CHAPTER 39

“Thank you for taking the time to discuss the case, Judge Berkley.”

Hennessy moved to the lectern with a folder in front of him. He stared at Berkley for a long moment and then began his questions. “Would you call yourself friends with Mr. Palin?”

“Mr. Palin and I have been friends in the past, yes. He did my accounting for years, although he no longer does it. Since he began doing my accounting, we’ve been friends and associates.”

“You mentioned you were friends in the past. How is your relationship currently?”

“We have a strained relationship.”

“Why is that?”

“I never trusted Mr. Palin. And it’s hard to be friends with someone you don’t trust. I think he’s devious, deceitful, and dishonest. He told me about some of his actions, which I find despicable.”

Hennessy opened the file and read over the first line. “Did Mr. Palin know any secrets about you?”

Berkley drew a breath and glared at Garrett. Garrett stood. “Objection. Relevance. The witness is not on trial here.”

“We’re questioning the credibility of the witness, Your Honor. He’s called the defendant devious, deceitful, and dishonest. We wish to establish how Judge Berkley came to that conclusion.”

“The objection is overruled. You may continue establishing the credibility of the witness, Mr. Hennessy.”

“Judge Berkley,”

Hennessy pressed. “Did Mr. Palin know any secrets about you?”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

Berkley was evasive. “I’m not friends with Mr. Palin anymore if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, that’s not what I asked. I asked if Mr. Palin knew any secrets about your behavior?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Interesting,”

Hennessy said and picked up a folder. “Judge Berkley, was Mr. Palin aware that you paid several ‘female companions’ to travel with you on work trips? These female companions were not known to you before the trip, is that correct?”

Berkley’s mouth hung open and then he looked back to the prosecution. When Garrett saw Berkley’s shock, he stood. “Objection. Relevance.”

“The question establishes his credibility, Your Honor.”

“Again, the objection is overruled. You may answer the question, Judge Berkley.”

“Mr. Palin was my accountant, so naturally, he had information on where I spent my money. I had work expenses and items that needed to be claimed.”

“Did you ask him to hide the money you spent on female companions titled under work expenses?”

“My memory is not what it used to be, so I don’t recall. I can’t recall what my IRS statements claimed all those years ago.”

“Judge Berkley, are you aware that claiming work expenses under taxpayer dollars is fraudulent?”

“I’m aware of that.”

“And are you aware that in the ten years before your retirement, you spent more than fifty thousand dollars on ‘female companionship,’ as you’ve called it in one of your emails?”

He sat back. “I don’t recall.”

“Do you recall spending any money on ‘female companionship?’”

He shook his head. “I don’t recall doing that.”

“This should refresh your memory.”

Hennessy handed one sheet of paper to the prosecutor and the other to the bailiff. The bailiff handed the piece of paper to Berkley. “These are the transactions where you transferred money to the bank accounts of female companions, averaging five thousand dollars per year, and the corresponding emails where you ask Mr. Palin to list these transactions as work expenses. In one email, Mr. Palin asks what expense the money was for, and you respond by saying, ‘a great night with a twenty-five-year-old girl.’ Is that correct?”

“I don’t recall.”

“It’s on the paper in front of you, Judge Berkley.”

“I can see that, but I don’t recall what the statement refers to.”

Berkley looked over the sheets of paper. “None of these transactions were listed in my IRS statements as work expenses.”

“Then why bother listing them as work expenses on your accounting statements?”

“I don’t recall why that happened.”

“Do you recall sleeping with prostitutes?”

“Objection! This is a personal attack on the witness and has nothing to do with credibility. When done within the law, the personal actions of the witness are not relevant to this case, nor their credibility.”

“Sustained,”

Judge Clayton agreed. “You’ve overstepped the line there, Mr. Hennessy. Judge Berkley’s lawful actions aren’t on trial, and unless you have evidence of unlawful actions, we will move on.”

Hennessy nodded to Judge Clayton. “Judge Berkley, you mentioned you were married. How long have you been married to your wife?”

“Fifty-two years.”

“And in that time, how many female companions did you have sex with?”

“Objection! Relevance!”

“Sustained. It’s time to move on, Mr. Hennessy.”

“Judge Berkley,”

Hennessy continued. “Were you forced to retire from being a judge?”

“No. I did it of my own accord.”

“Were there allegations of sexual assault against you by staff members when you retired?”

“Objection!”

Garrett stood again. “There’s no relevance to this case. Judge Berkley is not on trial and shouldn’t be subjected to such a personal attack.”

“Judge Berkley is the person who presented the tip-off to the police, Your Honor,”

Hennessy argued. “We have the right to establish his credibility and we believe this information establishes his motive to provide that tip-off.”

“Overruled,”

Judge Clayton agreed. “You may answer the question about your employment.”

Garrett sat down, disappointed.

“Nothing was ever proven against me,”

Berkley said. “And like I said, I retired of my own choice. My wife has dementia, and I spend most of my days looking after her.”

“But when you retired, there were allegations of sexual assault?”

“There were no charges.”

Hennessy raised his eyebrows and looked at the jury. One nodded in return. “Judge Berkley, do you know Mr. John Tilly?”

His mouth hung open for a long moment.

“Judge Berkley?”

“Yes. I know John Tilly.”

“And how do you know Mr. Tilly?”

“He worked for Palin Accounting, and they handled my accounts. I’ve interacted with all their staff over the years. And Charleston is a small city. Everyone has links to everyone here.”

“You’ve played golf with Mr. Tilly, is that correct?”

“Not just the two of us playing together. We’ve interacted at tournaments. We didn’t plan to go on golf trips together.”

“But you have played golf together?”

“Yes.”

“Were you aware that he was having an affair and had planned to elope with Mrs. Fisher?”

“Objection!”

Garrett raised to his feet again, but the damage was done. The jurors were already making the links in their heads. “This question assumes facts not established. There’s no evidence that Mr. Tilly was planning to elope.”

“I’ll withdraw the question,”

Hennessy said. “Judge Berkley, did you and Mr. Tilly arrange the bank account statement so that you could set Mr. Palin up for this crime?”

“Objection!”

Garrett shouted. “Your Honor, this is an outrageous accusation.”

“Withdrawn.”

Hennessy looked to the jury and saw several sitting with their mouths open, staring at the witness, stunned by all the coincidences. “No further questions.”

Hennessy returned to his seat at the defense table, knowing his cross-examination had gone well, but there was still a long way to go.