“Most of this was junk too until I came to a letter from Mr. Reynolds. I remembered Mr. Reynolds and was curious as to why he would be writing to my mother. So, I read it.”
“Is this the letter you found?”
When Mark said that it was Mr. Graham continued, “I would like you to read this letter.”
“Objection, objection, objection.”
“You only have to say it once Mr. Crocker,” the judge said. “Counselors, approach the bench.”
Again, they went up and argued for awhile. Then Mr. Crocker stomped back to his table like a little boy.
“The witness may read the letter.”
“Hannah, we have agreed on a price and that’s what you’re getting. You’d better do your part when the time comes. And yes, it is going to be necessary for you to be hit on the head.
“Don’t you dare try to blackmail me in the future and don’t threaten me again about going to the police. If you do, I promise you that you won’t be around long enough to regret it.”
“The letter is signed, Mr. Charles Reynolds.”
“Your honor, I’d like to take a recess before my cross.”
Judge Truman looked at his watch. “Why don’t we adjourn for the day and take this up at nine a.m. tomorrow.”
We all stood while the jury filed out. Two guards took Mr. Reynolds away and then the judge let us go. It had been a long day. I saw Mr. Crocker tell Mr. Graham that he needed to speak to him.
As we walked down the block where the car was parked, I kept looking at Mimi and I noticed that Julia was looking at her too. Mimi looked so tired.
I told her that I had a driver’s license if she wanted me to drive but she laughed and said, “That’s just what I need, to be stopped and have them examine your driver’s license and see that it is a fake. No thank you, Judith. You always were the sneaky one. It’s the quiet ones you have to watch.”
As soon as she laughed, I quit worrying about her.
CHAPTER 26
We were all so keyed up when we got back to the bungalow that we couldn’t relax. After we walked over to the cafeteria and had dinner, Mimi suggested we all have a glass of brandy. Of course, I had had brandy before but Julia hadn’t and she coughed when she took her first sip. She said she liked it after she got used to it.
The next morning I felt like I was sleep walking when we got to court, but was soon wide awake when Tracy came in.
She sat behind us and leaned over and said, “We found Hannah. She has been running scared for years. When she had to go to New Orleans to take care of her mother, she changed her name.
“When she had to put her mother in the nursing home she changed her mother’s name and, as you know, gave the nursing home a bogus address and phone number. If it hadn’t been for the necklace she might have been able to stay hidden.
“When the antique dealer offered her a price for everything in the house, she took it. She had forgotten that she had given her mother the necklace for mother’s day right after the kidnapping. Anyway, she’s willing to testify against Mr. Reynolds. She knows she’s going to prison and she said she’s almost relieved. She’s terrified of Mr. Reynolds.”
When the court was called to order, and the jury and judge seated, Mr. Graham called his next witness, Hannah Rogers. When she came toward the witness stand, I looked at Mr. Reynolds who was talking to his lawyer and shaking his head. He looked like he could kill someone.
“Your honor, this witness is not on the witness list the prosecution gave me. Is there another list I should have?”
“You don’t need to get sarcastic counselor. Mr. Graham?”
“Your honor, we just found this witness.”
“The counselors will both approach the bench.”
So, here we go again, I thought, in some ways it was like watching a teacher settling an argument between two kindergarten kids. When they came back to their tables, Mr. Crocker started talking to Mr. Reynolds. He kept turning his palms upward and shrugging his shoulders like he was trying to explain the unexplained.
“Swear in this witness,” said the Judge.
After Mr. Graham had her state her name and address he said, “Mrs. Rogers, during what period of time did you work for the McCain family?”
She looked at Mimi, “Wasn’t it about 1945 when I started working for you, you were still living in Montrose.”
“Mrs. Rogers,” the Judge chuckled, “You don’t talk to someone else while you’re on the witness stand.”
“Ok, but I don’t remember exactly and I don’t want to commit purjis.”
“You won’t commit perjury if you say ‘to the best of my knowledge.’”
“Oh, okay, to the best of my knowledge, I worked for them from 1945, when their son Phillip was born until 1970 when the twins were kidnapped.”
“And what was your job there?”
“To the best of my knowledge, I was the nanny.”
Everyone, including the Judge laughed. Hannah looked confused.
The Judge cleared his throat and said, “Mrs. Rogers, you don’t have to say, ‘to the best of my knowledge,’ when you’re stating something you’re sure about. You know that you were the nanny so you simply say yes.”
“Oh, okay, forgive me your Honor.” Then she turned back to Mr. Graham and said, “Go ahead and ask me some more. I’ll answer truthful.”
“So you were the nanny for Phillip Jr. and then for the twins?”
She looked at the Judge and then leaned over the microphone and said, “Yes.”
“How did you know Mr. Reynolds, the defendant?”
“Him and his wife used to come over a lot to the McCain’s house. Mr. McCain and Mr. Reynolds were in business together. Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. McCain were friends in college but I don’t think Mrs. McCain liked Mr. Reynolds.”
The judge interrupted again, “Mrs. Rogers, just answer the questions.”
