by John Foxjohn
“Uh-huh, that would leave Kayla out right there. She doesn’t have the money to pay someone like you described.”
Satterwhite chuckled. “You don’t know your boss well, do you?”
“She isn’t my boss. I work with her but she isn’t the one who pays me. I don’t know much about her finances. I’d imagine she makes quite a bit of money, and she doesn’t throw it away, flash it, or flaunt it, but she can’t make the kind of money you’re talking about.”
“Let me tell you something about Kayla Nugent,” Satterwhite said. “We investigated her finances looking for payment to a hired killer. This woman has millions upon millions. Her mother and father died in a car wreck and left her everything. She draws more interest on her money in one day than you and I make together in a year.”
He couldn’t speak. They had never talked about money, and it wasn’t something that he’d bring up in a normal conversation. He couldn’t go up to her and say, “How was your day? How much interest did your money draw today?”
She dressed in clothes like everyone else. Had no expensive jewelry. As a matter of fact, she only wore a Timex watch. She drove a mid-sized Toyota. Heck, she even ate leftover pizza. How could he know she had all this money?
When he recovered, he said, “Uh-huh, I bet you didn’t look at her boss, McMasters.”
“No—why would we look at him?”
Satterwhite had enjoyed tossing out that little tidbit about Kayla’s money. Now, it was his turn. “I guess you didn’t know that McMasters is Kayla’s real father.”
Satterwhite’s eyes narrowed as if trying to see if Darren joked or not. “You’re kidding. No, we didn’t know that. If we had, he’d have gone to the top of the list.”
Darren explained that Kayla hadn’t known until a week ago. “It wouldn’t have done you any good. You might have looked, but you would never catch that old buzzard.”
Darren thanked him for the information, but as he reached the door, Satterwhite stopped him. “You tell that boss of yours, after what she did to me on the stand, she damn well better defend me if I ever get in trouble.”
Darren slumped in his car a long time, eyes closed and head leaned back. He hadn’t met a woman that excited him in every way like Kayla did in a long time, if ever, and now all this. How could he go on, pursue a relationship with her, and have to look over his shoulder every second? If McMasters died, someone he didn’t know, didn’t know him, would decide whether to kill him or not based on their interpretation of how well he treated Kayla.
Besides that, her money shouldn’t make a difference, and he’d never considered it, but it did have an effect on him.
She didn’t hide it from him. They’d never talked about that side of their lives, but in some way, it put her in a different light. It shouldn’t, but it did.
When he cranked up, his phone rang and again he didn’t recognize the number. When he answered, the caller asked if he was that private detective that offered the reward for the laptop.
He almost groaned. Not another one. In an exasperated voice, he said, “Uh-huh, yeah, that’s me.”
“The thousand bucks,” the female voice said, “Isn’t near enough.”
“If you know where I can find the laptop I’m looking for, I might go up.”
“I have the laptop you’re looking for and if you want it, it’ll cost you ten thousand.”
He rolled his eyes. “Actually, I’ve had several people tell me that, but they didn’t. I’m not about to pay you ten thousand dollars for it even if it was the right one. I may go five, but definitely not ten.”
“I’m not bargaining with you. It’s ten thousand because I not only have it, I know who it belonged to. I called you first, but I know I can get ten thousand for this laptop.”
“Uh-huh, what makes you so sure of that?”
“The computer I have belonged to Michelle McCrery. I’m not as educated as some of you, but I know other people will pay me ten for it.”
Her words caused a shiver to explode up his back. He’d told no one who the laptop had belonged to. The only way for her to know that was if she had the right one. She also knew why he wanted it, and she held all the cards.
She could definitely sell it to many people. He wouldn’t pay for it with his own money anyway.
“Mister, are you still there?”
“Uh-huh, I’m here. If you have the right laptop, I’ll pay you the ten thousand. No money until I know it is the right one. Read off the serial number.”
His breath caught when she did. “Where can we meet?”
She told him the place, and said if he wasn’t there in two hours, or didn’t have the money, she wouldn’t wait. She’d call the next person.
* * * *
Kayla rose. “Your Honor, the defense would like to call Gladys Carmichael as our first witness.” The courtroom buzzed with whispers. Most didn’t think they’d see this witness again. She’d hurt the defense. Now, as the bailiff went to get her, the audience leaned forward in their seats.
When she approached the witness stand, Kayla nodded to Sarah Jane, who rose and moved to the back of the courtroom. Proctor didn’t notice, but his assistant did and said something to the DA, who waved him off. But the assistant kept looking over his shoulder to the back of the room.
Kayla leaned back in her seat when the judge reminded the witness that she remained under oath. “Ms. Carmichael, thank you for coming today. I have a few questions for you, and I hope you will bear with me.”
The reporters and media scribbled as fast as they could. They’d figured out why Kayla treated some nice and some she didn’t. One had written a story in the Houston Chronicle that said, “Witnesses that Nugent believed to be forthcoming, honest, and trustworthy, she treated nicely, but the ones she thought tried to hide something or cover something up, she blasted.”
