Redemption

by Phil M. Williams

  “What?”

  Michelle inhaled the mountain air. “I’m worried that you’ll meet someone better, someone with less … complications.” She dipped her head. “I’m worried that you’ll leave me.” Michelle almost said, again.

  Danny reached out and grabbed her hand. “You’re not a complication. Neither is our baby. I know I screwed it all up before, but I never wanted anyone but you.” Danny pulled her into an embrace. They kissed slow and openmouthed, his hands running along the curve of her hips.

  When their lips parted, she hugged him tight for a few seconds, before releasing him. “Tell me everything will be okay.”

  “Everything’s gonna be great.” Danny smiled. “It already is.”

  She smiled back.

  He motioned to the trail. “You ready?”

  They continued up the trail for several minutes, Danny leading. He glanced back and said, “We’re almost there.”

  Danny led Michelle to a collection of large boulders on the side of the mountain. He climbed one of the boulders, the irregular rock filled with easy footholds and handholds. At the top, he offered his hand and heaved Michelle on the boulder. They walked across another boulder, then up another rock the size of a pickup truck. Like the first boulder, the second had many crevices and irregularities to help their ascent. Danny helped her again to the top. Here, they were open to the sky, not even the naked forest canopy to provide a modicum of shade.

  Danny walked near the edge, wearing a backpack.

  Michelle stood a few paces back, not comfortable on the edge, but the view was no less stunning from her perspective. They had a bird’s-eye view of the valley below and the mountains beyond. It was covered in deciduous trees on the verge of waking. The sky was bright blue, with a sprinkle of wispy white clouds. Renewal and rebirth were coming.

  Danny turned to Michelle, watching her step tentatively in his direction. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” Michelle said.

  “Come closer.”

  Michelle shook her head. “You come here. You’re making me nervous.”

  He walked a few paces back to Michelle. “Better?”

  “Much better.”

  He took off his backpack and sat on the boulder. “You hungry?”

  Michelle sat next to him. “I’m always hungry. I hope you still like my butt when I’m huge.”

  “You know what they say. More cushion for the pushin’.”

  Michelle twisted her face in disgust. “Gross. Don’t ever say that again.”

  Danny cackled. Then he handed her a bottled water, a small bag of potato chips, and one of the turkey sandwiches, which Michelle had made for the hike.

  They ate identical lunches, sitting on the boulder, enjoying the mountain view.

  “I’m worried about Monday,” Michelle said, in between bites of her sandwich.

  “Don’t be. He’s the one who should be worried,” Danny replied.

  Michelle swallowed and said, “I wish I didn’t have to go.”

  “Apart from testifying, you don’t.”

  “I don’t want to disappoint my family. I’ve done that enough.”

  “None of this is your fault.”

  Michelle lifted one shoulder. “I should be there to support Becky and Susie. Greg Elliot wants me there too. He says my support for the prosecution is a powerful message to the jury.”

  “It is.” Danny gulped his bottled water.

  Michelle chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t want to see him.”

  Danny reached out and placed his hand on her knee. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you. I took off all week.”

  Michelle nodded. “What if it goes longer than the week?”

  “Then I’ll take leave without pay if I have to.”

  Michelle stared at Danny. “Why are you so good to me?”

  “Because I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Danny grabbed his backpack and unzipped the pocket. He extracted a small felt-covered box and set it on the boulder between them.

  Michelle gaped at the box. “What’s that?”

  “Open it and find out.”

  With trembling fingers, Michelle grasped the box in both hands. She opened it to find a gold ring with a single diamond that was much smaller than her engagement ring from Jason. She eyed the ring in a trance, thinking about all the reasons it would never work. Lying about the baby. His history of cheating. Her divorce.

  “You okay?” He paused for a beat. “I know it’s not a very fancy ring.”

  Michelle looked up to Danny with tears in her eyes. “It’s perfect.” She slipped the engagement ring on her left ring finger.

  Danny beamed. “You’re not supposed to put it on until you answer the question.”

  “Yes. The answer is yes.”

