Witness for the Defense (27 page)

I paused briefly to underscore the importance of what I was about to say. “Because a defendant is presumed innocent, and that presumption remains until the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the crime. Now, some of you may look upon reasonable doubt like it’s some mythical curtain all defendants hide behind. But it isn’t. It’s the foundation of our judicial system which you are sworn to uphold.”

I stopped in front of Bragg; as usual he was writing something on his legal pad while slouched in his chair, acting unconcerned. “You must not look to the defense to clear up any doubts you may have,” I said, raising my voice as I pointed at the D.A.’s face. “Because that’s his job. If you have any doubts that every element of the crime was committed by my client, then that’s all you need. You don’t have to look any further. Why? Because that means the prosecution hasn’t met their burden.”

I looked down at Bragg and shook my head. “Mr. Prosecutor, you seem to have forgotten what a trial is all about. I say forgotten because I know it’s taught in all the law schools. It’s rudimentary.” I squatted in front of Bragg until we were eye to eye. “Where is your proof? We’ve all been waiting patiently for it. Could it be you never had any to begin with? That my client has been sitting beside me for the last several days because you needed a scapegoat? You arrested and charged Mr. Jared Reineer because you had to take the heat off your office. Was the pressure that bad, Mr. Bragg? So bad that you are prosecuting my client based on the paltry bits of proof we’ve been forced to sit here and listen to?”

Bragg looked up at Priest. I expected an objection at any moment. I was beyond the parameters of making an opening statement. I was arguing the case. I decided I’d made my point and it was time to discuss the witnesses I intended to call.

“The defense will be calling two, maybe three witnesses to the stand. Two you haven’t heard from, the other you have. My first witness will be Carol Sealy, the cashier at Sav-on drugstore. She will explain that she not only recalls Danny Barton purchasing a package of Gummy Bears on the night he was attacked, but also remembers he was wearing a pair of gloves from the time he entered until he left.”

Suddenly, every juror’s head turned toward the back of the courtroom. A uniformed officer rushed to the counsel table, where he whispered something to McBean, who then immediately followed the officer out of the courtroom. Like everyone, I had no idea what it was about.

I paused to give the jury time to refocus. “My remaining two witnesses will be Danny Barton’s mother and possibly Danny himself.” I hesitated when two female jurors looked at one another. It was obvious they didn’t like the thought of putting the poor boy through any further trauma.

“I’ll be calling one or both because you need an answer to one very important question. A question that was posed by Lieutenant McBean himself. If you recall the lieutenant asked me—no, dared me—to explain how Danny’s fingerprints could be on that candy wrapper if it wasn’t the same package the boy had lost that night. Remember that?” A few of the jurors’ heads bobbed, and I continued. ‘They will answer McBean’s question. And after you hear what they have to say, you will be convinced that the only evidence directly linking my client to the attack was planted by law enforcement.” I pointed to McBean’s now empty chair. “Two, maybe three witnesses will convince you that my client, Mr. Jared Reineer, was set up by Lieutenant William McBean.”

Just as Priest promised, the jury was excused until Monday. Jared and I waited for the courtroom to clear. He had something he wanted to say.

“What about me? Aren’t you going to put me on the stand?”

“No reason to. A defendant should only testify if he absolutely has to.”

Jared looked to Sarah, hoping she’d agree with him. “But they’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

“It’s not crucial,” she said and placed her hand on his arm. “You have to trust Hunter.”

Jared shook his head obstinately.

“Unlike other witnesses, if they think you lied to them about anything,” I added, “they’ll vote against you no matter how weak the prosecution’s case is.”

“But they won’t think I’m lying—” he said, but was interrupted when the back doors burst open. McBean and the officer he’d followed out earlier marched straight toward us.

“He’s dead!” McBean yelled as he came to an abrupt halt.

My first thought was that he was referring to Sarah’s father. “Avery?” I blurted.

“Avery?” McBean gave me a confused expression. “I’m talking about Miles.”

“Bobby Miles?” I felt my stomach sink. “How?”

“His throat was sliced from ear to ear.”

I jumped up, my sorrow laced with anger. “Damn it, I told you they were after him.”

“I protected him the best I could.”

“It doesn’t sound that way to me,” I shouted.

