“I was there.”
“We’ve also heard testimony that you entered the house without knocking. Do you admit or deny that?”
“I admit it.”
“Finally, we heard testimony that you were seen running from the house a few minutes later. Do you admit or deny that?”
“I admit that also.”
Jack looked on, confused. The witness was readily admitting the very things that Jack had thought he would never admit. Something wasn’t right.
Torres said, “Lieutenant, would you please tell the jury why you went to Captain Pintado’s house that morning?”
“Lindsey called me on the telephone. She told me to come over.”
“Did she tell you why she wanted you to come over?”
“She told me that Oscar was gone. She said that he’d taken Brian fishing, so it could be just the two of us.”
“What did you take that to mean?”
He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. “That we could have sex without Oscar being around.”
“Were you agreeable to that?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said, ‘I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll leave the door unlocked. Come straight to the bedroom. I have a big surprise for you.’ ”
“What did you do?”
“What do you think? Got in my car and drove over.”
“What happened when you got there?”
“I did exactly as she told me. The door was unlocked and I went inside, straight back to the bedroom. That’s when I found Oscar’s body. He was still in bed, soaked in blood.”
Torres was clearly energized, practically tripping over his own questions, so caught up in his own roll. “What did you do?”
“I ran through the house, made sure there weren’t more bodies. That’s when I found Brian in his room.”
“Did you say anything to him?”
“Yes. You know, he’s deaf, but he can read lips to a certain extent. I said, ‘Brian, what happened to your father?’ ”
“Did he respond?”
Johnson said, “Brian started to cry. Then he looked at me and said-”
“Objection, hearsay,” said Jack. There was a knot in Jack’s stomach as he spoke. He wanted to hear the answer-perhaps he wanted to hear it more than anyone else in the courtroom-but the prosecutor’s strategy was crystal clear. He was trying to convince the jury that Lindsey had set up Johnson for the murder she’d committed.
Torres said, “Your Honor, it’s an excited utterance by a ten-year-old boy whose father has just been shot in their own home.”
The judge considered it, then said, “I’ll allow it. The witness may answer.”
The lieutenant leaned closer to the microphone, and Jack suddenly felt the pain of Lindsey’s fingernails digging into his forearm. It was as if they both knew exactly what Johnson was going to say, knew that the killer would be revealed and that Lindsey’s fate was sealed.
Johnson’s mouth opened, and the words oozed like hot lava. “Brian looked at me and said, ‘I shot him. I shot my dad.’ ”
Lindsey sprang to her feet. “That’s a lie!”
A collective gasp swept across the courtroom. “Order!” the judge shouted, the crack of his gavel rising above the outburst.
“That’s a total lie!” said Lindsey, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Mr. Swyteck, get your client under control, or I’ll have her removed.”
“It’s a lie, Jack,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s a total lie!”
Jack eased her back into her chair. She was shaking uncontrollably, and Jack was drawing every ounce of strength from within himself to stay composed. Sofia, too, was keeping it low key, but the surprise was evident in her eyes. As tough as it was, Jack was quite certain that the defense didn’t look half as stunned as the prosecutor did.
Torres stared at the witness, a gladiator’s stance. “Excuse me, Lieutenant,” he said firmly. “Perhaps I didn’t hear you right. Did you mean to say that the boy’s words were something to the effect that his mother had shot his father?”
“No. You heard me right. Brian told me that he had shot his father.”
Lindsey’s head was in her hands. Jack’s gaze shifted back and forth from her to Johnson, still not quite believing.
The prosecutor did his best to seem indignant, strutted across the courtroom, his voice rising in anger. He was about to do what no lawyer ever wanted to do: impeach his own witness.
“Lieutenant Johnson,” he said, his voice booming, “you and I had numerous conversations about this case, did we not?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We even did some mock examinations, practice sessions, during which I asked you questions and you gave me answers. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Not once in any of those conversations did you tell me about Brian’s confession to you. Did you, Lieutenant?”
“No. I did not. But that’s because-”
“That’s enough,” said Torres, cutting him off.
Johnson appealed to the judge, a look of anger and panic coming over him. “Your Honor, I have to explain this.”
“There’s no question pending,” said Torres.
The judge scratched his chin, as if he himself was overwhelmed. “The witness always has a right to explain his answer. Lieutenant Johnson said no, he never told you that before. Let’s hear why.”
Torres retreated to his seat, clearly uneasy.
Johnson looked at Lindsey and said, “The reason I never said anything about Brian is that Lindsey made me promise not to. After Brian confessed to me and I ran out of the house, I tracked down Lindsey and had a few words with her. I accused Lindsey of calling me over there to set me up for a murder I didn’t commit. She said she was sorry, that she was just trying to protect Brian. And then she asked me-she begged me-whatever I do, please don’t tell anyone that Brian shot his father.”
The courtroom was stone silent.
The judge leaned back in his chair, eyes raised toward the ceiling. “Any further questions, Mr. Torres?”
The prosecutor rose. Had this been a prize fight, he would have been staggering. “Nothing further, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Swyteck, any redirect?”
Jack could have put a finer point on it, but that was the beauty of reasonable doubt. No fine points were required. “Nothing, Your Honor.”
“The witness is excused.”
Jack watched, along with everyone else in the courtroom, as Lieutenant Johnson stepped down. He made eye contact with no one, his eyes forward in soldierlike fashion as he walked out.
The judge broke the silence. “Call your next witness, Mr. Swyteck.”
The words hardly had meaning to him. Jack was still trying to absorb what had just happened. It did make logical sense, but the emotional impact on the judge, the jury, or anyone else in the courtroom was nothing compared to the kick between the eyes that it was for Jack. Certain things finally and suddenly began to explain themselves. Lindsey’s refusal to let Jack talk with Brian. The grandparents seeking a court order to keep Jack away from Brian. From the very beginning, it was all about keeping anyone and everyone away from Brian.
And now Jack understood why.
“Mr. Swyteck, your next witness, please.”
His client’s earlier lies somehow seemed less devious now that Jack knew whom Lindsey had been protecting. Jack patted the back of her hand as he rose, trying to keep her from shaking. “Your Honor,” he said, his voice carrying throughout the courtroom. “The defense rests.”
48
Jack couldn’t remember another good day that had felt so bad.
Before trial had even started, Jack had been well aware that the entire case could turn if he could just get Damont Johnson on the stand. But even as that first question for the lieutenant left his lips, Jack’s highest hope was to convince the jury that a kinky arrangement had gone very wrong and that Lindsey’s husband had ended up dead at the hand of his own best friend. Never had Jack figured that Johnson would hand him victory by fingering Lindsey’s son.