Keep No Secrets

by Julie Compton

  He reaches for her arm above the

  elbow, tries to pull her close. "Claire, don't do this."

  "Let go!" She wriggles to pull away, but he locks his arms around her and holds tight.

  "Don't do this to yourself. It's about us, not her."

  She attempts to push against his chest but can't get leverage. "Of course it's about her!"

  "No, not in the way you're thinking. If she evaporated into air tomorrow, we'd still be having this conversation. You know that."

  "No I don't."

  "Yes. You do."

  And like a defenseless animal making a last ditch effort to ward off a ring of predators, she makes a guttural noise, part scream, part growl, and tries to break free.

  He tightens his grip, and she finally surrenders with a small cry, and then crumbles, sobbing, into his arms.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  A SOFT GASP rises from the gallery when Walker calls Claire to the stand on Monday morning. Jack forces himself to watch as she enters with the bailiff through the rear doors and walks

  purposefully up the center aisle. He forces himself to watch her climb the single step into the witness box, all the while trying to maintain a look that says he's perfectly okay with his wife testifying as a witness for the prosecution.

  Once Claire takes her seat on the stand, she surprises Jack by meeting his eye. On Saturday, after she extricated herself from his embrace, she left the house and stayed away the rest of the weekend. He assumed she went to her parents' house, but just like her assumption that he'd gone to Jenny, he could have been entirely wrong. Once she pulled out of the drive, Jack went in search of his sons. Jamie, thankfully, was nowhere to be found; Jack learned later he'd gone downtown with Billy's family to the Soulard Farmer's Market. He found Michael upstairs in his bedroom.

  As soon as Jack saw his son's vacant eyes, he knew Michael had heard the fighting, if not the specific words exchanged.

  Now, Claire looks away from him only when the bailiff asks her to raise her right hand for the oath. She answers so quietly, he has to ask her to repeat her

  affirmation.

  The judge nods to Walker that he may proceed.

  "Can you state your name for the record?"

  She turns to the jury for her response.

  "Claire Hilliard."

  "You're married to the defendant in this case, Jack Hilliard?"

  "Yes."

  "How long have you been married?"

  "Almost eighteen years."

  "Do you consider your marriage a happy one?"

  Claire blinks slowly. You're an asshole, Walker, her look says. She knows, of course, that Walker considers her an adverse witness even though he's the one who subpoenaed her. Even so, they all thought he’d pretend otherwise for the benefit of the jury.

  Jack glances at the jury box; all twelve faces are aimed at Claire, anxious for her answer. He hears whispers and titters from the gallery. They've been trained by the media to rally for the wife, to cheer when she leaves the scoundrel, and to shake their heads in disbelief, even sometimes disgust, when she stands by his side. For four years they've hungered for the answer to this question and many more like it, yet Claire always refused to take her private life public. Now, thanks to a sixteen-year-old girl, that choice has been taken away from her.

  "Like most marriages, we've had our ups and downs, but overall, yes, I've considered it a happy one."

  Jack closes his eyes. She walked right into Walker's trap.

  "What types of ups and downs?"

  Earl draws a large question mark on his legal pad, meaning Want me to object?

  Jack shakes his head. The judge made it clear during pretrial motions that he'd allow questioning about Jack's past with Jenny, and since they touched on it already during Michael's testimony, it'd be useless to object now. If it has to be discussed, Jack can't think of anyone more capable of handling the topic than Claire. By the time she finishes, Walker will regret asking the question.

  "My husband had a brief affair, Mr.

  Walker. He was genuinely repentant and asked for my forgiveness. I gave it to him."

  Walker stills. In the same way Claire thought Walker would allow her to warm up before firing off the uncomfortable questions, he most likely expected Claire to dance around the issue and was prepared to ask follow-up questions to pin her down. Now that she has given him such a blunt answer, he has to jump forward in his questioning.

  "Most wives wouldn't be so

  magnanimous."

