Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,91

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?”

Kelsey looked toward Rich. “Rich is dating my older sister. We do a lot of activities together, and I work for her at Walker’s Funeral Home.”

“I see. Is there any other way you are associated with the defendant?” Alice asked.

“Well, I was dating his cousin,” Kelsey said, clutching her hands together.

Alice looked over at the jury. “You’re no longer dating his cousin?”

“Objection, your Honor.” This was going down the wrong path. “Relevance,” I said.

“Approach,” Judge Grizzio said, his bushy eyebrows rising.

Alice and I approached the bench, and I leaned up to talk before Alice could. “Danny Pucci’s death has nothing to do with this case,” I said.

Alice leaned up. “The defendant’s overall violent lifestyle shows that it’s more likely that he’d carry a gun.”

I looked sideways at her. “Man, that’s weak. You can’t use past bad acts unless they’re relevant, and you know it.”

“Agreed,” the judge said. “Follow a different line of questioning, counselor.” He lifted back up and faced the jury. “The objection is sustained.”

Alice and I returned to our seats. But now the jury looked curious at what I’d tried to keep from them, so the damage was done as Alice had intended. She had a lot more trial experience than I did, obviously.

Alice stared at Kelsey for a moment. “Where did Mr. Dorsey, also known as the blond guy, allegedly grab your sister?”

“On the butt,” Kelsey said.

I coughed out a laugh before I could help it, as did several of the jury members. I could hear Aiden’s low chuckle from the back row, and a new type of heat washed over my skin.

Kelsey turned beet red. “Oh. I mean, she was standing over by the dart boards in the bar.”

Alice didn’t lose stride. “Where were you standing?”

Kelsey faltered. “Over by the dartboards?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Alice asked.

“Telling you,” Kelsey said, nervously pushing her hair away from her face. She faltered.

Alice stepped toward her. “Would you lie for your sister or her boyfriend?”

“Objection, your Honor,” I said, defending Krissy and seeing a couple of the jurors nod. “Badgering