“Your Honor,” Davis began, “the witness...”
“Sustained. Miss Childers, once again, I caution you not to give your opinion.”
“Or what?” Norma asked.
Judge Blackwell narrowed his eyes. “Miss Childers, this is a court of law. Do not tempt it.”
At length, Norma bowed her head in defeat. Davis sat back down and Livingston cleared his throat. “Miss Childers, did Kaydence ever argue with her mother in front of you?”
“Yes, several times.”
“What did they argue about?”
“Various things. Kaydence holds a grudge and wouldn’t know forgiveness if it bit her in the butt.” Again, the crowd laughed.
“Talk about a red face” said Michael. I can’t wait until you see the replay of Kaydence Lockhart. Can’t tell if she’s red mad or red embarrassed, but at least she is reacting, finally.”
“How many children does Kaydence have?”
“Eight, last time I counted, not that she ever brought them to see their grandmother.”
“And did Kaydence ask for money frequently?”
Norma wrinkled her brow. “That’s the thing about her. Kaydence usually just asked for grocery money, and Mrs. Lockhart always gave her the same ten thousand she gave the others. At least Kaydence pretended to be grateful. Mrs. Lockhart donated to food banks across the country, so she wasn’t about to let Kaydence’s family go hungry. That’s just the kind of woman Mrs. Lockhart was.”
“Do you know how much money Mrs. Lockhart gave Slone right before she died?”
“Ten-thousand dollars, just like always. I saw the checks myself.”
“Checks?” Livingston asked.
“Mrs. Lockhart made them out in advance. I doubt they realized it, but it was their inheritance that she gave them every month. The well was bound to run dry sooner or later.”
“Thank you, Miss Childers. Now, Atticus is Mrs. Lockhart’s second son, is that correct?”
“Yes, Atticus is the quiet one... not that he didn’t come around for money the same as the other three. He played football too, but he just couldn’t measure up to Slone. I’ll bet he is a better businessman though, and he seems to have a good marriage. At least his wife doesn’t run around on him like Slone’s.” Norma Childers looked exceedingly pleased with the shocked look on Slone’s face.
Judge Blackwell slightly slumped, and Jackie noticed. She felt a little sorry for the judge. There didn’t seem to be any threat short of contempt that would keep Norma Childers from having her say.
“I wonder how Norma knows Slone’s wife has been unfaithful,” Carl said.
“Of the four,” Norma continued before she was asked the next question, “Atticus probably did love his mother, some. He was nicer to her than the rest.”
“To your knowledge, did Mrs. Lockhart ever hire anyone to check into her children’s business affairs?”
“Ah ha,” Carl muttered, “Livingston is wondering that too.”
“Not that I know of. She knew they were playing her like a violin, but it was the only way to get them to come see her. Just a little kindness on their part, and she would have left it all to them, and more.”
“I’m curious, do you know how much Mrs. Lockhart was worth when she died?”
Norma sighed and looked at Amelia Lockhart’s portrait. “She was worth enough to use the interest on the money she kept in savings to make her very generous donations every month. That was her favorite thing to do. She liked to surprise a food bank somewhere that wasn’t expecting it. Sometimes, her anonymous donations would get a mention in the newspaper, but not often. To her, it was enough to know there were fewer hungry children in the world because of her.”
Livingston wrinkled his brow. “What did you mean when you said she would have left it all to them and...more?”
“Years ago, after that big blowup, Mr. Lockhart hid money in an account the children didn’t know about. It was that money Mrs. Lockhart gave them each month.”
“So that’s the hidden bank account the brothers were talking about,” said Carl.
“She didn’t pay them out of her own account?” Livingston asked.
“Well, she did and she didn’t. The checks were written against her account, but she would replace that money with money from the hidden account. That way, she could keep the same amount in savings, so she could keep giving the interest to the food banks, you see.”
“I do see,” said the defense attorney. “Do you know if she gave all that hidden money to the children over the years?”
“That, I do not know. I know this though; her children will never find that account. It’s all safe and sound in a bank under another name. As soon as she wrote them a check, she made arrangements to have a matching amount from the other bank deposited into her savings.”
“Approximately forty thousand a month?”
“That’s right.”
“How much do you think is in the hidden account?” Livingston asked.
“Calls for speculation, Your Honor.”
“Sustained.”
Norma rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what will happen to it either, now that she is gone. I just hope her selfish children never see a penny of it.”
Davis puffed his cheeks, the judge scratched his neck, and Livingston continued as if he hadn’t noticed her breaking the rules again. “Miss Childers, did you make the funeral arrangements?”
“I did. The cops wouldn’t let me have her for two weeks, but when they did, I took care of everything.”
“When you had everything arranged, did you notify her children?”
“They wouldn’t take my calls, but I left it on their voice mails.”
Livingston paused a moment. “Isn’t it true that none of them came to the funeral?”
“Not her children, and not her grandchildren, the selfish, heartless brats. But you can bet they’ll all show up when they go to court next week to contest the will.”
