But Erin’s finger had tapped twice.
Wait.
So Anthony waited.
The judge turned to him.
“Investigator Abetemarco, did the witness initial the correction in your presence?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Was anyone else present?”
Anthony looked at Erin before answering.
“The interview was recorded under office procedure.”
A fresh silence settled over the room.
The defense lawyer’s hand tightened around the cropped page.
Erin had not mentioned the recording because she had not needed it to establish that the full report existed.
But Anthony understood why she had allowed the lawyer to keep talking.
Every new accusation had forced him farther from the truth.
First, he claimed Anthony had rewritten the statement after filing.
The filing record disproved that.
Then he claimed the full report had not been delivered.
His signed receipt and the scan certification disproved that.
Now he implied the witness had been pressured.
The recording would answer that too.
The judge asked whether the defense had received notice of the recording.
Erin handed the clerk another page from the packet.
The recording was listed on the same receipt the lawyer had signed.
Anthony finally allowed himself to look directly at him.
The lawyer’s face had lost its color.
“I would like a brief recess,” the lawyer said.
Erin’s reply was immediate.
“You requested an inquiry into my investigator’s conduct in open court.
We are prepared to address that request now.”
The judge considered both of them, then ordered the courtroom cleared except for counsel, Anthony, the court staff, and the defendant.
The gallery rose reluctantly.
Several people looked back at Anthony as they left.
Their expressions were different now.
Moments earlier, they had watched him as though he were a disgraced investigator waiting to be exposed.
Now they watched the defense lawyer fold the cropped page and then think better of it under the judge’s stare.
Anthony felt no satisfaction yet.
Public suspicion did not disappear simply because the truth had entered the room.
An accusation had weight.
It lingered in the silence after people learned it was false.
Erin understood that.
He could see it in the way she organized the documents into a straight line, each page ready before the judge asked for it.
The clerk played the relevant section of the interview recording.
The witness’s voice filled the nearly empty courtroom.
The witness paused while reviewing the statement, corrected the sequence of events, and asked Anthony to change one sentence.
Anthony could be heard reading the correction back slowly.
The witness approved it.
A pen scratched against paper.
Anthony asked the witness to initial the correction and sign the continuation page.
There was no pressure.
No threat.
No coaching.
Only procedure.
When the recording ended, the judge looked at the defense lawyer.
“Do you still contend that the investigator altered the statement improperly?”
The lawyer shifted his position again.
He said his argument had concerned the appearance of impropriety.