“Get off my case,” McBean yelled back. “It’s not some damn country club in there. Shit like this happens.”

I planted my hands on my hips, and squared off with him. “And I suppose you don’t have any idea who was responsible?”

“None,” he said flatly. “But whoever it was, must have had to prove to someone else he did it.”

“What are you talking about?”

McBean made a face that showed even he was disturbed by the brutality. “Ripped the kid’s earring right off. Took the whole lobe with it.” His expression hardened. “We find out who has that earring, and we’ve got the killer.”

Chapter 29

For the last half hour, Sarah and I had been in Danny’s bedroom. His mother was downstairs preparing the store for what she hoped would be a busy weekend. We were on the edge of his bed, trying to draw his attention away from the TV. He was watching a rerun of
The Simpsons
.

The thought of whether I should have done more to ensure Bobby’s safety haunted me. But what could I have done? I wondered if warning McBean was where I had screwed up. He must have known Bobby’s changed story would clear me of all charges. I wouldn’t have been surprised if McBean intentionally placed Bobby in a vulnerable position just to spite me.

Oblivious to the importance of why we were there, Danny watched a young, yellow-faced cartoon character being chased around a house by one much older and fatter. From what I could make of it, they were father and son. “Bart’s so funny,” Danny said, and looked over his shoulder to see if we agreed.

Sarah gave him a perfunctory smile. “Isn’t he, though?”

Danny had already informed us that he was sure he had never taken his gloves off that night and didn’t understand how his fingerprints could be on the wrapper he lost. We were now discussing his interview at the station. If the boy confirmed what his mother had told us, Jared’s freedom would be guaranteed.

“Was that the first time McBean interviewed you?”

“Second,” Danny said. “The first was the night I was attacked. He sat right where you guys are. My mom wouldn’t let him stay very long. She thought I was too upset.” Danny turned, though his eyes remained glued to the set. “She was really the one who was upset though. I was fine.”

“I’m sure you were.” Sarah winked at me. “I’ll bet he was scared to death,” she whispered.

I was forced to talk to the back of his blond head. “During the interview at the station, did Lieutenant McBean ever show you a package of Gummy Bears?”

“Yep. Just like the ones I’d lost.”

“What did he say?”

“It was no big deal, really,” he said and laughed when the older bald-headed guy started choking the squiggly haired kid.

Sarah could probably tell I was about to yank the damn plug out of the wall. “What were you saying?” she asked.

“He put a package of Gummy Bears on the table and asked if it looked like the one I lost.”

“Then what happened?”

“I told him I thought it was, but that wasn’t good enough,” Danny grimaced. “He’s sort of pushy.”

“Why do you feel that way?”

“Because he told me to pick the package up and look at it, to be sure. I really didn’t have to. I knew it was the same. Oh, boy!” Danny said as a mouse shoved a stick of dynamite into a black cat’s mouth. The boy slapped his hands when the cat’s head exploded all over the wall. “Itchy and Scratchy are my favorite part.”

Sarah and I watched as the cat’s blood and eyeballs flowed freely down the wall. “Cartoons have sure changed since I was a boy,” I said.

“What hasn’t?” she deadpanned and her mouth dropped as the mouse kicked the cat’s eyeballs out the door.

I placed my hands on Danny’s shoulder. “This is really important. Do you think you can turn the TV off for a while?”

“Oh, sure.” He flipped it off. “I’ve already seen it five or six times anyway.” He glanced at the forty-niners clock above his dresser. “Better hurry, though,
Beavis and Butthead
will be on pretty soon.”

“Beavis and Butthead?” I said to Sarah.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Can’t wait.”

Danny jumped on the bed next to Sarah. The subsequent quake caused her purse to fall to the floor, spilling most of what was inside next to our feet. He started to scoot off the bed to help pick up the mess, but Sarah stopped him. We finally had his attention, and she wasn’t going to let a spilled purse interfere.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Tell us what happened next.”

“I picked up the Gummy Bears and looked at them, just like he asked.”

“And?”

“I told him they looked the same and put them back on the table.”

“Then what happened?”

“I got up to leave because I was worried about my mom. She’d been waiting a long time.”

My next question was crucial. “Before you left, did you see what McBean did with the package?”

