Berg shook her head in response to his questions.
Jay noticed she still clutched his jacket. He felt sorry for the lawyer; he was not used to Berg’s pigheadedness and didn’t stand a chance.
Lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure, Malloy led Berg back to Jay. The trio walked into the courtroom and got settled. Berg sat next to her lawyer at the defendant’s table, with Jay sitting so closely behind her in the wooden stands that he could smell the musky scent of her skin. Apart from Jay, the stands were devoid of spectators, as was usual for police board hearings.
Consiglio burst into the court shortly after their arrival, sitting at the prosecution table with his chosen attorney, a smug smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Berg ignored him, sitting and staring straight ahead as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“That’s my Berg,” Jay whispered.
Malloy leaned over to the detectives. “The superintendent usually brings cases before the board,” he whispered. “The fact that he’s not here is a good sign. He mustn’t want to touch this.”
Malloy’s whispers were interrupted by a group of eleven sober-faced men and women filing into the room. While the hearing was held in a courtroom, it was not presided over by a judge. The Chicago Police Board was headed by a group of eight civilians who were selected by the mayor, plus some administrative staff. Everything else was just like a regular court trial.
The current president of the board began with the usual formalities before the prosecution outlined the preliminaries of the case.
The president, a small woman by the name of Reinhardt, quickly began the hearing. “Does the defendant have an opening statement?” she asked.
Malloy stood and spoke without preamble. “We ask that Chief Antonio Consiglio’s request to terminate Detective Alicia Raymond’s employment be dismissed. The prosecution has nothing connecting her to the murder except for circumstantial evidence and much speculation. This is a case of simple evidence transfer that the prosecution is trying to beat up into more than it is. Detective Raymond is a highly regarded police officer with a spotless record and is responsible for the incarceration of some of this city’s most violent offenders. We also have it on good authority that the media has been tipped off to these proceedings, further indicating the prosecution is after nothing more than a sound bite here today.”
Reinhardt nodded and invited the prosecution to begin its case.
The first witness, Captain Leigh, was sworn in before Consiglio’s attorney peppered her with questions. Leigh answered them honestly and did not bring up Berg’s deliberate lie in her office the previous week. Jay was grateful. Leigh’s silence could well come at the cost of her own career.
“Is it your opinion that Detective Raymond is responsible for the death of John Rogers?” Reinhardt asked the captain at the closing stages of the examination.
Leigh shook her head. “I have no reason to suspect Raymond carried out this crime. She is a very talented, exemplary officer. One of the CPD’s best, in my opinion.”
Leigh was unfazed by Consiglio’s glowers, glaring back at him.
Reinhardt nodded and released the witness. Consiglio’s prosecutor followed Leigh with his next witness, head of forensics Nick Halwood. The prosecution ran him through the ins and outs of evidence collection and the unlikely event of evidence transfer, trying to paint Halwood into a corner.
The prosecutor smiled slyly. “Dr. Halwood, do you feel you processed this particular crime scene sloppily?”
Halwood took a moment to answer. “No,” he eventually replied, scowling.
“In the eight years since you became head of forensic services, has there been a single case of evidence contamination or transfer?”
“No.”
Reinhardt nodded and dismissed the witness. Following a short recess, during which Berg sat unmoving at
Jay noticed she still clutched his jacket. He felt sorry for the lawyer; he was not used to Berg’s pigheadedness and didn’t stand a chance.
Lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure, Malloy led Berg back to Jay. The trio walked into the courtroom and got settled. Berg sat next to her lawyer at the defendant’s table, with Jay sitting so closely behind her in the wooden stands that he could smell the musky scent of her skin. Apart from Jay, the stands were devoid of spectators, as was usual for police board hearings.
Consiglio burst into the court shortly after their arrival, sitting at the prosecution table with his chosen attorney, a smug smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Berg ignored him, sitting and staring straight ahead as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“That’s my Berg,” Jay whispered.
Malloy leaned over to the detectives. “The superintendent usually brings cases before the board,” he whispered. “The fact that he’s not here is a good sign. He mustn’t want to touch this.”
Malloy’s whispers were interrupted by a group of eleven sober-faced men and women filing into the room. While the hearing was held in a courtroom, it was not presided over by a judge. The Chicago Police Board was headed by a group of eight civilians who were selected by the mayor, plus some administrative staff. Everything else was just like a regular court trial.
The current president of the board began with the usual formalities before the prosecution outlined the preliminaries of the case.
The president, a small woman by the name of Reinhardt, quickly began the hearing. “Does the defendant have an opening statement?” she asked.
Malloy stood and spoke without preamble. “We ask that Chief Antonio Consiglio’s request to terminate Detective Alicia Raymond’s employment be dismissed. The prosecution has nothing connecting her to the murder except for circumstantial evidence and much speculation. This is a case of simple evidence transfer that the prosecution is trying to beat up into more than it is. Detective Raymond is a highly regarded police officer with a spotless record and is responsible for the incarceration of some of this city’s most violent offenders. We also have it on good authority that the media has been tipped off to these proceedings, further indicating the prosecution is after nothing more than a sound bite here today.”
Reinhardt nodded and invited the prosecution to begin its case.
The first witness, Captain Leigh, was sworn in before Consiglio’s attorney peppered her with questions. Leigh answered them honestly and did not bring up Berg’s deliberate lie in her office the previous week. Jay was grateful. Leigh’s silence could well come at the cost of her own career.
“Is it your opinion that Detective Raymond is responsible for the death of John Rogers?” Reinhardt asked the captain at the closing stages of the examination.
Leigh shook her head. “I have no reason to suspect Raymond carried out this crime. She is a very talented, exemplary officer. One of the CPD’s best, in my opinion.”
Leigh was unfazed by Consiglio’s glowers, glaring back at him.
Reinhardt nodded and released the witness. Consiglio’s prosecutor followed Leigh with his next witness, head of forensics Nick Halwood. The prosecution ran him through the ins and outs of evidence collection and the unlikely event of evidence transfer, trying to paint Halwood into a corner.
The prosecutor smiled slyly. “Dr. Halwood, do you feel you processed this particular crime scene sloppily?”
Halwood took a moment to answer. “No,” he eventually replied, scowling.
“In the eight years since you became head of forensic services, has there been a single case of evidence contamination or transfer?”
“No.”
Reinhardt nodded and dismissed the witness. Following a short recess, during which Berg sat unmoving at
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