by Lynn Ames
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, when the day is over and you have heard both sides, I am more than confident that you will, as is your legal The Cost of Commitment
duty, find these two defendants guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder and, in the case of Mr. Breathwaite, guilty of the additional charge of conspiracy to incite a riot. Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you, Mr. Davis.” The judge pointed to the defense table.
“How about you folks, you ready?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Defense attorneys for both Redfield and Breathwaite responded.
“Who’s going first?”
“I am, Your Honor,” announced famed defense lawyer Calvin Nepperson.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Calvin Nepperson, and I represent Mr. David Breathwaite in this very serious matter. Mr. Davis is a compelling man; no doubt about that. The problem here is, he’s built his case largely on the testimony of convicts and ex-convicts—unsavory characters who would say anything in order to get a reduced sentence or other favorable treatment. But don’t take my word for it. All you have to do is pay attention and keep an open mind as the prosecution presents its case. Count the number of convicted criminals and folks with an axe to grind they call to the stand. I want to be honest with you.” He leaned on the railing to the jury box. “I’m not going to argue that my client is going to win any nice guy awards—but the fact that he’s not always very likeable is not a crime. If it were, imagine how full our jails would be.
I’m sure you all could think of a few people in your lives you’d like to see put away. We all have those. The point is, you can’t just go locking up folks because you don’t like them—it’s not the American way. In the end, as you will see, the prosecution simply has no real case. I look forward to proving that to you as soon as the prosecution has finished having its say. Thank you.”
When Nepperson sat down, a man in a charcoal pin-striped suit stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Josiah Green, and I represent William Redfield. Despite the rhetoric that you heard earlier from the esteemed prosecutor, I’m here to tell you that Mr. Redfield’s only crime is that he happened to be at the head of an agency targeted by one man,” he turned around and pointed to Breathwaite, “with a nefarious agenda.”
A collective buzz went through the crowd as Redfield’s apparent strategy became clear: separate himself from his alleged co-conspirator and place the blame squarely on him. The reporters were madly scribbling in their notebooks—whenever defendants broke ranks with one another it meant a better, more interesting story.
“Mr. Redfield operated according to the best of his ability. He was made aware of a potentially dangerous situation at Attica, he evaluated Lynn Ames
all options and acted in good faith to secure a positive outcome with a minimum of injuries.
“The evidence will clearly exonerate Mr. Redfield of any knowledge of a plot to do harm to anyone. No one, in fact, was more surprised than he was when Mr. Breathwaite informed him of the scheme. You will clearly hear Mr. Redfield’s disgust and you will listen as he authorizes steps designed to rescue the hostages.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Mr. Redfield is not the bad guy here. He was just an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a man with a job to do and a mission to uphold, and that is exactly what he tried to do. But don’t believe me—you will hear it for yourselves. Thank you for your time.” He looked up at the judge. “That’s all I have, Your Honor.”
“Splendid. Okay, folks. That’s enough for one morning. Let’s adjourn for lunch and the prosecution can begin presenting its case this afternoon.”
Jay arrived just as the lunch break was announced. She reached Kate at the same moment the prosecution’s team exited the courtroom. As Kate started to ask her about her trip, she noticed an odd expression on her lover’s face—one she had never seen before.
“Jay? Honey? Are you all right?”
Levon Davis walked past, followed by two assistants. One of them was an attractive, willowy redhead, who, upon reaching them, stopped dead in her tracks. She sported an expression remarkably similar to Jay’s.
“Jay? Is that really you?”
“S-Sarah?” Jay’s voice quavered.
Kate merely stood to the side, perplexed, watching the scene. The woman seemed somehow familiar to her, like she’d seen her somewhere before. Seconds later, as she was searching her memory banks, she made the connection.
The last time she’d seen the redhead had been six years earlier in a hospital emergency room. Kate had summoned an ambulance to take Jay there after she had saved her from an attempted sexual assault. She and Jay had barely known each other then, and she had asked Jay if there was anyone she could call for her. She had managed to get Jay to give her the name of her college roommate— And lover, Kate reminded herself.
“Wow. Um, Katherine Kyle, this is—”
“Sarah Alexander.” When she looked shocked, Kate shrugged. “I remember you from the hospital ER.”
“Oh,” Sarah remarked, obviously uncomfortable.
“Sarah, Kate and I—”
The Cost of Commitment
Sarah touched her on the arm. “It’s okay, Jay. I read the papers and watch TV. I guess it just never occurred to me that you’d come to the trial. I don’t know why. It should have.”
“Hey, so what’s your role here? Are you the big-shot attorney?”
Sarah laughed. “No, just a lowly assistant district attorney trying to get some experience.”
“I don’t believe it,” Jay said warmly. “You were the smartest person I knew. I bet you’re already sitting in the first assistant’s chair, aren’t you?”
“Actually,” Sarah blushed, “I am. I’ll be doing some of the witness questioning in the case.” She looked quickly at Kate. “But not with you.
I’ll have to disclose my relationship to you and Jay and see if I need to recuse myself from the case.”
