The Pretend Boyfriend novel Chapter 96

"Objection. I don't see where this is leading, Your Honor."

"Your Honor, bear with me, please. I am establishing a possible reason as to why Ms. Faulkner is putting my client on trial for rape when he claims he can't remember what happened."

"Objection. Too much conjecture on the defense counsel's part!" Norma's face is apoplectic.

"Sustained."

Karen composes herself. "Did you recognize Mr. Morton on the night of the alleged rape?"

"I was not sure at first ... but later, yes."

"And you did not confront him on this fact?"

"I had changed my appearance as part of my rehabilitation program after ... my overdose attempt. Mr. Morton did not recognize me. I was playing along, wondering when he would recognize me. But it was too late because he had already attacked me."

"Allegedly attacked you. Such a coincidence, wouldn't you say? A man you had sexual relations with in college. Fancy meeting him again after all these years."

"Objection!"

"Withdrawn."

Karen paces in front of the witness stand for a while, makes a point to go up to the jury box, peers into the jurors' faces, and then swivels back to Delilah. Delilah is looking a tad hot under the collar.

Karen shoots, "Who is the friend you were meeting at Mr. Morton's apartment block?"

Delilah blinks. She isn't expecting this. "Pardon?"

"Who is the friend you were meeting at Mr. Morton's apartment block? You said you were on your way to meet a sick friend. That was what the spaghetti Bolognese was for, you mentioned."

A pause.

Delilah says, "Her name is Susan."

Karen goes to her desk and rifles through some papers. She picks up a sheaf.

"This is the owner and tenant list of Mr. Morton's apartment block. Susan, you say. Susan ... Susan." She pretends to thumb through the names. "I don't see a Susan here, Ms. Faulkner."

"Objection. May I remind the defense counsel that Mr. Faulkner is not on trial here?"

"I am merely trying to establish several inconsistencies in Ms. Faulkner's statements to both the police and the court. A fact the police should have investigated more thoroughly."

Karen goes to the desk, exchanges a look with Brian, and then proceeds to pick up the large cardboard stacks on the side. "May I seek help in mounting these, Your Honor?"

Pretty soon, Sam's incriminating photos of Delilah's secret 'obsession' room - which have been carefully pasted onto several cardboard pieces and mounted on tripods - are laid out in front of the court. Karen makes a show of distributing these cardboard stacks to the judge and members of the jury.

Karen announces, "Allow me to explain the nature of this exhibit."

"Objection!" Norma is on her feet again. "These photos were obtained through unlawful and illegal means!"

"Explain," says the judge.

Norma launches into a mini-version of Sam's misdemeanors at Delilah's apartment and her subsequent arrest, punctuating her rhetoric with plenty of finger-pointing. Sam feels like sinking lower and lower into the ground as people stare at her.

"I move to appeal that this 'evidence' should be struck off as it was obtained by fraudulent means, Your Honor," Norma thunders.

Karen says, "I call to reference the case of Ableman vs Salidas in Sept 2010. In the case of The People vs Brian Morton, there is a need to ensure a just resolution to what could be an innocent man's fate. This evidence may have been obtained through less than credible means, but it was the only means in which it could be obtained. Had the police raided Ms. Faulkner's apartment, they would have found the exact same thing."

Norma says heatedly, "Article 8 of the Human Rights Act establishes a right to respect an individual's private life, including her home and what she has in it!"

"And may I remind you of the court's decision in the case of Ableman vs Salidas, Your Honor? In the overwhelming light to establish the truth in the interest of justice, the court allowed the presentation of the evidence by the private detective. The evidence allowed the defendant, Martin Salidas, to be proven not guilty."