Graylin is near tears. “I never went back there by myself, Ms. Angela. I swear! Why is Taisha lying on me?”
“I don’t know,” I say, getting to my feet. “But I’m about to find out.”
I walk close to the jury box and face Taisha. Jenny blasts out of her seat like a missile.
“Your Honor, please forgive me for the interruption. I need to speak to my co-counsel. Right now.”
What the—
Judge Lipscomb grimaces. “Make it quick.”
Jenny’s interruption has wrecked my rhythm. Whatever she has to say better be important. As I turn around, I pray the jury doesn’t see the angst on my face.
I take the few short steps back to the defense table.
Before I can ask her what’s up, Jenny grips my forearm so hard I think it might snap in two. “We missed it!” she whispers into my ear.
“Missed what? And why couldn’t you wait until I—”
“Crayvon didn’t do it!” Jenny declares. “It’s Taisha. Taisha took that picture and sent it to Graylin!”
CHAPTER 75
Angela
It takes me a few seconds to process this. Taisha lives across the street from Kennedy. Taisha was the one Kennedy kicked to the curb. Taisha lies like a rug. Taisha had means, motive, and opportunity.
I turn back around to face the witness box, my heart racing. “May I also call you Taisha?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Did you speak with my investigator, a woman named, Mei?”
“Yep. A cute Asian girl, right?”
“Yes.”
“Yep, I spoke to her. I saw her sneaking into Kennedy’s backyard too. The same day she interviewed me.”
This little girl is dangerous. I have to keep this moving.
“Didn’t you tell the investigator that it was Crayvon who returned and went back there by himself, not Graylin?”
“Nope.”
“And didn’t—” I’m on to another question before I realize that Taisha didn’t give me the answer I was expecting.
“What did you say?”
“You have your facts wrong. I never saw Crayvon go into Kennedy’s backyard by himself. Just Graylin.”
“You do understand that you’re under oath, correct?”
“Yes.”
Since I’m facing a lying witness, I have to tread lightly.
“You have no idea whether Kennedy was home on the day you claim you saw Graylin and Crayvon going into her backyard, correct?”
“Nope. I’m pretty sure she was home.”
You little tart.
“Didn’t you tell my investigator that you didn’t know whether she was home or not?”
“Nope. I told her Kennedy was at home.”
“Taisha, you’re in foster care, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Who is your foster mother?”
“Mrs. Betty Taylor.”
Mrs. Taylor isn’t in the courtroom. Maybe Taisha wouldn’t be lying if she were here.
“Was your foster mother home the day you spoke with our investigator?”
“Yes.”
“And didn’t your foster mother tell her that you have a habit of lying?”
“I don’t know what she told her. I wasn’t listening to their conversation. They told me to go back inside.”
“Well, do you have a habit of lying?”
For the first time, Taisha pauses to think about her answer. “I wouldn’t call it lying. Sometimes I remember things or forget things.”
“Are you forgetting something about the day you claim you saw Graylin and Crayvon going into Kennedy’s backyard?”
“Nope. I saw Graylin go back there by himself with his cell phone in his hand. That’s what I saw with my own two eyes.”
“You don’t know what Graylin and Crayvon were doing in Kennedy’s backyard, correct?”
“Not really. But when Graylin went back there by himself, I did see a phone in his hand.”
I cross my arms and pause. I can’t let the jury see how irritated I am with this little girl.
“You have no evidence that Graylin took any pictures in Kennedy’s backyard, correct?”
“He must’ve. Kennedy’s picture ended up on his phone.”
“Objection,” I say. “Move to strike the witness’ statement as speculation.”
“Sustained.”
“You didn’t actually see Graylin take a picture. You’re just guessing, correct?”
She shrugs.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“No, I didn’t see him do it. But the police must’ve arrested him for a reason.”
“Again, Your Honor, move to strike.”
“Sustained,” Judge Lipscomb says. “Young lady, we don’t want you to guess.”
Taisha smiles up at him. “Okay, judge.”
It’s time for me to turn on her. “You took that picture of Kennedy, didn’t you?”
Taisha doesn’t even blink. “Nope.”
“You were upset with Kennedy for not being your friend, weren’t you?”
“I don’t care about her. I have lots of friends.”
“Name them?”
“What?”
“Name your friends.”
Taisha flubs.
Sullivan jumps to her defense. “Your Honor, I object to this line of questioning. Counsel’s badgering the witness.”
“Sustained.”
“You wanted to hurt Kennedy, didn’t you?”
“You’re not going to pin this on me,” Taisha says calmly. “I didn’t do it. Graylin did.”
I stare at her a few seconds, then turn away, shaking my head in an exaggerated show of disgust.
“I have no further questions.”
Sullivan almost crashes into the witness box in her rush to rehabilitate her star witness.
“Just a few questions, Taisha. Do you have a computer at home?”
