Moon Over Alcatraz

by Patricia Yager Delagrange

  Walking back to the middle of the courtroom he stood in front of the judge’s raised desk and turned back toward the jury. “Neither my client nor Carmella Anthony heard anything during the time the coroner’s office said Heidi Bailey was murdered. They were in bed from eleven p.m. on the night of the murder until the police knocked on their door the next morning at six a.m. Ms. Anthony testified she’s a light sleeper and she swears my client, quote, ‘Sleeps like a log and snores like a bear’ which is why she knew he never left her side after they went to bed that night. In fact, she swears he kept her awake the entire night of the murder because of his snoring.”

  He walked slowly to the jury box, eyes facing downwards, and stopped in front of the railing and looked up, lowering his voice. “My client has no history of violence. He’s never even had a parking ticket. Neighbors have testified to his behavior before and after the murder of Heidi Bailey and every one of their testimonies states my client is incapable of committing such a crime.”

  He pointed to the prosecutor’s table with his right hand, never shifting his gaze from the jurors. “The prosecution has no evidence proving my client murdered Heidi Bailey, members of the jury, and it is your job to listen to their lack of evidence and judge my client innocent of the crime of murdering Heidi Bailey.”

  He grabbed onto the top of the railing with both hands and leaned toward the jurors seated in the first row, looking at each of them, left to right and back again. “You cannot judge my client guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. The prosecution’s entire case is filled with dubious and doubtful circumstantial evidence.” He switched his glance upward to the next row of jurors and perused each of them left to right and back again. “That is not enough to convict my client of the murder of Heidi Bailey. They know it and you know it. It is your duty as jurors of this courtroom to find my client, William Carper, innocent of the murder of Heidi Bailey.”

  He turned around, showing the jurors his back, walked several paces then turned back around to face them. “It’s the right thing to do, ladies and gentlemen.” He nodded and pointed his finger over at William Carper while still staring at the jurors. “If you judge my client guilty of this crime, it would be an abomination of the legal system. You must not only do the right thing, you must do the legal thing. Find my client, William Carper, innocent of any wrongdoing.” He dropped his arm that had been lifted in his client’s direction. “I rest my case, Your Honor.” He nodded once then smiled. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.”

  Edward walked quietly to where his assistant sat behind their two opened brief cases and took his seat at the table. He’d spoken succinctly and with total confidence. Granted, I hadn’t listened to the witnesses’ testimony or heard what the prosecution had said about his client, but based on what Edward had told me, it appeared his client would be set free. And I understood how that made Edward feel. He was doing his job to the best of his abilities, yet he was setting a murderer free. He was carrying his own personal weight of sorrow for the murder victim and her family. However, he also would walk away from this trial knowing he’d upheld the law and done his job well.

  Chapter 48

  I left the courtroom after hearing Edward’s summation. I wanted to run by the hospital to check on Amylynn, but when I arrived at the ICU, the nurses must have been involved with patients because there was no one at the main station. I walked over to Amylynn’s room. Empty. Looking around to find someone to ask what was going on, I saw one of the other patients in the ICU surrounded with doctors and nurses and knew I shouldn’t interrupt.

  I took the elevator to the first floor waiting area, hoping Amylynn had been released. Upon approaching the receptionist’s desk, I stood at the counter while she finished speaking with someone on the phone.

  “Is Amylynn Saxton still a patient?”

  She typed the name on her computer and her eyes roved left to right as she read the information on the screen. “She was released from the hospital today.”

  “Thank you so much.” My smile was so wide it hurt the sides of my mouth. I rushed to my car, jumped in, and searched through my purse for my cell phone with one hand while I started the engine with the other. I pressed in Cecilia’s home number as I backed out of the parking space, headed for home.

  After a few rings, she answered. The sound of her ‘hello’ told me everything I hoped to hear.

  “Hey,” I said, grinning to myself. “I just left the hospital. How’s Amylynn doing?”

  She sighed. “Her temperature’s finally normal and the doctor told us to keep a close eye on her but she should be fine within a week.” I could hear her sniffle. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to her, Brandy, I—”

  “Don’t even go there, Cece,” I interrupted. “Be thankful she’s okay now. And you sound so relieved, I feel like crying too.”

  “Thanks for being such a good friend. It means a lot to me. And to Perry, too.”

  “Hey. Good things happen to good people, Cecilia. You guys waited a long time for Amylynn. You deserve all the happiness she’s bringing to your lives.”

  “Want to have coffee together this week?”

  “Just give me a call. I’ll bake the muffins.”

  By that time, I’d reached my house and parked in the driveway. After explaining to Stephanie what had happened, I asked if she could babysit a while longer. I wanted to see if I could find Edward and tell him the good news. Perhaps he’d have time to talk when court recessed for lunch. I drove the few blocks to the courthouse. It was almost noon so there was a good chance I might run into him.