“Didn’t I just do that?”
“Well, you did but then you started giving your opinion. You can’t do that.”
“I can’t? Oh, okay.”
The judge shook his head but he looked amused. “Continue, Counselor.”
“Did there come a time when you were approached by Mr. Reynolds?”
“He used to come into the nursery to play with the twins, give them piggy back rides and like that. Is that what you mean?”
Mr. Graham looked like she was confusing him now, “Uh, did he talk to you when he came into the nursery? Did you get to know him during these visits?”
“Not very well, he didn’t seem to be interested in me at that time. It wasn’t until after he left that he started calling me on the phone and asking about the twins. And later he would take me out to dinner when he came into town.”
“Really, he came back into town to take you out?”
“Yes. I fell in love with him even though I knew it was wrong.”
“Objection, relevance?”
“The relevance is that I’m trying to establish what their relationship was like at the time of the kidnapping.”
“It sounds like you’ve already established that he took part in the kidnapping. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I still object your honor.”
“Your objection is overruled. Sit down.”
“Mrs. Rogers, did there come a time when Mr. Reynolds approached you with a plan?”
“Yes.”
“And what was that plan? And did you agree to take part in it?”
She looked down and then looked at Mimi and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”
“The witness will answer the question.” said the Judge.
“I did a very bad thing, may God forgive me. After I agreed to it I tried to tell him that I didn’t want to do it. He thought I wanted more money. He sent me a letter to threaten me.
“This was when I became so scared of him that I didn’t love him anymore. I began to think he was a bad man. Oh, I’m sorry, I just gave my opinion. It won’t happen again.”
“Why did you agree to do this at first?”
“He said there was going to be some men who were going to pick the twins up and take them for a ride just to scare the parents and grandparents. He said it was revenge, and didn’t I want revenge?”
“Why would you want revenge?”
She looked at Mimi and said, “Mark, my son, was Mr. McCain’s son. Mr. McCain never acknowledged him as his son. Mark had to live in the servant’s quarters with the servants. One night at dinner I told Mr. Reynolds this and he asked me didn’t I want to have revenge. I told him yes, and then he told me about this plan.”
She looked at the Judge, “He didn’t tell me anyone was going to get killed. He said they would hit me on the head so the police wouldn’t think I had anything to do with it, but the police still suspected me.”
“When you tried to call it off and he threatened you, why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I was terrified of him. He told me he had people everywhere and they would watch me. I have been so scared all these years, and I’m so sorry.”
“No more questions, your honor.”
Mr. Crocker stood up and smoothed his pants legs, “Mrs. Rogers, isn’t it true that you were infatuated with Mr. Reynolds and he was never interested in you?”
“He liked me fine after he left Houston. He started calling me all the time and he would come to town and take me out to dinner.”
“I think you’re calling sex, love. Didn’t you, in fact, try to seduce Mr. Reynolds just like you seduced Mr. McCain? And after he turned you down, you decided to cook up this whole kidnapping along with your friend Mr. Mackey, thinking you would eventually pin it on Mr. Reynolds.
“Only it backfired on you didn’t it? You haven’t been running from Mr. Reynolds, you’ve been running from the police, isn’t that true Ms. Rogers?”
“No. It’s just like I said. I will not commit purjis. I promised the Judge.”
“Ms. Rogers, what kind of deal are the FBI giving you to testify against Mr. Reynolds?”
“No deal. They didn’t offer and I didn’t ask. I did a very bad thing and I’m going to jail for it, like I should. It wouldn’t be right now to ask for special favors after what I did and God will punish me also which will be worse than what man can do to me.
“So if you think I’m testifying against Mr. Reynolds to get a deal, you’re wrong. I’m testifying against myself and Mr. Reynolds because what we did was wrong and we both need to be punished.”
Mr. Crocker looked embarrassed when he said, “No more questions for this witness.”
“This looks like a good place to break for lunch,” said the Judge.
When we started across the street, I said, “It looks like we’re winning, but I almost feel sorry for Hannah. I know what she did was just horrible but I think she’s punished herself enough all these years.”
Mimi agreed. “I’m going to talk to the judge and see if he can give her a lighter sentence. I think she got in over her head with that slime and didn’t know how to get out. I keep remembering how she took care of Phillip when he was a little boy and then you two.
“I can remember her sitting up all night with you when one of you was sick. She never once complained. I think she’s a good person who can be easily misled because she’s kind of dumb.”
The diner we went to serve breakfast all day, and since we left that morning without getting anything to eat, I decided to order breakfast. I had ham, eggs, grits with lots of butter, and coffee. I ate the whole thing and found Mimi and Julia staring at me.
“I was starving,” I said. They both got the giggles. They had ordered salads and Julia finished hers off with a big piece of chocolate cake.
When we got back to court, Mr. Crocker had another stack of motions and went to the judge’s bench and went through them one by one. It was so long and boring that I caught myself nodding off.
This went on for most of the afternoon and the jury was never called in. At around four in the afternoon, court was dismissed. Mimi went to ask the bailiff if she could talk to the judge. He left and when he came back, he motioned us all into the judge’s chambers.
