Vindication

by H. Terrell Griffin

  “When did Ruth get back from Orlando?”

  “She didn’t go all the way there. Her friend got a call from the airline just as they were getting on the turnpike telling her that the flight was delayed until the next morning. They turned around and came home. Ruth showed up about eight o’clock.”

  “What did she find when she came home?”

  “She found Liv and me in bed.”

  “Were you having sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know that the medical examiner found no evidence of Ms. Lathom having sex just before her death?”

  “I used a condom.”

  “What happened when Ruth caught you?”

  “She grabbed a gun out of a kitchen cabinet and came into the bedroom. She was screaming that she was going to kill Liv.”

  “Did the gun belong to you?”

  “No. I assumed it belonged to Kelly. She’s the one who left it with Ruth. Said she had somebody’s small child coming for a visit and she didn’t want the gun around while the kid was there.”

  “What happened?”

  “Liv tried to calm Ruth down. Ruth was screaming about the book money and being in bed with me. Liv told her that if they could just sit and talk they could get past all this. I remember her telling Ruth, ‘You don’t love James. You’ve told me that for years and that you two don’t have a sex life.’ She said she was sorry for the affair, but there was a lot of money left from the advance on the book. She said she’d give Ruth half of it and she could leave me and start life over somewhere.”

  “Did Ruth calm down?”

  “Yes, but she still had the gun. We got dressed and went into the living room, and I thought everything was okay. Ruth was walking behind Liv and still holding the gun on her. And all of a sudden, it was like something went off in Ruth’s head. She hollered at Liv, called her a bitch, and pulled the trigger. Shot her in the back, and Liv fell forward onto the sofa.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I got the hell out of there. I figured I’d be next. I ran down the street to Kelly’s house to call the police. Kelly talked me out of it, and we went back to my house. Ruth was sitting in a chair, calm as a cucumber. Kelly kind of took over and called her grandson Buford to come get the body and take it back to Georgia and bury it. She said she’d take care of the gun. She stayed with us for several hours until her grandson arrived and we loaded the body into his van and he took off. We didn’t know until the next day that the idiot had dropped the body off in Paddock Square.”

  “How did Olivia get to your house?”

  “She drove.”

  “Where’s the car she came in?”

  “In my garage under a tarp.”

  “How did you come up with the story implicating Esther Higgins?”

  “That was Kelly’s idea. When she asked Ruth about the book, Ruth told her the story of copying Esther’s manuscript and giving it to Liv and about the money Liv was supposed to pay her for it. Kelly told us the gun actually belonged to Esther and she would fix that so it pointed to Esther as the killer.”

  “Did you know that Kelly Gilbert arranged for her other grandson, Lionel, to call your neighbor and pretend to be from the airline and say that the flight had been canceled?”

  “I didn’t know that until you told me.”

  “Did you know that Kelly had been a contestant in the Miss Georgia Pageant forty years ago and was cheated out of the title by Olivia Lathom, whose name was then Polly Norris?”

  “Not until you told me about it.”

  “Would it seem to you, knowing what you know now, that Kelly Gilbert orchestrated this whole thing? She had the gun ready for Ruth’s use, she arranged for the phone call to ensure that Ruth got home in time to catch you in bed with Ms. Lathom, she arranged for the body to disappear, and she came up with the idea to frame my client, Esther Higgins.”

  “It does now.”

  “No further questions.”

  Meredith had made no objections and some of my questions were at least borderline improper. I was sure she must have something held in reserve that would attack James’ credibility, perhaps destroy it. She rose. “Your Honor, may we address the court outside the presence of the jury?”

  Judge Gallagher agreed and asked the court deputy to escort the jury out of the courtroom.

  “Your Honor,” Meredith said. “The gentleman in the suit in the back of the room is a Sumter County Deputy Sheriff, a detective. I’d like your permission for him to arrest Mr. McNeil and take him to jail. He’s admitted to several crimes today. Charges will be forthcoming from my office.”

