Sentinel - Progression Series 12 'Til Death Do Us Part

by Beth Manz

  "Sheriff Dryer," Reynolds began, his voice tinged with contempt, "please describe to the court the circumstances under which Detective Ellison left your jail."

  The sheriff was silent for a long moment. A look of shame crossed his features, then he leaned in toward the microphone. "Detective Ellison overpowered me and broke out of jail," Dryer answered reluctantly.

  "And after that?"

  Dryer cleared his throat. "Um, after that he...stole my police cruiser. I found out later that he and Captain Banks had used it to return to Cascade."

  Reynolds folded his arms across his chest and began slowly pacing in front of the witness box. "So, you are telling the court that Detective Ellison--a police officer sworn to uphold the laws of the state of Washington--overpowered you, broke out of your jail, then stole your police cruiser?"

  For the first time since entering the courtroom, Dryer appeared to be angry. He leaned forward and stared directly at the defense attorney. "That's what I said."

  "Those are some particularly serious crimes, wouldn't you agree?"

  Dryer gave Reynolds another dark look, then answered: "Yes, I'd agree."

  Reynolds moved up to the witness box and rested his arms on the small counter that separated him from Dryer. "Tell me, Sheriff...did you ever charge Detective Ellison with those crimes?"

  Dryer closed his eyes for a moment. "No. I learned later that Detective Ellison's partner was in trouble. It made sense to me that the detective had to get to him. I understood that and overlooked the infraction."

  "Pretty gracious on your part, wouldn't you say?"

  "Your Honor!" Angela's warning voice rang out. "He's harassing the witness."

  "I agree," Judge Harris said. "Watch yourself, Mr. Reynolds."

  "Of course," Reynolds said with a slight bow. "Sheriff Dryer, you just testified that you found out later that Detective Ellison returned to Cascade because his partner was in trouble...."

  "That's right."

  "When you said partner, were you referring to Dr. Sandburg?"

  Blair bristled at the way Reynolds asked the question. It was obvious by the attorney's tone that he thought of Blair as anything but Jim's partner. Sandburg sat up straighter but maintained what he hoped was a neutral expression as Dryer caught his eye. The young man could see the regret and apology written there. He still didn't fully understand the sheriff's change of attitude, but it was becoming more and more evident that the change was sincere. Dryer was clearly uncomfortable with Reynolds' line of questioning.

  "Again," Reynolds spoke loudly, causing Blair to realize that several long seconds had passed since the attorney's previous question. "When you said partner, were you referring to Dr. Sandburg?"

  "Yes."

  "Partners in the police department.... That's an important relationship, isn't it?"

  "Yes, it is. You have to depend on your partner for your life."

  "And you respect that?"

  "Yes."

  "So, you dropped your charges when you found out that Detective Ellison's partner was in trouble and needed him? You chose to believe the police over a civilian?"

  "They had evidence of her crime," Dryer answered firmly. "I believed the evidence."

  "Evidence they could have easily planted."

  "Objection!" Angela shouted. "Your Honor, you've warned counsel against this type of harassment--"

  "Again, I apologize, Your Honor." Reynolds offered Judge Harris a contrite smile before turning his attention back to the man in the witness box. "Sheriff Dryer, if Hannah Merrick is found innocent, do you plan to reinstate the charges against Detective Ellison?"

  Blair glanced nervously at Simon. The captain was sitting up straighter in his seat, his gaze locked intensely forward. Blair's thoughts turned to his partner, sequestered from the proceedings but listening in to every word....

  If Dryer says yes, Blair thought, where do we go from there?

  "No," Dryer answered. "I have no plans to reinstate charges or to arrest Detective Ellison."

  Blair exhaled the tense breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He glanced back at the closed door of the courtroom, knowing Jim had heard the sheriff's statement.

  "You don't plan to re-arrest," Reynolds repeated. "Why not?"

  "Because whatever happened or didn't happen in that cabin.... Well, without any real evidence, it all comes down to Hannah's word against that of Detective Ellison. And there's no way of knowing for sure who's telling the truth."