  After pulling around to the back lot, I noticed his Porsche was still parked there. I maneuvered the Mercedes next to his car, shut off the engine, and leaned back, trying to collect my thoughts. The courthouse was located on Shoreline Drive, across from the beach. Reclining the seat, I laid my head back, rolled the window down a few inches, and listened to the calls of the seagulls. The next thing I heard was a light tapping on the car window.

  Edward’s face peered through my side window. I sat up and stared at him, momentarily disoriented. “Oh my God! What time is it?” I opened my car door and he bent down to where I was seated.

  “How long have you been out here, Brandy?”

  I shook my head and blinked several times, my brain muddled. “You’re kidding me! I got here right before noon.”

  “Did you drive over here for a reason? Were you planning to come inside or just sleep in your car overnight? Where’s Jessica?”

  “I came here to see you, hoping you’d have a break for lunch. I closed my eyes to take a little rest and I must have fallen asleep. Stephanie’s at home babysitting Jess.”

  “What did you want to talk about? Is there something wrong?”

  “Just the opposite.” I smiled.

  “Wait a minute.” He closed the car door, walked around to the passenger side, and got in. “Talk to me,” he said, taking hold of my hand.

  I twisted in my seat to face him. “I told you about Amylynn being sick.” He nodded. “But she was getting better. Then her fever spiked again, over one hundred and five degrees, and after they admitted her to Alameda Hospital she had a febrile seizure. I guess she was fighting some sort of virus. But anyway, she’s fine. Her temperature’s back to normal and she’s home now.”

  He pulled me in toward his chest, wrapping me in his arms. “Wow. I bet she and Perry are relieved.”

  I leaned back and rested against the car door. “Oh my God. Cecilia was so upset, she was crying on the phone. If anything had happened to Amylynn she’d be devastated.” My bottom lip quivered and he took both my hands in his.

  “It brings up bad memories.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. But at the same time, I’m so grateful to have Jessica in my life. And you.” I smiled and dabbed at my eyes with the tips of my fingers.

  The sun’s rays were dwindling and twilight over the bay cast yellow and orange light inside the car.

  Edward leaned t
oward me and kissed my forehead then pulled back to look at me. “I saw you in court today.”

  I cradled his face in both my hands and smiled. “You were brilliant,” I said then grasped his hands in mine. “I understand what you meant now. It looks like your client will go free.”

  “The jury’s out deliberating.” He looked down at his wristwatch. “Scratch that. It’s four-thirty so they’ve been released for the day. Would you like to go out somewhere quiet to eat? I’m starving. I missed lunch today.”

  “How about we pick up a pizza at Demarco’s then go to your house? I just have to call Steph, explain about my falling asleep, and make sure she can stay with the baby awhile longer.”

  He gave me a gentle kiss. “I’ll follow you in my car.”

  I called Stephanie from my cell phone and she said she’d be happy to stay. She had plenty of studying to do and enjoyed the quiet of my house. We stopped and picked up a garden pizza to go, then drove to Edward’s house. While I sat in the dining room he lit a fire in the front room fireplace, and I could hear the logs crackling and spitting. He placed several lighted candles on the windowsills, creating a soothing atmosphere. We ate in silence for a few moments, comfortable just being together.

  “You know, this episode with Amylynn brings up some personal issues I’ve been dealing with. Since Christine died, I’ve had a helluva time coming to terms with the death of any child. I just can’t believe an all-loving God would let this happen. I’ve been questioning the foundation of my beliefs, everything the nuns taught me in Catholic school.

  “I understand my mom and dad dying. They’d both been ill and were relatively old. But Christine and all the children who die every day? Sometimes I turn on the television and Marlowe Thomas is speaking about St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, all those kids dying with cancer. I swear, it just doesn’t make sense.”

  He placed his hand over mine and held it tightly. “Have you talked with Cecilia about this? Does she feel the same way?”

  “She and I spoke about it once. She believes in karma. She explained how bad things will inevitably happen to everyone, but if a person has tried to live a decent life, good things will come back to them. I agree with her. It happened to me. Christine died then I gave birth to Jessica. Makes more sense than some entity controlling what goes on in our lives, letting children die before they’ve had a chance to experience life. I could go on but you get what I’m trying to say, don’t you?”

  We’d never had a dialogue about religion, or God, or the church. For all I knew, this had the potential to cause problems for us in our relationship, but I hoped not.

  “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. You carried Christine for nine months then she died at birth. I can understand why you’d doubt the existence of God.”

  He leaned his elbows on the table and looked intently into his glass of wine. “I’ve always thought of God as more in terms of energy. Like a spirit or force of goodness. I believe everything good comes from that energy, and if you do good, it adds to that energy.” Looking up at me, he continued, “I’m not trying to be all ‘Star Wars’ or anything. You can call this force or energy any name you want—God, karma, whatever. That’s just semantics.

  “I wasn’t raised Catholic, so I don’t have this vision of a big guy with a long beard wearing a white robe up in the sky, orchestrating what goes on in the world. I find it easier to accept there’s a living non-physical goodness, and we all contribute to it, as well as receive from it.” He paused. “Have I lost you?”

