As for the continuance, will two months from now work for the both of you?

“Yes, judge,” Yuki said.

Gardner said, “I want to meet with Ms. Castellano to view the video she cited. You available this afternoon, Yuki?”

“I have time between two and four.”

The appointment was agreed upon, the judge was thanked, and the prosecutor and defense attorney left chambers together, peeling off in different directions as soon as their feet touched the marble-floored corridor. “I’ll see you later, Newt,” Yuki said to Gardner over her shoulder.

Gardner said, “I’ll be there at two and I’ll bring my skepticism with me.”

Yuki said, “Hah. Good one.”

She took the elevator to the fourth floor, walked into the Homicide squad room, waved at Brenda as she passed, and took the center aisle to her husband’s office.

Brady said, “All good?”

“Yes. Give me a hug.”

He squeezed her until, laughing, she begged him to stop.

“See you later,” she said.

She left Brady, gave Lindsay a high five as she passed her desk, then went downstairs to brief Red Dog on her meeting with the judge.





TWO MONTHS LATER




CHAPTER 75





COURT HAD BEEN CALLED into session.

Judge Passarelli had instructed the jury, “Don’t read the paper or watch TV, I mean it. Don’t discuss the case with anyone, not spouses nor blood relatives, nor strangers on a train. That goes for comparing notes with your fellow jurors or talking to yourself out loud when you’re washing your hands or in your sleep or under any circumstance whatsoever until you’re in the jury room to deliberate. Then you can and should talk to your fellow jurors until you’ve arrived at a verdict. Okay? Very good.”

All but one of the jurors had smiled. They liked the judge as much as Yuki did.

The gallery was packed and it murmured like a beehive. Press was allowed, but not cameras. Yuki turned her head to face the rear and saw Cindy in the last row, on the aisle. Since Cindy had rung the bell on this case since before baby Lorrie Burke had even been found on the beach, Yuki hoped her friend would get the story she’d earned. A guard opened the door and Brady slipped inside the courtroom and stood next to Cindy. He gave Yuki a thumbs-up.

She nodded and turned back to the courtroom and her co-counsel, Nick Gaines, sitting to her left.

Gaines was Yuki’s second chair. He had just returned to the DA after several years in a startup law firm, and Yuki was very happy to have him back. It worked both ways. Nick liked being on the prosecution side and was excited to have accidentally timed his return with a chance to work with his former mentor on the case of the decade.

The high and low points of this trial would be reported not only in the United States; the Lucas Burke case had also attracted the avid attention of the international press. The outcome of this trial would stick to the San Francisco DA for years, win or lose.

Adrenaline shock waves were coming more frequently as the business of the court was concluded and the moment was coming when the judge would say “Ms. Castellano, you’re up.”

Yuki turned her head forty-five degrees to the right to check out the defense table. At that precise moment, Newt Gardner turned his face to hers. He was ready for his close-up: head freshly shaven, shirt as stiff as marble, and his suit was fine and smart. Handmade, a classic navy blue.

Gardner smiled and tipped his head in greeting. Yuki nodded back. There was no point in taking anything Gardener said or did personally. Yuki’s phrase for the day was “Steady, girl. You’ve got this.”

Nicky Gaines wrote on his tablet. What a creep.

She nodded, added to the note, Yeah and he’s not even the killer.

That said, Lucas Burke, the accused, looked the part of the villain. He had shaved badly, like he wasn’t used to plastic razors after the sharp steel he formerly used. He was allowed a suit, shirt, and tie, rather than the orange jumpsuit that could unfairly prejudice the jurors. Still, his rumpled tweed jacket and dingy dress shirt didn’t support a look of innocence.

Yuki also observed that he had aged since the murders. He had more wattle under his chin probably because of the weight he’d lost. His hair had gone from auburn to gray. His attorney leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. Burke then sat up straighter, as if good posture would acquit him of triple homicide.

Yuki took some deep breaths, released them silently, and with eyes closed visualized this blond-wood-paneled courtroom as Baker Beach. She’d seen photos of the baby at the shoreline, and that was the image that she would implant in the jurors’ minds.