From a Single Seed: A Novel
Page 28
“She was with a group of girls.”
“Did you know any of them?”
“I recognized them, but I don’t think I knew them.”
“Can you describe how they were acting?”
“I think they were all drinking. As far as I know, I was the only one at the party who wasn’t.”
“Were they drunk?”
“I can’t say for sure because I don’t know how they were normally. But almost everyone there was celebrating the end of finals.”
“Thank you. That’s all I have.”
The prosecutor rose. “Your Honor? Can I request a brief recess?”
“It’s just about lunch time. Why don’t you begin your cross-examination after lunch?”
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
As soon as the jurors were out of the room, the prosecutor signaled to Officer Shores. Cassie and Greg came forward to meet Keenan.
“What was that about?” Keenan asked Barry.
“I think he wants dirt on Ken Brayton.”
“Is he going to find any?”
“I don’t know. I hope to hell not.”
Everyone was quiet while Cassie passed out tuna salad sandwiches. She was trying to vary the lunch menu, like she did when they used to go camping as a family. But somehow it felt wrong to put effort into lunch when the occasions was so somber. Of course, people always put on big spreads for funerals too. Maybe that’s what was wrong with this situation. It felt too much like a funeral lunch.
Chapter 59
Thursday, September 18, 2014
BARRY TOOK a bite of his tuna sandwich. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. As soon as everyone else was eating, he started his pitch. “I know we’ve been over this, but after the next witness, I think we should rest and give it to the jury. My gut says there’s enough reasonable doubt there. We have a good shot at a not guilty verdict. I think it would be a mistake for Keenan to testify.”
Keenan set down his sandwich. “But you told me right from the beginning that it would be my choice.”
“It is, it has to be. But I have experience with this situation. We’ve given them enough that they have to be questioning the validity of the state’s evidence.”
“But they need to hear it from me that I didn’t do it.”
“I can talk about it during closing arguments. I can explain it.”
“No. They’ll always wonder if I had something to hide if I don’t testify.”
Barry looked pleadingly at Cassie and Greg. “Please. I know you’re overwhelmed right now, but my gut says this is a mistake.”
Keenan tossed the rest of his sandwich in the trash. “And my gut says they’re going to convict me. I have to try to stop it.”
Cassie buried her head against Greg’s shoulder. Greg was staring at the wall. Barry looked at them, willing them to intervene. After a minute, he said, “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
After lunch, Ken Brayton was reinstalled on the witness stand before the jury came back into the room.
Once the jury was seated, Fred approached Ken for cross-examination.
“You don’t drink at all? Ever?”
“No, sir.”
“But you went to a party where everyone was drinking?”
“Yes, sir.”
“But you didn’t need to drink because you were smoking marijuana, right?
Ken looked uncomfortable. “I think I want to take the Fifth.”
“Attorneys approach,” the judge said. Barry and Fred went to the judge’s bench and the white noise filled the courtroom. It was a brief conversation that went exactly as Barry expected it would. A minute later they were back at their respective tables.
“Mr. Brayton,” the judge said, “the prosecutor has granted you immunity from prosecution. You are hereby compelled to answer.”
Ken Brayton looked like he was going to vomit.
Dutton rose. “I’ll repeat the question. Were you smoking marijuana at the party?”
“I was.”
“How much marijuana did you smoke that night?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Was it two joints or three joints? Or were you using a pipe?”
“We were passing around joints. I really can’t say how much I smoked.”
“Then it could have been a lot, right?”
“It wasn’t that much.”
“How often do you smoke marijuana?”
“Objection, relevance,” Barry said.
“It’s relevant to his memory,” Fred said.
“I’ll allow it,” the judge said.
Fred resumed. “I repeat: how often do you smoke marijuana?”
“On weekends.”
“Both days?”
“Sometimes.”
“Are you familiar with the studies that show that long-term marijuana use can affect your memory?”
Barry stood. “Objection. He’s not an expert medical witness.”
“Sustained,” the judge said.
“When you use marijuana, how do you feel?”
“Good. Relaxed.”
“Isn’t it true that, when you smoke marijuana, you get so relaxed that you lose touch with reality?”
“I don’t know.”
“And when you smoke marijuana, you don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on around you, do you?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“You know it’s illegal to drive while you’re under the influence of marijuana, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Because it impairs your ability to drive, right?”
“I guess.”
“And you were definitely impaired when you were at that party, weren’t you?”
“I don’t think so.”
Fred sat down and Barry immediately stood.
“What is your major at Masterson?”
