Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (2012 Watty Winner)

A Fist Full Of Wrenches

"Good afternoon." I greet Amanda. She gives me a faux smile and says a quick hello. "You stated that you were at a previous call before you arrived that the Dennison residence, correct?" I asks and she nods, already knowing where I'm going with this questioning.

"Right." She says in a snarky tone.

"Where was this call that you were leaving?" I ask and she clears her throat and rolls her eyes.

"On Fremont." She answers.

"In Carson?" I ask and she nods. "You mind saying it out loud for the record?" I ask in a condescending tone.

"Yes." She says sharply.

"Do you know how far Carson is from the Dennison's residence in Beverly Hills?" I ask her and she shrugs.

"No."

"It's 31 minutes, in traffic." I tell her.

"Objection Your Honor, relevance?" Scott asks and the judge looks at me.

"I promise I'm getting to it." I tell him and he looks at Scott.

"Overruled. I'll allow it. But make your point quickly Ms. Davies." He says in a warning tone. I nod and continue with my questioning.

"That drive is 31 minutes in traffic and you made it there in less than ten?" I ask her.

"I guess so." She says.

"How?" I question.

"I don't know." She tells the court.

"You don't know." I say and smile. "Your Honor this is a copy of a log from a GPS monitor I had installed in my vehicle two weeks ago after reading Ms. James's police report. What the GPS monitor does is measure the distance, speed and time it takes to get from one place to another. I went to the house Ms. James said to have been leaving when she received the call about the murder and drove from there, going 75 miles an hour, to the Dennison residence in Beverly Hills. As you see in the log, it took 19 minutes to get there. I almost cut the trip in half but still not enough to match the time of Ms. James." I say and look back at her. "You would have had to been driving at a speed excess of 90 miles an hour to make that trip in under ten minutes, so how did you do it?" I ask her and she shakes her head confusingly.

"I don't... I'm not sure." She shrugs and looks at the jury. In my peripheral I see Scott drop his head.

"Ms. James have you always been a brunette?" I ask and her head shoots back to me.

"Um..."

"Objection." Scott says.

"I promise there's a point to this sir." I say to the judge.

"Overruled. Answer the question Ms. James." He tells her and she gives me a look.

"No." She says sitting up in the chair some more.

"What color was your hair let's say, three weeks ago?" I ask.

"Blonde." She says barely audible.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Objection Your Honor, badgering the witness." Scott tries.

"I'm simply asking her to repeat her answer loud enough for the jury to hear."

"Sit down, Mr. Williams." Judge Matthenson says.

"Ms. James, could you repeat your answer for the court please."

"Blonde." She says, this time loud enough for the jury and the rest of the courtroom to hear. Mummers start among the crowd with this realization along with the discrepancies with the amount of time it took her to get to the crime scene, Judge Matthenson warns every one to be quiet or get escorted from the courtroom.

"So, for all intents and purposes it could have been you the neighbor saw running from the house."

"Objection." Scott stands again.

"No further questions your honor." I say quickly and walk confidently back to my chair.

"Nice." Jackson says once I take a seat. "But what about the-"

"Couldn't bring it up. I'm going to recall her to the stand as a defense witness after the Ballistics Expert." I tell him and he smiles and nods.

"What about the what?" Spencer looks back between Jackson and I and ask.

"Can't tell you." I tell her and smile as the judge stated that court would resume tomorrow morning.

"Why can't you tell me? I'm your client." Spencer smiled back.

"I don't know. I want you to be surprised I guess." I tell her with a shrug.

"You're crazy, you know." She responds.

"Sure, sure."I nod. "Let's see if you feel that way tomorrow." I add and smirk at her as the court officer comes and escorts her away.

"You know falling for your client is Attor-"

"Go to hell." I turn around and tell Scott.

"I see the way you've been looking at her, Davies." He tells me with a knowing smile as I gather up my papers and stuff them into my briefcase. "It's a shame really." He says as I stand up.

"What?" I ask.

"That you're falling for someone who won't be around for much longer." He says and I make a confused face.

"What the hell are you talking about, Scott?" I ask and his face changes in realization.

"You don't know?" He ask, in a shocked tone.

"Know what?" Clearly I don't know.

"The DA's office is pushing for the death penalty." He says and my heart drops. "After finding out about the insurance policy they took life and every other offer off the table." He adds and I feel like I can't breathe. If I don't win this case Spencer could die... She could seriously die and I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life. "This is why we don't fall for our clients, Ashley." He says, scanning my face before walking out of the courtroom.

"They're gonna-" I turn to say to Jackson.

"I heard." He cuts me off.

"Jack, I can't-"

"I know." He nods. We both exit the courtroom and I contemplate whether or not to tell Spencer she's facing the death penalty if we lose this case.