Long Hill Home

by Kathryn Pincus

  Kelly looked up at Dan, who put his face in his hands. She knew he was trying to keep it together in front of Sam.

  “So,” Sam shrugged, “as you can see, he is a dangerous monster, and we have nailed his ass every way but Sunday.”

  Dan and Kelly laughed a little at this expression, unleashing some of their pent-up emotions. Kelly reached over and took Dan’s hand. He gave her fingers a squeeze.

  “I guess I should tell you that after hearing from both sides today, the judge was obviously blown away by our evidence. He made sure that Barnard was fully aware of the DNA evidence and its implications, as well as all of the other evidence. The defense will have a chance to probe our evidence, but Judge Silver was definitely helping them see that the evidence is insurmountable, and a plea agreement will save us all a lot of time and heartache.”

  “What would it mean if he took a plea agreement, Sam? Would he be out of prison a lot sooner than if he is convicted?” The dread feeling churned in Kelly’s stomach and rose up in her throat.

  “The State will not agree to any plea agreement that does not put this guy away for a very long time. He’s a violent rapist, not to mention a serial misogynist with a penchant for physical violence, and we don’t want him out on the streets.” Sam looked at Kelly and began to speak softly. “On the other hand, we have to make some concessions, and there has to be some upside for him to plead guilty rather than fight. I’ll get you a copy of the sentencing guidelines so you can see the possible range here, and of course I’ll let you see any proposed plea agreement and weigh in on it, too.”

  Sam picked up some papers off of the coffee table. “For now, let’s prepare your testimony for the preliminary hearing just in case, so we have covered all of our bases.”

  Kelly was surprised at how the dread that filled her seemed to diminish and then disappear entirely as she recalled the details of the day when she was attacked. Dan held her hand, squeezing it gently at times when she spoke about the man hurting her, violating her. Dan rubbed her back softly with the same hand when she talked about waking up in the woods, cold, sore and tied up. This time Kelly felt as if she was narrating someone else’s story. She spoke methodically and was meticulous with the details, but she did not feel much at all. She noticed Sam kept nodding his head as she spoke, and checking off pieces of information on his notes that she assumed he had to elicit from her in the courtroom.

  “Hey, Kel.” Sam interrupted as Kelly started describing her rescue. “You are not going to like this, but I need you to convey the emotions, too. You know, like, your fear, your pain, and your humiliation. You sound like a robot.”

  “Gee thanks, Sam.” Kelly said with biting sarcasm. “I am just getting to a point where I can talk about this stuff without falling apart. That’s mostly because I am describing it with some form of emotional detachment. Now you want me to go back and get in touch with my pain?”

  “Just doing my job to the best of my ability, Kel. I know it is not easy, but it will be helpful to convince a judge and jury, if it comes to that.”

  “Can’t wait,” Kelly said, sarcastically.

  Sam leaned over the coffee table and collected his papers. He placed them in his briefcase, shut it and stood up to leave. First, he extended his hand to Dan. “Good to see you again, Dan.”

  Dan stood up awkwardly. “Uh, good to see you too, Sam. We can’t thank you enough for helping us out like this.”

  “My pleasure,” Sam said as he turned and started toward the door. He paused for a moment to speak. “Kel, good job. You’ll be a great witness. And, with a little luck, you won’t need to be.”

  “Amen. Thanks, Sam.” Kelly said. “Hey, are you working with Chad McCloskey and Maria Hernandez on their testimony?”

  “I will get on that real soon. You can see I have been busy, and access to them has been a bit tricky. I hope it gets a little easier now with McCloskey since he will be a free man. Hernandez has been a little MIA, but Sara Nuñez is reminding her that she doesn’t have a choice but to answer a subpoena.”

  Sam saw the look of concern on Kelly’s face. “I mean, we’ll say that to her in a lot nicer way.”

  “Great,” Kelly said, again with sarcasm.

  Sam turned and started to walk toward the door. A high-pitched ringing emitted from his pocket. He stopped right next to the door and pulled out his cell phone. “Hello, Sam Schultz here.”