  “Detective,” the judge said, “come do your duty.”

  “Your Honor, Mr. Royal,” Meredith said. “I would like to explain to the court and to Mr. Royal what is going on.”

  “I’d be interested in that myself,” the judge said. “Proceed.”

  “Yesterday, Mr. Royal’s investigator met with Sheriff Cornett and told him about the evidence that would be produced today and invited the sheriff to come to court. He decided to send one of his detectives to sit here all day and watch what was going on. I didn’t know anything about this until we took the afternoon break. I got a call from my boss who told me to make no objections to Mr. McNeil’s testimony. In the words of the state attorney, I was to let him hang himself.”

  “He did that,” the judge said. “What now?”

  “I am instructed to dismiss all charges against Ms. Higgins with prejudice.”

  “That’s your prerogative, Ms. Evans,” the judge said. “You don’t need my okay, but I would also caution you that jeopardy has attached, not that it’ll make much difference, given your dismissal.”

  “I’m aware of that, Your Honor. I don’t want there to be any question in the record.”

  The dismissal with prejudice meant that Esther was free. Once the jury was empaneled, jeopardy attached, which meant that by dismissing the case, if the state tried to bring it again, it would be barred by the US Constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. In any case, the dismissal with prejudice would cover the issue as well. We had won.

  The judge called the jury back into the box and advised them that the state had dismissed all claims against Esther Higgins and that she was free to go. He thanked them for their service and adjourned the court.

  I had noticed that J.D. had slipped into the courtroom while I had Biggun on the stand. After the judge left the bench, she came through the rail and hugged her aunt and then her boyfriend, me. Esther had tears in her eyes as she joined us in a group hug. “Ah, Matt,” she said. “You’ve given me my life back. How can I ever thank you?”

  “Can I keep J.D.?” I asked.

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “That’s all the thanks I need.”

  “You could make an honest woman out of her, you know.”

  “She has a standing offer. You can help convince her to take me up on it.”

  Esther laughed. “Higgins women are tough.”

  “They are, but they’re worth it,” I said and kissed Esther on the cheek and walked out of the courtroom arm in arm with the last two women of the Higgins clan.

  CHAPTER 54

  THERE WAS A short delay while Esther was checked out of the county jail and picked up her belongings. The sheriff had made sure the procedure went smoothly and quickly. Within a few minutes, J.D. and I were in my Explorer driving Esther to The Villages and home. J.D. had called ahead and her neighbors were holding an impromptu party in her driveway. Somebody had even stuck a plastic flamingo in the front yard.

  Esther had hugged me and broken down in tears as Judge Gallagher adjourned the court. It was the first sign of distress I’d seen in her in the seven weeks she’d been in jail facing the possibility of a life sentence.

  As we pulled into the driveway, my phone rang. The caller ID told me it was Meredith. I knew how it felt to lose a case and I hesitated to answer. I didn’t want to say anything to this outstanding prosecutor that
would leave her with the impression I was gloating. Finally, I decided it would be rude to ignore her. I answered.

  “You glorious bastard,” she said. “You owe me some whiskey.”

  “What’s your poison?”

  “Bourbon.”

  “Maker’s Mark or Wild Turkey?”

  “Ah, the good stuff. Either will do just fine.”

  “Why don’t you come down to Longboat to drink it? You haven’t met my girl J.D. yet, and she has a condo that you’re welcome to use. She can bunk in with me.”

  “Is she the pretty blond who was in the courtroom today?”

  “She is, except the blond is a disguise. She’s a brunette and will be again as soon a her hair grows out.”

  “I won’t even ask why she needs a disguise.”

  “Come on down and we’ll fill you in. Maybe the boss will give you some time off. You sure as hell have been busy this week.”

  “I’d like to do that, Counselor. When would be a convenient time?”

  “J.D. and I are going home tomorrow morning. You’re welcome anytime after that.”

  “Thanks, buddy. I can sure do with some R & R.”