  Chapter 33: Opening Statements

  On Monday morning, the courtroom was packed with friends, neighbors, and family. Danny sat to the right of Michelle in the audience, a few rows back from the prosecution table. Frank, Ruth, Susie, and Cody sat to Michelle’s left. The petite redhead, Judge Cynthia Ames, sat on her elevated desk, presiding over the trial. Jason sat next to his attorney, Norman Tuttle, his attention on the trial. District Attorney Greg Elliot had expected Norman Tuttle to invoke the rule, denying witnesses access to the trial until their testimony. This would’ve barred some of the defense’s biggest adversaries from the courtroom, including Frank, Ruth, Susie, and Michelle. After the stalking incident at Rite Aid, Michelle wondered if this was Jason’s doing. Maybe he wanted her to be here for some sick reason. Michelle expected Jason to turn around and find her in the audience, but he never did.

  Michelle watched the portly prosecutor approach the twelve jurors, who sat behind a short wooden partition in two rows of six chairs.

  “Good morning,” Greg Elliot said.

  A few jurors mumbled, “Good morning.” Most simply nodded.

  “Thank you for being here this morning to fulfill your civic duty.” Elliot surveyed the jury. “This is a particularly heartbreaking case. It will be up to you to serve justice for the victim, the victim’s family, and this community.” Elliot paused for a moment. “Christmas is the most magical time of the year, especially for children. But, on Christmas Eve and Christmas night, the defendant”—Elliot pointed and glared across the courtroom to Jason at the defense table—“Jason Lewis, committed the most heinous of acts against a six-year-old little girl.”

  Elliot turned back to the jurors, his mouth turned down. “To protect her anonymity, we’ve agreed to refer to the victim as Alice.” Elliot took a deep breath, his gut rising and falling. “On Christmas Eve and Christmas night, Jason Lewis penetrated Alice with his finger and forced that little girl to perform oral sex on him.”

  Gasps came from the courtroom audience.

  Judge Cynthia Ames glowered at the audience.

  Elliot shook his hanging head, letting his statement sink in with the jury.

  Michelle glanced at Danny, her eyes glassy. She wanted to take his hand, but they’d agreed that it wasn’t smart to show that they were a couple at the trial. She turned her attention back to the district attorney.

  Greg Elliot raised his gaze to the jury. “Don’t listen to me. Listen to the evidence. The evidence will show that Jason Lewis’s semen was found on Alice’s underwear, the very same underwear that she was wearing on Christmas night when she was alone with the defendant.” Elliot paused again to catch his breath. “You’ll see Alice in a videotaped deposition, describing what happened to her and identifying the defendant, Jason Lewis, as the perpetrator.”

  Elliot nodded, scanning the jurors.

  Some of the jurors nodded along with Elliot. They all paid careful attention to the DA.

  “You’ll hear from several witnesses, who will testify that Jason Lewis was alone with Alice on Christmas Eve and Christmas night.” Elliot stopped to catch his breath again.

  “Don’t listen to me or Mr. Tuttle.” E
lliot gestured to the defense table. “Listen to the evidence. Listen to the victim. Use your common sense. If you do that, I am certain that you will return a guilty verdict. Thank you.”

  Greg Elliot returned to the prosecution table, a female associate by his side.

  Before the district attorney was seated, Norman Tuttle was on his feet and approaching the jury, looking slick in his black tailored suit, a major contrast to his beefy adversary. Norman rested a hand on the top of the wooden partition, separating him from the jury box. “Good morning.”

  The jurors sat stone-faced.

  “Mr. Elliot’s right. This case is heartbreaking, and this crime is particularly heinous. I’m not here to defend the brutal actions of a child rapist. I’m here to make sure we don’t imprison the wrong man.”

  Norman showed his palms to the jury. “I know what you’re thinking.” He used a higher tone to mimic a random juror. “People aren’t arrested and sent to prison for crimes they don’t commit.” He returned to his normal voice. “Unfortunately, it happens far more often than people realize. Based on Mr. Elliot’s statements, it sounds like an open-and-shut case, but the devil is in the details.”

