Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan, #3)(70)

Julian smoothed down his tie, checking his script as he approached the stand.

“Officer Donovan,” he began in a formal tone, careful not to make eye contact with me. This was a different Julian than the bartender I’d known. His shirt was pressed, his dress shoes polished, his silk tie cinched tightly below his throat. The smile lines beside his eyes had turned to stern creases, and the full mouth he used to kiss me with was pursed in concentration. “Is it correct that you and Officer Ruiz found the deceased?”

“Yes,” I answered, consulting my script.

“Can you please describe what happened when you arrived at the park?”

My voice came out flat as I read my next line. “Upon a preliminary search of the area, my partner and I saw what appeared to be a human hand, loosely covered by leaves and dirt.”

“What did you and your partner do next?” he asked without looking up.

“I removed a branch to get a better look, confirming the presence of a body.”

“Would you describe what you saw to the court?” Julian gestured to the class. Their attention was rapt, students in the back rows arching taller to see. Mrs. Haggerty sat in the center of the front row. She squinted and pushed her glasses higher on her nose as Riley and Max took furious notes behind her.

“The deceased appeared to have been dismembered and left in a shallow grave,” I said, repressing a shudder.

“And what did you do when you located the remains?”

I checked my next line. “I called Dispatch and informed them of my findings. Then I secured the crime scene and waited for a homicide detective to arrive.”

“Thank you, Officer Donovan.” Julian nodded before turning to the dais. “No further questions for the witness, Your Honor.”

Nick addressed the class. “We’ll now hear cross-examination by the defense.”

Parker rose and approached the witness stand, offering Julian a close-lipped smile as he passed her. She tucked a red lock of hair behind her ear as she sauntered toward me, her grin lifting on one side, just enough to make me squirm.

“Officer Donovan,” she began, skimming her lines, “you said you waited for a detective to arrive. Which detective responded to the call?”

“Detective Nicholas Anthony,” I answered.

Parker set her script beside her briefcase on the defense’s table, her hands clasped behind her as she paced. “Was it your understanding that Detective Nicholas Anthony was the lead investigator on this case?”

“Umm…” I looked to my script for the answer to Parker’s question, then up at Nick when I couldn’t find it on the page. He gave a small nod. “Yes,” I said.

“Was this your first time working with him?” she asked.

“No,” I said tentatively. “Nick and I have worked together before.”

“By Nick, I assume you mean Detective Anthony?”

“Yes.”

“Would you say you know him well?”

A hard cough came from somewhere in the audience. I was pretty sure it was Vero.

I scanned our lines, certain I must be missing a page. “I guess…”

“Do you have a personal relationship with him?”

I dropped my script.

“Does anyone know what page we’re on?” Mrs. Haggerty called out.

“Objection, your Honor,” Julian said, glaring at Parker. “I fail to see how my client’s personal relationships are any of the court’s business.”

“Really?” She turned to him with a hand on her hip. “I assumed the answer to this question would be of particular interest to you.”

“If it mattered, I would have brought it up during discovery, not ambushed her in court.”

Nick rapped his gavel, silencing the class’s murmurs. “I admit, I’m curious to hear Officer Donovan’s answer to that question myself. But in the context of this case, I’m going to have to sustain the prosecution’s objection. And I’ll remind you, Counselor, you were provided with a script.”

“Of course, your Honor.” Parker retrieved her script from the defense table. She rolled it in her hands as she paced back to the witness stand, her smirk still in place as she addressed me. “Officer Donovan, would you say Detective Anthony is honest?”

I flipped through my papers, completely lost. “Yes, but—”

“Have you ever known him to misrepresent facts or conceal evidence to protect someone?” Nick’s eyes narrowed at Parker before darting to mine. We both knew of a time he’d concealed evidence—the night I broke into the jail, he’d covered for me and let me go—and Parker knew it, too, because she’d been there.

“Objection, Your Honor,” Julian said. “Outside the scope of the direct.”

“Sustained,” Nick said sternly. “Let’s keep the line of questioning relevant to the case, Counselor.”

“Then let me ask a different question.” Parker gestured toward Julian. “Officer Donovan, is this your first time meeting the prosecution’s attorney?”

“Objection!” Julian snapped. “You don’t have to answer that,” he said, locking eyes with me across the classroom.

Nick held up a hand. “Where is this going, Counselor?”