  “We’ll be looking for you.”

  J.D. and Esther had gotten out of the car and joined the party. J.D. gave me a questioning look as I approached and I whispered, “That was Meredith. I invited her to Longboat and offered her your condo.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. Only, I’ll have to sleep with you.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “Nah. I can live with it for a few days, I guess.”

  The mob of neighbors shifted away from Esther and came over to congratulate me. There were hugs all around as I told them that J.D. had done all the legwork. She demurred, but the questions started to flow and we spent the rest of the evening giving them a blow-by-blow account of the investigation and the trial.

  Toward the end of the evening, as the neighbors started to drift toward home, a car drove up in front of Esther’s house. A man got out and walked toward me. It took me a minute to recognize him, but when I did, I detached myself and went to meet him. He gave me a bear hug, and said, “So Florida’s best lawyer once more kicks some Sumter County ass.”

  “It always helps to have an innocent client,” I said. “I’ve never tried a case up here without one.”

  “A little bit of luck never hurt anybody. Come on and introduce me to your girl.”

  I led him over to J.D. and said, “This is the woman I love, J. D. Duncan. J.D., this is an old friend. Jeff Carpenter.”

  “Dr. Jeff Carpenter?”

  “Matt knew me better as the defendant Jeff Carpenter.”

  “Sheriff Cornett told me all about you and what you did for his daughter,” J.D. said. “It really is a pleasure to meet you. Can I get you a drink?”

  “No, thanks. I just came by to congratulate Matt. I’ve been following this case pretty closely, but I’ve stayed away. I didn’t want to jinx your brilliant friend here.”

  “Thanks for coming by, Jeff,” I said. “It means a lot.”

  “I can never repay you for what you did for me, my friend. Invite me to the wedding.”

  “As soon as she agrees to marry me, I’ll let you know.”

  We slept in Esther’s guest room that night, enjoyed the breakfast our hostess cooked, and said our good-byes. We stopped in Bushnell to get J.D.’s Camry and began our two-car convoy back to paradise.

  CHAPTER 55

  IN MAY, LONGBOAT Key turns into a somnolent little island peopled mostly by the year-rounders, the twenty-five hundred or so of us who make this tiny slice of paradise our permanent home. It is a quiet time, lodged between the end of the snowbird tourist season and the smaller onslaught of summer vacationers from the interior of Florida. Around the middle of the month, our annual scourge, humidity, envelops us and hangs around until mid-October. We handle it with the help of cool Gulf waters and air-conditioned bars and restaurants.

  A week after the trial, Meredith Evans took me up on my invitation and came to visit for a couple of days. We didn’t talk much about the trial, but we did drink a lot of good bourbon and told stories of our lives in courtrooms. Meredith and J.D. took to each other, as they say, and became friends.

  As the month wore on, Meredith kept us up to date on the aftermath of the trial. Buford Steerman was the first to make a deal. He pleaded guilty to one count of moving a dead body and agreed to serve three years in prison in return for testifying against Ruth Bergstrom and Kelly Gilbert. His brother, Chunk, whose only crime was the assault on me, agreed to testify to what little he knew and I agreed not to press any charges. He was free to go back to his chicken farm.

  James McNeil, Ruth Bergstrom’s husband, was charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder because he did not report the crime. However, Sheriff Cornett and the state attorney, Meredith’s boss, had a conversation with him the evening before I put him on the witness stand, and offered him a deal. If James would testify truthfully in Esther’s trial and then plead guilty to the charge, the state would agree to a sentence of two years of probation. James would not go to jail.

  Ruth pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. At her age, she’d probably never see the outside of the penitentiary. The charge of theft of Esther’s manuscript was dropped in return for her admitting that she had stolen the book with the intention of splitting the royalties with Olivia Lathom. The admission would ensure that Esther would reach a settlement with the publishing company.

