Blind Conviction (Nate Shepherd Legal Thriller Series Book 3)

by Michael Stagg

  “You do,” said Judge Wesley. “But I also have broad discretion to manage your ability to re-call him.”

  “I understand, Your Honor.”

  “You will not repeat his testimony from earlier.”

  “I understand, Your Honor.”

  Stritch shook his head. “Your Honor, as I said, this is repetitive—”

  Judge Wesley raised her hand. “Did you just hear me say that he will not repeat his testimony from earlier?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Then, by definition, it won't be repetitive.” She waved her hand, dismissing us back to our tables.

  As I walked back to the table, Archie looked at me, his confusion apparent. I waved him closer, bent down and whispered, “When your brother went on casino trips, did he ever go to Dowagiac?”

  Archie leaned back and scowled. “Yes. Why?”

  I nodded and turned toward the witness stand.

  While we had been talking to the judge, Bonnie had sat back down and Hamish had taken his place on the stand. He removed his hat and he smoothed his red hair a couple of times as Judge Wesley said, “Mr. Mack, I would remind you that you are still under oath in this proceeding.”

  Hamish nodded. “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “You may proceed, Mr. Shepherd.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.”

  I came around the table and stood directly in front of him. There was only one way that Professor Timmons being at the concert made any sense at all, but I didn’t know if Hamish knew about it. I had a hunch and I knew what I had to ask but I had absolutely no idea what the answer was going to be. I believe the Latin term for that kind of question at the end of an attempted murder trial is a nut-cruncher.

  “Mr. Mack,” I said. “Did you know that Professor Elias Timmons was at Century Quarry the night that Abby was attacked?”

  Hamish scowled. “What?”

  And that told me all that I needed to know.

  Not, “Who the hell is Professor Timmons?”

  Not, “What are you talking about?”

  Just, “What?”

  I nodded. “He was. His car was still in the parking lot the next morning. The one with the G ROCKS license plate.”

  Hamish turned white. “He told me he wasn't there.”

  “Where? At the Quarry?”

  Hamish nodded.

  “You need to answer out loud.”

  “Yes.”

  “When did he tell you that he wasn’t at the Quarry?”

  Hamish’s mouth worked, but no sound came out.

  “When, Mr. Mack?”

  “When we texted.”

  “That night?”

  Hamish nodded.

  “You need to answer verbally.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you plan to meet him there?”

  “Yes.”

  “After meeting with Wellington?”

  “Yes. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted.”

  “Because he’s been advising you about the potential for oil on your property?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long have you known Professor Timmons?”

  “Almost five years.”

  “Did you meet him at the Diamond Mine?”

  “How did you…yes.”

  “We should explain that to the jury. The Diamond Mine is a casino near Dowagiac, right?”

  “It is.”

  “It offers guided diamond hunts as part of its trip package?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you met Professor Timmons there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  “He was in our group and knew all about how the mor…”

  “Moraines?”

  “That’s it. How the moraines were formed and why there were diamonds in them. We joked about how I needed to start looking on my farm. A few weeks later, he called.”

  “About your land?”

  “He did. He said he had information that could make me rich.”

  “What did he want in exchange? A piece?”

  Hamish nodded. “Half.”

  Stritch stood. “Your Honor, we’re getting awfully far afield from Ms. Ackerman's assault here.”

  “I don't know that we are,” said Judge Wesley.

  “I'll bring it back around, Your Honor,” I said. “I take it from what you said earlier that you and Professor Timmons were going to meet at Century Quarry the night of the Big Luke concert.”

  “We were. I didn't want to, but we were.”

  “Why did Professor Timmons want to meet then?”

  “He wanted to know what Wellington had to say.”

  “Because you were close to working out a deal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because you had figured out that drilling for oil is not a farming decision that your parents controlled?”

  “That's right.”

  “Whose idea was it to explore that option?”

  Hamish looked down. “Timmons.”

  “He figured it out?”

  “He did.”

  “Why would you meet at the Quarry?”

  “Because there were so many people there that no one would think anything of it if I bumped into a guy and talked to him.”

  “By no one, you mean your family?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because you wanted to keep it hidden from them?”

  “I did.”

  “But you didn't see Professor Timmons at the Quarry?”

  “He didn't show. And then I had my argument with Abby and I left.”

  “You testified earlier that your argument with Abby was about the well, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “She didn’t want you to do it, right?”

  “Right.”

  “She thought it would interfere with organic farming, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was it loud?”

  Hamish stared at me.

  “Hamish, was your argument with Abby loud?”

  “Yes.” Hamish looked at his brother and then he looked at me. “We yelled.”

  “And you left?”

  “I did.”

  “And right after you left you got the call from Abby?”

  “Yes.”

  “And so you thought she was okay?”

  “I knew she was okay.”

  “When did you talk to Professor Timmons?”

