Lone Witness

by Rachel Dylan

  “Yes, ma’am. Well, let me back up. I’m actually not sure if that is her exact title at this point, but Ms. Dawson is a prosecutor.”

  “So you’re telling me, Detective, that your eyewitness in this case against my client is a Fulton County prosecutor?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the detective said without batting an eye.

  “How convenient is that, Detective?”

  Patrick shot up from his seat. “Objection, Your Honor. I don’t think defense counsel’s side comments are appropriate.”

  The judge nodded. “Ms. Murphy, please stick to the questions. There’s no need for theatrics at a preliminary hearing. There’s no jury here for your performance.”

  Patrick held back a smirk.

  Ashley turned and looked at Sophie before directing her attention back at the judge. For a moment she didn’t say anything, but Patrick could tell she was plotting something.

  “Your Honor, since I see that Ms. Dawson is present in the courtroom today, I’d like to call her to the stand and hear the words directly from her.”

  Patrick rose to his feet again. “Your Honor, it would be highly irregular to have the eyewitness actually testify at a preliminary hearing—and called by the defense, no less.”

  “Your response, Ms. Murphy?”

  “Nothing about this case seems normal, Your Honor. I would submit that I have the right to hear Ms. Dawson’s testimony today. She’s sitting right there, so it’s not like we’re putting her or the Court at any inconvenience.”

  “Ms. Murphy is right on this count. Irregular, yes, but there’s nothing prohibiting it. Ms. Dawson, if you are indeed in the courtroom, please stand.”

  Patrick should have known Ashley would try something crazy like this. He kicked himself for not preparing for such a contingency. He hadn’t done any of the typical witness preparation with Sophie that he would normally do before she was called to the stand. Now he could only hope that his case wasn’t about to go up in smoke.

  Sophie stood up as the judge had ordered, and she could feel every single eye in the room staring at her. While she was accustomed to being in front of the courtroom, it wasn’t under these circumstances. Her palms became sweaty, and she felt her cheeks flush. This was no time to have a panic attack.

  You can do this, Sophie. You’ve been in court a million times.

  “Ms. Dawson, please come up to the witness stand,” the judge said.

  Her legs felt unsteady as she made the walk down the aisle toward the front of the courtroom. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that the defense would call her to the stand at the preliminary hearing. To say that was unorthodox was an understatement.

  Patrick hadn’t prepared her for the possibility, but as a prosecutor, she should’ve known better. Any contingency was possible, especially when you were dealing with a formidable defense attorney like Ashley Murphy.

  Sophie had been opposite Ashley multiple times and had never been able to break through on a personal level with her. She was on friendly terms with many defense attorneys, and she understood the importance of having good lawyers on the defense bar. Everyone needed fair representation. It was a pillar of the American judicial system. But Ashley had built a wall around herself, and they’d never had a personal conversation before, only business. And now Sophie was about to be examined by her.

  She shouldn’t have come to the hearing today.

  Sophie smoothed down her navy suit jacket as she made her way into the witness box. As she was sworn in, she prayed that she would be able to keep it together.

  “Ms. Dawson, please state your full name and job title for the record,” Ashley said, not wasting any time.

  “I’m Sophie Elizabeth Dawson, and I’m a senior assistant district attorney in the White Collar Crime Unit for Fulton County.”

  “And how long have you been a prosecutor?”

  “I’m about to start my eighth year.” So far, so good.

  “And where were you on the night of October seventh?”

  “That’s a broad question.” Sophie couldn’t help but say that, but then she decided it was better to just keep talking. “I left work a little before ten and stopped at the convenience store called Quick-Stop directly off exit twenty on I-85 to get a snack.”

  “And you contend that you saw my client, Mr. Ricky Wade, at the Quick-Stop that night?”

  “Yes, I do. In fact, I saw the defendant shoot and kill two people.”

  Loud murmurs sounded through the audience. Ashley’s green eyes flashed with anger, and a red blotch crept up her pale cheek.

  “No further questions at this time.” Ashley turned and walked back to the defense table.

  Ashley had probably made the strategic decision that as juicy as it was to catch Sophie off guard and create a dramatic scene, the implication of full testimony now, especially with the media present, could actually work against her client. It appeared Ashley wanted a chance to prepare and gather the facts. Sophie knew that Ashley would seek her revenge during the trial, when the jury was present.

  “Do you have anything for this witness at this time, Mr. Hunt?” the judge asked.

  “No, Your Honor. I think that’s best left for another time,” Patrick said.

  “Ms. Dawson, you can step down, thank you,” the judge said.

  Sophie realized she’d been clenching her fists as she exhaled and exited the witness stand. She quickly returned to her seat.

  “Your Honor, I believe we have more than sufficient evidence for a probable cause order,” Patrick said.

  “Anything else from the defense?”

  “No, Your Honor,” Ashley responded.

  “Then I agree with the prosecution, and I find that there is probable cause. The defendant will remain in custody.”

  Sophie let out a breath. Finding probable cause was pretty much a foregone conclusion, since the bar was set so low, but things had gotten a bit hectic there for a minute, and her head was spinning.

  “There’s one more issue to take up, Your Honor,” Ashley said.

  “Go on,” the judge responded.

  “I’d like to request that my client be kept in isolation.”

  “What?” Ricky exclaimed. “I don’t want to be in isolation.”

  “Do you need a minute to confer with your client?” the judge asked.

  “No. This request is made in my client’s best interest. I believe, given the fact that he is Juan Wade’s brother, that there could be elements inside the prison who would want to do him grave harm.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Ricky shot back.

