Page 152 of Stolen for Keeps
Dom seized the moment. “Let’s rewind a bit. Four and a half years ago. The first alleged break-in. The first time the necklace disappeared.”
The prosecutor groaned audibly. “Your Honor, that trial was already adjudicated?—”
“I’ll get to the point,” Dom said. “Just a few more questions.”
The judge glared at him. “You’re on a tightrope, Mr. Powell.”
Dom didn’t flinch. He turned back to Annamaria. “Youwere assaulted by your cousin, Maya Lucas, formerly Maya Belrose?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you a week before that alleged assault?”
“Why does that matter?”
Dom didn’t answer. He simply walked to the evidence table and held up a document.
A medical admission.
“Clinique La Tulipe,” he said. “Beverly Hills.”
He didn’t even need to ask the question. He just held it there.
The jury leaned in.
“So those bruises,” Dom said, “around your nose and your cheeks. Those were post-surgical?”
“I—” Her voice broke. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t hit me!”
“Miss Belrose, you testified under oath that Maya assaulted you. That she punched you.”
Annamaria’s chin wobbled. “She didn’t hit me,” she mumbled, her voice barely audible.
“I’m sorry, Miss Belrose. Could you speak up for the jury?”
She fidgeted in her seat. “No,” she said more clearly. “Maya didn’t hit me.”
“So you’re confirming that the bruises and swelling were due to your surgery?”
Her eyes flicked to her parents, then to Harlow. Her mother pressed her lips together while her father stared straight ahead. And Harlow? Harlow wouldn’t even look at her.
Annamaria’s shoulders curled inward as if trying to shrink. “No one ever hit me,” she affirmed.
The gallery stirred, whispers rippling across the room. Maya turned slightly in her seat, and I gave her a nod.
Dom stepped closer to the witness stand. “Then let’s talk about what really happened.”
Annamaria looked down at her hands. “I heard something that night. Couldn’t tell what or who. But the next morning, I walked through the house. I was alone. I didn’t want to get caught off guard if someone came back.” She swallowed. “I checked my dad’s safe. The necklace was gone. Only the necklace. That’s when I knew. I knew it was Maya.”
“So, the statement you gave to Detective Harlow?”
Her lips quavered, but she stayed silent.
“Because here’s what I think,” Dom said. “I think Detective Harlow asked you for more than a statement.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“No? Then maybe it was you who offered.”
