by Larry Brown
Freddy Lopez was a successful businessman and a crook. Freddy was the godfather to the men and women of these gangs. Freddy had read about the mafia of the ’40s and ’50s and used what he learned as his model. He had maintained a state of complete secrecy of his involvement with gangs or anything illegal.
It did not for an instant mean that Freddy was not a strong leader. The story goes, that a few years earlier a strong, young man challenged Freddy for the leader’s job. The day after the challenge, the young man had never been seen or heard from again. When asked, Freddy said the young man must have changed his mind.
Freddy had followed the two attempts on Harry Blake’s gold coins closely. Freddy’s sister, Ruth, was the lead cleaning lady taking care of Harry Blake.
Chapter 30
Judge Henry’s office called Roscoe and Mack to say that they had a number of settlements and withdrawals, and the court calendar would allow the trial to begin next week if the two attorneys could adapt to this change. Roscoe complained but reluctantly accepted. Mack’s response had been, “Hell, yeah!”
The publicity had been as big as it gets in Polk County. Roscoe had gained more than he had hoped for, he was in full bloom.
The Trial
Roscoe was resplendent in a $1500 Brooks Brothers black suit, white French-cuffed shirt and a neon red tie with matching suspenders. His dress was capped off by perfectly shined black alligator shoes.
Mack was attired in a Belk’s best funeral blue suit that appeared as if it should have been at the dry cleaners instead of a courtroom. He wore a short-sleeved white shirt with a tartan bow tie that was not tied square to the collar. His shoes were old and brown and needed a shine. He was his version of ‘court ready.’
Opening Remarks
ROSCOE: "Ladies and gentlemen, I know Judge Henry has told you this is not a criminal case, it’s a civil case. What that really means is you and I have a chance to do something good and right and fair. Harry Blake is a well-off celebrity – he has income, assets, and resources. He is about to become more famous when his books’ mini-series is released. Listen, all we have to do is open a newspaper, turn on our TVs, and we see famous people are many times, not good people. They do bad things.
“Now let’s back up just a bit. I’m not attempting to try to prove any criminal liability here to get Mr. Blake put in jail. Our good sheriff, by the way, a good friend of Mr. Blake’s has already determined there would be no charges against his friend, Mr. Blake. That’s okay. They have to live with that, but we don’t have to go away from here without some justice. That’s what you and I are going to do here. Thank you.”
MACK: "My, my, counselor Abernathy is so eloquent. Makes you wonder why we are needed. Condemning the sheriffs’ department and Mista Blake in one quick sentence and being a celebrity himself, I am sure he knows well about the foibles of celebrities.
“Now folks, why do you think there were no criminal charges or a trial? Is it because Sheriff Hardaway is a friend? Of course not. It’s called a lack of, or in this case, no evidence whatsoever of wrongdoing by Harry Blake. Is it wrong for a man to defend himself? No, I don’t think so, nor do I think you are foolish enough to do so. I’m through your honor; let’s get this travesty completed.”
The judge told Roscoe to call his witnesses. His first witness was Sheriff Hardaway. After some preliminary meaningless questions, Roscoe got to the heart of his subjects.
“Sheriff, who looked at the evidence in this horrible crime besides you?”
“Assistant Sheriff, Al Johnson and Deputy, Morris Canady. We all concluded the same thing. Also as per procedure in cases like this, we run it by the D.A. and he agreed.”
Roscoe, in his accusatory tone continued, “It was hard for him to disagree based on the way you presented it, right? After all, you can make these things go the way you want them to, isn’t that true?”
Mack stood up, slammed his pencil down, “I object, your honor. I believe that is a terrible disrespect to our honorable District Attorney. I believe him to be quite competent and not a man that could be pushed around.”
The judge stared at the jury and spoke, “Mr. Peters your objection is sustained. The jury will ignore Mr. Abernathy’s speculations and Mr. Abernathy you know better. Continue.”
“Sheriff, did you or your deputies interview the families of the two murdered young men?”
Mack was up again, “Objection the term ‘murdered’ is very offensive here, your honor.”
Before he could reply Roscoe erupted, “Those young men were brutally shot, that is murder, and you are right; the way they were murdered was offensive.”
The judge never spoke, he merely motioned Mack to his seat and nodded for Roscoe to continue.
“Answer the question, Sheriff.”
“We did have conversations with both families and found no reason to pursue anything further.”
“Did you specifically ask if they knew if their precious boys had been hired for a job?”
“Not specifically.”
“I thought not. That’s all I have for the sheriff.”
Mack and Roscoe passed each other, changing places without any eye contact.
“Sheriff, did y’all ask the families of the two murders if they had seen their boys with a white man, or did they know Mr. Harry Blake and if you did, how did they respond?”
“We did in both cases and in both cases the answer was no.”
“I’m through with Mr. Hardaway, your honor,” Mack said walking back to his table.
Roscoe called Mrs. Daisy Watson to the stand.
“Mrs. Watson, first, we are all so sorry for your loss. It’s a terrible thing to lose a child.”
“Get on with it Mr. Abernathy,” judge Henry snapped.
“Mrs. Watson, I know you loved your boy, did he confide in you?”