“He put it in a plastic bag.” Danny was whispering like he was telling a secret. “He used a… what do you call it?”

I took a deep breath. I wanted to help him out, but I couldn’t put words in his mouth. “Try to remember.”

He stared at the floor, thinking, and his eyes became as big as saucers. “That’s what he used.” Danny dropped to the carpet and picked up something that had fallen out of Sarah’s purse. “What’s this called?”

“Tweezers,” Sarah said.

I had to be sure there was no misunderstanding. “McBean used tweezers to put the package of Gummy Bears into the plastic bag?”

“I’m sure of it,” he said and handed them to Sarah, who was kneeling next to him.

I paused to control my enthusiasm and considered whether I should call both Danny and his mother to the stand or just one. If one, Danny would be my choice. He could testify not only to what happened at the station, but also that he didn’t recall ever taking off his gloves. I couldn’t think of anything better than the victim testifying for the defense. Especially when that victim was so likable and convincing.

“It looks like you’ll get to see…” I said, glancing at my watch. “What did you call it? Clevis and Buttface?”

Danny shook his head as if he couldn’t believe anyone could be so stupid. “It’s Beavis and Butthead.”

Sarah looked around to make sure they’d picked up everything.

“I think there’s something still under here,” Danny said as he reached underneath the bed and felt around. After a second or two, he pulled out a yellow canister about the size of a large tube of lipstick.

He handed it to Sarah. “This is the same perfume my mom uses.”

“Really?” she said, taking it from him. With a concerned look, Sarah slowly placed it in her purse. I reached for her hand to help her up, and she stared at it like it wasn’t there. Still on the floor, she reopened her purse and withdrew the canister of perfume. “Is Obsession your mother’s favorite perfume?”

Danny looked at the canister and then at Sarah’s bewildered face. He dropped to a prone position and lifted the bedspread. “Maybe there’s something else under here,” he said, and crawled far enough under the bed so that his head and shoulders were hidden.

Sarah grabbed him by the ankles before he went any farther. “Danny,” she said, holding onto him, “was Obsession the perfume you were going to buy for your mother that night?”

The boy didn’t respond. He’d gone perfectly still.

I didn’t know what Sarah was up to. But by his evasive actions and now his silence, I had a feeling the boy did.

“Danny,” she persisted, “I have everything. You can come out now.”

I patted her shoulder. “What’s up ?”

Sarah didn’t respond. Instead she pulled on Danny’s legs. “You better talk to me,” she said sternly. “Or your mother will hear about it.”

I was shocked. Danny was going to save Jared’s bacon, and Sarah decided to threaten him. I grabbed her by the arm. “What are you doing?” It was too late. She’d already dragged him out.

He was on his back, looking up at her. “I think we better talk,” she said.

The boy sighed as he sat on the bed and hung his head.

Sarah got straight to the point. “You left Sav-on with more than the Gummy Bears, didn’t you?”

Danny screwed up his face. He appeared as if he was about to cry. “I’m sorry. I never did anything like that before.”

Sarah gently ran her hand up and down the boy’s forearm. “You wanted to make sure your mother had at least one present to open, didn’t you?”

Danny nodded.

“Since you didn’t have enough money at the time, you decided to borrow some perfume?”

“I was going to pay them back…I promise.”

“I know,” she said and angled her head as she studied the boy’s face. “Why don’t you tell us exactly what happened.”

Danny shook his head, and a tear fell from his cheek. “When I walked into the store, I went straight to the candy section,” he said. “I grabbed a bag of Gummy Bears and went to where the perfume was.”

Danny then lowered his head. “Obsession has always been her favorite. But when I checked out the price, I knew that even if I put the Gummy Bears back, I couldn’t afford even the smallest bottle.” Danny frowned.

“So you stole it?” I pushed.

Sarah made a show of glaring at me, then turned back to the boy. “You’re doing fine,” she said. “What happened next?”

“When I saw no one was watching, I picked up a small box of Obsession and walked to the magazine rack and looked at a copy of
Beckett’s
baseball-card price guide. I wanted to make it look as if I was reading it. I felt so guilty about what I was doing,” he whimpered. “When I’d saved enough, I was going to go back to the store and leave the money for what I took. Then, I figured everything would be all right.