“Neuroscience.”
“What are your plans after graduation?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“I’m trying to rehabilitate the attack on the witness’ memory.”
“I’ll allow it.”
“What are your career goals?”
“I’m hoping to go to medical school.”
“Are your grades good enough?”
“My GPA is three point nine.”
“You ever experience any memory problems from your marijuana use?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you have any doubts about your earlier testimony?”
“No, sir. Shannon was definitely drunk off her ass.”
The look he gave the prosecutor as he exited the courtroom was definitely defiance. Barry hoped the jury didn’t notice.
Barry called Greg Brody next. Fred objected, and there was a bench conference. While white noise filled the room, the attorneys argued.
“He can’t testify,” Fred said. “He’s been sitting through the whole trial.”
“He was on the witness list, and you didn’t ask to have him sequestered,” Barry said. “Besides, he’s not going to testify about anything that’s already been said.”
“Then I object on the grounds of relevance.”
“It’s as relevant as Jack Dawson’s testimony was.”
The judge nodded. “He has a point. I’ll allow the testimony. You can address any issues on cross, Mr. Dutton.”
Barry beckoned Greg Brody forward and he was sworn.
“What is your relationship to the defendant?” Barry said.
“He’s my son.”
“Tell us about Keenan.”
“He’s our second child. He’s always been a good kid. He loves to play hockey.”
“About that––why hockey?”
“I think he got his love of the sport from me.”
“You played?”
“Yes, I played for UVM. A long time ago.”
“So, you don’t find the game violent?”
“Checking may appear to be violent to the fans, but there are rules that make it
safe for the participants.” Greg turned to face the jury. “Keenan is not a violent person. He never has been. It’s just not in his character.”
“And what do you do now, Dr. Brody?”
“I’m a large animal veterinarian.”
Barry produced a document from the counsel table. “I’m showing you Defense Exhibit E Can you tell the jury what that it?”
“It’s a copy of our family cell phone bill from last December.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I requested it from Sprint.”
“What does it show?”
“It shows that Keenan made three calls to Shannon Dawson’s cell phone on the morning of December twenty-first and then four more the next day.”
“Thank you.”
Fred rose, but did not leave the counsel table.
“Do you love your son, Dr. Brody?”
“I do.”
“And you would do or say just about anything to keep him out of jail, wouldn’t you.”
“I imagine so.”
“I’m sure you would. That’s all.”
After Keenan’s father had left the witness stand, Barry pushed the mute button on the microphone on the table and turned to Keenan.
“It’s now or never. I still vote for never.”
Chapter 60
Thursday, September 18, 2014
KEENAN MADE his way to the witness stand. He had no idea whether they would believe him, but he knew he had to testify. The problem was that, if he were them, he would probably convict him based on what he had heard during the trial.
Dr. Lapitas had been great, but there was just so much circumstantial evidence. He needed to explain as much of it as he could. They needed to hear from him that he didn’t do this thing. They needed to hear from him that he had loved Shannon too much to ever hurt her. He hoped they would believe him.
He knew what he was supposed to do. Barry had reluctantly coached him. Very reluctantly. Which was part of why he was so nervous. He could feel everyone watching him, judging him. He had never felt so self-conscious in his life.
He raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth.
As rehearsed, Barry started with a few background questions, then got quickly to the meat of the testimony. They didn’t want to keep him on the stand any longer than necessary.
“Tell us about Shannon Dawson,” Barry said.
“She was beautiful and vibrant.” Without meaning to, Keenan started to cry. “And I loved her.”
“Tell us about the last night you saw Shannon.”
“I spoke to her on the phone. She said she had something to tell me, but she needed to do it in person.”
“Did you know what she needed to tell you?”
“I suspected she was planning to break up with me, but I wasn’t sure. I mean, there’s not a lot of things you have to tell someone in person.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I decided to go to the party she was going to, see if I could run into her.”
“Did you run into her?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What did you observe?”
“She was drunk.”
“How did you know she was drunk?”
“She was slurring her words, saying things that didn’t make sense. I could smell the alcohol on her breath. I don’t know, she was just acting drunk.”
“What did you do after you saw Shannon?”
“I knew she had driven to the party because I had passed her car on the way in. I wanted to make sure she didn’t drive home, so I asked for her keys.”
“Did she give them to you?”
“Not at first. She got angry.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to calm her down.”
“How?”
“I told her that I cared about her and I tried to hug her.”
“Did it work?”
“It didn’t exactly calm her down, but it convinced her to hand over the car keys.”