  Claire remains silent, and Jack smiles slightly, pleased that she noticed Walker didn't ask a question. Walker continues when he realizes she won't be easily riled.

  "With whom did he have this 'brief affair'?"

  "A woman named Jennifer Dodson. A fellow lawyer."

  Walker retrieves something from a folder on his table and crosses over to show it to Earl. It's an 8 x 10 color photo of Jenny, one of the shots used by the media four years ago. Earl nods, and Walker approaches Claire. She glances at Jack before looking down at the photo.

  Despite her best efforts to maintain a neutral face, Jack sees she's shaken. Her hand trembles as she holds the photo.

  Jenny might have been an ever-present force in both Jack and Claire's lives for a long time, but for Claire, once Jenny left town, and even after her return, she was merely an intangible idea, a concept. The other woman. "Jenny" was merely the label attached to the concept. Now, the photo forces Claire to acknowledge the actual woman.

  "Is that Jennifer Dodson in the photo?"

  "Yes." Claire hands the photo back to Walker as if it's covered in germs.

  Walker motions to the jury and says,

  "May I, Your Honor?" With the judge's permission he hands it to the juror at the front, left end of the box. One by one, each jury looks and then passes it on. A few of the braver ones study Jack afterward.

  "When did Mr. Hilliard have this brief affair?" Walker asks the question as he retrieves the photo from the last juror.

  He smiles and nods at the juror as if they're the best of friends.

  "About four and a half years ago, just after his first election as DA."

  "Am I correct that shortly after his affair with Ms. Dodson, authorities charged her with the murder of a client, but the charge was subsequently dropped after the DA admitted to being with her on the night of the murder? Indeed, he spent the night with her, thus providing an alibi?"

  "Yes, you're correct."

  "And it's believed that shortly thereafter, Ms. Dodson left St. Louis?"

  "Yes, many believe that."

  "Do you?"

  "Yes."

  Earl rises calmly. "Objection. I'm losing sight of the relevancy of this line of questioning."

  Judge Simmons looks at Walker over the top of his glasses. "Mr. Walker?"

  "Judge, I was hoping to lay a foundation for my later questions, but I'm happy to jump ahead to help Your Honor understand the relevancy now."

  "Please do."

  Earl returns to his seat, and Jack leans close to his ear. "Relevancy? Seriously?"

  He was about to ask whether you'd been in contact with J since, Earl writes on the legal pad.

  Jack sits back in his chair, stunned that he missed the obvious direction of Walker's questions. He wonders if Claire understood, and whether she would have perjured herself on the stand. There was a time when he thought he knew the

  answer, but now he's not so sure.

  Walker resumes his questions. "Mrs.

  Hilliard, the victim in this case is the girlfriend of your son Michael, is that correct?

  "The alleged victim, you mean? Yes, she is."

  "I presume, therefore, you are quite familiar with her physical appearance?" he asks, glossing over her clarification.

  "Yes, I am."

  "Can you describe her?"

  "She bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer Dodson." Once again, Claire surprises him with her candor.

  "In what way?"
r />   "In every way." Claire's voice trips.

  "Except, of course, she is much younger."

  Walker addresses the judge, then.

  "Your Honor, I'd like to ask the bailiff to escort Ms. Del Toro into the courtroom."

  The volume of chatter from the gallery escalates quickly as excitement and speculation run rampant. Anyone who followed the case knows that Celeste is rumored to look like the DA's former mistress, but because of Celeste's age, no pictures of her have been publicized. This is the first glimpse of the girl who supposedly caused Jack not only to stray once again, but to commit rape and violate the very laws he swore to uphold.

  Jack doesn't turn around to see the rear door open, but he knows it has by the crowd's collective gasp. He hears the bailiff, "Everyone stay seated." He watches Claire, who watches Celeste. Any moment Celeste will stand only a few feet away, and he has to decide if he's going to look at her. If he doesn't, he'll appear guilty. If he does, he'll look as if he's trying to bully her.

