"I'm going to question him, Mr. Simms, don't worry," Erran said in the same lowered tone, staying in character just because it was easier at the moment to be a little chilly and professional. He wasn't that worried about getting punched—okay, he was, but not by Simms. "And if you fire me, you're even less likely to get the verdict you want. If you take this case into your own hands, your chances of being physically attacked and restrained will drastically increase. You know Cecilia's just looking for a reason, man, come on," he added, cajoling. "Oliver too, and Owen. Neither of us want this trial to get out of hand. They want to make out like you're an animal, you gotta show them the opposite. Stay calm."
He stood again to question Chase. Here was where someone might actually want to punch him. Erran had to throw the case while still apparently making an effort. The best way to do that, as far as he could see, was to get Simms on the stand, where Cecilia would promptly destroy him and the jurors would get a good long look at the defendant. But to do that, he had to pacify Simms long enough to get through the prosecution's witness testimonies. That meant some aggressive questioning and playing the villain, and in spite of what Oliver had said, Erran still didn't think anyone else in the house was going to see this from a good light. But that was a good thing, really; no one on the jury was likely to be swayed by Erran's best shark routine. They were going to think this was gross, which it was.
"It's interesting, Mr. Hawthorne, that you mentioned your traps in your testimony," he began. "Quite a few people on the jury are newer to the community and might not be aware that the defendant is not the only person here who has seriously injured people. Mr. Hawthorne has a history of building improvised traps, which—regardless of his intentions—injured innocent people like Mrs. Reichenau and Mrs. Simms. The community's reaction to violence has always been inconsistent and justice has been very selectively applied," Erran said. Yeah, great Hollywood training, you're repressing that gag reflex like a champ.
"Mr. Hawthorne," he said to Chase, "I'd like to zero in on the moment when you chose to attack my client. You heard screams, you arrived on the scene, and you saw the defendant forcing a kiss on the complainant. Correct? Did you call out for the defendant to stop, or give a warning before you attacked? What about afterward? You hit him with the butt of the axe, a blow which could have caused severe head injury. You then went further, breaking his fingers—was he still an active threat at that time? Or was he on the ground, dazed from the blow? Finally, one last question. At the meeting after the incident, would you please tell the court what you recommended as a way of dealing with the problem? My recollection is that you said 'Why don't we just get rid of him', is that correct? Has that opinion changed since then? Is it not fair to say that you want my client dead?"