by Lee Taylor
Lawson jumped to his feet. “Just because it requires her finger print to open it doesn’t confirm that the Major always kept it locked.”
Caruthers shrugged. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t know why she’d go to the trouble and spend the money to have a safe like this if she didn’t use it.”
Eric dismissed him. “Thank you, Mr. Caruthers.”
Next, he called Trey’s school principal to the stand.
Eric dispensed one of his sunny smiles on the scowling principal. “Mr. Rodriguez, you are the principle of Xavier High School that Trey Chambers attends, correct?”
When the principal frowned and nodded, Eric asked, “You know Trey Chambers’ mother, Ms. O’Donnell? Yes? She’s been to the school?”
“Yes, frequently.”
“How often?”
“At least several times a month. She was concerned about Trey’s grades and that he seemed unhappy.” The stern man elaborated. “After Trey got in trouble she came once a week to review his grades and meet individually with his teachers.”
“Do you also know Trey’s father?”
“No, I’ve never met him until today.”
Lawson rose to his feet. “Are you aware that Trey’s father is a very busy surgeon?”
“Like I said, I never met him until today.” With that, the principal was dismissed. Next to the stand was Marsha Vargas.
“Officer Vargas, you are Trey’s probationary counselor, correct? Please tell the court your opinion of Trey’s progress.”
“Well, thanks to his love of basketball and the Chief putting him on the Warriors team, Trey is thriving. He was a shy, sullen kid when he got in trouble. In the short time that the Chief and I have been working with him he has become a leader. Not only on the court but at school. I don’t know how he’s improved his grades as much as he has. All the kid talks about is basketball.”
Jesse couldn’t hide her surprise when Eric called Shaunda Williams to the stand. When Shaunda sat down in the witness chair and showered Jesse with her 200-watt smile and a wink, Jesse was stunned at the emotion flooding her. Resisting the impulse to cover her face with her hands so that no one could see the tears burning her eyes, she kept her head down, listening to her friend’s cheerful description of Jesse’s participation in the basketball team.
“Jesse never missed a practice in the month that Trey has been on the team. She is as loyal to Trey as I am to my son, DaShon. In answer to your question about him,” Shaunda pointed to Garrett, whose face was riddled with dark red splotches. “I only saw him once. After the Albuquerque Gazette raved about the team and Wolf, he showed up. Must have thought he could horn in on some of the publicity we were getting.”
When Eric brought Trey’s former basketball coach in on Skype, Jesse was stunned. Listening to Coach Straight tell the court how Jesse had him videotape all of Trey’s games and send them to her wherever she was on assignment, she allowed herself to acknowledge what was happening. She had not seen Eric since she threatened him with dismissal five days ago. He’d left messages indicating that he was travelling. Other than a couple of phone calls when she laid out the strategy he was to follow, they’d barely spoken. She now understood his absence. He’d gone above her head and created a defense he knew she would’ve refused to consider.
Jesse was surprised to hear Eric speaking to her. She realized with a start that he’d called her to the stand. Forcing her myriad emotions to quiet, she rose with as much dignity as she could muster. At least this portion of the trial she understood. She’d designed it. A wave of anxiety hit her. Unless Eric threw her a curveball as he had been doing for the last forty-five minutes.
Dameon watched her walk to the witness chair. She looked elegant, competent. If she wasn’t so pale and he didn’t know her as well as well as he did, he would have missed the fear in her eyes and her hands clenched in tight fists at her sides.
After a series of short, introductory questions, Eric asked, “Which branch of the service were you in, Major McDonnell?”
“The Army. I was an adjunct member of a Ranger squad.”
“I see. The Rangers are what we laymen know as Special Operatives, correct? Isn’t it unusual for women to be in Ranger units?”
“Yes. But it is becoming more common.”
“What was your role?”
Jesse frowned. Eric was going beyond her instructions.
“I was a community liaison specialist.”
“Can you tell me about the missions you were on?”
“No.”
“As for the photos that your former husband showed the court, is that you in the pictures?”