  “We didn't talk. We texted. I sent a text right after I left asking where he was. He answered me two hours later saying he couldn't make it, he’d gotten hung up.”

  “You left that out of your testimony earlier.”

  Hamish looked down. “I didn’t think it mattered. I thought that Archie had…I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “Mr. Mack, we have video showing that Professor Timmons did go to the Quarry that night.”

  Stritch stood. “Objection, Your Honor. This evidence hasn't been disclosed.”

  “Yes it has, Your Honor. It's the video we've all been looking at. We just didn't know what his car looked like. We will be able to prove that the silver Explorer with the license plate G ROCKS is registered to Elias Timmons. And that it is in the Century Quarry parking lot at the time of the incident.”

  “This is in the security video that's been marked as a State Exhibit?” said Judge Wesley.

  “It is, Your Honor.”

  “Overruled.”

  “Mr. Mack, Professor Timmons was there at Century Quarry on the night your fiancée was attacked after you loudly argued about putting a well on your property. Does that matter to you?”

  Hamish’s face went the same fiery red as his hair. His jaw clenched, and unclenched, then clenched again before he said, “It certainly does.”

  “That's all I have, Your Honor.”

  Before Stritch could stand, Judge Wesley said, “Why don't we take our afternoon break. Members of the jury please come back in fifteen minutes. Counsel, see me in my chambers.” Judge Wesley banged the gave
l and went back to her office.

  I took a deep breath and started to follow her. Then I stopped and did something I came to regret.

  I sent Olivia a text. I told her it was Timmons and that she should stay on him.

  Then I went into Judge Wesley’s office.

  45

  Judge Wesley sat down heavily. “Why am I just hearing about this now?”

  “We just discovered it this morning, Your Honor,” I said.

  “How can that possibly be?”

  “Danny has been scouring the film for weeks, but he had never met Professor Timmons until today, so didn’t see him in the video. I’d met him but had never seen his car. Danny saw the car for the first time today and made the connection to the video with the G ROCKS license plate. Then he came to me and told me at the first break.”

  “And that's why you requested the continuance?”

  I nodded.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me all this then?”

  “Because it was still too tenuous to put out there if I was wrong. And I needed confirmation from Hamish or another source.”

  “And this is all in the video? The video that's already been entered into evidence?”

  “The car is. Danny is watching it as we speak to see if we can clearly identify Timmons.”

  Judge Wesley cocked her head. “Do you know when Timmons left the Quarry?”

  “Not yet. The car was there overnight. We don't have the tape for the next day to see when that happened.”

  “I assume you're going to get it?”

  “If Your Honor allows.”

  “Of course, I'm going to allow it.”

  Stritch raised a hand. “Your Honor, while this would be an interesting issue for appeal, if that was Mr. Shepherd's last witness, I assume we're proceeding to closing so we can get the jury charged this afternoon?”

  “What?” I said.

  Stritch shrugged. “You've got your record. The videos and the evidence. It's time to put the issue to the jury.”

  “Aren’t you going to cross-examine, Mr. Mack?” said Judge Wesley.

  “I’ve already examined him once. He's confirmed that he received the call from Archie, that Archie was at the place where the attack occurred, and that he assumed at the time that his brother did it. As far as I'm concerned, we have a record in this case and it needs to be sent to the jury.”

  “You've got the wrong guy, T. Marvin,” I said.

  “I don't think that's true at all.”

  Judge Wesley raised her hand. “It's three-thirty on Friday afternoon. Even if you only took fifteen minutes to close, which you won’t, we’d have a hard time getting in closing arguments and a jury charge before the end of the day. While I'm not granting counsel's motion for a continuance, I am stopping proceedings for today and letting the jury go home a little early. I’m giving you both the weekend to review the video and run this down. Mr. Stritch, this way you have the whole weekend to prepare your cross-examination of Hamish Mack and incorporate any of this evidence into your case. Mr. Shepherd, if you obtain additional video or evidence over the weekend, I expect you to share it with Mr. Stritch that day. The same goes for you, Mr. Stritch. We will meet at seven-thirty Monday morning to determine where we are and how we will proceed.”

  Stritch opened his mouth, Judge Wesley raised her hand, and he stopped.

  “Yes, Your Honor,” I said.

  We stood.

  “I would say have a good weekend, gentlemen, but I prefer that you have a busy one.” Judge Wesley waved a hand in dismissal. “See you Monday.”

  We left.

  As we went back into the courtroom, T. Marvin and I stopped. He shook his head. “Danny really only saw the license plate this morning?”

  I nodded. “Touch base once we both have a chance to look at the video?”

  T. Marvin nodded. “Let’s talk Sunday morning.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I'm leaning toward proceeding though.”

  “I understand.”

  We separated and I looked at the rest of the courtroom. Archie was standing by the counsel table, waiting. His mother and Bonnie stood at the rail. Mr. Mack was gone. Hamish sat on the other side of the gallery, looking forlorn. Cade and Danny weren’t there.