  He sneaks another peek at the jury, and sure enough, their gazes volley back and forth from Celeste to Jack, Jack to Celeste. Whatever he decides, they're poised to form a judgment about his decision.

  And then she's there, in the periphery of his vision. He sees her shoes—black pumps. He sees her pants—black dress slacks. She's not dressed like a teenager; she's dressed like a lawyer. And suddenly Jack understands what Walker has done.

  Jack knows he must look right at Celeste if he is to have any chance of being acquitted. He has to show no emotion, no reaction to Walker's stunt. He lifts his eyes to take in the rest of her—a black suit coat to match the slacks, a red silk blouse almost identical to the one Jenny wore in the picture—just as Earl objects.

  "Your Honor, I strenuously object to this performance. What is the point of this, except to inflame the jurors'

  emotions? If Ms. Del Toro is testifying, the jurors will see her then. She shouldn't be in the courtroom."

  "Counsel, approach the bench," the judge says.

  As they argue in muted whispers,

  Celeste takes a seat in the chair next to Walker's empty one. Her hair has been cut to better match Jenny's style, even the necklace at her collarbone bears a striking similarity to the one in the picture. Yet, for all Walker's efforts to make her a twin of Jenny, she's still a child in adult clothing. She stares at her hands in her lap as if willing them to be still, but she can't stop kneading them together nervously. If she's not kneading, she's using one hand and then the other to tuck her hair behind her ears. Her frightened eyes seem to be held open permanently with invisible toothpicks.

  Jack wonders if Michael told her that Jack knows about the letters, despite Jack's order not to. Earl plans to confront her with them when she takes the stand, but if she denies sending them, he'll recall Michael to the stand during the defense case. "The jury needs to understand this girl has major issues," Earl said, "and they have nothing to do with you, at least not in the way she claims they do."

  But seeing Celeste now, Jack knows the last thing she needs is to take the witness stand. Her fear is palpable and Jack is certain it's not stage fright. The girl huddled at the prosecution table is an exaggerated version of the girl who sat in his car and begged him to keep her secrets. While they all sit in the courtroom playing this game, the real source of her fear still walks the streets.

  Earl returns to the table and reports to Jack. "She has to leave now, but he won't cut off questioning. As we suspected, Walker intends to argue you simply couldn't keep your paws off Celeste because of her resemblance to Jenny."

  "Yeah, that's it," Jack mutters. "Just line up a bunch of clones and I can't help myself."

  The chatter increases as the bailiff escorts Celeste from the room, but it dies down as soon as the doors close behind her.

  "Mrs. Hilliard?" Walker resumes.

  "Four and a half years have passed since your husband had his affair with Ms.

  Dodson, is that correct?"

  "Approximately."

  "Has he seen her, between—"

  Earl begins to stand, but Jack touches his arm to stop him. He knows Walker might word the question in a way that won't matter.

  "—the time she allegedly left St. Louis and the night he took Ms. Del Toro home?"

  But Claire goes mute, and Jack worries that she doesn’t understand she can answer truthfully without revealing Jack's recent interactions with Jenny. "Can you please repeat the question?" she asks.

  She just gave it away, Earl writes. Jack nods.

  "Certainly." Walker realizes it, too.

  Even if he doesn't reword the question, he'll follow it with more pointed ones.

  "Has your husband seen Ms. Dodson between the time she allegedly left town four years ago and the night he drove Ms.

  Del Toro home?"

  Claire leans forward, squints as if thinking hard. "I don't know."

  With those three words, Claire wipes Walker's smug expression from his face.

  She caught the question, all right. She simply took the time to parse it in her brain and ensure she answered it

  correctly. Walker didn't expect an "I don't know"—he was hoping for an unqualified

  "no" to bolster his later argument. He made the classic mistake: asking a question for which he didn't know the answer.