  Kelly and Dan stood silently, listening to his side of the conversation.

  “No shit.” Sam said. Then he looked up at Kelly and Dan and smiled, as he lifted his other hand and made a thumbs-up signal. “Thanks. Bye.”

  “What is it, Sam?” Kelly asked before he even put his phone away.

  “That was my office. Barnard’s counsel arranged to depose the people involved in the collection of and testing of the DNA evidence tomorrow. I’ll be there to defend the depositions. Those are the only ones the defense is interested in, because really, DNA is everything. If it is sound, they know they can’t beat this thing. At best, Barnard can hope for a lesser penalty and avoiding the humiliation of a trial parading all of the details of his sorry character and this horrific crime.”

  “Okay, thanks, Sam.”

  “Keep your phone with you.” Sam said.

  “I will.” Sam closed the door behind him in a hurry, leaving Dan and Kelly staring silently at each other.

  CHAPTER 34

  KELLY: OCTOBER 6, 2011

  KELLY STAYED BUSY all day to keep her mind occupied. She took the girls to school, went grocery shopping, caught up on laundry and even cleaned their bedroom closets. She knew that she could not call Sam while he was in depositions or if he was negotiating a plea agreement. That evening, Dan appeared equally anxious to hear from Sam, and so he made himself busy in the kitchen beside Kelly. Kelly carved a roasted chicken and took warm biscuits off of a baking sheet while Dan made a salad and set the table. Both of them had a large glass of Sancerre that they alternately sipped and placed back on the kitchen counter.

  Kelly’s eyes locked onto Dan’s as he silently conveyed his support and shared suspense. She momentarily felt the familiar sense of dread knocking around in her stomach, pushing up into her throat and making her heart race. But oddly, tonight she felt like she had control over the dread, and with a little deep breathing, and the presence of her husband and daughters in such a warm setting, she managed to control it.

  “What are you smiling at, Mom?” Anna asked, as she spun in a kitchen counter stool.

  “I’m just happy,” Kelly said easily.

  “About what?” Anna continued the inquiry.

  “About being here with you guys, and in this beautiful kitchen, and smelling Daddy’s famous biscuits in the oven.” Kelly patted her stomach, causing Anna to smirk.

  “And I’m happy, too, for all of those same reasons,” Dan said, as he walked over to Kelly and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

  The ring of the phone made them all jump. Dan dropped his hands quickly and stepped back. The girls looked up from their homework as the shrill ringing of the phone and their mother’s running out of the kitchen shattered the sense of tranquility and comfort that had filled the room only moments before. Kelly ran into her office and picked up the phone on the fourth ring, breathless, trying in vain to sound normal. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Kel. It’s me,” Sam said quickly. “We got it! We got a great deal that I think you’re going to be happy about.”

  Kelly looked at Dan who by now was standing beside her, also desperately needing to know. “Hang on a second, Sam,” Kelly said as she held the telephone against her chest to muffle it. “Dan,” she pleaded, “I can’t put the phone on speaker. The girls will hear.” She looked frantic, “Why don’t you pick up in the kitchen and listen in.”

  As Dan walked quickly out of the room, Kelly said, “Sam, Dan is going to get on the line in a minute, too. He needs to be part of this. Please start from the beginning. What happened with the depositions and what’s
the deal you’re so excited about?”

  “Okay, okay,” Sam said. Kelly heard him take a deep breath. She pictured him ruffling his hand through his hair like he did when he was nervous or excited about something. Then she heard a click as Dan joined their conversation.

  “I’m on,” Dan said awkwardly.

  “Hi Dan,” Sam said. “Okay, here goes. First, the depositions went off without a hitch. Our guys are solid in the collection, chain-of-custody and testing of the DNA evidence. They also have impressive credentials. Barnard’s counsel tried to fluster them, but at the end of the day, they got nothing helpful to the defense. So, about a half hour after depositions, they called me and said they want to talk about a deal.”

  “And the deal?” Dan blurted out, surprising Kelly and Sam.

  “Well, we charged him initially with rape first degree, assault first degree and kidnapping first degree. Not to mention, now we can add burglary based on the crimes at the veterinary practice.”