Kayla hoped the jury read the papers. “Ms. Carmichael, you identified my client as the woman you saw leaving Michelle McCrery’s condo on the night someone killed her. Is that correct?”
The witness pointed to Loren. “Yes, it was that woman.”
Kayla caught the smiles and exchange of glances from Proctor and his assistant. “You said you heard the shot Wednesday night and went to your window and looked out and saw this woman. You also said,” Kayla pointed to the back of the room where Sarah Jane stood by the door, “the person you saw was about as far from you as the back of the room. Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am. I saw her pretty good.”
“Ms. Carmichael, did you contact the police or did they contact you?”
“They contacted me.” She thought a moment. “Right after lunch on Friday after that woman killed Michelle.”
“Ms. Carmichael, do you receive the Houston paper?”
The witness frowned. “You know I do. I told that investigator who works for you that I do. I read it every day.”
“Yes, ma’am, you told him that. When does the newspaper arrive at your house?”
The smile disappeared from Proctor and he leaned over to whisper to his assistant, who shrugged. Kayla imagined Proctor asking him where she headed with these questions.
“It comes early in the morning and I read it while I eat my breakfast.”
“Ms. Carmichael, when you talked to the police that Friday afternoon, did they show you a picture lineup?”
“They certainly did. I had no trouble identifying the woman I saw. She was the first picture.”
“The picture you identified from the lineup, was it the same picture you saw on the front page of the newspaper?”
“Oh—yes, and a good likeness, too.”
The courtroom exploded with talk and Proctor buried his face in his hands. His assistant’s face reddened. Kayla turned and nodded to Sarah Jane as the judge banged his gavel for quiet.
The witness, facing the rear of the courtroom, looked to the back when the door opened. Her eyes widened and she pointed to the woman standing beside Sarah Jane. “That’s the woman I s
aw leaving Michelle McCrery’s home.”
The courtroom erupted as everyone turned to see who the witness pointed to. Kayla leaned back in her seat as Judge Ballard banged his gavel, but Proctor’s voice overrode everyone, yelling he objected over and over.
As the noise lessened, Ballard yelled to the bailiff to get the jury out of the courtroom. He didn’t bother to wait for them to leave. “This court is adjourned till—sometime. Attorneys in my office now.”
Marvin, sitting as straight as a two by four, said, “We are in for it, now.”
“You’re right, but I’m in for it. I want you to stay here.”
“Kayla, we were in on this together. It’s only right I should go with you.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you for that support, but I want you to stay here.”
Ballard and Proctor beat her to the office by a good bit. Even if she hadn’t known where the judge’s office was, she could have found it by following the yelling. The judge sat behind his desk, edged forward, and Proctor stood, hands braced on the desk, leaning toward Ballard. If they weren’t yelling, it would look like they were about to kiss.
Kayla shut the door and eased into a chair, arms crossed, but the two men didn’t seem to realize that she had arrived. She didn’t think she should remind them.
When Proctor paused to catch his breath, he spotted Kayla. Still facing Ballard, he jerked his hand at Kayla. “You let this—this—this woman pull a stunt like that in court?”
“You jackass, I didn’t let her. Didn’t know anything about it. Now, sit your butt down and shut your mouth.”
His head snapped around to Kayla. “I should file an ethics violation against you.”
Proctor jumped up. “She violated your evoke order. You need to remove her from this trial.”
Kayla tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “May I speak?”
“What you say had better be good, young lady. I never thought you would pull a stunt like this in my courtroom.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kayla crossed her legs. “Both of you have forgotten something that might be important in this discussion.”
Proctor’s face, the color of a ripe pumpkin, yelled, “What’s that?”
“The woman who walked into the back of the courtroom isn’t on my witness list. If she doesn’t testify, she doesn’t come under the evoke rule. The courtroom is open and anyone can decide to visit.”
Some of the tension drained from Ballard, but Proctor didn’t get it. “That’s a bunch of crap. This is an ethics violation.” He pointed at Ballard. “I want something done about this.”
Ballard rubbed his hands together. “She’s right. If she doesn’t call her to the stand, then she did not violate the rule.” He turned to Kayla. “It is dirty pool, though.”
“Like coaching witnesses before they testify?” She tapped her finger on her cheek, with a fake, thoughtful frown. “I read somewhere that they have a term for that. Something like suborning perjury.”
“I never coached anybody on how to testify.”
Kayla smiled. “Then you won’t mind if the bar’s ethics committee takes a look at the film of how all your non-professional witnesses testified.”
“Proctor. Sit down. I won’t tell you again,” Ballard said. “If I were in your place, I wouldn’t want anyone looking at that film of your witnesses testifying. She has another point in that. As far as removing her from this trial, that isn’t going to happen. I have no reason to do that except she is beating your pants off.”
“She isn’t. This trial is far from over and I have more witnesses I could call.”
For the first time since they came into the office, the judge chuckled. “Maybe, but you aren’t going to. I seem to recollect, you rested the state’s case.”