Jesse couldn’t help but be impressed at Eric’s skillful question. She responded the only way that she could.
“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
Eric tugged on his chin. “Is it fair to say that if any of the men who were on those missions were in the courtroom that they also would be unable to confirm or deny their presence?”
“That is correct.”
Jesse watched him, uneasy, not sure if he would follow the script she’d given him. She was relieved when he concluded, “So that puts us in a hard place, doesn’t it, Major? You can’t confirm, deny or explain what you were or were not doing when you were on your various missions, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Thank you. That’s all for now.”
Hearing the murmurs from the people in the courtroom, Jesse knew that they were as surprised as she was at his quick dismissal.
When Eric called his next witness to the stand, she understood his strategy and who had helped him create the defense that was a world away from her instructions.
Relying on the last ounce of strength she had to get back to her chair, she avoided his eyes as he passed her on the way to the witness stand.
“Your honor, I’d like to call Police Chief Dameon Macarios to the stand.”
Three members of Garrett’s team and Garrett himself were on their feet objecting as Dameon strode up the aisle, his smile as large and confident as his presence. He whispered to a clearly shaken Jesse as he passed by, “Don’t worry, tiger, I won’t embarrass you anymore than I have to.”
Chapter 30
Martin Lawson’s voice was sharp, insistent.
“Your Honor, there is bad blood between my client and the police chief. I request permission to treat the Chief as a hostile witness!”
The corners of Judge Thompson’s eyes crinkled before her impassive expression returned.
“I know the Chief can be overbearing. Arrogant, even. But I’ve never thought of him as hostile. Proceed.”
Jesse doubted anyone missed Dameon’s surreptitious wink at the Judge or her slight flush in response. She watched Dameon settle into the witness chair, an easy smile lighting his handsome face. His custom cut suit rivaled Martin Lawson’s. Except that compared to Lawson’s short pudgy frame, Dameon’s lean muscular physique was made for his GQ styled apparel. The open necked charcoal silk shirt and hand tooled black cowboy boots were stylish accessories only someone with Dameon’s panache could pull off. Jesse struggled with the familiar sensations ricocheting over her body. His closeness brought back a wave of emotions, from desire to sadness. When he first entered the courtroom, she hadn’t permitted herself to acknowledge how his cool response hurt. She hadn’t allowed herself to think how much she missed his laughing teasing presence until it was gone, replaced by cool dispassion. She wondered what it would feel like to have his strong arms around her, driving her to ecstatic heights. With an effort she suppressed the sob that tore at her throat, knowing that she’d lost those sexy comforting arms forever.
Dameon took the first question Eric threw at him and ran with it.
“I take full responsibility for Major O’Donnell’s ignominious arrest. I hadn’t met her. I didn’t know that she was a licensed security specialist. When armed gunmen entered a crowded ballroom, she did what a good private security officer would do.
She got the man she was protecting out of the line of fire. Unfortunately that put her in my line of fire. When I discovered my mistake, we erased the arrest record—which Counselor Lawson would know, if he is as good a lawyer as he presumes to be. Or, perhaps he wanted to mislead the Court.”
At the flood of crimson marking Lawson’s cheeks, the crowd tittered.
Dameon quickly went to Trey’s arrest. “Trey Chambers’ arrest may have saved his life. Trey was a lonely kid torn apart by the discord between his parents. He met up with some bad kids. When one of them shot the Circle K clerk, Trey called 911 and stayed behind while the other three boys ran. He stayed with the injured man, attempting to stop his bleeding. Trey likely saved the clerk’s life. As Officer Vargas indicated, Trey is one of a kind. He is a fine boy who will be an even finer man if he is surrounded by strong supportive adults.” Dameon’s smile widened. “Plus, he is a hell of a basketball player.”
