In my discussions with Richard to prepare him for his testimony, he steadfastly denied that there was any tension between Lauren and him that night. He said that he didn’t perceive she was angry that he had a scotch or two before ordering the wine and claimed that was not uncommon for him. As much as I preferred Richard’s version to Gabriel’s, I knew that Gabriel had already shared his take on the dinner with Dana. It was therefore sure to come out on cross, so the smart play was for me to draw the teeth now.

“It wasn’t anything either of them said. Just a feeling I got when I looked at Lauren. Maybe she rolled her eyes or something.”

“Let’s turn to the murder weapon, Lieutenant. Please tell the jury its make and model.”

“It was a Glock Nineteen.”

“Who was it registered to?”

“A former NYPD detective named Gregory Papamichael.”

“Where is Detective Papamichael now?”

“Dead. About two years now.”

“Did you or anyone under your supervision check to see if Ms. Goodwin had ever worked with Detective Papamichael?”

“We did. They worked together on a case approximately four years ago.”

“Is that fact important to this case?”

“It is. We believe that Detective Papamichael gave his service weapon, the Glock Nineteen that was used to murder Ms. Wright, to Ms. Goodwin.”

“How about Lauren Wright? Did your review of Detective Papamichael’s work history reveal whether he worked any cases with her?”

“He worked only one case with her, but that was more than fifteen years ago, which was before the Glock Nineteen was manufactured. More recently, he worked several cases in the Special Victims Bureau, and Ms. Wright was the chief of that unit. But they did not work together directly. There would have been other ADAs who worked directly with Detective Papamichael.”

I look over at the jury to get a preliminary fix on how I’m doing. There aren’t any nods of approval, but no one breaks eye contact either, which tells me that they’re at least engaged.

“How did it come about that Dana Goodwin was arrested for this murder?” I ask.

“We unlocked Lauren Wright’s phone,” Gabriel says. “Her text messages and voice mails indicated two things. First, that she and Dana had been engaged in a sexual affair over the past several months. And second, that on the night Lauren was murdered, Ms. Goodwin had texted—”

“Objection!” Burrows shouts.

Gabriel talks over him. “Lauren to meet her at the place where she was killed.”

The cat is clearly out of the bag now. So much so that most lawyers in Burrows’s shoes would stand down so as to not call more attention to Gabriel’s testimony about the text. Burrows, however, is apparently not of that school.

“Your Honor, I’ve rendered an objection and request a ruling. The question assumes facts not in evidence.”