Livingston couldn’t help but smile. “I have just one more question for now, Miss Childers. After Mrs. Lockhart was murdered, did you tell anyone about the hidden bank account?”
“Only Deputy Musgrave.”
“That is all I have for now, Your Honor, but I reserve the right to recall this witness later.”
Judge Lockhart looked relieved. “So ordered.”
“Oh goodie, I can’t wait till they bring her back,” said Michael. “This trial isn’t as boring as I thought it was going to be.”
“Thinking of going back to law school after all?” Carl asked.
“Maybe, but then, who would keep an eye on you if I did?”
“Are you implying I’m not working?”
“Well, are you?” Michael asked.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m trying to match your court reporter’s eyes to something in our files.”
“Oh, is that what all those pictures are on your...”
Carl abruptly set his laptop aside. “Michael, you take over looking for the eyes. I think I’ll take a little ride to the courthouse and see if I can get close enough to the Lockhart children to see what they talk about at lunch,” He got up off the sofa in their hotel room, grabbed his jacket, and went out the door.
“Good thing we kept the rental car,” Michael muttered.
WHEN IT WAS TIME TO cross-examine Norma, Davis took his time asking his first question. “Miss Childers, do you have any proof that Mrs. Lockhart’s children knew what was in the will that left everything to them?”
“No, but...”
“Isn’t it possible she told them about the newer one?”
“If she had, there would have been an explosion the likes of which this town has never seen,” she answered.
“You only worked for Mrs. Lockhart two days a week. It is possible she told them when you weren’t there, isn’t it?”
“I...guess, but it’s not very likely.”
“Thank you.” Davis sat back down.
It was Livingston’s turn a
gain. “Miss Childers, did you see any of her children snooping around their mother’s office?”
“Well, I didn’t actually see them looking in the drawers, but I did see Melissa come out of there once.”
“I have no further questions at this time.”
“You are excused, Miss Childers.” The judge paused to write something on his notepad.
“Jackie, it looks like Carl found two possible age progression matches so far on the eyes. One has been missing since she was two, and one since age four. We’ll keep looking,” said Michael.
“Call your next witness, Mr. Livingston,” said the judge.
“Deputy Musgrave, you testified that you have known Slone Lockhart, Mrs. Lockhart’s oldest son, for several years, is that correct?” Livingston asked.
Instead of self-assured, this time the deputy looked a little ill-at-ease. “Yes.”
“Have you ever seen Lexi Hamilton and Slone Lockhart in the same room at the same time?”
The deputy hesitated to answer. “I suppose I have.”
“How many times?”
“I do not recall.”
“Five, ten...fifteen?” Livingston pushed.
“Maybe a dozen.”
“Deputy Musgrave, on the 22nd of June, were you present when Miss Childers gave her statement to the police?”
“I was.”
“Afterward, did you call Slone Lockhart to tell him about the hidden bank account?” When the deputy hesitated to answer, Livingston said, “Deputy, if I produced your phone records, would I find a call to Slone Lockhart’s private cellphone that day?”
“Yes, but I don’t recall what we talked about.”
“I have no further questions,” Livingston said.
Judge Blackwell asked, “Redirect, Mr. Davis?”
The DA stood up. “Deputy Musgrave, do you have any reason to believe Slone Lockhart might have killed his mother?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Do you have any reason to believe he stole his mother’s jewelry?”
“I do not.”
“Thank you, I have nothing...”
“SHUTUP!” someone in the audience shouted. Jackie turned to look just in time to see the boy with the orange Mohawk land his fist in the eye of the boy with dreadlocks. The other boy immediately struck back. The people seated closest to them began to scatter and two of the bailiffs raced in that direction. By the time they arrived, three men had the boys separated and were holding them back.
Obviously infuriated, Judge Blackwell said, “Bailiffs will hold those two in contempt.” He then turned to the jury and softened his voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is almost time for lunch anyway. We will reconvene at one o’clock. Court is in recess.” Instead of leaving, he remained seated while the courtroom was cleared, and then motioned for the bailiffs to bring the teens to the bench.
IN THE RESTAURANT IN Holly’s hotel, the new friends chose a small table in the back and ordered lunch. It was early and hardly anyone else was there. “It is nice of the judge to give us some extra time to eat,” said Holly.
“I don’t think he meant to.”
“No, probably not. I wonder what the boys were fighting about?”
Jackie waited until the waiter brought hot tea for her and coffee for Holly before she answered. “Who knows?”
“Newsflash, they are both Slone’s sons,” said Michael.
“Have you found the missing person you are looking for yet?” Holly asked.
“We don’t know for sure yet,” said Jackie. “Did the police make a mess when they searched your house?”
Holly nodded. “There were six cops, the deputy and the detective – all men who apparently didn’t have mothers to teach them any manners. I did appreciate that they didn’t arrest Mark in front of the girls, however.”
“Did the police tell you what they were looking for?”
Michael said, “The judge barred both of them from the courtroom, but he let them go.”