I almost didn’t recognize the Judge without his black robe. He had been wearing a golf shirt on under the robe.
The Judge smiled at Mimi and I noticed, for the first time, that he was a very good looking man, “What can I do for you Ms. McCain?”
“I’ve come to ask for some leniency for Hannah.”
“You surprise me Ms. McCain. The things she has done are atrocious.”
“I know, and at first when I found out that she had slept with my husband and that she had a part in taking my granddaughters away from me, I would have gladly seen her hung. But I believe she’s basically a good person who is easily led. I’ve seen her when she was totally selfless, when she sat up all night with one of the girls, or my son when they were sick. She always went beyond the call of duty and never complained.
“I believe her when she says that she didn’t know anyone would be hurt. She loved the girls and my son like they were her own. Besides, I think she has already punished herself enough during the last thirteen years. She’s basically been in a prison of her own making.”
“I’ll take this under consideration Ms. McCain. And thank you for your compassion,” the judge said.
CHAPTER 27
We were in the evening paper, The Florida Times Union, and on TV, channel 4. We had seen reporters hanging around but, for some reason, they hadn’t been obnoxious like I had seen them do in movies or on TV. We saw ourselves coming out of the courthouse and head across the street. The camera moved to the steps of the courthouse where Mr. Crocker stood behind the podium.
The woman standing in the front facing the camera was saying, “…calling it the most sensational case of the century. Thirteen years ago the twin girls you saw crossing the street a moment ago, with their grandmother, were kidnapped out of their home in Houston, and their parents were gunned down.
“The defendant in this case is Charles Reynolds of St. Augustine, the well known Real Estate broker. He is charged with hiring two men to kidnap the twins and kill the parents. Mr. Reynolds used to be business partners of the twin’s grandfather, Phillip McCain, now deceased.
“The FBI arrested him before Christmas last year and is claiming that he arranged these crimes out of revenge. We do know that one of the twins, Julia was adopted by the Reynolds’.
“Today in court, we heard the testimony of Hannah Rogers, the twin’s nanny at the time of the kidnapping. She claims that she had been in love with the defendant at the time and that he had convinced her to help him. The defendant’s lawyer is getting ready to speak.”
The camera swung over to Mr. Crocker who was rolling his shoulders and straightening his tie. Then it looked like about a hundred reporters were talking at once.
Mr. Crocker held up his hand and they quieted down. “My client is innocent of these charges. The FBI has nothing to link him to these crimes. He adopted Julia through a reputable firm and has the paperwork to prove it. He didn’t even know who she was or where she came from. As for the testimony of Hannah Rogers, you know what they say about a woman scorned.”
“So are you saying that it’s just a coincidence, that Julia McCain turned out to be who she was, and he just happened to adopt her?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Coincidences happen every day. And I repeat again, they have nothing to tie my client to these crimes. That’s all.”
The reporters were trying to crowd him and ask more questions but he ignored them and went back inside.
Julia sat quietly for a few minutes staring off into space.
“The FBI doesn’t even know yet what he did to me,” Julia said. “Wonder if that would make a difference, if I testified against him.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Mimi asked, “So far, you’ve only talked about this in group and to both of us. You would have to tell millions of people on national televi
sion. Are you sure you’re up for it? Why don’t you talk to Dr. Anna about this?’
“I’m supposed to meet with her tomorrow morning before going to court. I’ll talk to her then. It would help if she could be there though.”
Julia got up early the next morning and walked over to meet with Dr. Anna. When she got back, Dr. Anna was with her.
“I have mixed feelings about this, as I’ve told Julia. I won’t make the decision for her but my feeling is that, the sooner she can confront him, the sooner she can get out of the victim role. It would be a major step in her recovery.
On the other hand, if this is too soon for her, it could set her back tremendously. It hasn’t been that very long since she was in total denial about what he did to her and was in fact convinced that what he did was to show her the highest level of love a parent could show a child.”
Dr Anna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “The bottom line? Julia is the only one to make this decision and the only one to determine if she is ready. Now she has asked me to be there and I can arrange to do that, but I would need to have some notice.”
Julia seemed determined to go through with this. When we got to court, Mimi leaned over and spoke to the prosecuting attorney. He looked shocked and glanced over at us.
When Mimi sat back down she said, “He has to look it up but he thinks he can file a new charge with the Judge. He said he would do this during the first break of lunch.”
When court convened, Mr. Graham called Mackey to the stand. They brought him in wearing the orange jumpsuit and heavily shackled. I noticed that Mr. Graham stood so that Mackey’s view of us was blocked.
Mackey described his initial meeting with Mr. Reynolds and the offer. He said that Mr. Reynolds first offered him fifty thousand dollars, which he turned down because he had to split it with his buddy at the time, now deceased. So he told Mr. Reynolds he wanted double that.
“Describe for the court what happened the night of the kidnapping.”
Peggy Holloway - Judith McCain 01 - Blood on White Wicker Page 18
