by Randy Singer
86
BILLY THURSTON WAS NO LONGER at the condo. Bum knee or not, he had decided he wasn’t going to miss the fireworks. Earlier that morning, Landon and Kerri had explained the new plan. Billy’s role was to take care of Maddie. But after Landon and Kerri left, Billy called one of the high school linemen he had been working out with whose father was a Norfolk police officer. The man was off duty and said he’d be glad to help.
A half hour later, Billy dropped Maddie off at the officer’s house along with a full page of instructions on how to take care of her. Among other things, she wasn’t allowed to leave the house for even one minute. Billy promised he’d be back as soon as court let out for the day.
Billy took advantage of his crutches to park in a handicapped spot right next to the J&DR building. He hobbled over to the other side of the building and found an inconspicuous spot on the ground between a few pine trees where he could watch people come and go on the quad. He called the Norfolk police officer every thirty minutes.
He knew Kerri would be mad at him if she found out that he left Maddie with some strangers. But his gut told him he might be needed at the courthouse. Landon could still be in danger, and Billy wasn’t going to leave his buddy on his own.
At a few minutes after eleven, Billy saw Sean Phoenix show up and enter the circuit court building. He decided to give it a few minutes before heading over to the courthouse. That way, by the time he slipped into the back of courtroom three, Phoenix would already be on the stand testifying. Billy couldn’t wait to see the look on the man’s face.
///
When Landon returned from Judge Deegan’s chambers with permission to call Sean Phoenix as his next witness, he quickly surveyed the courtroom. People were shuffling back to their seats, but he didn’t see Kerri. Parker Clausen hadn’t returned either.
The bailiff announced that court would resume in two minutes. Elias hobbled back to the counsel table. Landon took his seat and shuffled some papers, mindful of the fact that Sean Phoenix was sitting right behind him.
“I need a word with you, Counselor,” Sean said, leaning forward. Landon scooted his chair back so that he was just a few inches from Sean Phoenix on the other side of the bar of court.
“You don’t want to put me on the stand,” Phoenix said, his voice a low growl.
Landon twisted in his chair to meet Sean Phoenix’s stare. The man’s blue eyes were cold, as if he could kill without emotion. “You’re wrong,” Landon said. “I do.”
“Every man has his price,” Phoenix said. “Parker Clausen, for example. You think he got to be a bestselling author because he’s a good writer?”
Landon didn’t respond. Was Parker one of them?
“Big John McBride wanted to get rich. Kerri wanted the big story. You—you’re motivated by family.”
Landon turned fully toward Sean and gave him a hard stare. “What are you saying?”
“All rise,” the bailiff called out. People stood as Judge Deegan took her place on the bench. Landon’s mind was racing with what Sean Phoenix had just said: “You’re motivated by family.”
“Be seated,” Deegan said. “Bring in the jury.”
As the jury shuffled in, Sean Phoenix leaned forward again and spoke in a whisper. “We’ve got Kerri,” Phoenix said. “Don’t make me give the order to hurt her.”
The words chilled Landon as he quickly turned and surveyed the courtroom. Kerri was still gone. So was Parker. Landon wanted to tell the deputies and put out an all-points bulletin. But how far had Sean’s men taken her? Once Landon said something to the deputies, there would be no turning back.
“The defense may call his first witness,” Judge Deegan said.
Landon stood. “May I have a second, Judge?” he asked. The hair was standing up on the back of his neck. He had to fight back the panic and the bile in his throat. What if it was already too late? Why should he trust anything Sean Phoenix said?
“For what purpose?” Judge Deegan asked.
Landon held up a hand. “Just for one second, Your Honor. A short conference.”
“Make it quick.”
Landon turned and leaned over the railing, his mouth next to Sean Phoenix’s ear. “So help me God, if your men touch my wife, every one of you will spend the rest of your life in prison.”