“Geez, Sarah, I hope not. This case could be a big break for you.” Jay looked regretful.
“Yeah, but there’ll be others, I’m sure.”
“If it helps, I’m not going to be testifying.”
“That might help a little, since my connection to Kate is so slim. You know, a girlfriend of an ex-college roommate might not count for much.”
“Maybe. Hey, can you have lunch with us?”
“No, I’m sorry. We’re going to start presenting our case this afternoon and we’ve got to go over last-minute strategy.”
“That’s too bad. Maybe another time?”
“Sure. Well, I’ve got to go. It was nice bumping into you, Jay. You look great.”
“You, too, Sarah.”
“Yeah, I’m actually doing really well.”
“That’s terrific. I’m really glad to hear that.”
As Sarah turned to leave, Jay touched her on the sleeve. “Sare—I really do want to find the time to catch up.” She looked at her former girlfriend intently. “I...” Jay tried to find the words to explain something she couldn’t—that she had broken up with Sarah just before graduation because she had fallen in love with a near-complete, and no doubt unattainable, stranger, and knew no one else would ever be right for her.
That stranger, of course, had been Kate. Sarah had been devastated by the breakup.
“Jay, it’s okay, really. I’m fine about what happened. I’ve moved on.
I’ve got a wonderful partner, and we’re very happy together.”
“That’s great. I’d love to meet her sometime.”
Sarah looked at her for a long moment. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. I miss your friendship, Jay.”
“Here’s my number. Give us a call.”
Lynn Ames
“I might just do that.” Sarah tucked it in her skirt pocket as she hurried off.
When she’d gone, Kate said, “You all right, love?”
“Yeah. You?”
&nbs
p; “Absolutely. Is it hard to see her?”
“A little.” Jay bumped Kate with her hip. “I didn’t handle breaking up with her very well.”
“She obviously forgives you.”
“True, but forgiving myself is another matter.” Jay took Kate’s hand.
“How about we get some lunch and you can tell me all about what I missed this morning.”
“Sounds great. Peter will meet us a little later. Naturally, he got beeped in the middle of everything.”
“Some things never change.”
“Nope, and they likely never will.”
It was obvious from the outset that the prosecution had painstakingly built its case. The files and evidence Kate had left with Peter before going to Attica laid the groundwork for proving that Breathwaite intended to have her fired from DOCS. Over the course of eleven days, witness after witness painted a picture of a man who left his position as PIO under a cloud of controversy and became obsessed with ousting his successor, whatever the cost. While the DA handled one or two of the witnesses, it was Sarah who did the bulk of the questioning, the judge having decided that her relationship with Jay did not present a conflict of interest sufficient to warrant her removal from the case.
Marisa, Kate’s former assistant, testified under oath that Breathwaite had recruited her to spy on Kate and to report back to him. Under Sarah’s gentle questioning, she was forced to admit that on several occasions she had intentionally misled Kate in an effort to get her to fail at her duties.
When asked why she was willing to sell out her boss in such a fashion, the assistant replied that Breathwaite promised her that when he came back to DOCS, she would get a raise and a promotion. She defended her actions by saying she stopped spying when Kate caught her at it.
In a highly unusual move, a couple of reporters took the stand to admit that Breathwaite had been the predominant source for several of the negative stories they had written about Kate. Those reporters had subsequently tendered their resignations.
Although Wendy had offered to testify, Kate had urged Levon and Sarah to use her only in the case of an emergency. Putting her on the stand and introducing the audiotape of her conversation with Breathwaite would have resulted in disclosing details of her personal life that would The Cost of Commitment
have caused her great pain and also might have led to her being fired from her job.
Basher, while admitting that he had struck a deal for a light sentence in exchange for his testimony, established that he had been hired by Breathwaite to have some of his inmate buddies stage the riot, capture Kate, and kill her. His testimony was followed by that of by Antoine, Zack, and Kumar, all of whom corroborated his story and added details about the deal to let the three correction officers go at Breathwaite’s behest, along with the order to “kill the bitch already.”
Jay, who, unlike Kate, would not be called to testify in the trial, had sat through every witness since that first day. She was impressed with Sarah’s poise and ability to handle the witnesses, and told her so on the one occasion when they bumped into each other in the hallway.
The testimony, itself, however, was occasionally difficult for Jay to stomach. She squirmed and struggled through some of the more graphic descriptions of her lover’s captivity, glad that trial rules prevented witnesses from hearing the testimony of other witnesses. As if, she mused, hearing about it secondhand in the news reports was a lot better.
She thought about her discussion with Kate the previous night as she waited for the prosecution to call its next witness.
“Are you sure you’re okay, love?”
“Fine, baby, really. I’m more worried about you. I’m not the one sitting through the testimony day after day.”
“Yeah, but I’m not the one they’re talking about.”
Kate massaged her shoulders. “In some ways, Jay, I think it must have been worse being you—not knowing exactly what was going on and feeling helpless to do anything about it.”
“I wasn’t in any imminent physical danger, though—just in danger of losing the only thing that mattered in my life.”
