Chapter 12 - DAVID TAKES THE STANDThe defense surprised everyone by calling David to testify.
His attorney had advised against it.
David insisted.
He believed his voice had saved him throughout his career.
He believed one more performance could save him again.
On direct examination, he appeared calm and reflective.
He admitted throwing the phone.
He called it the worst mistake of his life.
He claimed he had panicked because the house was full of important clients.
He said he planned to drive me to the hospital himself after the guests left.
He described our marriage as loving but complicated.
“I never wanted Anna to feel afraid,” he said.
“I wanted to protect her from the consequences of impulsive decisions.”
His attorney asked why he drove to the protected residence.
“I wanted to see my wife.”
“Did you intend to harm her?”
“Never.”
“Why did you have photographs of the property?”
“I needed to know where she was staying.”
“Why?”
“Because she was carrying my child.”
David looked toward the jury.
“I was desperate.”
For several minutes, I understood why people believed him.
He did not look like the man in the kitchen.
He looked educated.
Regretful.
Controlled.
Then the prosecutor stood.
“Mr. Mercer, you told the jury you intended to drive Anna to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Where were your car keys?”
“In my jacket.”
“Where was your jacket?”
“In the upstairs bedroom.”
David hesitated.
“I believe so.”
“You did not retrieve it during the eleven minutes between Anna’s fall and the arrival of police.”
“I was assessing the situation.”
“You did not call her doctor.”
“No.”
“You did not call an ambulance.”
“No.”
“You destroyed the phone she attempted to use.”
“I panicked.”
The prosecutor displayed a transcript.
“After destroying the phone, you said, ‘There won’t be any ambulance.’”
David shifted.
“That was taken out of context.”
“What context makes that statement mean you planned to obtain medical care?”
David had no answer.
The prosecutor moved to the stalking incident.
“You told the jury you wanted to see your wife.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you use a vehicle registered to a former client?”
“I borrowed it.”
“Why did you carry a second phone purchased under a false name?”
“I value privacy.”
“Why did the folder contain the entry code to the rear gate?”
David looked toward his attorney.
The attorney stared down at his notes.
“I don’t know how that got there.”
Investigators had discovered that the code came from an email David pressured a former firm employee to obtain.
The employee had already pleaded guilty to unauthorized access and agreed to testify.
The prosecutor placed one final document on the screen.
It was the letter David offered through settlement negotiations.
Think about what it will mean for her to grow up knowing her mother sent her father to prison.
“You wrote this?”
“Yes.”
“You told Anna that your imprisonment would be her responsibility.”
“I was asking her to consider our daughter.”
“Did you consider your daughter when you refused to call an ambulance?”
David’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I recognized it.
The controlled mask disappeared.
“You keep repeating the same question,” he snapped.
“Because you have not answered it.”
“I did not know the baby was in danger.”
“Anna told you she was in pain.”
“She always said she was in pain.”
The courtroom went silent.
David realized his mistake.
The prosecutor stepped closer.
“She always said she was in pain?”
“Pregnancy is uncomfortable.”
“And your response was to ignore her?”
“My response was to stop her from manipulating everyone.”
“Including the paramedics?”
“She knew exactly what she was doing.”
David pointed toward me.
“She knew who her father was.”
“She knew what one call would do to me.”
The prosecutor lowered her voice.
“What did the call do to you, Mr. Mercer?”
David breathed heavily.
“It ruined my life.”
“No.”
The prosecutor looked toward the jury.
“The call allowed other people to hear what you were doing.”
May you like
David’s own testimony had accomplished what the evidence alone could not.
It showed the jury that he still believed my request for help had been an attack against him.