“You said it didn’t calm her down, what made you think that?”
“After she gave me the keys, she ran off.”
“Did you follow her?”
“No, sir.”
“What did you do?”
“I waited to see if she would come back.”
“How long did you wait?”
“I don’t know. It felt like a while, maybe fifteen minutes, but it could have been less.”
“Did she come back?”
“If she did, I never saw her. In fact, I never saw her again after that.”
“What did you do next?”
“I drove her car back to her dorm and walked home.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I couldn’t find Shannon’s friends, so I was pretty sure they’d left. I knew she had a flight home the next day, and that there was something we needed to talk about. I figured it would make things easier if I drove her car back to the dorm for her. I was going to give her the keys when I saw her on Saturday.”
“You said there was something you needed to talk about. When you saw Shannon, did she give you any idea what it was that she needed to tell you in person?”
“No, she never did.”
“For the record, did you ever hit Shannon Dawson?”
“No.”
“Did you ever grab her?”
“No, not other than the hugging, that is.”
“Did you physically hurt her in any way?”
“No.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“What did you do the next day?”
“I called her three times. I texted her twice. And I walked over to her dorm to return her keys. When I couldn’t reach her, I put her keys in my desk and went home.”
The prosecutor rose for cross-examination. Barry had warned Keenan that this was when things would get rough. Keenan took a deep breath and tried to look in the eye of the man whose only goal at the moment was to make him look guilty. Dutton’s look reminded him of an alligator slinking through dark waters toward its prey––cold, calculating and focused. Supremely focused.
“You testified that Shannon told you she had something important to tell you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Something that needed to be said in person, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, you went looking for her, true?”
“Well, like I said, I went out hoping to run into her.”
“You knew where she was going, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not really running into someone if you know where they’re going and you go to the same place, is it?”
“That’s how I thought of it.”
“Or perhaps you’re using that terminology because that’s what you told Officer Shores the first time he questioned you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Isn’t it true that the first time you spoke with Officer Shores, you told him you had run into Shannon on the night she disappeared?”
“I may have.”
“I’m going to show you what’s been marked as Exhibit 3. Please tell the jury what that is.”
“It’s a transcript of an interview.”
“Whose interview?”
“My interview with Officer Shores.”
“Why don’t you read page three to yourself.”
“Okay.”
“Did you or did you not tell Officer Shores you ‘ran into’ Shannon Dawson the night she disappeared?”
“I did.”
“And, it’s different from what you told Evan Halliday, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You told Evan you went looking for Shannon that night, didn’t you?”
“I might have.”
“Let’s see if we can’t refresh your recollection again. Let me show you Exhibit 9. Can you please tell the jury what that is?”
“It’s a transcript of my conversation
with Evan Halliday.”
“Please have a look at page 8, and then tell us what you told Evan Halliday about that night.”
“I told him I went looking for Shannon.”
“Okay. So, the first time you spoke to Officer Shores, you were downplaying your involvement, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, when he asked about your relationship with Shannon, isn’t it true you denied she was your girlfriend?”
“Not really.”
“Let me show you Exhibit 3 again. Isn’t it true that your exact words to the officer were, ‘She wasn’t really my girlfriend.’”
“Yes.”
“But she was your girlfriend, wasn’t she?”
“I guess so.”
“So you were lying to Officer Shores, weren’t you?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Dutton paused, leaving the words hanging. “Where did you go looking for Shannon on that Friday night?”
“To the party on Maple Street.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Because you weren’t going to socialize, were you?”
“No, I was hoping to see Shannon.”
“Because you were angry, weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t angry.”
“Oh, right. You told Officer Shores you were ticked, but you were downplaying that too, weren’t you?”
“No.”
“Or maybe you weren’t angry at first, but you were upset when you found out that Shannon had another boyfriend, right?”
“I didn’t find out about Jake until weeks later. So, no, I wasn’t upset.”
“Okay, if you weren’t upset, then why go looking for her?”
“I wanted to talk to her, find out what she had to say to me.”
“But you knew it wasn’t good news, didn’t you?”
“I suspected. But I didn’t know what it was.”
“So, you were concerned enough that you went looking for her, but you weren’t upset?”
“Yes.”
“So, why not wait? You said you were planning to see her on Saturday before she left.”
“I just wanted to know for sure what she had to tell me.”
“So you decided to make her tell you, right?”
“No.”
“You walked by yourself across campus to the party, right?”
“Yes.”
“How long a walk was that?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“You spent that fifteen minutes getting angrier and angrier, didn’t you?”