  "Well, now, that's exactly what I was thinking." Reynolds gave the jury a knowing look. "There is no way of knowing for sure who is telling the truth."

  /

  /

  /

  Jim straightened where he sat in the witness box, his back stiff, his hands resting flat against his legs. His gaze shifted over the faces in the gallery before settling on his partner. Blair smiled at him, nodding slightly, offering him silent encouragement. But the detective wasn't so much nervous as he was angry. He knew that no matter how well the questioning with Angela proceeded, Reynolds would find a way of making him look bad, just as he had Blair and Simon.

  He shifted his gaze to the right until he found himself looking at Hannah. She openly stared at him, and in her eyes he could see the same cold, calculating woman who had held a knife to Blair's throat and threatened to kill him.

  Love you, she mouthed, the movement of her lips so minute that he was sure he and he alone had noticed. His jaw clenched, his hands fisted in his lap. It was all he could do to keep from shouting out the abhorrence he felt for her.

  Dragging his gaze away from Hannah, Jim watched as Angela Mason stood and approached him.

  "Detective," she began matter-of-factly, "many of the questions I'm about to pose to you may seem rather disjointed and for that I apologize. I ask that you keep in mind that many details of this case have already been established during previous testimony, and therefore it's only necessary for me to highlight a few events. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, I understand," Jim said, more than ready to answer any question put to him.

  "Detective, please tell the court why you broke out of the Berne city jail."

  "Objection! We've already covered this ground--"

  "I'd like to hear the reason in the detective's own words," Angela interrupted Reynolds, directing her statement to Judge Harris.

  "So would I," the judge agreed. She turned to Jim. "Detective Ellison, you may answer the question."

  Jim nodded at the judge then turned his gaze to Angela. "Ms. Merrick visited me early on the day that I broke out. During our conversation, she admitted to me that she'd lied when she told Sheriff Dryer that I had tried to rape her. She told me the purpose of her lie was to keep me in jail."

  "And did she give you a reason for wanting to keep you in jail? Did she seem to be afraid of you?"

  Jim huffed out a derisive laugh. "No, she didn't seem to be afraid of me. Quite the opposite."

  Angela glanced at the jury, offering them a confused look and said, "Can you explain what you mean by that?"

  Jim looked at Hannah again. She was wearing pink today, a light pink sweater with a matching skirt, her hair pulled to one side in a loose ponytail. Young, he thought as he stared at her. Young and innocent. Exactly the look that would play well with the jury. Reynolds had coached his client well.

  "Detective," Angela said, drawing his attention away from Hannah. "Can you explain what she meant?"

  "Yes," he said, determined to keep his mind on the questions and forget about Hannah. "Ms. Merrick told me she wanted me to remain in jail because she liked the idea of possessing me."

  Angela shook her head. "That's an odd reason for wanting to keep someone incarcerated," she speculated. "Did she explain how keeping you in jail would allow her to possess you?"

  "She told me that as long as I was behind bars, she would always know where I was."

  "I see," Angela drawled out, a pensive expression on her face. "What else did Ms. Merrick have to say to
you during this visit?"

  Jim's gaze flitted to Blair for a moment then he leaned forward and spoke directly into the microphone. "She threatened my partner."

  "Dr. Sandburg," Angela clarified. "In what way?"

  "Hannah had this...idea...that she and I were meant to be together across several lifetimes. I told her I would never love her, not in this life or in the next." Jim's gaze cut across to Hannah one more time. He stared hard at her as he finished his answer: "Ms. Merrick told me I would come to love her if she were the only person left in my life."

  "And what did you take that to mean?"

  "Objection," Reynolds said, pushing to his feet. "The witness cannot testify to what was in Ms. Merrick's mind."

  "I'm simply asking for the witness's interpretation of what was said," Angela explained. "It's a precedent that has already been established in this courtroom."

  Judge Harris nodded. "Overruled."