  “Okay, so this is what you were threatening him with.” Kelly interjected. “What is he agreeing to plead to?”

  “Jeez, I’m getting to that. At first he wanted to plead nolo contendre, but of course we wouldn’t allow that. There is no way that he was going to get off without admitting his guilt.”

  “Good!” Kelly chimed in. “What about the sentence?”

  “As you could have predicted, Barnard has been relatively impossible. It turned out to be a good thing that he has two of the most prominent criminal defense attorneys representing him, because their influence was necessary to convince him that he better take the plea…”

  “Sam!” Kelly interrupted impatiently. “What kind of time are we talking about here?”

  “The sentencing guidelines for rape first degree, which is classified as a Felony, Level A offense, provides for fifteen years to life,” Sam said. “And the other offenses, kidnapping and assault are, at best, Felony B which provides for two to fifteen years.”

  “Two to fifteen?” Kelly interrupted. “That’s quite a range, Sam.”

  “Yeah, well, the court takes into consideration the defendant’s prior record, the violence involved, and other aggravating or mitigating factors.”

  “So, where do you think he falls?” Kelly asked.

  “There was premeditation and deliberate planning, use of a weapon—with the dart gun and the drugs—and of course, a violent act of rape. I would add the reckless disregard for your life with the use of drugs that could have been lethal. He has never been convicted of anything, but he has been arrested once for a domestic dispute allegedly resulting in his ex-wife’s black eye and broken nose, but somehow he got off on that and wasn’t prosecuted. He had an assault arrest record years ago when he was in high school, but that was expunged. And we have a few other women in his past that would be helpful to some degree perhaps.”

  “So Sam, what are you thinking? What’s the bottom line here?” Kelly asked, biting her lip.

  “The bottom line is, I know, and they know, we can nail him on Rape, Felony A, which is fifteen to life, and no possibility of getting out for good time served before fifteen years are up. With the violence and the premeditation involved, I think we convinced him he would certainly be looking at more than fifteen years, and we told him we were going to request life. And then of course there are the other charges he’d have to add time for. But between you and me, I am not sure we’d get much added from kidnapping, burglary, assault.” Sam desperately tried to prepare Kelly for what he thought was her best option.

  “Sam, I appreciate the education, but if you don’t tell me right now the bottom line—what he is agreeing to serve in his plea agreement—then I am going to explode!” Kelly raised her voice to convince Sam of her desperation.

  “Twenty-five years, with possibility of parole after twenty with good time served.” There was nothing but silence on the other end of the conversation.

  “Kel?” Sam said quietly. There was a long silence. “Kel? What are you thinking?” Sam prodded her gently.

  “I don’t know Sam. I absolutely hate the idea of Jack Barnard ever being a free man again. On the other hand, twenty-five years, or even twenty years, is a pretty long time.”

  “Kelly,” Sam said. “The guy will be somewhere between sixty and sixty-five years old when he gets out and he’ll age prematurely in prison. He’ll look and feel much older than that. Think about it. Aside from the deterrence factor that twenty-five years in the slammer will have on him, he will be a geriatric when he gets out. He will lose his law practice, not see his kids grow up, no more fly-fishing. It is a very big deal, twenty to twenty-five years locked up.”

  “And you are certain this is the right way to go when we have the DNA and everything?” Kelly asked.

  “I am sure we can nail him, Kel, but at what cost? And, what more do we get for it? You go through the trauma of telling your story, the lurid and painful details, in front of the man who attacked you and with the press reporting all of it. Let’s not forget Chad McCloskey, who is now a free man and would much rather get on with his life than testify in court for several weeks. Of course, there is also the issue of the illegal immigrant with a newborn baby that you have been so concerned about.” Sam paused for a moment. “You know that I’m pretty hard-nosed, and in this case I am highly motivated to crush this guy. So I would be hell-bent on trial if it made much of a worthwhile difference.”

  Kelly shuddered at the thought of testifying about how Barnard had humiliated her, controlled her and violated her. She was certain that she did not want to add to the burdens already borne by Maria Hernandez or Chad McCloskey.