  Kelly Gilbert, also known as Sally Steerman and before that as Sarah Kyle, walked out of the courtroom the day she testified and disappeared. She had not been found despite the nationwide search for her. Several calls a day came into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office reporting that Kelly had been seen in Miami, or Atlanta, or Columbia, South Carolina, or any number of small towns all over the country. The only trace of her was a letter she mailed to Esther from Atlanta. In it, Kelly apologized to Esther for causing her so much grief, but once she realized that Polly and Olivia were the same person, she had to do something. She admitted to her part in setting up the murder.

  Kelly told Esther that shortly after Olivia Lathom’s book was published, she was chatting with Ruth Bergstrom about the excitement generated by the book’s success. Ruth was detailing her long association with Olivia and told Kelly that Olivia had once mentioned in passing that she had held the title of Miss Georgia. Ruth thought Olivia was lying, but Kelly began to look into it. Given Olivia’s age, Kelly assumed that she had been Miss Georgia within a one-to-three-year period before the pageant in which Kelly had competed as Sarah Kyle.

  Her research turned up no trace of anybody named Olivia Lathom ever having won the Miss Georgia crown. However, the more she looked at photographs of Olivia, the more she became convinced that Olivia was in fact Polly Norris, the winner of the pageant that Kelly should have won. When she heard that Olivia was coming to The Villages, she set her plan in motion.

  Kelly felt that her life had been ruined by the actions of Polly Norris at the Miss Georgia Pageant all those years before. As she grew older, her bitterness grew, and once she was on the trail of Olivia, she became certain that the two women were the same person. Olivia was Polly, and Polly was responsible for the shambles that the life of the young woman from Nashville, Georgia, had become. The irony of the situation was that Kelly could never have been sure that Olivia was Polly forty years later, although Gary Burris’ magic computers did seem to confirm that fact.

  Kelly wrote that she knew she was in trouble after she was cross-examined by me. She left town and found a hotel on the interstate near the Georgia line. She holed up and read everything she could about the trial. She was aware of James’ testimony. Kelly was a very smart woman and had hidden her tracks well, but the testimony of James McNeil was damning. She was sure that Esther had put things together and was going to testify about the subterfuge Kelly used in getting Esther�
��s prints on the gun, Kelly’s access to Esther’s house, and her knowledge of the times that the house would be empty while Esther was teaching reading at the elementary school. She knew the evidence of her guilt was piling up.

  Kelly thought the elaborate preparations she’d made to hide her complicity in the murder would protect her. In the end, it didn’t, and she fled. By the end of May, she was still a fugitive and the law enforcement agencies had intensified their efforts, so far to no avail.

  The cops were still trying to find a trail that would lead to solving the mystery of who Polly Norris really was and where she came from and where Olivia had been in the years between the Miss Georgia Pageant and her marriage to Danny Lathom. That effort was petering out since it was not important to the murder investigation, but the whole mystery would probably join the lore that included questions about D.B. Cooper and other notable disappearances over the years.

  The company that had published Beholden accepted that it had been defrauded by Olivia and paid Esther the same advance and agreed to the same contract they had had with Olivia. It was time for a second printing of the book, and the cover of this one had Esther’s name on it.

  It was all working out. Esther was happy, some of the bad guys were in jail, Kelly was on the run, and J.D. and I were enjoying the beach bum life to which we both aspired. And I once more vowed to never again set foot in a courtroom. Life was good on Longboat Key.

  EPILOGUE

  ON THE LAST day of May, the beach was virtually deserted. The snowbirds had gone home and it was too early for the summer visitors from the interior of Florida. J.D. and I had jogged four miles on the packed sand left by the ebb tide, and we were walking slowly as we approached the crosswalk over the dunes near the North Shore Road beach access.

  It was only a little after seven in the morning and it was already hot and humid. I could feel the sweat seeping from my wide-open pores in a vain attempt to cool my body. My breath was coming a little harder than it had the year before and new aches had found their home in places that weren’t used much while sitting in a courtroom.