“I’ve got people in this courtroom,” Phoenix whispered back. His voice was calm and steady, authoritative. Was it a bluff? “Put me on the stand, and it will be the worst day of her life. Let me walk out of here, and I’ll return her unharmed as soon as I leave American airspace.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“Because one of us has to trust the other. And because you know I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Counsel, let’s proceed,” Judge Deegan said.
Landon turned and faced the judge, his head spinning. He needed a few minutes to figure things out. This was like the two-minute drill. He had to slow down the clock.
“Counsel?” Judge Deegan’s voice had an edge to it.
“The defense calls Julia King,” Landon said.
“What?” Elias asked, his voice loud enough to be heard by most everyone in the courtroom.
“Ms. King, please come forward and raise your right hand,” Judge Deegan said.
Julia rose with a dazed look and walked into the well of the courtroom. Phoenix also stood and asked the court if he could be excused.
“Not yet,” Landon said. “We intend to call him as our next witness.”
87
JAKE KING DIDN’T UNDERSTAND everything that was going on, but he had managed to put the big pieces together. He loved football, but deep down, he knew he really wasn’t very good at it. Until he had met Landon Reed—actually, until this case—he hadn’t known what he really wanted to do with his life. But sitting through this trial and watching Landon and his dad tag-team the prosecution had opened his eyes.
He had always done well in school. And he could be a leader when he wanted to. He could totally see himself doing what Landon was doing now.
Sometime during the second day of trial, Jake King had decided he wanted to be a trial lawyer.
He had been trying to follow all the ins and outs of why Landon asked certain questions on cross-examination and why the prosecutor might call this witness or that witness. He had listened carefully and had overheard enough that morning to know that the defense team was trying to get Mr. Phoenix on the stand. From what Jake had heard, he was pretty sure Landon was going to try and lay the blame for Erica Jensen’s murder at the feet of Mr. Phoenix. For Jake, it was like living in a movie.
So when Mr. Phoenix came into the courtroom and sat down in the front row next to Mr. Clausen, Jake had been on high alert. The two men whispered back and forth. Jake, sitting on Mr. Clausen’s other side, had leaned a little to his left and was able to pick up bits and pieces. When he saw Mr. Clausen leave the courtroom, Jake had waited a few beats and then followed.
He had seen Mr. Clausen talking to Mrs. Reed in the hallway, an intense conversation, with both of them leaning toward each other, troubled looks on their faces. He pretended to head toward the bathroom. But something told him things weren’t right. It was what Landon called his “quarterback instinct.” Landon was always telling Jake that he thought too much on the football field and sometimes just needed to trust his gut. He also told Jake that he was too cautious, that sometimes you just had to improvise and go for broke.
Jake had set his jaw and circled back around, just in time to see Mrs. Reed and Mr. Clausen heading down the escalator. He had hustled over to the glass railing at the top of the escalator and watched Mr. Clausen and Mrs. Reed get off at the bottom. He glanced back at the courtroom doors—they didn’t need him in there—and took off down the escalator as fast as he could run.
By the time he hit the ground floor, Mr. Clausen and Mrs. Reed were nowhere in sight. Jake went to the security checkpoint, turned in his plastic marker, picked up his cell phone, and hurried out the door. He chec
ked this way and that, frantically looking for Mrs. Reed. In the hallway upstairs, he had heard Mr. Clausen say something about Landon wanting Mrs. Reed to go home to be with Maddie. But Jake had been sitting next to Mr. Clausen all morning and had never heard Landon say anything like that.
Looking across the quad, Jake saw Billy Thurston coming toward the circuit court building on his crutches. Billy would know what to do! Maybe Jake was just making a big deal about nothing.
He started to jog toward Billy but first took one last glance around. That’s when he spotted them, in the opposite direction from Billy, walking side by side. They ducked down a path through a small section of woods that led to a massive parking lot behind the Chesapeake Community Center. They were over a hundred yards away.
Jake sprinted toward Billy. Breathless, he gave Billy a quick rundown of what he had seen and heard.
