I’ve represented people from that neighborhood for years, and nobody snitches. Yet this guy walked into the East Patrol station and fingered my client for murder ten days after the fact. I knew there was no way I’d get the truth just by asking him, so I had Grace keep an eye on him. I wanted to know as much about him as I could.”
Judge West leaned back in his chair and threw up his hands. “All right. But I’ve got one other question and I want a straight-up answer. Did you know this mystery man was going to be in the courtroom?”
Alex grinned. “No, sir, I just got lucky.”
When they returned to the courtroom, Kalena Greene was standing in the row behind Jameer Henderson and his family, her hands on their shoulders. Jameer was comforting his wife and holding his children in his lap. He eased them onto the pew, and Kalena led him back to the witness stand.
The bailiff brought the jury in. Grace Canfield put the man’s photograph back on the monitors and handed Alex a remote control for the laptop.
Alex acted as though nothing had happened. “Before the break, Mr. Henderson, I asked you if you knew the man who ran out of the courtroom. You told me that you couldn’t say, so let me try it another way. You see the photograph of the man displayed on the monitors?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you agree that the man in this photograph is the same man who came into the courtroom with your wife and children and then ran out the door?”
“Yeah.”
Alex pointed the remote at the laptop, clicking through to the next photograph. “And is that a photograph of the same man going into your barbershop?”
Henderson hung his head. “Yeah.”
Alex clicked again. “And is that a photograph of the same man coming out of your house on Garfield?”
“Yeah.”
Another click. “And is that a photograph of the same man talking to your wife and kids at a playground near your house? It looks like he’s got his hands on the backs of your children’s necks. Is that what it looks like to you?”
Henderson flinched. “Y’all can see for yourself.”
“Yes, I can. Now, you know who this man is, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but you don’t unnerstand! You don’t know what it’s like!”
“Then help me understand. Tell the jury who this man is.”
Henderson twisted and turned in his chair. “His name is Kyrie Chapman.”
“And who is Kyrie Chapman?”
“He’s a cousin to Wilfred.”
“Wilfred Donaire, the murder victim?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you want to tell the jury his name?”
Henderson turned to the judge, his eyes wet. “I got to answer that?”
Judge West didn’t hesitate. “You do.”
Henderson squirmed, looking for a way out, then cast another pained look at his wife, who wiped her eyes and nodded at him. He nodded back at her, letting out a resigned sigh.
“Kyrie come in my shop after Wilfred got killed. He said. .
Bradshaw interrupted. “Objection. Hearsay as to what Kyrie Chapman told him.”
“I’m not offering it for the truth of the matter asserted. I’m offering it to explain the witness’ behavior in this courtroom.”
“Overruled. You may finish your answer, Mr. Henderson.”
“Kyrie say I had to tell the cops that Dwayne killed Wilfred, and I say I don’t know nuthin’ about that. He say that don’t matter, that I had to tell the cops about Dwayne comin’ in my shop sayin’ how he got Wilfred’s chain off a dead nigger. That way when the cops arrest Dwayne, they find Wilfred’s chain and that be enough to put Dwayne away. And I say how you know Dwayne killed Wilfred and he say he know and that’s all I got to know.”
“What else did you and Kyrie talk about?”
“I ax him how he know Dwayne gonna have Wilfred’s chain and he say on account of some girl give it to Dwayne.”
“Did he tell you the girl’s name?”
“Naw.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I tol’ him Dwayne never come in my shop, not in a long time. And Kyrie say he sure as shit did unless I wanna see my family end up like Wilfred. Then he say he gonna bring my wife and kids to court when I testify to make sure I don’t forget. So that’s what I done.”
Alex turned to the jury. Some were leaning forward, heads cocked to one side, mouths open and sympathetic. Others gripped the armrests on their chairs, white-knuckled and angry. Not one could look away from Jameer Henderson. Especially Tommy Bradshaw, who was slack jawed and sweating as his case collapsed around him.
“No further questions,” she said.
“Well, I got one,” Henderson said, his voice rising. “What am I gonna do now?”
Chapter Five
Alex stayed in the courtroom while the jury deliberated, too amped up to concentrate on anything. She packed up her file, taking a minute to flip through the crime scene photos, stopping on one that showed the back of Wilfred Donaire’s house, where his murder took place. A horseshoe was hung over the back door. Alex wondered if the jury would see the irony in that.
Her office was a couple of blocks away and she wanted to stay close in case the jury sent out a question or came back with a verdict. Dwayne Reed was back in his cell and the prosecution team was waiting it out in their office one floor above the courtroom.
She was happy to wait there, because the courtroom was her turf. The combination of simplicity and majesty, from the judge’s bench to the jury’s box, reminded her of her place and her purpose. It was a battlefield, and she relished the battle, knowing the stakes were greater than just winning or losing.
It was late afternoon when Judge West poked his head in and waved her into his chambers. She assumed this was a social invitation since it would be improper for him to discuss the case without Tommy Bradshaw also present. Alex knew that lawyers from the prosecutor’s office routinely received and accepted such invitations, but she had never gotten one.
Summer sunlight broke through the windows in the judge’s chambers, casting shadows. He opened a desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of Scotch and two shot glasses.
“I’d say you earned this,” he said, handing her a drink.
Alex was reluctant to start drinking while the jury was still out, but she didn’t want to offend Judge West. She took a chair in front of his desk and sipped the whiskey, barely making a dent.
“That’s nice. Thanks.”
“Jury’s been out a while.”
“Five hours and twenty-two minutes,” Alex said without looking at her watch.
“Any bets?”
She set her glass on his desk. “Should we be talking about the case without Tommy being here?”
“Oh, hell,” West said, grinning, “we’re not talking about the case. We’re just sipping whiskey.”
Glad to have the chance to build a more personal relationship, she took another sip, hoping it would pay off down the road. “The longer they’re out, the better I like my chances.”
“That was a hell of a thing you did with Jameer Henderson. Might be enough to make the difference.”
“Hope so.”
“You really put poor Bradshaw in a box, forcing him to attack his star witness on redirect. He tried every way
