Derek's testimony occupied much of the second day. He approached the witness stand carefully, adjusted his brace, and described months of negotiations with an aging tenant who, in his account, could not accept the inevitable modernization of a neighborhood. He said he had offered Marcus money to help him retire and had never authorized anyone to frighten him. When asked about the previous visits, he characterized them as attempts at private compromise.
"I wanted him to leave with dignity," Derek said. "He seemed determined to turn every business discussion into a personal insult."
Sarah began her cross-examination by asking about the lease document. Derek confirmed it had been prepared by counsel and would transfer Marcus's business rights to a Collins affiliate. She then asked why a man making a generous voluntary offer had entered the diner accompanied by six men rather than a lawyer. Derek said the companions were present because he had concerns about personal safety.
"From whom?" Sarah asked.
"Mr. Thompson. His background was known to us."
"What had he done to you before that morning?"
Derek hesitated. "He had been hostile."
"Had he struck you?"
"No."
"Threatened to strike you?"
"Not in those words."
"Had he ever approached you at your office accompanied by six men?"
Morrison objected to the comparison. The judge sustained it, and Sarah moved to another subject. She was careful enough not to let a good question become an excuse to suggest she lacked discipline. She had learned from Marcus, without either of them acknowledging it, the usefulness of waiting until the opening was real.
She asked Derek about the fifty-thousand-dollar notices. He insisted they were documents his staff had received and denied knowing they were not genuine. Sarah introduced the city's authentication letter, showing the forms did not originate with the inspection office. When she asked where Derek's company had obtained them, he said the relevant employee no longer worked for him.
"Can you provide that employee's name?"
"My office can."
"You can't today?"
"Not without checking."
The jury heard his uncertainty. Sarah did not press farther than she could prove. Instead she showed the timeline Marcus had kept, matching Derek's visits to the threats that preceded the final confrontation. Hayes objected that the alleged harassment was a separate subject, and Judge Martinez permitted only material relevant to the defendant's reasonable perception of threat. The ruling limited Sarah but gave her a clear path to establish the context the edited video removed.
After Derek left the stand, Hayes presented a former boxing official who testified to Marcus's ability as a fighter. The witness spoke with professional respect about his footwork and timing, describing his skill in the ring rather than diagnosing his intentions in the diner. Sarah asked whether the official had ever seen Marcus teach people how to avoid escalating a conflict. He had. She asked whether talent in a sport by itself proved a desire to attack strangers. The official shook his head.
"No more than being a good swimmer proves somebody wants to drown a man," he said.