“Yessir, he did.”
“Did he tell you he was going to have some big money soon?”
“Yessir, he did.”
“Did he say someone had hired him?”
“He say he had a big job coming up.”
“So he intimated he had been hired for a big job.”
Judge Henry half rose just as Mack shouted, “Objection!”
Judge Henry looked at Mrs. Watson and said, “Mrs. Watson, do not answer that.”
She nodded affirmatively and said, “Yessir.”
“Mrs. Watson do you think it was right for someone to shoot your boy in the face at point-blank range while he was lying in the floor dying.”
“Objection!” Mack screamed.
“Sustained!” Judge Henry’s voice was loud. “I want the jury to strike that from your minds and memories.” Without lowering his voice, Judge Henry said, “Mr. Abernathy, my bucket is full of your antics. Do you understand?”
Roscoe stared at the judge but did not respond.
Mack came to the stand to talk with Mrs. Watson.
“Mrs. Watson, did your son ever say to you I’ve been hired by so and so to do a job or some work?”
“Hmm, yessir.”
“And when was that?”
“’Bout a month for he got kilt. He say a man at the Walmart needed some help cleaning the parking lot, all his help had the flu.”
“I see, any other time?”
“Not in a long time.”
“Do you know or have you ever seen that man at the table over there?” pointing at Harry.
“No, sir.”
“Why did you and your friend think you deserved to take money from Mr. Blake for defending himself from someone trying to kill him who had already killed his wife and dog.”
“Objection!” Roscoe was livid.
“Sustained.”
“Did Mr. Abernathy tell you he would get some money for y’all for coming to court?”
Roscoe shrieked, “Objection!” again, but poor Mrs. Watson was already shaking her head affirmatively.
“Sustained.”
“I’m through your honor.”
A
fter that, he decided to skip the other mother and went to Harry Blake.
“Mr. Blake, you are a very famous and successful person, right.”
“Objection.”
“Overruled.”
“Thank you, your honor. Mr. Blake, a man like you must carry a fair amount of personal liability insurance, right?”
“Objection.”
Judge Henry spoke, “When did you develop a hearing problem, Mr. Abernathy?”
“Sir?”
“I told you my bucket was full. No more warnings, only contempt.”
“Mr. Blake why weren’t you in the room with your wife and dog when your house was supposedly broken into?”
“Objection!”
“Your honor, I would like to pursue a theory.”
“Go ahead.”
Mack jumped up, “I want my formal objection for the record.”
Judge Henry smiled, “So noted, continue.”
“I left the room to get a sweater, I was cold.”
“Didn’t you see the vehicle lights coming down your driveway?”
“The lights were out.”
“So you were just a lucky man?”
“I would call it blessed.”
“So according to your story, the two men killed your wife and dog and while they did this, you armed yourself with a shotgun and .38 caliber revolver? How old are you, Mr. Blake? Never mind my notes say you are 72, right?”
“Yes, on both counts, I armed myself, and I am 72.”
“So you would have us believe that a 72-year-old could and did win a shootout with two armed twenty-somethings who were equally armed?”
“By the grace of God.”
“Well, Mr. Blake, I think that’s just too far-fetched for me, but I have an idea that makes much more sense. Here’s what may have happened; you hired the boys to kill your wife. Your marriage was stale, there was a new lady in your life. You could afford to make it happen. It wasn’t hard to make a deal with a pair of gang members then double cross them to make sure they never talked. Am I close, Mr. Blake?”
“You sir, are a lunatic.”
“That’s uncalled for, just yes or no. I suspect I’m getting close to home.”
“Objection, your honor. How long do we endure Mr. Abernathy’s fantasy?”
“I’m going to let him finish.”
“Again, your honor, I want my objection on the record.”
“Granted. Continue, Mr. Abernathy.”
“Thank you, your honor. This was not a difficult plan for you, was it, Mr. Blake, based on your past military history? You served three years in a very secret special ops unit. That’s where you plan and execute detailed plans to murder and destroy. Tell us about that, Mr. Blake.”
Harry was caught off guard. He never wanted to talk about that time again. He never wanted to think about those days again. He had joined at 18 to keep from getting drafted. Somehow he had been assigned to a select group and got training that equipped him to do things he didn’t want to remember. Harry spent most of his time in Vietnam in country. He also spent some time in the Middle East.
“Mr. Blake, please answer my question.”
“It was a long time ago, and I can’t talk about secret ops.”
“But you did plan and murder people, did you not?”
“I cannot answer.”
“I think the correct word is won’t, not can’t. How many people have you killed in your lifetime?”
“My military service is top secret.”
“How many people have you killed since you moved to Polk County? Wait, I’ll answer for you. According to public record, three, that’s all we know about.”
“Objection, your honor, this is out of bounds.”
“Mr. Peters, I don’t need your help managing my courtroom.”
“It’s okay your honor, I’m through with Mr. Blake.”
Mack walked to the stand, he had taken his coat off, and his shirttail was hanging over his backside.
“Mr. Blake, I apologize that you had to endure an off-the-wall conspiracy theory. Just a few questions to set the record straight. During your time here in Polk County before your wife was murdered, have you had a female companion, love interest or interests?”
