'Objection,' said Ambrose. 'The prosecution is leading the witness.'
'Sustained,' I agreed.
'I'll rephrase,' said Doug. 'Did you find anything else that night?'
'Yes, sir. Deputy McLamb drew my attention to two half-gallon jars of clear liquid behind the air-conditioning unit.'
'Permission to approach the witness, Your Honor?' Doug asked.
'Permission granted,' I said.
Doug lifted a half-gallon Mason jar from the brown grocery bag beside his chair and carried it up to Dwight. 'Major Bryant, I show you this jar and ask if you can identify it as being one of the jars you found in Mrs. Englert's basement on the night of June twenty-eighth.'
'It is. That's my mark on the lid.'
'I ask that this be entered as state's Exhibit A,' said Doug. I nodded assent and he continued, 'Did you open this jar?'
'Yes, sir.'
'What does it contain?'
'Objection,' said Ambrose, standing with ponderous dignity. 'Calls for an informed conclusion this officer is not qualified to make.'
There were snickers from the side benches that any Colleton County law officer couldn't recognize moonshine when he saw it.
Doug, too, had a grin on his face. 'Your Honor, Major Bryant is a veteran law officer with many years experience. I should call him eminently qualified.'
'So should I,' I said, 'but Mr. Daughtridge is technically correct. Major Bryant is not a chemist. Objection sustained.'
'I'm prepared to introduce into evidence a detailed analysis of the contents by an Alcohol Law Enforcement agent,' said Doug. 'I thought in the interest of saving time and—'
Mrs. Englert had tugged at Ambrose's jacket and as he bent down to listen, the whole courtroom heard her exasperated whisper. 'Why do you quibble so, Mr. Daughtridge? Everyone
'Your Honor,' said Ambrose, 'the defense will stipulate as to Major Bryant's expertise in this matter.'
'Thank you,' said Doug.
As Dwight confirmed that the jars had held untaxed liquor that was probably at least eighty proof, I thought about the things we weren't going to hear from the witness stand today. Things like how a silly combination of circumstances could cause a waste of taxpayer money. Ordinarily, Dwight would have emptied those jars down the nearest sink drain, and that would have been the end of it. But young Raeford McLamb was pushing to go by the book and Dwight knew if he overrode McLamb, he'd lay himself open to charges of kowtowing to the rich and well connected.
Now McLamb might have let someone else's liquor go down the drain; but three days earlier, Mrs. Englert had entered a complaint against his sister because his sister's cat occasionally used Mrs. Englert's herb garden as a litter box. McLambs are pretty clannish. Cut one and you've cut them all. If Mrs. Englert couldn't overlook a little cat urine, no way was Deputy McLamb going to overlook two jars of white lightning.
Nor could Doug overlook them once McLamb brought the ALE in on it. Not that there was any love lost between him and Elizabeth Englert either. As a Republican, she'd supported his opponents in both races.
'No further questions,' said Doug.
I looked over at Ambrose. 'Cross-examine?'
'No questions,' he replied.
'The prosecution rests,' said Doug.
'Mr. Daughtridge?'
Ambrose stood, straightened the front of his beautifully cut navy linen jacket, and smoothed his silver hair. 'Your Honor, the defense does not dispute that two jars of untaxed liquor were found when and where Major Bryant has so testified. What I do dispute is the implication that these jars were attained by my client or that they were ever in her possession. The district attorney has not proved possession and I would therefore move that this charge be dismissed.'
Doug was already on his feet. 'Your Honor, is my worthy opponent suggesting that Mrs. Englert does not own the house? If so, I think we can have a copy of the deed up here in ten minutes.'
'Motion denied, Mr. Daughtridge,' I said. 'Present your case.
'I would call Mrs. Elizabeth Englert to the stand.'
Mrs. Englert crossed firmly to the stand. The bailiff handed her a Bible and when Ally Mycroft asked if she swore to tell the truth, her frosty reply suggested she felt insulted at being required to swear to veracity. Surely the whole world
As expected, she denied any knowledge of how those jars came to be in her basement. When Doug invited her to speculate on cross-examination, she declined. Yes, it was her house. Yes, under the terms of her late husband's will, she now owned its entire contents; but she had not brought every item into the house nor could she possibly know what else might lie hidden within its spacious confines.
Ambrose asked that his client be declared not guilty, while Doug argued that possession is possession is possession.
