“Good morning, Mrs. Bonanno. First, I’d like to echo what Mr. Bastinelli said. I’m very sorry that you have to be here.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

I’m hoping Bastinelli warned Felicia that while Tess Hardy might project warmth and sympathy, her job is cutting prosecution witnesses to shreds.

“Mrs. Bonanno, can you confirm that Cole Wright gave your daughter this tennis bracelet?”

Felicia nods her head. “I assume he did.”

“You assume? So you weren’t there when she received the bracelet?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Did you see a gift box or a note from Mr. Wright?”

“No. I just saw the bracelet on Suzanne’s wrist. And she told me it was a gift.”

“Did she tell you it was a gift from Mr. Wright?”

“No, but Cole Wright was her boyfriend—”

“Sorry, Mrs. Bonanno. This is important. If you didn’t see Cole Wright give Suzanne the bracelet, and she didn’t tell you it was from him, how can you be sure he gave it to her?”

She’s got Felicia rattled now. It’s painful to watch.

“Mrs. Bonanno?”

“I don’t know.”

“Meaning you’re not sure? Isn’t it possible that somebody else gave her the bracelet?”

“Objection!” Bastinelli rises from his chair. “Counsel is trying to confuse the witness!”

Hardy waves her hand over the lectern as if she’s a magician making something disappear. “I’ll withdraw the question, Your Honor.” She pulls out a sheet of paper and walks toward Felicia.

“Mrs. Bonanno, are you familiar with any of these names?” She glances down at the paper and reads, “‘Darrel Masterson, Gus Blair, Manuel Jennings, Tony Romero.’”

“I… yes, I’ve heard of them…”

“You’ve heard of them because these are all men your daughter dated, isn’t that right?” Hardy’s inflection makes dated sound like a filthy word.

I can see Felicia trying to correct the impression. “My daughter was very popular with boys. But she—”

“I can see that,” says Hardy, interrupting her. “Very popular. And any of those boys, as you call them, could have given Suzanne that bracelet at any time.”

Felicia is clearly starting to lose it as she defends her daughter’s honor. “Suzanne was a good girl!”

Aware that she’s just created a hostile witness, the defense attorney dials it back. “Nobody’s questioning that, Mrs. Bonanno,” Hardy says. “All I’m suggesting is that your daughter could have been wearing a bracelet given to her by one man while she was dating another man. Or two.”

“Your Honor! Objection! Badgering!” Bastinelli interjects.

I can tell that Hardy is getting in his head, which is exactly where she wants to be.

Judge Dow looks down over his glasses. “Sustained. Ms. Hardy, you know better.”

“I’ll stop there, Your Honor. No further questions.”

CHAPTER
103

Judge Dow adjourns early. I look for Felicia Bonanno, but she’s already gone.