  "Detective," Angela said, standing before Jim, arms crossed, her gaze determined, "what did you take it to mean when Ms. Merrick said you would come to love her if she were the only person left in your life?"

  "I took it to mean she was going to try and kill my partner, just as she'd tried before."

  "Objection!" Reynolds cut in angrily, standing. "The events this witness is attempting to describe have not been entered into evidence."

  "Sustained," the judge agreed, turning toward Jim. "Detective, please limit your answers directly to the questions asked."

  Angela stepped up to the witness box. "Let's move forward to the time following your departure from Berne. Once you arrived back in Cascade and went to Hannah Merrick's house, what did you encounter?"

  Again, Jim's gaze darted briefly to his partner. "I found Hannah holding a knife to Dr. Sandburg's throat, threatening to kill him. She told me at that time that my partner was the final obstacle standing between us--that once he was dead, we could be together."

  "What did you do?"

  "I convinced her that if she would let my partner go, I'd leave with her. It worked. She dropped the knife and we arrested her."

  "Thank you, Detective." She glanced at Reynolds. "Your witness."

  Reed Reynolds stood and adjusted his tailored suit until it hung perfectly on his lean, athletic frame. An expression of superiority graced the man's features and Jim wondered whether the counselor's mien was a permanent affectation or merely something Reynolds assumed for his appearances in the courtroom.

  He approached Jim slowly, confidently. "So, Detective, you're saying you broke out of jail and then lied to Hannah Merrick in order to save your partner. Is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  "But you're not lying now?"

  "No."

  "And we should believe you because you've been so honest about everything else up to this point?"

  "Objection!" Angela called out.

  "Withdrawn," Reynolds muttered. Pacing before the witness box, his hands locked behind his back, he glanced over at Jim. "Detective, please tell the court who was present during the time you say Ms. Merrick held a knife at your partner's throat."

  Jim held the attorney's gaze, not about to be intimidated. "My partner, Ms. Merrick and myself."

  "I see," Reynolds intoned. He stopped pacing and stood in the center of the floor, his brow furrowed as if in deep contemplation. "So, your captain wasn't in the room with you?"

  "No," Jim said.

  "Any other fellow officers?"

  "No," Jim bit out. "No one else."

  "You're saying, then, that besides you and Dr. Sandburg, there are no other witnesses who can corroborate your testimony that Ms. Merrick attacked your partner?"

  Jim's gaze moved past Reynolds, settling on Blair again. He could remember that moment so clearly--walking into Hannah's bedroom, seeing Blair on his knees, his hands bound behind his back, blood darkening his shirt, the knife cutting into the skin at his throat. I did what I had to do, the only thing I could do. But would the jury know it? Would they see through the smoke screen the defense was putting up?

  "Detective," Reynolds said, shifting slightly where he stood, cutting off Jim's view of Blair. "Do you need me to repeat the question?"

  Jim focused on the attorney again. "No, you don't have to repeat the question," he said, unable to keep the sarcasm from his tone. Taking a deep breath, he said, "As I've already stated, there were no other witnesses in the room at the time of the attack."

  Reynolds straightened and walked briskly back to the defendant's table. Looking up at Judge Harris, he held out his hands and smiled. "I have no further questions, Your Honor."

  "Any further questions for this witness, Ms. Mason?"

  "No, Your Honor."

  "You are dismissed, Detective Ellison." The judge turned her attention to the DA. "Ms. Mason, do you wish to call another witness at this time?"

  Angela stood as Jim was making his way to the main part of the gallery. There was no mistaking the concern in her eyes as she glanced in his direction. But it was only apparent for the briefest of moments. Angela's professional demeanor took over and allowed her to straighten her shoulders and address the judge with confidence: "I have no additional witnesses I wish to call, Your Honor. The prosecution rests."

  /

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  /

  Blair walked beside Jim as they exited the small deli and turned toward downtown. The early afternoon sun was warm on his face and the sound of robins singing emanated from the still-barren trees that lined the street in front of the courthouse. After the prosecution had rested, the judge had called a recess for lunch. And Blair had been relieved. He couldn't have taken much more of sitting in that room with Hannah, watching her show for the jury, enduring the hateful glares of her father.