“You know how to drive?” Billy asked urgently.
“Sure.”
“I parked Landon’s truck in the handicapped spot on the other side of that building.” Billy pointed to the J&DR courthouse. He gave Jake the keys. “Here. Get Landon’s truck and bring it around to this street.” Billy pointed to the street behind the court building about fifteen yards away. “I’ll meet you there, and we’ll head over to the other parking lot.”
Jake ripped off his suit coat and sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him toward Landon’s truck. The more he ran, the more he convinced himself that Kerri Reed was in real danger. He found the truck right where Billy had said it would be. He wheeled out of the parking lot and drove to the street where he was supposed to pick up Billy.
Billy already had his plastic brace off and was holding it in his right hand. He threw it into the bed of the truck.
“It takes me forever to get in and out of that cab with this knee,” Billy said. “I’m going to hop in the back. You drive. Head to that parking lot over there and drive around until you find them. Park right behind ’em. And don’t move until I tell you to.”
“Yes, sir.”
Billy lowered the tailgate, sat on it, and scooted up into the bed of the truck. “Okay . . . let’s go,” he said.
88
NOW THAT LANDON had Julia on the stand, he wasn’t really sure what to ask her. He hadn’t even dared tell Elias about Phoenix’s whispered threats. What if Elias said something to the police?
For his part, Elias didn’t want Julia on the stand at all. “Trust me,” Landon had whispered. “I just need to stall for a few minutes.”
Landon started with a few background questions, but after a while he could tell that everybody in the courtroom was getting restless. He was standing facing the witness while keeping one eye on the back door. He kept hoping Kerri would walk through the door at any minute so he could end this charade and call Sean Phoenix to the stand. He also kept glancing at his phone. He had sent Kerri a text after Phoenix threatened him, while Julia was being sworn in—Where are u?—but hadn’t received a reply.
Sean Phoenix was still sitting right behind counsel table, focused on Landon like a laser trying to bore holes into Landon’s psyche. For the moment, Landon ignored him.
“Directing your attention to the night before Erica Jensen’s death, Super Bowl Sunday, did you and your husband have an argument?”
“Don’t go there,” he heard Elias whisper. But it was too late.
Julia looked at Landon with wide eyes. She knew about the plan to get Sean Phoenix on the stand, but she obviously had no clue what Landon was trying to do right now. It’s okay, he wanted to tell her. I’m not sure either.
She glanced at Elias, and Landon could sense that there were twenty-six years of marriage wrapped up in the look, a lifetime of being there for each other, of taking care of somebody even when you’ve seen them at their worst. Elias must have nodded or given her some sign of affirmation. When she turned back to Landon, she seemed to relax, a woman resigned to telling the truth.
“Yes.”
“What was the argument about?”
“It was the night I found out about his affair with Erica Jensen.”
The answer set off a stirring in the courtroom as the spectators anticipated what was coming next.
“How did you find out?”
“Through some text messages on his phone. When I confronted him, he admitted it.”
At counsel table, Elias stared at his hands. Pain and regret were written on every wrinkle on his face.
“What did you do when you found out?”
“I screamed at him. I cried. I cursed the day I married him.”
“What did he do?”
Julia hesitated, looking at her guilt-stricken husband. “He apologized and said he was going to break it off with Erica. He said he never meant to hurt me.”
“Did you ever confront Erica Jensen about this?”
For a split second, the room was stilled. Julia swallowed, kept her head high, and looked straight at Landon. “Yes, the next night. I left the house and drove to Erica’s apartment.”
There was a murmur in the audience, and Deegan banged her gavel. “Let’s have it quiet,” she said.
“So that would be Monday night, the night of Erica’s death?”
“Yes.”
“Did you go alone?”
“Yes.”
“To your knowledge, did your husband know you were going?”
“No.”
“Did you talk to Erica Jensen that night?”
“Yes. I told her to stay away from my husband. I told her that I hadn’t worked through twenty-six years of marriage to lose him now. I told her she needed to find another job at another firm and never go near Elias again.”
