She realized her misstep and froze for a moment until an answer came to her.
“I saw him get into a car but I didn’t know what kind it was.”
“You don’t notice things like that, do you?”
“Not usually.”
“Do you know the difference between a Porsche and a Range Rover?”
“One’s big and one’s small, I guess.”
“What kind of car did you see Mr. Roulet get into?”
“I don’t remember.”
I paused a moment and decided I had milked her contradiction for all it was worth. I looked down at my list of questions and moved on.
“These women that you saw leave with Mr. Roulet, were they ever seen again?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Did they disappear? Did you ever see them again?”
“No, I saw them again.”
“Had they been beaten or injured?”
“Not that I know of but I didn’t ask.”
“But all of this added up to you believing that you were safe as far as approaching and soliciting him, correct?”
“I don’t know about safe. I just knew he was probably there looking for a girl and the man I was with already told me he would be finished by ten because he had to go to his business.”
“Well, can you tell the jury why it was that you did not have to sit with Mr. Roulet like you did with Mr. Talbot and subject him to a freak test?”
Her eyes drifted over to Minton. She was hoping for a rescue but none was coming.
“I just thought he was a known quantity, that’s all.”
“You thought he was safe.”
“I guess so. I don’t know. I needed the money and I made a mistake with him.”
“Did you think he was rich and could solve your need for money?”
“No, nothing like that. I saw him as a potential customer who wasn’t new to the game. Somebody who knew what he was doing.”
“You testified that on prior occasions you had seen Mr. Roulet with other women who practice the same profession as yourself?”
“Yes.”
“They’re prostitutes.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know them?”
“We’re acquaintances.”
