12th of Never (Women's Murder Club 12)

“Yes.”

“So can you tell us about a certain conversation you had there with Lily Herman? And please speak loud enough for the jury to hear you.”

“I was sweeping the walk and Lily was riding her bike on the sidewalk. She stopped to say hello.”

“What made this conversation memorable to you?”

Ortega wrung her hands. “Lily looked like she had been crying. She got off her bike and it fall to the ground. She ran to me for comfort. Into my arms.”

“Please go on, Ms. Ortega.”

“I hugged her and she started to cry some more. She said her father shook her. She pulled up her sweater. She showed me bruises on her arms,” Ortega said. “They look like they were from fingers. Squeezing hard.”

“She had these bruises on both arms?”

“Yes. And on her neck. I saw marks.”

Yuki counted to ten, letting Ortega’s words soak into the room before she spoke again.

“And did you ask Lily about these marks?”

“Oh, yes.”

“And what did Lily say?”

The witness followed Yuki with her eyes, as if Yuki were a clock and Maria was desperate to know the time.

“Lily told me that her father grab her. And that he shake her. And that he tell her he would like to kill her.”

“Objection, Your Honor. This is hearsay and it is prejudicial. I move that the testimony be struck and the jury be instructed to disregard it.”

Nussbaum said, “I’m still the judge, Mr. Kinsela. Both you and Ms. Castellano come here so that we can have a quiet chat.”

Yuki and Kinsela crossed to the bench and Yuki said, “Your Honor, the witness reported this incident to the police on the day Lily spoke to her. It’s in the police report. Opposing counsel knows this and the sole purpose of his objection is to intimidate the witness.”

“No more shenanigans, Mr. Kinsela. Ms. Castellano, continue with your direct.”

Yuki went back to the witness and asked Maria Ortega if she had called the police to report the incident. Ortega said she had. Yuki asked her the name of the police officer and she said, “Officer Joseph Sorbera.”

“When Officer Sorbera came to the Murphy house in response to your call, what happened?”

“I talked to him for a minute, then Mr. Murphy told the officer that I was confused. That I was … ‘hysterical.’”

“What happened after that?”

“They fire me,” she said.

“Did they give you a reason?”

“I not supposed to make Mr. Herman mad.”

Yuki said, “Were the Murphys afraid of Mr. Herman?”

Kinsela said, “Objection. Leading the witness and also inappropriate as hell.”

“Sustained.”

Yuki said, “I withdraw the question. Ms. Ortega, did you ever talk to Lily again?”