  I went to Archie first. I explained that we were done for the day and that the judge was giving us permission to investigate over the weekend before deciding what to do Monday.

  Archie looked confused. “You mean they're not dismissing the case?”

  “Not yet,” I said.

  “But you heard what Hamish said! It wasn't me!”

  “He didn’t exactly say that.”

  “But—”

  I raised my hand. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get the video evidence together over the weekend. That’ll go a long way toward getting a dismissal. Did you know about Timmons?”

  Archie shook his head. “I hate gambling. I never went on those trips.” He shook his head. “I just want this to be done.”

  “I understand. We’re almost there.” I looked at Mrs. Mack. “Where did Mr. Mack go?”

  “He had a few words for his son, his other son, and then left. Something about not wanting to add a murder charge to the family list.”

  “I see. Did you know Hamish was negotiating with Wellington?”

  She shook her head. “We really didn’t think about it much after we rejected it four years ago. Why wouldn’t Hamish tell us this? Why would he let them arrest Archie?”

  “Because he didn’t know Timmons was there. As far as he was concerned, he had an angry brother right there when his girlfriend was attacked. My guess is once he heard about the blood and the video, he thought that Archie did it. From his perspective, he probably didn’t have a reason to think otherwise.”

  Mrs. Mack looked stricken.

  “Do me a favor?”

  “What’s that, Mr. Shepherd?”

  “Keep them away from each other this weekend. Let us sort it out.”

  Mrs. Mack looked back and forth between her two boys and I got a glimpse of the shrewd, tough farmer who’d kept them in line for years. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Mr. Shepherd. Thank you.”

  I nodded. Since I had called Hamish as a witness that day, I figured it was my job to tell him he could go. I walked over and told him.

  “What’s going to happen?” he said.

  “I don’t know yet. Come back Monday morning.”

  “Okay.” His eyes stayed on his mother and his brother. “I didn’t know he was there.”

  “I understand.”

  “I was sure Archie did it.”

  “I figured.”

  “I would never want anything to happen to Abby.”

  “Sure.”

  “The oil deal just made so much sense. We would be able to—”

  I raised my hand. “You’re technically still in the middle of your examination, Hamish. I can’t talk to you anymore.”

  “But I’m telling you that—”

  “I’ll see you Monday.”

  He looked exasperated, but he finally nodded and started to walk over to his mom and brother.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.

  He looked back at me.

  “Wait until Monday. Then you’ll all know exactly what you’re healing from.”

  He paused there, uncertain. He looked back at his mother and Archie.

  The two of them returned his gaze for a moment then turned their backs on him and resumed their conversation.

  Hamish twitched, then left.

  The last person in the room for me to see was Ronnie Hawkins.

  “Abby’s not here?” I said.

  “Doctor advised against it. And she really didn’t want to watch this anymore.”

  “Have you told her?”

  “I haven’t been able to get a hold of her since Hamish’s testimony. I don’t know that it’ll change her memory from that night.”

  “Probably not,
but maybe she'll be able to remember some other contact Hamish had with Timmons.”

  “Maybe.” She glanced at the empty witness chair. “There's still some pretty big gaps as to how the attack happened, but it makes more sense than Archie doing it.”

  “I think so too. We'll see what the video shows.”

  My phone buzzed. It showed a text message from Danny, which was unusual since he should have been right there in the building.

  “Excuse me,” I said to Ronnie and opened it.

  Get down to security now.

  “I’m sorry, I have to go,” I said to her. “I’ll call you this weekend.”

  “Talk to you then,” she said.

  I hustled down the stairs and through the front security desk. Danny was waiting outside the front door.

  “Olivia’s been hurt,” he said.

  I stopped. “What happened?”

  “She got hit by a car.”

  “Where?”

  “The University parking lot.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “I was standing next to Cade when he got the call.”

  If I could make the connection to how Olivia had gotten hurt in the University parking lot, then Cade could too. “Shit. When did he leave?”

  “Five minutes ago.”

  “Pack up our stuff and take it to the office. I'll call you.”

  I didn't wait for an answer as I sprinted to my Jeep. As I pulled out of the lot, I called Cade.

  Surprisingly, he answered. “What is it, Shep?” he said.

  “What happened?”

  “She was injured in the parking lot at the University.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “I'm listed as an emergency contact in her phone. One of the paramedics contacted me.”

  “A paramedic called? How bad is it?”

  “Bad enough that she couldn’t use the phone herself.”

  “Why not?”

  “She had a head injury.”

  “Concussion?”

  “Not sure.”

  “Then what?”

  “She got thrown into another car. And hit the right side of her face. Her eye’s swollen shut.”

  I swore.

  “Exactly. They’re taking her to St. Wendolin’s. I’ll meet you there.” He hung up.

  I cursed. Cade wasn't going to St. Wendolin’s.