Glancing over at Garrett, Dameon narrowed his eyes. “Something his father tried to prevent. Doctor Chambers considers basketball a ‘ghetto sport.’ He threatened to have me removed from office because I put Trey on a team with what the doc called, and I quote, ‘niggers’ and ‘beaners.’ ”
Dameon raised his voice above the loud protests from the Lawson team. “That was but one impetus of the ‘bad blood’ between the doc and me. Another was when I had him restrained when he lashed out at Major O’Donnell in front of their son, calling her a variety of ugly names. The anger management counselor I called in allowed the doc to go home with a strict warning. I was disappointed,” he added blandly. “I’d hoped to put his sorry ass in jail.”
Gaveling down the laughter in the courtroom, Judge Thompson frowned at him in warning but not before a twinkle gleamed in her eyes.
“Your Honor, like all kids—especially those who are riding a thin rail between good and bad—Trey needs positive adult role models. Along with Officer Vargas, Principal Rodríguez and others, including his mother, I’ve tried to provide that model. The animosity between Trey’s parents is one of the most significant factors threatening his success.”
“In your professional opinion, Chief Macarios, is Trey Chambers in physical danger in his mother’s home?” Eric stood back to give Dameon the full stage.
“Frankly Mr. Grant, I’ve never seen a gun safe like the Major’s in a private home. I have a nine-year-old daughter and after seeing the Major’s safe, I’ve ordered one just like it. More to your point, if having guns in the house means that you can’t have children there, Judge Thompson’s docket will be overrun with child endangerment suits. Every cop I know, including me, has weapons in their homes. Would that they all took as many precautions as the Major has to ensure their children’s safety.”
“Chief Macarios, you also were in the United States Army, a member of a Ranger unit, is that correct?”
At Dameon’s confirming nod, Eric pressed.
“What kind of missions were you part of?”
Dameon gave a detached shrug. “Most of them were off the books. The Army would deny them as would I.”
Eric asked the bailiff to bring up the pictures that Garrett’s team had put before the court.
“Can you tell me, Chief, where these pictures were taken?”
“I can. In fact, I know the locations well.”
Dameon unwound his lanky frame from the chair and strode over to the wall-sized screen. He pointed to a temple outside of the window where Jesse and her colleagues were sitting. Dameon then proceeded to rattle off several locations in Iraq and Afghanistan, pairing photos and locales.
“In other words, Chief, if the woman in these photographs is Major O’Donnell, she was in some very dangerous places.”
Dameon nodded as he returned to the witness chair. “Among the most dangerous in the world.”
Eric opened a folder on his table and distributed a document to the Judge, to Garrett’s team and to Dameon.
“Your Honor, this is a list of some of the commendations Major O’Donnell received in her illustrious career. You will note that the dates for the ones that I underlined coincide with the dates on the photographs Doctor Chambers put before the court.”
Jesse snagged one of the documents from the folder. Looking at the list of commendations she was stunned at the brilliance of Eric’s—and, she was sure, Dameon’s—strategy. Eric allowed Dameon to make the connection.
Dameon perused the list then looked to the image of a nearly naked Jesse on the screen.
“You haven’t asked me, Counselor, but in my humble opinion, one can conclude that whatever Major O’Donnell was doing in those pictures, the United States Army considered them worthy of a meritorious service award.”
Sputtering in outrage, Martin Lawson and his partner Craig Schemer were on their feet.
Schemer spoke first. “That, sir, requires an outrageous leap of faith!”
Dameon straightened in his chair and turned the full force of his simmering anger on the two attorneys.
“No more of a leap of faith than what you and your client are implying. Knowing that an officer in the Major’s position could neither confirm nor deny her role on her missions, you created a crassly false impression. And an ugly one. I will tell you from personal experience that the women who serve in Ranger units are placed in dangerous, challenging positions. They are heroes, not tramps. Like Doctor Chambers, Major O’Donnell has multiple advanced degrees. While her income is nowhere near the Doctor’s the only difference that I can see in the doc’s educational background and Major O’Donnell’s is that the doc has put his education to work doing tummy tucks. The Major has put her life on the line protecting the likes of Doctor Chambers—and you, his attorneys.”
Dameon took a deep breath then looked directly at Jesse.
“Major O’Donnell is an extremely impressive woman. She is a highly decorated soldier and a national hero. Any son would be honored to have her as a mother and I can assure you that her son Trey is among them.”