  Norman gestured to Jason. “My client, Jason Lewis, has never been arrested. He grew up poor and worked his rear end off to make something of his life. He didn’t seek out the victim. Alice begged him to play with her. You’ll hear testimony confirming that fact. If he was abusing Alice, why wasn’t she afraid of him? Why did she appear to enjoy his company? In fact, you’ll see Alice’s deposition where she herself says that she likes Jason and is not afraid of him.”

  Norman rubbed his chin, as if he were thinking, his gaze on the jury. “If Jason didn’t abuse Alice, then how did his DNA end up on her underwear? This is a great question. On Christmas night, Alice slept with Frank and Ruth Murphy, Jason’s in-laws. You’ll hear testimony from Jason’s wife, Michelle, that he and his wife had sex on Christmas night. Jason was wearing a condom.”

  Michelle blushed at the mention of their Christmas night tryst.

  Norman continued. “Jason deposited that condom in the bathroom trash can shortly before Alice peed the bed, and woke the house with the subsequent commotion. While Frank and Michelle cleaned up the bed, Ruth took Alice into the bathroom to get cleaned up, the very same bathroom where Jason had deposited his condom only hours earlier.”

  Norman nodded, making eye contact with several jurors. “The DNA evidence certainly sounds credible, but only a very small sample of my client’s DNA was found on the underwear. It is my contention that the underwear was contaminated in the bathroom. In addition to being bloodstained and soaked in urine, the underwear was worn and threadbare. Maybe Ruth set the soiled underwear in the trash, with my client’s condom.

  “It is also my contention that Alice isn’t afraid of Jason because Jason didn’t hurt her. Someone else did. And that someone else coached her very well to tell police and psychologists that my client molested her. When you watch her deposition, watch the robot-like responses when she’s asked who hurt her. She responds without emotion that my client was the one.” Norman held up one finger. “But, when she’s recounting the abuse that she suffered, you can see the pain on her face and hear the pain in her voice.

  “There’s a very important concept that Mr. Elliot failed to mention. If you are to convict my client, to send him to prison, you must find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Norman clasped his hands together, then kept them clasped, as if he were praying. “Reasonable doubt. That’s a very important concept. If there are reasonable doubts to my client’s guilt, you must find him innocent. I’ve already given you several reasonable doubts. Please don’t compound this terrible tragedy by convicting an innocent man and allowing the real perpetrator to roam free.”

  Chapter 34: The Prosecution’s Case

  On Tuesday, they were not permitted in the courtroom until 9:30. The first hour was closed to the public as the jury watched Becky aka Alice’s videotaped deposition. Michelle hadn’t seen the deposition, but DA Elliot told Susie that Becky had done a great job. Despite her age and the obvious trauma she’d endured, she was a credible witness.

  They’d spent the next hour listening to Ashley Watson from the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Lab explain the DNA science used to determine with nearly infinite probability that the semen stain on Alice’s underwear did in fact match Jason’s DNA.

  “May I approach the witness?” Norman asked.

  “You may,” Judge Ames replied.

  Norman Tuttle approached the chubby woman for his cross-examination. “Hello, Ms. Watson. I’m Norman Tuttle.”

  Ashley Watson gave him a tight smile and said, “Hello.”

  “I only have three questions.” Norman reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and removed a small pair of girl’s underwear, still in the package. He opened the package, shoving the plastic into his pocket. Then he unfolded the white cotton underwear and held them up to the DNA technician. “Is this underwear roughly the same size as Alice’s underwear? The ones you examined?”

  Ashley inspected the underwear. “I don’t know if they’re the exact same size, but they look pretty close.”

  “Great. Close will be fine for this exercise.” Norman handed Ashley the underwear. “Please take these.”

  Norman reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed a black Sharpie marker. “Now, Ms. Watson, would you please use this marker to mark the spot on the underwear where you found my client’s DNA, and also please color in the spot so we can see roughly how big the stain was.” Tuttle handed Ashley the Sharpie.