  I shook my head. “No, I like the way you explained. And, you’re right, call it karma or label it whatever you want, it’s all the same thing. I went to parochial schools all my life. And I don’t want to drop out of the whole religious scene just because I don’t buy into the belief system I had when I was eight years old. My perspective’s changed but that’s okay, right? My new way of thinking isn’t messed up, it’s just different than when I was a little girl.”

  He nodded and gave my hand a squeeze. He did understand. He got me.

  We’d both finished eating and were relaxing, sipping our drinks. I felt a little better after having eaten, and the peace and quiet helped me feel less stressed. He stood, took my hand, and guided me toward the couch in front of the fireplace, where we cuddled under the blanket, warm and full from our dinner.

  We both fell asleep. I felt emotionally exhausted, and Edward had been burning the candle at both ends. When I woke up it was nine o’clock, and I realized I had to get home; I hadn’t told Stephanie I’d be gone this long. Edward drove me home then dropped Stephanie at her house. He was returning to the office for a few hours to work on other cases and tomorrow morning he had a meeting with his assistant. He was wound tight as a clock and hadn’t been sleeping well, so we planned to get together after the verdict came in.

  I climbed into bed, thinking of Cecilia and Perry and what they’d just been through. I was so glad there had been a happy ending for them. They were a solid couple with a deep faith in the goodness in the world—Cecilia’s karma, Edward’s energy. What goes round, comes round. It had happened for me, and now it had happened for them too.

  Chapter 49

  The second week of January—and our wedding was just around the corner. I hadn’t completed my list of things-to-do yet. Then again, a lot had been going on. What with Edward’s trial, Amylynn being in the hospital, and now waiting for the jury’s final verdict, my mind was focused on everything but the wedding.

  If the jury reached a decision soon, as Edward predicted, he and I would have about two and a half weeks to finish up what needed to be done, leaving us time to slow down and take a breather.

  They hadn’t reached a verdict by Tuesday and Edward called to tell me he was heading to the gym to work out then have a quick dinner and try to catch a few hours of sleep at his house. He explained he felt this way whenever he was awaiting a verdict and I shouldn’t take it personally.

  I couldn’t relate to the pressure and stress he must be under being a criminal attorney, speaking in front of a judge, jury, and courtroom. It seemed an unbelievably daunting job. I’d never be able to perform in front of so many people. It took a helluva lot of self-confidence to pull it off. But it came with a price—sleepless nights and wound-up days.

  The following day I had the television turned low, listening to a daytime soap opera while paying bills, when the newscaster’s voice announced “breaking news.” Looking over at the television, I turned up the volume on the remote, assuming the verdict had come in on William Carper.

  “We’ve just learned Mr. Edward Barnes, attorney for William Carper, the man on trial for the murder of little Heidi Bailey, has been shot on the courthouse steps. The jury announced their verdict of ‘not guilty’ and Mr. Barnes was leaving the courthouse when one shot was fired. Just a moment. We’re receiving live video from in front of the Alameda Superior Courthouse. Lacy Beerjin is covering this breaking news. Lacy?”

  I dropped the remote and stood, eyes riveted on the television, watched in horror while the picture on the screen switched to the courthouse steps where dozens of people formed a large circle around what I assumed was Edward’s body. Paramedics and police were trying to keep people away; however, the media with their zoom lenses were able to get close-up video of the scene.

  I knelt in front of the television and touched the screen with my fingertips, not believing the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. I forced myself to listen as the newscaster gave a blow-by-blow account of what had led up to the shooting, her words painting a horrifying picture in my mind—a gun, Edward dropping onto the steps, a man running away, the police capturing the shooter.

  I stared at the picture on the screen, my mouth half-open, heart pounding so hard I could feel the “thrump-thrump” beating wildly in my chest. Two paramedics were wheeling away my fiancé, my Edward, the father of my child, on a gurney toward the back of an ambulance. One of them held up an IV next to Edward as they loaded him inside. That mea
nt he was still alive, didn’t it? Oh, God, please…please…please. The rear doors swung shut and the vehicle sped away from the courthouse.

  I ran to the phone and called Stephanie. She’d seen the news too and was already looking for her purse so she could come over to my house. She had babysat for me so many times, I didn’t have to give her instructions. I was getting into my car as she jogged around the corner. She waved to me, held up the house key I’d given her, and let herself inside.

  I arrived at Alameda Hospital in less than three minutes. I stood back as the paramedics slid the gurney out of the back of the ambulance and wheeled it toward the doors to the Emergency Room. His face was covered with an oxygen mask, his hair disheveled, his skin the color and sheen of a grey porpoise. His white dress shirt was drenched in reddish-purple blood from his belt to his collar.

  Not being related to Edward yet, I wouldn’t be allowed to accompany him. One paramedic was talking to someone on a two-way radio, detailing Edward’s vital information to whoever was on the other end of the line. They raced through the doors into the hospital and several words cut through my consciousness: extremely low blood pressure, not responding, heart rate rapid—all signs pointing to someone in very bad shape. I watched, numb, as they disappeared beyond the inner sanctum of the Emergency Room doors.