Landon took another glance at the back door. Still nothing. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed that Sean Phoenix seemed to relax just a little. Maybe he assumed that Landon had found a new scapegoat in Julia and just wanted Sean to watch so he would release Kerri unharmed.
“Did you threaten her?” Landon asked.
“She apologized. She said it just happened. She said she never meant to break up our family.”
“But did you threaten her?”
“I never had to. She said that she and Elias were through.”
“Did you harm Erica in any way?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Was there any physical confrontation between the two of you?”
“No.”
“Did you slip her any drugs?”
“Of course not.”
“What time did you leave Erica Jensen’s apartment?”
“I don’t really remember. Probably sometime around 9 p.m.”
“Was she alive?”
“Yes, Mr. Reed. She was very much alive.”
89
JAKE DROVE UP AND DOWN the rows of the parking lot behind the community center, frantically searching for Mr. Clausen’s BMW. He spotted it near the far corner of the lot just as Clausen was starting to back out.
“There it is,” he said out his window. Billy Thurston was still in the bed of the truck but had scooted up to the front corner on the driver’s side.
“And there’s a man in the backseat,” Jake added.
He sped down the row toward the BMW. Billy was looking through the back window of the cab.
“Ram it!” Billy said.
“What?”
“Ram it!”
Jake braced for impact and nailed the back corner of the BMW with the front of Landon’s truck, pinning the car between the truck and a minivan parked next to the BMW. Only then did he see that Kerri was in the front seat, a gag in her mouth, her hands behind her back.
He held on to both sides of the steering wheel and froze, staring straight ahead. His arms and legs were trembling, and he thought he might throw up. He glanced to his right and saw the muscular guy they called the Wolfman jump out of the backseat of the BMW, gun in hand, while Mr. Clausen climbed slowly out the front. From his peripheral vision, through the cab’s rear window, Jake could see Billy
lying down in the back of the truck, wedged up against the passenger side rail. He had his gun out and his index finger against his lips.
The Wolfman came over to the truck and flung open the passenger door. He cursed Jake, and Jake was certain the man was going to jump into the cab and snap his neck like a twig. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate.
“Don’t move!” Billy barked out the order from the bed of the truck. The Wolfman and Jake looked at the same time. Billy’s gun was pointed at the Wolfman’s head from about two feet away. “Drop it now—because I’d love to blow your brains out.”
Without looking at Billy, the Wolfman dropped his gun.
“Now, kick it away.”
The Wolfman did as instructed.
“Hands on top of your head,” Billy demanded.
Again, the Wolfman complied—slowly, as if looking for an opening.
“Get over here, Clausen!” Billy yelled, swinging the gun toward Parker Clausen. With his hands up, Mr. Clausen walked slowly down the side of the vehicle. Kerri was struggling to get the passenger door open.
“Go get Kerri out,” Billy told Jake. “And dial 911.”
Jake jumped out of the truck at the same time that Billy, keeping his gun trained on the Wolfman, straddled the back rail and then hopped down from the truck bed. He landed awkwardly, the bad knee buckling a little, and the Wolfman took advantage.
He whirled with some kind of judo kick, and the gun went flying out of Billy’s hand. A second kick landed a heel to the side of Billy’s face, connecting with bone, the sound of celery snapping. Billy collapsed to the ground.
Jake was dialing 911 on the opposite side of the truck bed when Billy went down. He panicked and jumped back in the cab. At the same time, Kerri had managed to wriggle free enough to place her forehead on the car horn, which blared across the parking lot. Mr. Clausen climbed back in the front seat to push her away.
But the noise, just for a moment, distracted the Wolfman, who was bending over to pick up Billy’s gun. Instinctively, Jake threw the truck in reverse and jammed on the gas. The open passenger door nailed the Wolfman, knocking him to the ground within arm’s reach of Billy, who scrambled on top of him.