  Ashley spread the underwear out on the bar in front of her.

  Many jurors leaned toward the nearby witness stand for a better view.

  On the right-hand side, along the waistband, Ashley made a dot the size of a grape seed.

  Norman inspected her handiwork. He cocked his head in confusion, facing the jury for maximum impact. “I can barely see that.”

  Ashley Watson frowned at the defense attorney.

  Norman picked up the underwear from the bar and walked it closer to the jury box, holding it up for the jurors to see the location and the size of the mark. The jurors craned their necks to see the dot. An older woman put on her reading glasses.

  Norman said, “I know. I had trouble seeing it too.” Then Norman stepped back to the witness stand and spread out the underwear on the bar in front of Ashley. “Ms. Watson, is it possible that a stain of that size could come from touching a used condom in the trash?”

  “If it were leaking,” Ashley replied.

  “Yes or no, Ms. Watson. Is it possible?”

  Ashley pressed her lips together. “Yes.”

  “What if someone wrapped the condom in toilet paper? Is it possible for semen to leak through the toilet paper and cause a spot of that size?”

  “Objection. Calls for speculation,” Greg Elliot said, sitting behind the prosecution table.

  “Ms. Watson is a DNA expert,” Norman said to the judge.

  Judge Ames addressed the witness. “Please answer the question.”

  “I’ve never seen something like that before,” Ashley said.

  “I didn’t ask you if you’ve seen it before. Is it possible?” Norman asked.

  “Yes.”

  Norman made eye contact with the jury, giving them a this is important look.

  ***

  After lunch, they heard testimony from Ruth. She wore a long blue dress with a white cardigan. Her blond hair was tucked behind her ears, exposing the apple-shaped earrings she’d been given by a student.

  District Attorney Greg Elliot stood behind the podium. “In your own words, please tell us what happened, when you woke up late on Christmas night.”

  From the witness stand, Ruth replied, “Alice peed the bed. My husband, Frank, woke us all up. He got some urine on his pajamas. Then my daughter, Michelle, woke up too. Frank and Michelle cleaned up the bed, while I took Alice to the bathroom to clean up. I h
elped her out of her nightgown and her underwear. That’s when I noticed her underwear was stained with blood. I asked her what the blood was from. She said, ‘A man hurt my pee-pee part.’” Ruth took a deep breath. “I realized then that the underwear in my hand might be evidence, so I took it to Frank. He put it in a plastic bag for the police.”

  “What happened after that?” Elliot asked.

  “Frank called the police. I asked Alice who hurt her, but she wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Do you know of anyone who was alone with Alice on Christmas night?”

  “Jason Lewis was alone with her in the basement for around forty-five minutes, right before we went to bed,” Ruth said.

  Elliot made eye contact with the jury, letting that statement sink in. Then he addressed Ruth again. “Could you please point out Jason Lewis for the jury?”

  Ruth pointed at Jason, sitting behind the defense table.

  “Let the record show that Ruth Murphy identified the defendant.” Elliot hitched up his pants and returned to his seat at the defense table. “No further questions.”

  “Mr. Tuttle,” Judge Ames said from her desk on high.

  Norman went to the podium, buttoning his jacket on the way. He stared at Ruth for a long moment. Then he said, “On the night of December 25th, did you take Alice to your bathroom after she peed your bed?”

  “Yes,” Ruth replied.

  “Did you remove her nightgown?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you remove her underwear?”

  Ruth hesitated for a beat. “Yes.”

  “When did you notice the blood on the underwear?”

  “As soon as I took them off. It was very noticeable.”

  Norman nodded. “Was the underwear wet from Alice’s urine?”

  Ruth hesitated again. “Yes.”

  “Besides the stains, what was the condition of the underwear? Was it new or old?”

  “I didn’t really notice.”

  “If I were to show you the underwear, would you recognize it?”

  “Yes.”

  Norman addressed Judge Ames. “May I approach the witness? I have questions that pertain to physical evidence.”