  “Dan, are you okay with this?” she asked.

  “I am,” Dan said, without elaboration. Kelly could tell he was choked up with emotion and afraid to say anything else.

  “Okay, Sam. We are good with the plea agreement.”

  “Excellent! I think it really is the way to go here.”

  “So, how does this work now?” Kelly asked. “I mean, the court has to approve it, right?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think that is going to be a problem. Basically there is a process. Jack Barnard has to appear before Judge Silver so the judge can make sure that Barnard understands the nature of the charges he is pleading guilty to, and the minimum and maximum penalty imposed by law for each charge. Then he needs to make sure that Barnard is entering his plea voluntarily and that he is waiving the right to trial by entering the plea.” Sam hesitated for a moment. “Then Judge Silver will actually determine the sentence: he is not bound by the agreement. But I’m not worried about that. If anything, this judge would add to, not subtract from, the sentence proposed by the parties.”

  “Why are you sure of that?” Kelly asked.

  “He’s a smart guy who has no patience for cruelty and violence. Also, it would not be good politics to reduce the sentence of an admitted violent rapist, particularly one that’s a member of the Delaware Bar.”

  “When is this happening?” Kelly asked.

  “Tomorrow morning,” Sam replied. “Arraignment at ten sharp.”

  “Thanks Sam. You really have been a godsend.”

  “Well, you can buy me dinner sometime,” Sam said. Then, remembering Dan was on the phone, he said, “You and Dan can buy me dinner sometime.”

  “That’s a deal,” Kelly laughed.

  “Thanks for everything Sam,” Dan chimed in.

  Kelly pushed the “off” button on the phone and placed it on the desk. A moment later she saw Dan pop his head into her office. He was smiling.

  “Twenty-five years, with no possibility of parole for at least twenty years, Dan.” Kelly came to him and put her arms around his neck. She buried her head in his chest.

  Dan whispered in her ear. “He’ll be a sickly, impotent and bankrupt old geezer when he gets out.”

  CHAPTER 35

  KELLY: OCTOBER 7, 2011

  KELLY SAT STIFFLY in the back row of the courtroom. Dan sat next to her, in his only su
it and dress shoes, holding her hand on the wooden bench between them. The door behind them opened and Sam walked in, flanked by a thin young woman who was also a Deputy Attorney General, and a stocky grey-haired woman who Kelly assumed was their paralegal. They all held briefcases and looked very serious.

  As soon as Sam saw Kelly, a wide grin broke across his face. “Hey,” he said as he handed his briefcase to the paralegal and sidled onto their bench. “Good to see you here.” He shook Dan’s hand and awkwardly gave Kelly a half-hug.

  “I don’t have to say anything, do I?” Kelly asked.

  “No, but you might be asked questions by the press. Just stay until the proceeding is over and I’ll ask the bailiff if he can get you out the back door.” Sam backed out of the wooden row and strode down the aisle toward the table where the prosecution sat. Several feet away, defense counsel sat at another table.

  Kelly looked over at Jack Barnard’s counsel, a middle-aged woman in a black suit tapping her pencil, and a silver-haired man in a well-cut dark grey suit, who kept glancing at his thick gold watch. A court reporter came in and set up her equipment in front of the judge’s bench. The routine of the courtroom started to make Kelly feel at ease for a moment. She took a deep breath and smiled at Dan as she squeezed his hand.

  A side door opened and Barnard, accompanied by two men in Department of Corrections uniforms, came into the courtroom. Kelly startled at first at the shock of seeing him. But as she looked closely, she saw a broken man instead of the monster that had loomed in her mind. His shoulders were hunched over, his jowls hung loose over his collar and his hair was unkempt. He looked down at the floor as he entered and until he sat in his chair.

  Kelly’s eyes practically bore holes into Barnard’s back once he was seated. Dan stared at the back of his head, clenching his teeth in anger. Suddenly, the door in front of the courtroom opened, sending in a beam of light. A bailiff entered and said, “Please rise for the Honorable Judge Murray Silver.”