As the courtroom came to order after Dameon left the stand, Eric approached the bench.
“Your Honor, Dr. Chambers’ attorneys had alluded to the kind of home he can provide for his son. As that is a pertinent issue in this hearing, I would like to call Sapphire Somers to the stand.”
At the surprised gasp from Garrett, his legal team formed a quick huddle.
Schemer stepped forward.
“How is Ms. Somers relevant to this hearing?”
Eric raised a bemused eyebrow. “Given that she resides in Dr. Chambers home, I would assume that her testimony is highly relevant.”
Judge Thompson interrupted. “I agree. Ms. Somers?”
Dameon sent Raoul silent thanks as the young girl dressed in a skin tight mini skirt, revealing sweater and high heels tottered to the front. When he’d heard about Jesse’s hearing, Raoul had approached Eric and suggested that Sapphire Somers might provide interesting testimony if asked the right questions. Apparently she was a frequenter of Raoul’s clubs and a special friend of his bodyguard Tomas. If the issues weren’t so serious, Dameon would have felt sorry for the young woman, knowing that her syrupy smile and excitement about being a witness in the proceeding would be short-lived.
“I understand, Ms. Somers, that you are Dr. Chambers’ fiancé.”
Sapphire’s glossy pouty lips curved in a big smile.
“Yes, I am. The doctor and I are getting married.”
“I see. How old are you, Ma’am?” At her surprised gasp, Eric added with a slight smile, “I remind you that you are under oath.”
“I… I’m nineteen.”
“Hmm, four years older than Trey?”
Before the attorneys could protest, Sapphire gushed, “Yes. Trey and I are great friends.”
“Uh um. I understand, Ms. Somers that you ran into some issues with cocaine and were arrested several times for possession.”
Sapphire looked nervously at Garrett who was studiously examining his fingernails, a visible tic vibrating in t
he corner of his eye.
“Yes, but—”
“Miss Somers, you were arrested last year for cocaine possession, correct?”
“Yes, but… I went through treatment as part of my probation. I don’t use any more.”
“That’s good. Cocaine addiction is hard to beat, especially if you are in situations where it is present.”
Martin Lawson was on his feet.
“Your Honor, may I interrupt?”
When Eric stepped back, Lawson turned a hard gaze on the young woman.
“Just to be very clear, Miss. Have you and Dr. Chambers set a date for your wedding?”
“Not yet, but he promised me we would be getting married.”
“But you haven’t set a date? So you are not sure that you will be in that household with the Doctor and Trey?”
“No.”
Eric stepped forward. “But you are currently living with the doctor, yes? And you are not married, correct?”
When the young woman looked down and didn’t meet his gaze, Eric asked softly, “Are you aware that in the last year, Dr. Chambers has had two other young women living in his home, both of whom also assumed that she and the doctor were engaged?”
Sapphire’s expression crumbled. “Yes, But I’m different. Dr. Chambers said… he promised me—”
Eric gave her a consoling nod. “Thank you, Ms. Somers. No more questions, your Honor.”
Sapphire stepped down, and in the silence that followed, Judge Thompson focused on the attorneys.
“Do either of you have additional witnesses?”
At the negative responses from both benches, the judge nodded to the bailiff.
“Officer Hernández, will you please go to my office and bring Trey Chambers in.” While they were waiting, the Judge cautioned. “As I indicated in the start of this hearing, I will ask Trey several questions. Neither parent nor their attorneys will be permitted to intercede. Is that understood?”
Jesse thought her heart might break when Trey walked in. His tall gangly frame was that of a young man, but his rosy cheeks and full lips were like the child she remembered cradling in her arms. Trey looked as shaky as she felt. He raised his head long enough to give Jesse a brave smile. Unchecked tears streamed down her face but she managed a smile in return. She noted that Trey avoided looking at his father, instead sought out and found Dameon. When she saw the encouraging look Dameon bestowed on him and Trey’s nod, she knew for sure her heart would break.