“I was disappointed Billy chose her. She kept calling him ‘Babe’ and touching him in an inappropriate way. We were in public, but she put her hands all over his body. I’m an easygoing guy, but this disturbed me. Once, Chan and I were so uncomfortable, we went home right after dinner instead of getting drinks with them at another bar.”

“Did these impressions change as you got to know Diana?”

“No, sir.” Deacon shakes his head. “If anything, she became more demanding of Billy—of his time, his attention. It was painful to watch.”

“Did anything else about her give you pause?”

“My father is a career politician, and my brother and I learned early on how to identify women who don’t have our best interests at heart. Diana was indifferent to Billy’s class load and training schedule. She was also overly focused on his trust fund. I grew up with a stepmother like this. So I’ve seen women hunting for a rich husband—”

“Objection!” Anderson jumps up.

Deacon covers his mouth. “Oh, sorry. My mistake.”

I don’t know Deacon well. I can’t say if he’s always smooth or if this is a class-A performance. Not that it matters. He comes across as trustworthy and authentic.

“Did she mention wanting a future with my client?” DeFiore asks.

“I had drinks with them fairly often, three times over the summer, and two or three times in the fall. Diana never failed to bring up their future, even intimating marriage.”

“Did my client participate in these conversations?”

“At first, sure. But at first, we all want to marry our girlfriends. Check back in six months.” Deacon pauses for scattered chuckles. “Seriously, by September, Billy felt differently. He wanted to break up but was afraid of Diana’s reaction. Her possessiveness was off the charts. She called and texted nonstop, keeping tabs on Billy’s whereabouts. She even called me to check up on him.”

“Let’s switch topics. You grew up with my client. Did you know that he watched porn as an adolescent? And still watches porn frequently?”

“With all due respect, sir, what male—adolescent, teenage, young adult, old man, decrepit dinosaur—doesn’t watch porn? I mean, come on.”

This gets a couple of cheers in the audience. Annoyed, McKay calls for order. “Please answer the question, Mr. Porter.”

Chastened, Deacon nods. “Yes. I knew Billy watched porn. I can’t say if he still watches, but most guys I know don’t stop. We slow down, though, for sure.”

“As a young man, did my client seem overly preoccupied with pornography?”

“Everyone in our crew was preoccupied. But I don’t think any of us, including Billy, were overly preoccupied.”

“Did my client ever mention that he had trouble maintaining an erection?”