Employee of the Year

Chapter 32 - The Prosecution

Wednesday, July 13. The preliminary hearing. 

Alan Blair paid a visit to my holding room. He was alone, no guards, no aides from the DA's office. He knew that my lawyer didn't want him coming to me unannounced like this for a one-on-one conversation. Todd insisted many times that the DA should have no more unsupervised contact with me. He knew this and came to me anyway. Blair didn't want supervision. He wanted me to fall into one of his traps.

 "I am giving you one last chance to change your mind. You can confess to manslaughter and end this right here. Otherwise you're going to face a jury for first degree murder and spend the rest of your life upstate."

"No deal."

Blair sighed. "Do you have any idea what you're up against?"

"Probably not. But I'll tell you one thing. I've been scared for my survival since the minute I found Roland. I promised myself that today I am not going to be afraid about anything."

The courtroom was a blur of noise and lights. Mobs of reporters and spectators spilled out the doors into the hallway, trying to claw their way back in for a view of the most famous LA trial of the moment. Judge Angela Wang, a tall woman with long black hair and a powerful voice, declared the crowd a fire hazard and cleared dozens out of the aisles of the viewing benches. Blair and his prosecutors from the District Attorney's Office gathered on the left side of the front row. Marcus's team of celebrity defense lawyers sat on the benches to the right of Judge Wang.

The first step was for the prosecution to introduce all the key elements of the case. This included all witnesses and evidence the prosecution intended to present to the jury.

Blair emphasized that Kowalski and Martinez would be primary witnesses, as expected, since they were the lead detectives in the murder investigation.

"Your Honor, I'd like to call Detective Elliot Kowalski," the DA said.

Elliot took his oath and proceeded to the witness stand.

"Detective, can you please describe your involvement in this case?"

"I am the lead homicide investigator for the Torrance Police Department. I've been involved since the very beginning."

"You mean the morning of June 13, when Roland Shavosian was killed?"

"That's right. I was just heading into work when I heard the call come in on the radio. I arrived at the crime scene a little before the responding patrol officers. I live in the neighborhood, so I was closer."

"What did you see when you arrived?"

"It was still early and dark, but the lights in the parking garage were on. I drove up the ramp to the second floor. I saw the victim lying on his back next to his car. I knew he was dead. I could see the pool of blood around his upper body."

"And Mr. McCarthy was there."

"That's right. He told me he was the one who discovered the body and called 9-1-1."

 "What did you do then?"

"Once the patrol officers got there, I took Mr. McCarthy back to the station. He knew the victim. They worked together. He was a logical place to start with my investigation."

 "When did you first suspect McCarthy might play a role in the murder?" Blair said.

"Objection, your honor," my lawyer shouted. Judge Wang overruled his protest and let the testimony continue.

"I certainly thought he might play a role the moment I met him. That's just part of keeping an open mind when a case is fresh. That doesn't mean I had specific reasons to think McCarthy was behind the killing. But I was suspicious. It's my job to be suspicious. There were a number of factors."