“No.”
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“No.”
“Do you have a Snapchat account?”
“Nope.”
“No more questions, Your Honor.”
As Taisha saunters past our table, she looks as if she’s about to stick out her tongue at me. Instead, she flashes me a cheeky smile.
Judge Lipscomb bangs his gavel. “Let’s take a ten-minute break. And I mean ten minutes, not a second longer.”
“She’s lying!” Graylin bursts into a full-blown crying fit as soon as the jury is ushered out of the courtroom. “I never went back there by myself. Why did she lie on me like that, Ms. Angela?”
“I don’t know,” I say, pointing him toward the back of the courtroom. “Why don’t you go talk to your dad and your granny?”
After Graylin walks away, I tell Jenny we need to call Taisha’s foster mother to testify about her proclivity for lying. “How do you think the jury reacted to us going after her?”
“I’m sure they don’t think she’s credible. I can’t believe we didn’t focus on her earlier.”
I’m not entirely onboard with Jenny’s theory about Taisha. My bet is still on Crayvon and I hope we haven’t hurt ourselves by zeroing in on her. I don’t want the jury to think we’re carelessly slinging mud in the hope that something sticks.
“Something’s not right,” I say.
Jenny furrows her perfectly arched eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“I have a bad feeling that Sullivan has an even bigger surprise for us when Crayvon takes the witness stand.”
CHAPTER 76
Angela
When we reconvene, Judge Lipscomb announces that another matter requires his attention, so he’s ending court early today. Jenny and I are grateful for the reprieve.
Gus rushes a distraught Graylin out of the courtroom, while Jenny and I remain behind to collect our files and exhibits.
Other than the court clerk, we’re the only ones left in the courtroom.
“This has certainly been a crazy day,” I say. “I’m not sure we did the right thing by going after Taisha.”
Jenny is quick to disagree. “As far as I’m concerned, the more potential suspects, the better.”
I let out a long sigh. “I hope you’re right.”
“We haven’t even had a chance to talk about what Mei told us about Percy Carlyle,” Jenny says with a devious twinkle in her eyes.
“What’s there to talk about? It’s clear now why he wasn’t big on family counseling. And it’s not because he’s a child molester.”
“Yeah, but—”
Simone Carlyle barges back into the courtroom, enters the well and doesn’t stop until she’s standing in front of our table.
“You’ll do anything to get your client off,” she says, leaning in close enough to kiss me. “Even try to frame another child. You’re not going to get away with this.”
“Excuse me?” I push my chair back to get some breathing room.
“First you have your investigator trespass on my property and—”
“I don’t think Taisha Davis is a credible witness,” I say. “So I wouldn’t put any stock in anything she said on the witness stand today.”
Mei had indeed gone into the Carlyles’ backyard and taken pictures, but I’ll never admit that to this witch.
I turn away and continue packing up our documents. My abrupt dismissal of Mrs. Carlyle seems to further enrage her.
“And not only did you have that woman trespass on my property just once, you had her come back and start asking our au pair all kind of inappropriate personal questions about my husband.”
Jenny decides to step in and rescue me. “Mrs. Carlyle, this isn’t the time or the place for this. You should—”
Simone’s lips angle into an ugly sneer. “Nobody’s talking to you!”
“If you’re talking to my colleague,” Jenny fires back, “then you’re talking to me. Anything that goes on in this case, we’re both responsible for.”
I want to hug Jenny for coming to my defense. It’s been such a stressful day I don’t have the extra brain cells for this.
“Fine then. I’ll sue both of you.”
“Go for it,” Jenny says. “But you need to be spending your time keeping better track of your husband.”
“How dare you! What is that supposed to mean?”
A smile dances across Jenny’s lips. I know where she wants to go, but that’s on her. I duck my head and continue packing up our stuff.
“It means whatever you think it means,” Jenny says.
“I don’t know who you think you are. But I’ll tell you this—”
Jenny points a pink fingernail in the woman’s face. “Since you want to berate somebody, go home and scold your husband. And while you’re at it, ask him who he was hugged up with at a bar yesterday.”
“How dare you say something so outrageous!” she sputters. “My husband—”
“He was at The Crest. It’s a bar on Cherry Avenue in Long Beach. And just so you know, he wasn’t hugged up with a woman. It’s a gay bar.”
Simone is finally rendered speechless. She opens her mouth, but no words follow.
“Enjoy your afternoon,” Jenny says.
We each grab a box and walk out of the courtroom. Neither one of us makes a sound until we step into the elevator. When the doors close, we burst out laughing.
“Oh, my God, that was priceless!” I say. “Did you see her face?”
Jenny presses a palm to her cheek. “I don’t believe I did that. It’s not right to out people, but I couldn’t help myself. That woman deserved it.”
“Please remind me not to get you upset.”
