“What’s that?”
“This…” she says before she reaches into her pocket and produces her phone.
“Mrs. Sherman, how do you know my client?”
“No.” I shout at her, reaching over and turning it off.
“Z, I think you really need to think about this. She gives you a solid alibi and puts doubt in the case’s integrity.”
“No, Sherri, I said no.”
“Z—”
“Look, Sherri, you decide to put her up there. You’re fired. Figure out another way. That’s why we’ve paid you so much fucking money all these years.”
She sighs, gritting her teeth and looking at me. “Z, the evidence—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the evidence.”
“Just listen to it. Then decide.”
“No!” I shout, slamming my fists on the metal table. I can see as she tries to hide the fact that it startled her. “I don’t want her up there. Do you know what’s going to happen to her if she goes up there?”
“They’ll try to pick apart her life.”
“No, they will pick apart her life. And just to place doubt in how credible she is. They’ll paint her out to be a horrible person, a woman who cheats on her husband, and what will that do for us? Nothing.”
“It will place doubt. That’s all we need.”
“I. Don’t. Care. Her name does not go on your witness list.”
She sighs, rolling her eyes.
“Sherri.”
She looks up at me and I glare at her harder. “Fine.” She gasps. “She won’t go on my witness list.”
“Good.”
“Zane, what the fuck happened to your head?” She asks me as I’m assuming my hair shifted just right for her to see what I’m assuming is the bruise which is still forming.
“I head-butted Darren.”
“You did what?” She shouts, shuffling through some paperwork.
“Don’t worry, it’s not in there.”
“And why wouldn’t it be? That seems pretty important.”
“Because it was in defense. After he hit me twice, while I was cuffed and he was coming for a third time.”
“We should submit something.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I was antagonizing him.” I laugh.