Kate kissed the top of her head. “It’s over, sweetheart. Here I am, safe, sound, and where I belong—snuggling with the woman I love.”
“Honey, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, we both know this won’t really be over until the jury has had its say and those two morons are locked away for good.” She turned around in her lover’s arms and kissed her on the shoulder. “Besides, the hardest part comes tomorrow when you have to testify. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’m going to get.”
“Maybe we could get Levon to agree that you don’t need to take the stand.”
“Sweetheart, if I don’t testify, it will throw the whole case into doubt.
Everyone will wonder why the woman who is at the heart of the case isn’t testifying.”
Lynn Ames
Jay pouted. “It doesn’t mean I have to like your being put through the experience a second time.”
“I love your protective side, baby, you know that? The therapist and I have been working on this for a few months. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
“Just the same, I’m going to be right there with you. All you need to do is look to the first few rows and you’ll find me.”
“I know, sweetheart, and I appreciate that more than words can say.
But if we don’t get some sleep, I won’t be worth anything by the time they get to me.”
Jay was jarred back to the present when Levon Davis announced,
“The prosecution calls Ms. Katherine Kyle to the stand.”
The buzz rippling through the crowd intensified as the double side doors opened and Kate strode in, confident and beautiful in a perfectly tailored deep navy suit with a sky blue blouse, sheer navy pantyhose, and matching shoes. With no apparent effort, she commanded the attention of every person in the room, with the notable exception of the defendants.
Neither of them so much as looked her way.
The district attorney handled the questioning himself, taking Kate through the events of the six months from the time she was offered the job as DOCS public information officer to her rescue and recuperation.
She related the incident with Marisa, along with Redfield’s refusal to dismiss the assistant. She described the meeting in her office with Breathwaite during which he’d threatened to out Jay. She explained how he told her she didn’t know what hell was, but that she would soon.
Finally, just as the DA was about to take her back to the day of the incident, the judge declared a short recess.
“How’re you holding up, honey?”
“So far, so good, Jay, but the fun is just about to begin.”
“I know.” Jay rubbed her back soothingly. “It will be over soon, Kate, and then we can get on with our lives.”
“I can’t wait.” Kate smiled lovingly. “Jay, are you sure you want to stay for this next part?”
Jay stiffened.
“I just mean,” Kate put her arm around her, “this will be the hardest part for you to hear. I love you, sweetheart, and I’d like to spare you that.”
“No,” Jay said determinedly. “If you can live through it again, so can I.”
“You can be so stubborn. Have I ever told you that?” Kate bumped her with a hip.
The Cost of Commitment
“Maybe once or twice, it’s hard to recall.”
Kate grew serious. “Thanks, Jay, for being here for me.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d want to be, love. We’d better head back.
I’m pretty sure the ten minutes is up.”
They strolled back toward the courtroom from the antechamber where they had been allowed to spend the recess, away from the prying eyes of reporters.
“Ms. Kyle, can you recount for this court the circumstances under which you came to be captured on the morning of December 20, 1987?”
Kate told the story of being paged, going to the offic
e, the decision to go out to Attica, taking the governor’s plane, and arriving at the prison.
She described her first trip through Times Square to update the media and the three subsequent trips prior to her capture. As she reached that fateful last trip, her posture unconsciously stiffened and her facial expression intensified.
“Ms. Kyle, I know this is very difficult, but could you tell us what happened from the time you entered Times Square just before you were taken to the time you were rescued?”
“I can tell you about the parts of that time that I was conscious, yes.”
“Of course.”
Kate narrowed her focus, shutting out the courtroom, the people, and the noise. “I had just finished having a conversation with Randy Garston, who was the deputy commissioner for operations. I remember walking into Times Square, stepping on some of the broken glass that littered the floor, and thinking about what I wanted to say to the media.” She paused and took a sip of water from a glass the bailiff had thoughtfully placed within her reach.
“I was two, maybe three strides into the room when I was grabbed from behind. I struggled, kicking one man in the shins. Then I remember being punched several times in the face and midsection.” She winced. “I felt my ribs break and my cheekbone fracture. I tried to keep fighting...”
The action became so real to Kate as she recounted it that she visibly flinched, as if from a blow. She shook her head.
“I have a vague recollection of being dragged through one of the cell block corridors. The next thing I remember is waking in a cell, hearing angry voices nearby.” Kate closed her eyes as the sounds of Antoine, Zack, and some of the others arguing over her fate overwhelmed her.
With effort, she opened her eyes again. She focused on Jay, who was halfway out of her seat in the first row of spectators, a worried expression on her face. With her eyes, Kate told her it was okay.
Lynn Ames
“One of them wanted to rape me before they killed me.” She tried to keep her voice level—matter-of-fact. She purposely didn’t look at Jay, knowing that seeing the expression on her face would be her undoing.
“Another just wanted to kill me outright. A third man argued that the man, as he referred to him, should have done his dirty work himself and that perhaps the best course of action was to turn me over to the authorities. A fourth, a man who seemed to be in charge, told them that I would be left alone until it was time to do away with me.”