We’re still laughing as we walk out of the building.
“I was right about Mr. Carlyle having something to hide,” Jenny says. “But way wrong about what it was.
“And I’m glad you were. If he’d had something to do with that picture, that would’ve been way too weird.”
“It’s going to be another long night,” Jenny sighs. “I’ll pick up some Starbucks on the way.”
“Add three extra shots to mine.”
“You’re going to OD on caffeine,” Jenny cautions me.
“You better do the same because it’s going to be a long night prepping for Crayvon’s cross. I plan to be over-prepared since what he says on the witness stand tomorrow could make or break our case.”
CHAPTER 77
Angela
The trial is taking its toll on Graylin. All morning, he’s been asking us the same question over and over again.
“Ms. Angela, if Crayvon lies on me too, you have to let me testify so I can tell the jury I didn’t do it. You’re going to let me testify, right?”
“We’ll see,” I say yet again.
We’ve explained to Graylin that it’s not a good idea for him to testify. Sullivan would tear him apart. But since Taisha’s testimony, getting the truth out is all he’s been able to focus on. Too bad this process has very little to do with the truth.
Once the jurors are seated, Judge Lipscomb instructs Sullivan to call her next witness.
The bailiff retrieves Crayvon Little from the hallway. Unlike Taisha, he walks unsteadily down the aisle toward the witness stand. He’s wearing a brown suit and shoes that look as if they’ve been polished with Vaseline. He stops right outside the box, raises his right hand and swears to tell the truth. While LaShay and Taisha were almost swallowed up by the witness box, Crayvon sits tall.
After establishing his age, where he lives and attends school, Sullivan moves on to questions that will score her some points.
“Crayvon, how long have you known Graylin Alexander?”
Crayvon clears his throat. “A long time. Since third grade.”
“Is he one of your closest friends?”
“Yes.”
“Not anymore,” Graylin mutters under his breath.
“To your knowledge, did Graylin have a crush on Kennedy Carlyle?”
Crayvon sits up straighter. “Yes.”
Graylin flinches. “He’s lying, Ms. Angela! He likes her, not me!”
I squeeze Graylin’s arm. He says something indecipherable and quiets down.
“How did you know Graylin had a crush on Kennedy?”
“Because he’s always talking about her and he told me he liked her.”
“Did you like Kennedy?”
“No. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Danielle. She goes to my church.”
“Did Graylin ever visit your home?”
“Yep, all the time.”
“Do you live on the same street as Kennedy Carlyle?”
“Yes, up the street, about four houses down, but on the other side of the street.”
“During the week of May tenth, did you and the defendant, Graylin Alexander, sneak into Kennedy’s backyard?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you do that?”
“We were just looking around. We ran back out after a few minutes.”
“Was Kennedy at home?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you look into her bedroom window?”
“No.”
“How long were you and Graylin in her backyard?”
“Not long. Only a few minutes.”
“Did you have your cell phone with you?”
“No.”
“Did Graylin have his cell phone with him?”
“Yes.”
“After you left the backyard, what did you do?”
“We went back to my house and watched TV, but then Gra
ylin had to leave so he could get home before it got dark.”
“Did Graylin have to pass by Kennedy’s house on his way home?”
“Yes.”
“Did Graylin ever tell you he had a naked picture of Kennedy on his phone?”
“Yeah, on the same day he got arrested.”
“Did he show it to you?”
“He wanted to, but I had to take something to the administration office for my teacher, so I couldn’t see it.”
“When was this?”
“The same day he got arrested. Right before our second-period class started. In first period, when we were taking our algebra test, he threw a spitball at me to get my attention. When I looked back at him, he was holding up his phone and pointing at it. He was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t understand at the time. But now I know he was—”
Jenny is on her feet. “Objection, calls for speculation. The witness just testified that he didn’t understand what Graylin was trying to tell him.”
We decided last night that Jenny would handle the cross of Crayvon since she has more experience with child witnesses.
“Sustained,” Judge Lipscomb says.
Sullivan doesn’t mind the objection. The jury will infer that Graylin was trying to show him the picture of Kennedy.
“What did you do when Graylin tried to get your attention?”
“I didn’t want to talk because I was trying to concentrate on my test. So I ignored him.”
“Did you take the picture of Kennedy and send it to Graylin?”
“No. I didn’t have nothing to do with any of this.”
“I have no further questions of this witness.”
Jenny stands, smiles and approaches Crayvon.
“Crayvon, do you believe Graylin took a naked picture of Kennedy?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“How many days was it between the time the two of you went into Kennedy’s backyard and Graylin’s arrest.”
“I don’t know. I think three days.”
“So if someone else testified that it was two days, would they be wrong?”
“Yep. I know it was three days because I watched NCIS later that night and it comes on on Tuesday nights.”
“Do you talk to Graylin on the phone?”
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