Ballard and Proctor argued for several more minutes as Kayla inspected her fingernails. She had come close to the line. She had planned to call the witness to the stand, and would have had a fight on her hands. However, with Gladys Carmichael’s unexpected reaction, she didn’t need to.
Ballard dismissed Proctor but told Kayla he wanted to speak to her in private. When Proctor stormed out, he lit a pipe that emitted a cherry flavor. As she inhaled the aroma, her mind traveled back to her father’s study and the pipe he smoked. She’d sit on his lap, lean back against his chest and pretend to sleep so he wouldn’t send her out. As he worked and smoked, she’d inhale the fragrance as she listened to his heartbeat.
Judge Ballard tapped his fingers on the desk a moment before glancing up. “Who was the woman you brought into the courtroom?”
“Your Honor, she is the niece of the people who live in the condo behind where the murder occurred. She was leaving when she heard what she thought was a shot. She stopped and looked back, but didn’t hear or see anything and left.”
“You did plan on calling her, didn’t you?”
Her eyes snapped open. “Yes, sir, I did, but there’s no reason now.”
“I should say not. This is the last of these little stunts, isn’t it?”
“Sir, as far as I know, it is.”
He put his feet up on his desk and took several drags on his pipe before he spoke. “You have any other surprises that I need to know about?”
“Judge Ballard, I believe someone stole Michelle McCrery’s laptop from her home. I also believe that same person killed her and made it look like Loren Estes did it. My investigator is working triple overtime to find it, but we haven’t, and that is why I haven’t placed it in discovery. If we find it and it helps my client, I’ll want to introduce it.”
He frowned and pointed his pipe at her. “I’m assuming you mis-worded that. If you find it, whether it helps your client or not, you will turn it over to Proctor.”
“Of course, Your Honor. I’m not about to violate the law and be disbarred.”
“Good. Now get out of here and beat that jackass.”
Kayla rose and smiled. “He doesn’t know it, but he has far more problems coming his way than what he just saw.”
Thirty minutes later, Kayla called Deputy Police Chief Robert Chancery to the stand.
* * * *
Darren arrived at the meeting place fifteen minutes early. The woman who contacted him had said a park located in Spring, a community northwest of Houston, not far from the Barbara Bush Library. He remained in his car as a few people strolled by. Most had children with them, but others sat and talked.
He spotted her in his rearview, several hundred feet from his car, but hurrying toward him with a package wrapped in a brown sack.
She didn’t come alone—a short, muscular male with a burr cut kept pace with her, but away. His path would bring him to the passenger side of Darren’s car. Hers would bring her to the driver’s side. He slipped his revolver out of his holster and put it under his right leg.
He rolled his window down as she neared but noticed the male had slowed. They acted as if they weren’t together.
She stopped close to the driver’s window. “Are you the detective?” she asked.
They intended to distract his attention away from the male, but he kept him in his vision. The male grabbed the rear door handle. In one fluid motion, he jerked it open, leaped into the car, and whipped out a knife.
Darren grabbed her shirt with his left hand and half-turned to the right, leveling the gun an inch from the male’s eyes, which crossed as they stared into the bore.
She struggled to break loose, but couldn’t. “Hey, what’s this?” she yelled. “We came here on your word. Let me go. The deal is off.”
Darren never wavered. “Not hardly, but I’m not about to let your boyfriend cut my throat.”
“Hank, put the knife down. You wasn’t supposed to bring that.”
When he put the knife down, Darren removed the gun from his face and let her go. “Why don’t you have a seat in front?”
She straightened her shirt and edged around the front, opened the door and eased in. She thrust the computer at Darren.
“Where’s the money?”
Darren took an envelope out of his pocket and opened it to show her, then put it back. After he examined the laptop, he asked, “Where’d you get this?”
His eyes widened when she told him who she stole it from.
They hurried away with the money. All Darren could do was let his head flop back as he said, “Oh-shit.”
He wished he could take that question back.
* * * *
“Chief Chancery,” Kayla said, “Would you please tell the court what your duties are as a deputy police chief for the city of Houston?”
“Ms. Nugent, I act as a liaison between the police chief and internal affairs. Most allegations against police officers come through my office. When they do, I assign internal affairs to investigate. I look at their findings, and if the allegations prove to be true, I make recommendations to the chief on punishment.”
“I’d think in your job you would need to be familiar with all rules and regulations of the police department. Is that true, sir?”
“It is, indeed. Also all laws of the state as well as federal.”
Kayla edged forward. “Let me give you a hypothetical situation. Say you have a married officer who had an affair. Internal affairs investigated and found this to be a true allegation. What kind of action would the department take?”
“Ma’am, we take these charges seriously. All officers sign a code of conduct when their employment begins. This is a serious violation of that. More than likely, I’d recommend a six-month to a year suspension without pay. If the chief agreed, we’d take it to the civil service board for action.”
“Thank you, chief. Let’s keep with this scenario. What if that officer that had the affair is a department supervisor and the person he had the affair with is under his direct supervision, and he is responsible for that person, including performance reviews?”
