”Didn’t see the car leave or return?”
”I told you, I went back to my show.”
”Thank you.”
Martin looked as confident as ever, but he had to be at least a little worried. His case wasn’t exactly off to a flying start. His first witness had found a body and called the police. His second witness testified that she didn’t see a damned thing.
I glanced over to my left and saw Deacon Baker and Phil Landers moving towards the prosecution table.
”Call your next witness,” Judge Green said.
”May I have a moment to confer with Mr. Martin?” Baker said.
”Make it snappy,” the judge said.
Baker leaned over and whispered something in Martin’s ear. Martin nodded and whispered back.
The two of them turned towards the judge.
”May we approach, Your Honor?” Baker said.
Green motioned them forward, and I got up and joined them.
”We need to speak to you in chambers,” Baker said.
”We’re in the middle of a murder trial, in case you haven’t noticed,” Judge Green said.
”I apologize,” Baker said, ”but something extremely important has come up. It has a direct bearing on this case.”
Judge Green agreed to a fifteen-minute recess, and the judge, Baker, Landers, Martin, and I walked into his chambers. He shut the door, hung his robe on a coat tree near the window, and sat down behind his desk.
”What’s going on?” he said.
”There’s been an important development in this case,” Baker said. ”The TBI found a red Corvette in a barn up on Spivey Mountain this morning. The car belongs to Erlene Barlowe. Their forensics people are examining it now.”
”I fail to see what that has to do with this trial.”
”It may exculpate Mr. Dillard’s client,” Baker said.
”Back when we made the arrest, we had a young lady who worked for Barlowe at the strip club who told us that Barlowe and Angel left the club at the same time as the victim in this case. She told us they left in Barlowe’s red Corvette, and they didn’t come back to the club that night.”
”I remember that,” the judge said. ”That and the fact that Ms. Barlowe had been untruthful were the primary reasons I signed the search warrants to search her home and her club and to allow you to get hair samples from Barlowe and the girl.”
”That’s right,” Baker said. ”We’ve also had another witness contact us since who said he saw a woman fitting Ms. Barlowe’s description standing beside a Corvette on Pickens Bridge a little after midnight on the night of the murder. He said she was alone. We think Ms. Barlowe was dumping the murder weapon and the reverend’s penis. The problem we ran into was that the car disappeared. We couldn’t find it anywhere, and because we couldn’t find it, we believed it probably contained evidence regarding the murder. Now we’ve found it, and from what I understand, there are what appear to be bloodstains on the seat.”
”So now you think the Barlowe woman killed Reverend Tester?” Judge Green said.
”It makes sense, especially if we can eventually prove she killed the Hayes girl, which is what we suspect.”
”You people have made a mess of this investigation,” the judge said. ”Are you familiar with the term
”Please, Judge,” Baker said. ”Not now.”
”So what do you want?” the judge said.
”I want a little time. All we’re asking is that you recess the trial for a week. We should get our lab results back from Knoxville by then. If Tester’s blood is in Barlowe’s car or if we find a murder weapon, we’re going to dismiss the charges against Mr. Dillard’s client, provided she’ll cooperate with us, and arrest Barlowe for Tester’s murder.”
Fat chance of Angel cooperating. They didn’t have enough evidence to convict her in the first place, and I couldn’t think of a single reason why she’d want to help them.
The judge looked at me. ”Any objection, Mr.
Dillard?”
”No, Judge. If there’s a chance they’ll dismiss against my client, I’m not opposed to giving them a week.”
”All right.” Judge Green pointed his finger at Baker. ”I’ll give you some time. But if there’s still a charge pending next Monday, we’re finishing this goddamned case.”
July 24
3:00 p.m.
The judge didn’t tell the jury or anyone in the courtroom why he was granting a week’s recess; he just told them to come back next Monday.
Angel wanted to know what had happened. I told her I’d be over to the jail to explain it to her as soon as I could. The jurors filed out, and as the courtroom began to clear, Erlene Barlowe walked up to me.
She’d been sitting outside in the hallway with the rest of the witnesses. Junior Tester hadn’t moved from his seat.
”What’s going on, sugar?” Erlene said.
”The police say they have some new information in Angel’s case. The district attorney asked the judge for a continuance so they could develop some evidence. He gave them until next Monday.”
Landers was walking out of the judge’s office, where he’d apparently been holding court with Baker. When he saw Erlene he made a beeline for us.
”Don’t leave town,” he said, pointing his finger at Erlene. ”Your ass is mine now.” He turned and walked out the door.
”What was that all about?” Erlene said.
”They don’t tell me anything,” I said as I started to walk away. I wasn’t about to tell her she was more than likely going to be in custody sometime in the next week. With my luck, she’d disappear and I’d wind up with an obstruction charge. ”I have to go over to the jail to see Angel and let her know what’s going on. I’ll talk to you later.”
Before I left the courthouse, I took the elevator upstairs to Deacon Baker’s office.
”Interesting dilemma,” he said when I walked in.
”For you,” I said. ”I’m still in the same boat. Innocent client.”
”Let’s stop beating around the bush,” Baker said.
”Bottom line, if there’s anything in that car that links it to Tester’s murder, we’re going to charge the redhead. I’ll dismiss against your client if she’ll agree to help us.”
”Erlene is her only friend in this world. I doubt she’ll be eager to rat her out.”
”She was with her, Dillard. She knows what went on in that room.”
”You can’t prove that.”
”Will she want to take that chance? Barlowe may have something to say about her when she finds herself facing a first-degree murder charge.”
”All Erlene has ever said about Angel is that she’s innocent.”
”And if her lips are moving, she’s lying.”
”You’re stuck, Deacon. The jury’s been sworn in Angel’s case. If you dismiss, you can’t try her again because the jury’s already been sworn. Double jeopardy. If you come back and resume the trial, you’re going to lose, even with my sister’s testimony. Do you know what I’m going to do to her on the witness stand?”
”I was planning to make it a point to be in the courtroom for her cross-examination,” Baker said with a smirk. ”Wouldn’t want to miss it. At least run my proposal by your client. Go over there and tell her I’m offering to dismiss a first-degree murder.”
”I’ll talk to her, but don’t get your hopes up.”
When Angel came into the attorneys’ room at the jail, I was surprised to see her still wearing her clothes
