“Sure.” Danni pointed to the woods to the left of her back porch, the exact spot where Sam Jeffries had testified he believed Jack would have thrown the gun and where he believed Jack would have gone to retrieve the gun.
“Now, Ms. Jansen, were you surprised that Mr. Tobin was looking for Felton’s gun in the woods to the left of your back porch?”
“Yes.”
“And why were you surprised?”
“Because Felton was shot up here.” Danni pointed to the area of the woods directly in front of the back porch—the area she had already pointed out. “If he had a gun on him when Jack shot him, it should be up there. I don’t know why Jack was looking where he was looking.”
“Did you ask him about that?”
“I did. He told me he could not look in the area surrounding the murder scene because there were SWAT team members up there. He said Sam Jeffries had told him nobody would be out there.”
“Now did you see any SWAT team members out there in the area where the body was found at any time that evening?”
“No.”
“And you were sitting on your back porch?”
“That’s correct.”
“Did you subsequently ask Sam Jeffries if he had deployed any SWAT team members at the crime scene that evening?”
“I did.”
“And what was his response?”
“He said he hadn’t.”
“And did you ask Chief Jeffries if he had told Jack Tobin that nobody was going to be out there that evening?”
“Yes.”
“And what was his response?”
“He said he hadn’t. He said Tobin was a suspect. He wouldn’t have given him any information.”
“As a retired homicide detective did that answer make sense to you?”
“Yes.”
“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
Tom could have objected to the questions about what Chief Jeffries had told Danni because Merton was seeking to elicit hearsay testimony, but Merton could have cured that problem simply by calling Jeffries back to the stand. The much bigger problem was that Danni Jansen had just corroborated Jeffries’s testimony about the State’s biggest hurdle—the fact that Jack had thrown away the gun he was going to plant on Thomas Felton’s person and then had come back to retrieve it after he was released by the Oakville Police Department.
Tom knew he would have to go after her. He was searching his brain for anything he could use to attack her credibility. She had once been involved with Jack; maybe she has some lingering animosity toward him from that relationship. While he was thinking, Jack leaned over and whispered in his ear.
“Everything she said is true. Don’t cross-examine her.”
Don’t cross-examine her! She just put a rope around your neck. Are you serious? We have to take a piece out of this woman’s hide or this trial is over.
Up until now, Tom had abided by the deal he had struck with Jack. Now he felt he could no longer listen to his client. The man was not thinking rationally. He needed time. He needed an opportunity to talk some sense into Jack. He stood up.
“Your Honor, may we approach?”
It was ten minutes to five. The judge didn’t know for sure what it was about but after twenty years on the bench, he had an idea. “Come on.”
When they reached sidebar, Tom pleaded his case.
“Judge, it’s ten minutes to five. The jury has already had a long day. If I start now, my cross could be very lengthy. If I wait until the morning and digest everything, it probably will be much shorter. At this time, I’m asking for a recess until tomorrow morning.”
The judge looked at Robert Merton. “What says the State?”
Merton knew he had them on the ropes. He didn’t want to let up on anything.
“I think we should finish this witness right now, Your Honor.”
Judge Holbrook was inclined to go along with Merton on this one. He didn’t like adjourning for the day when a witness was still on the stand, especially a major witness. He was about to rule in Merton’s favor when he glanced at the jury box and saw two of the jurors yawning. His first obligation was to make sure they were able to listen to and absorb the evidence. And it had already been a very long day.
“I think the jury is tired,” he said. “We’re going to adjourn until tomorrow morning at nine a.m.”
Tom was relieved. Merton was angry. Jack had no idea what had happened until the judge announced in open court that they were adjourning for the day.