  Should be real fun when she testifies this afternoon.

  That had been all Blair could think about as he and his partner ate lunch. What would she say? How would she appear? Would the jury believe her story? But the two men hadn't discussed the trial. They'd both decided when they sat down at the restaurant that they weren't going to talk about the case during their lunch hour. And they hadn't. But now, as Blair climbed the stairs to the courthouse, Jim just behind him, he tensed. Immediately, he felt Jim's fingers at the center of his back.

  "You okay, Chief?"

  "Yeah, I'm just dreading this afternoon."

  "I know. You and me both."

  Simon waited outside the courthouse for them, rising as they drew nearer. "Gentlemen," he said in greeting. "I hope your lunch was enjoyable."

  Blair smiled at him. "You should have joined us, Simon. Jim paid."

  The captain laughed lightly, holding open the door of the courthouse for Jim and Blair before following the two men inside. As the three men made their way back to the assigned courtroom on the second floor, Blair tried to put his fears behind him. Focus on the positive, Sandburg. At least this thing should be over today. But as they turned the corner, they came face to face with Hannah's father and Blair's anxiety level instantly doubled.

  Douglas Merrick stood before Jim, his eyes locked with the sentinel's.

  "Did you have a pleasant lunch?" Merrick sneered, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I'm sure my daughter had a very enjoyable prison-issued meal."

  "Don't listen to him, man. Let's just go inside," Blair whispered softly from beside Jim.

  His partner nodded, making a move around Merrick. But Hannah's father moved with him, blocking his way.

  "Does it make you feel powerful to accuse an innocent woman of a crime just to save your own skin?" Merrick challenged.

  "We can't discuss this with you, sir," Simon informed him matter-of-factly, moving up to place himself just ahead of Jim. "I think it would be best if you just step aside and let us pass."

  Blair held his breath, hoping Merrick would listen to the captain's advice. He should have known better....

  The man's angry gaze shifted briefly to Simon before locking again on Jim. "Is she the only woman you've attempted to rap
e?" he demanded, his loud voice echoing all around them, causing other people to turn and gape in their direction. "Or do you attack women on a regular basis?"

  Jim's hands fisted at his side. His jaw clenched tight.

  Oh man! Quickly, almost without thinking, Blair moved in front of Jim, blocking him from Merrick in hopes of staving off any kind of physical confrontation. "Mr. Merrick, we're in a courthouse," he reminded him, holding his hands out in a gesture of supplication. "Just relax and keep your voice down."

  Merrick turned his angry gaze on Blair. "You're telling me what to do?" He advanced on the smaller man, forcing him backward, into Jim. The sentinel put a hand on Blair's shoulder, tried to shift him behind him, but Blair stubbornly refused to be moved.

  "All I'm asking you to do is calm down," Blair said evenly, still trying to keep things under control.

  "You sat on that witness stand and accused my little girl of trying to kill you and you expect me to calm down?" Merrick's voice rose with each word until he was shouting.

  Behind him, Blair felt Jim tense, the hand on his shoulder becoming almost painful. He needed to diffuse this situation--fast. "Mr. Merrick, everything that is happening is for the court to decide, not you and not out here."

  "You tell lies about my daughter and expect me to just sit back and take it!" He lunged forward and grabbed Blair by the front of his shirt, yanking him away from Jim. "You make me sick," he growled in his face.

  "Take your hands off my partner."

  Blair stiffened as Jim's voice washed over him from behind. He could hear the rage beneath the words, knew things would only get worse from here on out.

  "Everyone just calm down," Blair said, glancing back at Jim before trying to extricate himself from Merrick's grip. "Things don't have to--"

  But his words cut-off as Merrick shoved him away, sending him into a nearby trash bin. He hit the canister hard, knocking it over before smacking his shoulder against the wall and landing on his side.