“No,” Holly answered. “Like the deputy said, I took the girls outside.”
“After they left, what did Mark say?”
“He said they arrested a guy at work and thought Mark was holding some drugs in our house for him. They didn’t find any, he said.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I had no real reason not to, but then, I didn’t know about the money they found in the backyard.” She stopped talking while the waiter served their salads. “Whoever put it there did it the night before. I watered the yard myself and I didn’t see anything under a bush.”
“Do you think Mark put the money there so you wouldn’t find it?”
“I don’t know, Jackie. Sometimes, this whole thing doesn’t make any sense. Half of what he did was stupid and half was very clever. He loved those shoes and I can’t imagine him throwing them away, unless he got a lot of blood on them.”
“I wonder how he thought he would explain that much money to you.”
“He liked to gamble. Anyway, that’s what he told Lexi, so he probably would have told me he won it.”
“Do you think Mark will testify?”
Holly puffed her cheeks. “I don’t know what he will do.” She concentrated on her lunch for several minutes before she said, “It breaks my heart to think of Mrs. Lockhart dying that way. I want to reach out to someone and say how sorry I am, but who can I talk to? I don’t want to talk to her children.”
“Maybe, when this is all over, you can call Miss Childers. She seems to be the one who loved Mrs. Lockhart the most.”
“Thank you, I’ll do that. Maybe it will make us both feel a little better.”
“I’m sure it will.”
LIVINGSTON WAS ALREADY at the lectern when a man standing at the gate behind him cleared his throat. The attorney turned to look back, smiled, took the paper the man handed him, and then nodded his appreciation. He quickly read the note, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Then he began scribbling on his paper.
“Mr. Livingston, call your first witness.”
“The defense calls Slone Lockhart to the stand.”
“Your Honor,” Davis said as he rose out of his seat, “Mrs. Lockhart’s children have heard everything presented in the trial so far. For the record, I object to the defense calling them to testify.”
“So noted. Objection overruled,” said the judge.
CHAPTER 7
SLONE LOCKHART STOOD up, walked through the gate and went to be sworn in by the clerk just like everyone else. A tall, slender man, Slone looked more like his mother than any of the other three did, and more than one on the jury seemed to be comparing him to Mrs. Lockhart’s portrait.
“Slone Lockhart sure looked surprised when he heard his wife was cheating on him,” said Carl. “Could be that’s why she isn’t attending the trial. She probably heard about that little gathering at the cabin the week Mrs. Lockhart was killed, and refuses to stand by her man.”
Michael pointed to a woman sitting on the same side of the aisle as the family.
“What?” Carl asked.
“Slone’s wife.”
“Uh, oh, she’s here. I wonder if he knows. I’d bet a month’s pay he doesn’t, but it stands to reason she would after the kids got kicked out.”
“Could you hear what they were talking about at lunch?” Michael asked.
“Only that the Lockhart children think the hidden bank records are in the safe. They don’t believe their mother didn’t know the combination, and they can’t get their hands on anything inside the house unless they can prove the will is invalid.”
Livingston had already taken too long to begin his questioning, and when he looked up, Judge Blackwell was staring at him over the top of his glasses. The attorney quickly turned to the witness. “For the record, please state your full name and occupation.”
“Slone Andrew Lockhart. I am the owner of Lockhart and Sons Used Cars.”
“You are the eldest of the Lockhart children, is that right?”
&
nbsp; “That’s right.”
“Mr. Lockhart, is Lockhart and Sons Used Cars the company your father originally owned?”
“It is. I took over after he passed away.”
“Mr. Lockhart, you testified that you own the company, but that is not exactly true, is it? Isn’t it true that the company is still in your mother’s name?”
Slone lowered his gaze. “Technically, I suppose it is.”
“Then you are just running it on her behalf, correct?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“Do you know what your mother’s will says concerning what will happen to the company?” Livingston asked.
“It is to be sold with the proceeds going to the museum.”
“Mr. Lockhart, how old are you?”
“I am thirty-five.”
“Isn’t it true you resented your mother for not giving you the business outright?”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Mother didn’t give it to me because I didn’t ask for it. Everything was fine just the way it was?”
“By fine, do you mean she paid the taxes each year?”
“Yes...yes, she did, but...”
“Mr. Lockhart, did you have a key to your mother’s house?”
“No.”
Livingston frowned. “Your mother wouldn’t give you one?”
“I never asked for one.”
“How often did you call or go see your mother.”
“About once a month.”
“You called her once a month?”
“No, I only went to see her.”
“Why didn’t you call her?”
“Because she always had a thousand questions about the business, and nothing I said ever satisfied her. She didn’t know how to run a business, Dad did all that.”
“I see.”
Livingston paused for just the right amount of time to let the jury decide if that was a very valid excuse. “Mr. Lockhart, did you ask your mother for ten-thousand dollars three days before she died?”
“Yes, I believe I did?”
“What reason did you give her?”
“Well, the economy is struggling and so is my business. I needed the money to pay employees.”
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