He leaned forward, and there were more scratches beneath his ear. “She attacked me, Anna. We were drinking, and then she just lost it. Completely.”
What a freakin liar. “I saw her face, Rich. Her bruised and battered face.”
“Well, you haven’t seen my dick. She kicked me square on,” he said, anger vibrating through his voice.
Oh, he’d no doubt deserved it. Now I was going to help him get off on another charge that he’d probably committed. The temptation to let him hang was strong enough I had to take several deep breaths and remind myself of the oath I’d taken when I’d been licensed as an attorney.
The bailiff entered and we all stood for the judge. Since there weren’t any preliminary matters, the judge called the jury in, and we continued the trial. And I was correct. A couple of the younger female jurors smiled at Pucci, and when he smiled back, the youngest one twittered.
For goodness sakes.
I stood. “The defense calls Kelsey Walker to the stand.”
The back door opened, and the officer let Kelsey walk down the aisle to the witness stand, where she was sworn in. She wore a pretty yellow dress with her hair curling nicely around her shoulders.
I ran her through the introduction questions about her name and where she was the night of the incident. “How many alcoholic drinks had you had that night?”
She kept her hands in her lap. “About three all night, I think. One with dinner and then two later at Dunphey’s Bar. All margaritas.” She turned to the jury and smiled. “I like margaritas. They’re my favorite, and Dunphey’s makes one that has extra spice.”
Several jury members smiled at her.
“Would you say you were clearheaded later in the night at Dunphey’s Bar?” I asked.
“Objection. Leading the witness,” Alice said.
The judge looked at me. “Sustained.”
Shoot. I smiled to keep Kelsey calm. “All right. Let’s rephrase. Kelsey, how were you feeling toward the end of the night in Dunphey’s Bar?”
“Clear headed,” she said instantly, keeping her attention on the jury. Her face was earnest. “As well as tired. It was a long day, and I just wanted to go home.”
“What happened before you left the bar?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “I saw that blond guy grab my sister’s butt, and she told her boyfriend, and he went to confront the butt grabbing guy.”
A couple of older women in the jury smiled to encourage her. Man, she was a great witness.
“Did you later find out the blond guy’s name?” I asked.
“Yes. His name is Mr. Dorsey, which is a name he does not deserve. Right?” She shook her head. “Anybody with such a cool name from literature should be a decent human being and not some guy who grabs a girl in a bar.”
Oh, the jury was eating this up.
I nodded. “What happened after Mr. Dorsey committed a battery against your sister?”
She held up her hands. “The guy who’d assaulted my sister started swearing and pushing, and they took it outside. He hit Rich and Rich hit him back. That was all. Then we went home. The next day Rich was arrested for something, but that doesn’t seem fair to me.”
I waited for Alice to object again, but she must not have thought the last opinion really hurt her. “All right, Kelsey. Rich has been charged with taking a gun out of an ankle holster that night, as you know. Did you see a gun?”
She shook her head.
“I need you to answer audibly,” I said as gently as I could.
She kept her gaze on me. “I didn’t see a gun.”
“I tender the witness,” I said, striding around to sit by Pucci, that asshat.
Alice stood. “Ms. Walker, how do you know the defendant?”