“Absolutely not.”
“How long ago were you in the military?”
“A little over 50 years.”
“Wow 50 years ago, amazing. Had you ever seen the boys represented here before they invaded your home and viciously murdered your wife and dog?”
“Never.”
“Mr. Abernathy never asked you about your shooting the boys in the face after they were dead. I suspect that’s his big ending so let you and I see if we can’t take all the wind from his sails. Did you, after the two men were dead, go back and shoot them again in the face.”
“I did.”
“Why would you do that? They were dead.”
Harry dropped his head and stared at his shoes then looked up and stared at the jury, “The whole thing finally had ended. I looked at my little dog; a mass of hair, blood, and guts. I looked at my wife who had been blown onto her back on top of our glass coffee table. Her blouse was basically gone and her chest had been opened up, exposing bone and blood. She had been totally violated. Mack, I sat there thinking if they had just held us at gunpoint, I would’ve given them anything they wanted. All they had to do was ask. But no, they acted like animals, and so I was in a rage, and I wanted to violate them as they violated my wife and dog, and so I did.”
“Harry if you had to do it over, would you do it the same?”
“No, I would do it differently.”
“How different, Harry?”
Long pause, finally Harry said, “I wouldn’t have used my pistol, I would have reloaded my shotgun and blown their heads off.”
Everyone in the courtroom groaned and shouted. The judge had to call order.
Mack smiled and said, “I believe I’m finished, your honor.”
Roscoe felt the whole thing slipping away.
Summation
Roscoe: "Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard a lot of things here today. Let me see if I can sort out the bottom line for you. We have Harry Blake, a man of privilege, a celebrity, a man of wealth and substance. His background is that of an elite military killer, planner.
"On the other side, we have two families who struggle to get by. They have both lost not only their precious sons but also an income stream that helps them to survive on a daily basis. Now, I’m not foolish enough to say what the boys did was not wrong. However, did they really do this on their own or could they have been hired? Could they have been done in by a 72-year-old if they maybe had not let their guard down because they thought they were safe?
"Then there is the brutality of gunshots to the face. I can’t imagine how their two mamas felt when they saw their precious boys. And finally remorse, there was none whatsoever. No, no…no remorse only a vicious desire to have a chance to do it again and take a shotgun and blow their heads off. Can you imagine how their poor mamas could have handled that? Lord help them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the boys will never be back in their mamas’ lives but I want you to consider helping these two dear ladies with compensation for their loss and not only their loss but the brutal way it was inflicted upon their precious boys.
“Harry Blake is wealthy. Harry Blake has a substantial personal liability insurance policy. Anything you agree to pay these mamas will go unnoticed by Harry Blake. The compensation you grant will be your choice knowing full well the only impact of this compensation will be on these poor mamas. I know full well you will do the right thing.”
Mack took his wrinkled jacket from the back of his chair and stepped behind Harry and put a hand on each of Harry’s shoulders and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He then slowly walked toward the jury box.
Mack: "Folks, pardon me if I seem distracted. I thought after hearing what I just heard I had been transported somehow into another courtroom and an
other case. But as I refocus, I see you are the same folks who have been here today, Judge Henry is still there. No, this is the same place, and I now realize my opponent must have picked up the notes of another case. He is such a good lawyer; how could he forget what happened to the Blake family on that horrific night?
“I want you to put yourself there. You and your wife and your little dog have settled in to enjoy some TV. Now you’re 72 years old, and you find yourself getting chilled more often as you get older. Not to mention your wife is always warm and keeps your house extra cool. I’d say that probably happens in more than the Blake house, wouldn’t you?” A number of jurors nod in agreement. Mack unbuttons his jacket and smiles, "I thought so. So Harry gets out of his easy chair and heads for their bedroom to get a sweater. As he enters the hallway to their bedroom, he hears an explosion of a shotgun blast and sounds of glass and wood shattering in his foyer. He steps back and sees two masked men, armed, trying to get through his shattered front door.
"Now, I want to pause for a moment to make a critical point. Pay attention now. A big deal was made about Harry Blake being a trained killer. Even though it was 50 years ago, Mr. Abernathy’s made a big deal out of it. Now he is a smart man, and he was right. Yes, he was right but for the wrong reason. His training and instincts from his past kicked in, and that, folks, is why Harry Blake is here with us today. Even though I don’t see any 72-year-olds on the jury, could you have survived a shootout with two armed 20-somethings? I know my answer is – my background has not prepared me for anything like that. So let’s you and I agree that Harry Blake’s military experience is not a detriment but as Harry so eloquently said God’s grace had Harry prepared to survive the savage attack.
“Now let’s clear up another point about Harry Blake hiring these boys to kill his wife. Harry and Maggie Blake had been married 46 years, five children, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. I don’t think so. But let’s look at another fallacy in this thinking. If they were hired by Harry, do you think one man would have stood still while Harry killed his partner? Remember one man was shot with a shotgun and another with a revolver. What about the blood trail, one man in the hallway and the other in the bedroom? I don’t think they posed for their deaths, do you?”
