Sinner Read Free Page A

the eleventh hour. We have subpoenaed every possible witness of every kind, and he just now finds a shake-and-bake testimony?”
    â€œNo, Your Honor. I can promise a court testimony without deposition. I believe Mr. Bin Salman is materially relevant to this trial. The prosecution is perfectly free to cross-examine him.” He looked sideways at the DA, swallowed, then continued. “Discovery shouldn’t preclude a material witness.”
    The judge nodded. “I’ll allow the witness.”
    â€œHis testimony will be inadmissible,” the DA said. “This is unprecedented.”
    â€œTake your seats, Counsel. Both of you. Now.”
    Billy held his head level out, but his heart fell into his stomach. He took his seat next to Sacks and pretended to scribble some notes. He had gone out on a limb with his law license in hand, and he would most likely end the week with neither limb nor hand.
    Miscarriage of justice was an understatement.
    The door opened and the bailiff escorted a gray-suited man with a beard and slicked black hair to the stand.
    â€œPlease state your name for the record.”He did. Musa put his hand on a copy of the United States Constitution. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
    â€œI do.”
    â€œPlease be seated.”
    â€œYour witness,” Her Honor said.
    Billy strolled to the podium and sized up the man on the stand for the first time. Clean-cut. Intelligent looking. A kind face, if a bit sharp. One of the millions of foreigners who’d taken up residence in this country and saved it from bankruptcy when the government’s trade policies had softened a dozen years ago.
    The country’s socioreligious complexion had steadily changed since. So-called religious tolerance had made by far the largest gains in the West; the number of Muslims had grown to match the number of Christians. None of this mattered to Billy, but it might make for some fireworks during cross-examination, if the DA would take any bait.
    â€œThank you for joining us, Mr. Bin Salman. Can you tell the court what you do for a living?”
    â€œI’m a student at the new Center for Islamic Studies.”
    â€œI see. So you are a religious man?”
    â€œYes.”
    Amazing how those words brought a deeper silence to the courtroom. Everyone was aware of religious people, saw them all the time, talked to them at work, watched sporting events with them. But for one to actually discuss a religious affiliation was frowned upon in the name of tolerance. The new cultural taboo.
    â€œAnd what is your religion?”
    â€œIslam. I am a Muslim.”
    The DA stood. “Objection. I don’t see what a man’s personal faith has to do with his testimony.”
    â€œUnderstood.” Judge Brighton turned. “Exactly what is your point, Counselor?”
    â€œDefense wishes to establish the relevance of the witness to alternate motives for murdering an Islamic cleric, Your Honor,” Billy said. He didn’t wait for her to overrule the objection and got back into questioning. Momentum was often the most critical element of persuasive litigation. He turned to the witness. “Have you ever met my client, Anthony Sacks, before today?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhat about the victim, Imam Mohammed Ilah?” Billy hefted an enlarged photograph of the victim.
    â€œYes. I knew him.”
    â€œWhen did you meet him?”
    â€œI met with him frequently, both as a student and at the mosque. We knew each other by name.”
    Billy knew where all of this was headed, of course. It made him cringe, but he pushed on, shoving aside his own objections. He shoved a hand into his pocket and slowly crossed to the jury box, eyeing each member in turn.
    â€œHow would you describe your relationship with the imam?”
    â€œWe were friends.”
    Alice Springs, third juror from the left, second row, doubted the witness.