  Walker rubs his chin. He obviously understood from Claire's sudden

  nervousness that Jack had, indeed, seen Jenny at some point since she left town, but by limiting his question to a certain period of time, he not only diminished his motive argument, he lost his chance to expose Jack. Walker knows Earl will now object as irrelevant to testimony about Jack's possible contact with Jenny since the night with Celeste, and the judge, most likely, will sustain the objection.

  Sure enough, Walker leaves the subject of Jennifer Dodson behind and decides to focus on Jack's more recent lies.

  "Mrs. Hilliard, on the night in question, you were at home, asleep in your bed, is that right?"

  After Walker and Claire move through a series of questions and answers in which Claire explains what happened from her point of view—beginning with her

  coming down the stairs to find Jack and Michael in the living room, and ending with her admission that yes, she only finally learned she'd been lied to when Jack was arrested—Walker turns her over to Earl.

  Earl rises briefly. "Can Your Honor give us one moment? I'll be quick."

  At the judge's assent, he leans over and whispers in Jack's ear. "I'm going to ask her point blank if she thinks you did it.

  Are you okay with that?"

  "And if she says yes?"

  "She won’t."

  Earl leaves Jack's side and takes a spot near the jury box. He nods politely to Claire, and she subtly returns the gesture.

  Jack can barely watch the nascent exchange. He hates that Earl, who is so fond of Claire, has to do this.

  "I have only a few but very pointed questions for you," Earl begins, and then stands a good, long time without

  speaking. The delay reflects his reluctance to treat her as an adverse witness, but Jack knows it also ensures he has the rapt attention of every man and woman in the courtroom. He sighs, looks solemnly at Jack one more time, and then turns back to Claire.

  "Mrs. Hilliard, do you think your husband committed the crimes he's accused of?"

  "Objection," Walker says quickly. He smirks to show how ridiculous he thinks the question is. "Calls for speculation, Your Honor. And what Mrs. Hilliard thinks is irrelevant."

  Earl calmly crosses his hands low and waits for the judge's ruling. Even though Walker asked the same question of Michael, Earl still expected the objection.

  Judge Simmons, who probably wants to hear the answer himself, doesn't even bother to look at Walker. "I'll allow it."

  He smiles at Claire. "Go on, ma'am."

  "Your Honor," Walker says quickly, before Claire answers. "Will you please remind the witness she's under oath, then?"

  Walker
must anticipate the glare he gets from the judge, but clearly he doesn't care. The request alone accomplished his goal: to remind the jury that a wife may very well lie to protect her husband.

  "I think you just did that, Mr. Walker.

  Now, why don't we let her answer? That is, if she remembers the question." He turns to Claire. "Would you like the question repeated, ma'am?"

  "No, Your Honor. I remember the question."

  Claire then, in her infinite wisdom, looks not at Earl, not at the jury, but directly at Jack. The moment before she answers stretches, and he holds his breath. He thinks everyone in the courtroom might be holding their breath, too. The courtroom is quiet except for the creak of the benches as spectators try to unobtrusively shift positions. And even though he looks back at her—her stare leaves him no other choice—in his peripheral vision he can see the court reporter's hands hovering above her machine.

  "No, I don't think Jack committed the crimes he's accused of. Indeed, I know he didn't."

  Jack can only blink. He's otherwise paralyzed by her gaze.

  "Even though he lied to you on the night in question?" Earl asks.

  She nods, but she doesn't release her hold on Jack. "Yes, even though he lied to me."

  "Even though, in the past, he committed adultery?" Earl persists, his tone aggressive.

  One tear falls down her right cheek as if forcefully pushed over the edge.

  Another follows on the left side. She still continues to stare at Jack, and he finally manages to raise a hand to wipe at his own eyes before they betray him.

  "Yes, even though he committed adultery."

  Earl looks down at the floor. "Mrs.

  Hilliard, I have one more question for you."

  She looks from Jack to Earl, slowly, as if he just woke her from a deep sleep.

  "Why?"