Jack Daniels and Associates: Snake Wine Read Free Page B

raising her right hand. "You can consider yourself still under oath from before," the judge said.
    Out of everyone in the room, Jack knew Judge Howard Ceparullo best. He was older than Moses and had eyes that burned with righteous hellfire. Ceparullo had retired from his legal practice and taken up the bench in Jack's rookie year, and she'd appeared in front of him at least twice a year since. He was one of the few people outside the department she sent a Christmas card to.
    The thing Jack liked best about Judge Ceparullo was that he tolerated no shit. He knew something was up as Jack sat down on the witness stand. She knew this for certain when he gave her a sly wink, letting her know it would be all right. "Thank you, your honor," Jack said.
    Joel Roth came around the front of his table, making eye contact with the panel of jurors as he slowly made his approach to the witness stand. "Lieutenant Daniels, you've previously testified as the arresting officer for the homicide and narcotics charges against Keenan Marvin, isn't that correct?"
    "Yes," Jack said.
    "But that's not your only role in this investigation, is it?"
    "I'm sorry?"
    "You aren't just Marvin's arresting officer, you're also one of his victims. Isn't that right?"
    Jack glared at the prosecutor, finally blinking as she tried to play catch up. There had been no discussion about this before, no preparation. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean?"
    Roth turned toward her and said, "You sat here next to me, next to the men and women of this jury, and you listened to the intercepted phone calls placed by Keenan Marvin, correct?"
    "Yes."
    "Calls made to two of his drug-ring lieutenants? Is that that true?"
    "Yes," she said softly.
    "And you heard, just as we all did, what he said he was going to do to the, let me quote, 'white bitch who did this shit,' did you not?"
    "Yes, I did," she said.
    "You listened as he instructed his subordinates to find you by any means necessary and make sure you suffered the most disgusting sexual humiliations possible, isn't that correct?"
    Jack looked at the man sitting at the defendant's table. His eyes were cold as they fixed on her. She might have been talking about the color of the sky or the latest real estate developments in the downtown marketplace for all the expression Marvin's features revealed. "That's correct," Jack said.
    "But these weren't idle threats, were they?"
    "No," Jack said quietly. "Two of his men came to my house."
    "And what was their intention once they got there?"
    Jack shifted in her seat, feeling the eyes of the jurors completely fixed on her now. Her role had changed right before their eyes, and both she and Roth knew it. She wasn't the cop anymore. She was a woman, and she was a victim, and it was everything she detested and feared about being in a courtroom setting – having to play the victim. Still, it was probably the last nail they needed to hammer Keenan Marvin's coffin closed. She took a deep breath and said, "Well, judging by the ropes, zip-ties, nipple-clamps, dog collar and video camera found in the bag those two scumbags carried, I imagine it wasn't a social call."
    "I think everyone in this courtroom would agree," Roth said dramatically, pouring it on as he turned to look at the jury. "Luckily, thanks to the vigilant investigation already underway against the defendant, no harm came to this brave public servant."
    "Objection," Alan Davidson called out to the judge.
    "Sustained," Judge Ceparullo said, looking at the prosecutor. "Hold the commentary for closing arguments."
    "My apologies," Roth said. "No more questions for this witness."
    Alan Davidson stood up and took a deep breath, taking as much time as he could. Roth's surprise tactic had taken him off guard as well. He'd dealt with Jack Daniels before and always found her to be good people beneath that rough exterior. She had a job to do, so did he, and even when they were directly opposed to one another, he knew she played straight. But