“So it’s safe to say that prior to the morning of January 19th you hadn’t thought about the best place to hide a dead person in your basement. Is that correct?”
Kyle paused, not sure how to respond, knowing how she was turning his answers against him. The jury shifted in their seats, watching and waiting intently for his answer.
“I never planned out where to hide a body. That’s not something I’ve ever needed to do.”
“Why?” Helen responded, almost at the top of her lungs. “Because the people you kill, you just leave them to rot in the middle of the road? Is that it?”
Kyle didn’t respond.
Helen continued after an extended pause. “So, we can take it from your testimony that before the night of January 18th you had never given thought to where to put a dead body. The fact that Leah is found in a less than ideal location in your basement,” she said, putting heavy emphasis on the word ‘your,’ “shouldn’t surprise us at all. Should it?”
Kyle rubbed his face. He was finding it hard to breath. “I didn’t do it. I know this all looks bad, but it wasn’t me.”
“Yes, I’ve heard you say that numerous times, Kyle, just like all the defendants I’ve put in jail in the past. They deny it all, too. If we only locked up the ones who admitted guilt, we wouldn’t have a need for very many jails. It’s my job to help the jury see past your denial. Leah died the night you were on shift, her body is found in the basement of your house, and the searchers had to break in your door to get to her, even though there was no sign of forced entry prior to that. Do you just leave your home unlocked all the time? So people can help themselves to whatever?”
Kyle looked at the jury and then at his interrogator, his voice shaking as he answered. “Listen, I’ve been moving stuff from our old house to where we’re living now. My wife said we weren’t going back, so I had collected everything that was useful. I don’t usually lock the doors, because there’s not much there anymore.”
Helen rose from the table and took a couple of steps towards Kyle. She shook her head slowly from side to side. “I have no further questions.”
CHAPTER 19
Wednesday, January 25th
Deer Creek, MT
At the end of the sixty-minute lunch break, Kyle huddled with his attorney as the crowd filed back into court. Because the jurors were unable to leave, other than to go to the bathroom, lunch had been brought to them and they had eaten in the courtroom. They looked nervous and uncomfortable and avoided eye contact with Kyle while chatting amongst themselves. The weather outside had turned sunny, but there was still a steady drone inside as the spectators discussed the case.
Boyd had initially planned to call Dale Briggs’ mother as a witness, but had found her to be depressed and uncooperative in an earlier visit, and then she hadn’t shown up for the trial at all. That left Sean Reider, who had testified previously, and Jennifer as his only remaining witnesses.
What had started out as a bad dream for Kyle had quickly devolved into a terrifying nightmare that he was anxious to awake from. The prosecutor was doing her job too well, catching every little word and twisting it to her advantage. Kyle understood that that was her objective, but being in her gun-sights terrified him. The night before, one of the guards had reminded him that execution was the punishment if he was found guilty. At first, knowing he was innocent, the thought had only mildly worried him, but with the direction the trial was going, and the possibility of a guilty verdict growing, that same thought made him absolutely sick to his stomach.
Kyle saw Gabe and Don coming down the center aisle, and the buzz in the room quieted. There was no formality of a government court, but the people in attendance were just naturally respectful, and grateful that they hadn’t been needed to fill any of the difficult roles in this drama.
Don resumed the session, and Sean Reider was put back on the stand. Boyd asked Sean questions about procedures and militia responsibility, which he answered effectively. Then Helen countered, forcing Sean to admit that there was next to no record keeping, that the militia’s efforts were focused on defense, not policing, and that the majority of what any individual militia member did was based on their own discretion and not on formal protocol.
Next, Jennifer was called to the stand, and Kyle was so nervous he couldn’t look her in the eye. He knew what she was going through and he had to fight to control his emotions. He watched as his wife raised her shaking right hand and was sworn in, her voice sounding stronger than he expected. He forced himself to make eye contact, and she smiled.
Boyd walked towards Jennifer, stopping halfway between the defense table and the witness. “Mrs. Tait. Thank you for being here today.”
Jennifer nodded and smiled. Kyle could see her legs bouncing nervously.
Boyd continued. “I know this must be difficult for you, but you know Kyle better than anyone, and you saw him in the hours before and after his shift on the day this terrible tragedy occurred.”
Jennifer’s back was straight, and she watched Boyd with a warm confidence. “I think it’s important for me to be here today. I want justice to be served.”
“How long have you known Kyle?”
She beamed at the crowd. “It’s been eighteen wonderful years.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Sixteen years, five months.”
Boyd laughed a little, then continued. “In all the time you’ve know Kyle, has he ever hit you?”
She shook her head vigorously. “Never. We’ve had our disagreements, and he’s gotten mad at me before, but he’s never even threatened to strike me.”
“Has he ever hit your children?”
“They’ve had a few spankings, but that’s it. Just a couple of swats on their backsides, to get their attention.”
“Any legal issues he’s had to deal with?”
“None that I knew of. The situation with the beer in high school was news to me. I’m going to remember that one for a while and use it to my advantage.” A couple of the jurors laughed along with Jennifer.
“Has Kyle ever done anything that would make you think he had the capacity to commit the crime he’s accused of?”
“Nothing at all. I’m 100% sure he would never do anything like that.”
“When he came home last Thursday morning was there anything out of the ordinary about his behavior? Was he acting strangely?”
She thought a second, then shook her head. “It was a normal morning. He was tired, he had a little something to eat, then he went to bed. It was just like most mornings.”
“Did he act nervous? Frightened?”
“No.”
“Did he ask to get up early, so he could go hide evidence?”
“No.”
“Any injuries?”
“No.”
“Did he act sore or uncomfortable?”
“He said his toes were cold because the temperatures were pretty low that night, but that’s it.”
“How did he act when he found out Leah’s body had been found?”
“He was completely shocked, especially when we were told the body was found in our home. I could tell it caught him completely off guard.”
Boyd continued questioning Jennifer for twenty more minutes before concluding and turning her over to Helen. Jennifer smiled confidently. Her testimony appeared to resonate with the jurors. Kyle felt a huge weight lifting from his shoulders.
Helen clasped her hands in front of her and smiled at Jennifer. “I can tell you really love your husband.”
“I do, very much.”
“Couples so much in love are a dying breed. Anything you wouldn’t do for your husband?”
“No. I’d do…” Jennifer paused. “I love him very much. Everything I’ve said has been the truth. I wouldn’t sell my soul for him, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
Helen stepped casually towards the jurors. “I understand you’ve suffered some pretty traumatic things over the past few months.”