The Anonymous Client

objection is sustained as to form. You may rephrase your question if you like.”
    “I will withdraw it, Your Honor. Then let me ask you this, Mr. Riker: Aside from the decedent, the only person whose fingerprints you compared with those in question was Marilyn Harding?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Did you compare the fingerprints found in the apartment with the known prints of a Mr. Steve Winslow?”
    “I did not.”
    “You did not? Even though Steve Winslow was found in the murdered man’s apartment?”
    “Objection, Your Honor.”
    “Sustained.”
    “You found no prints on the murder weapon?”
    “That’s right.”
    “The prints you found of Marilyn Harding indicate merely that she was in that apartment?”
    “That’s right.”
    “The prints that you made no attempt to identify indicate that at least one other person was in that apartment?”
    “That’s right.”
    “And yet you made no attempt to match those prints with those of any other known person?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Well, thank you for such a fair and impartial evaluation of the evidence.”
    “Objection, Your Honor. I characterize that remark as misconduct.”
    Judge Graves banged the gavel. “Mr. Fitzpatrick,” he said, sternly. “Such remarks are uncalled for.”
    “I apologize, Your Honor.”
    “Do you have any further questions of the witness?”
    “None, Your Honor.”
    “Call your next witness.”
    “Call Jason Fisher,” Dirkson said.
    In the back of the courtroom, Tracy Garvin grabbed Steve’s arm. “Look,” she said, pointing to the man making his way to the witness stand. “Isn’t that one of the detectives?”
    Steve looked. It was indeed one of the men they had observed that night on the Binghamton.
    “Sure is,” Steve said. “This is going to be fun.”
    After the witness had been sworn in, Dirkson said, “Your name is Jason Fisher?”
    “That’s right.”
    “What is your occupation?”
    “I’m a private detective.”
    “For what agency?”
    “The Miltner Detective Agency.”
    “Directing your attention to the ninth of this month, were you employed on that day?”
    “Yes, I was.”
    “What were you employed to do?”
    “My instructions were to keep Marilyn Harding under surveillance.”
    There was a gasp of surprise from the courtroom. Judge Graves banged the gavel.
    “What time did your surveillance start?”
    “I picked her up at four o’clock that afternoon.”
    “Were you alone?”
    “No. I was with my partner, Michael Reed.”
    “You picked her up at four o’clock?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Why four o’clock?”
    “That’s when our shift began. We took over from two detectives who’d had her under surveillance earlier in the day.”
    “I see. And where did you pick her up?”
    “At a coffee shop on Lexington Avenue and 46th Street.”
    “Can you tell us what happened?”
    “Yes, sir. We took up positions on the street from which we could watch through the window and observe the defendant in the coffee shop.”
    “What was she doing?”
    “She was sitting at a table having coffee and a roll.”
    “Was anyone with her?”
    “No. She was alone.”
    “And what did she do?”
    “Well, evidently she was waiting for someone, because—”
    “Objection, Your Honor.”
    “Sustained.”
    “That’s a conclusion on your part, Mr. Fisher. Don’t tell us what you thought, just tell us what you saw. What did you observe her do?”
    “She sat at the table. She sipped her coffee. She seemed—”
    Dirkson held up his hand. “Uh uh. Just what she did.”
    “Yes, sir. She looked at her watch several times. She kept looking at the door. She looked out the window toward the street. I know that particularly, because my partner and I had to keep ducking back out of the way so she wouldn’t spot us.”
    “How long did she remain in the coffee shop?”
    “Until five o’clock.”
    “A whole hour after you took over?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Did anyone join her in that time?”
    “No, sir.”
    “And in that whole time, the only thing she did was to consume a cup of coffee and a roll?”
    “Yes, sir. Actually, I believe the waiter freshened her coffee once, but that was it.”
    “She left the restaurant at five o’clock?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Where did she go?”
    “She went down the street to a garage and got her car.”
    “You followed her?”
    “Yes we did.”
    “How?”
    “ In our car.
    “There’s no parking in that area, is there? So where was your