  “One second, Your Honor.” Ashley wrapped her arm around Ricky’s shoulder and leaned in. Sophie couldn’t hear anything being said between them, but she could guess. Ashley was the one doing all the talking. Ricky gave a weak nod.

  After a few minutes of discussion, Ashley turned her attention back to the judge. “My client is in agreement, and I would like to make my request again.”

  “What does the state have to say about this?”

  “I don’t have an objection,” Patrick responded.

  “Fine. Then Mr. Wade will be kept outside of general population for his own safety.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Ashley said.

  Once the judge called for the adjournment, Sophie was suddenly surrounded by the press.

  “Ms. Dawson, what exactly did you see that night?” a man with a bright red bow tie asked.

  A woman stepped right in front of her. “Ms. Dawson, did you know about the defendant’s gang ties before you identified him?”

  The questions kept coming, but Sophie kept her mouth shut. After a minute, Patrick showed up at her side and started to usher her out. “Ms. Dawson has no comment at this time,” he yelled over his shoulder.

  He held her by the arm and led her out of the courtroom and down the hall. By the time they’d gotten out of the fray, her heartbeat was still thumping loudly.

  “We need to get you out of here,�
� Patrick said.

  “Let’s take the stairs.” She knew her way around this courthouse like the back of her hand.

  By the time they’d made it back to her office, she was exhausted from all the drama.

  “I’m so sorry that happened,” Patrick said. “I should’ve known Ashley would pull a stunt like that. Do you know her?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. It wasn’t your fault. But now I guess the cat is out of the bag.”

  “Which brings me to my next issue. You need to be on alert. As I told you when we first met, I wouldn’t put it past Juan and his cohorts to try to engage in some type of retaliation against you. Juan will know exactly who you are now.”

  She brushed his warning aside. “Don’t even give it a second thought. They’re not going to come after me. It’d be too risky. Everyone’s watching.”

  “I think you’re underestimating them. You’re on a completely different playing field as a witness than a prosecutor. I don’t want you to be lulled into a false sense of security. Their risk analysis is different with you as a witness. And the bottom line here is that you’re talking about Juan’s little brother. This is about family for him.”

  His stern warning made her rethink whether she was taking this seriously enough. “All right. I understand.”

  “And one more thing. I think this goes without saying, but not a word to the press of any kind.”

  “Obviously not. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

  “Watch your back, and I’ll be in touch about the schedule.”

  A chill shot down her arms at his words. Was she really in danger?

  Chapter

  Four

  The past two weeks had flown by as Sophie did everything in her power to cooperate with Patrick and the police officers conducting the investigation. Unfortunately, she’d made the mistake of telling her overly protective father that she’d received some threatening letters in the mail.

  Getting letters like that was part of her job, but she couldn’t help feeling like this wave of threats, which had started last week, had to do with her involvement in the Wade case. Once it hit the local news that a senior ADA from Fulton County was a witness in the double homicide, the reporters latched onto the story, which put her in the spotlight—a place she didn’t want to be. And the letters grew increasingly more troublesome by the day.

  Her father meant well. She was his only child, and they had a super tight bond, since it had always just been the two of them. But Randall Dawson worried a lot about his little girl, and she had the feeling he wasn’t going to sit back this time and listen to her say that he had no reason to fret.

  After a long day in the office, she’d had enough and headed out to her car. She needed to stop at the grocery store on the way home and pick up a couple things. Since the shooting, she couldn’t bring herself to go back to the Quick-Stop. She’d just have to buy groceries like a normal person instead of living on snacks picked up on a whim.

  When she finished her shopping, she stepped out of the store and started to push her cart out to her car. She had almost reached her car when she saw a man standing beside it. Her heartbeat immediately sped up. What was he doing?

  She thought about heading a different direction, but she wanted to get a little closer to see what he was up to. As she moved nearer, the man came into view under the bright parking lot lights. Tall, blond, and very well built.

  This wasn’t some random guy. Now that she got a good look at his face, she recognized him.

  “Cooper?” She rolled her cart toward her car.

  “Hi, Sophie. I didn’t know if you’d remember me.”

  How could she have forgotten him? She’d developed a little crush on him the minute they’d been introduced at her birthday party. He’d made quite the impression on her. How could he not, with his all-American good looks. But good looks were only a small part of the equation. She wanted a lot more than that.

  “You’re friends with Kate’s fiancé, Landon, right?” Kate was one of her best friends and also an attorney. Landon had worked with Kate on a case taking on a big pharmaceutical company, and that was how they’d become a couple.

  “That’s right, and I run K&R Security.”

  That still didn’t explain why he was here. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Could we go somewhere and talk?”

  Her antenna immediately went up. Something was off here, but she didn’t know what. “I need to take these groceries home.” She trusted Cooper because he worked with Landon, but it was still strange to invite him to her house.

  As if he sensed her hesitation, he took a step toward her. “It’s actually about your father.”

  Her heart dropped. “What? Has something happened to him?” She immediately jumped to the most awful scenarios.

  Cooper shook his head. “No, no. Nothing like that. Don’t worry, your dad is completely fine.”

  Her skepticism returned. “Then what are you talking about?”

  “Your dad sent me here.”

  And then it all made sense.

  Cooper sat at Sophie’s kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee. The prosecutor was fired up. He couldn’t blame her, though.

  “You’re saying my father hired you? To what, be my bodyguard?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly classify it as a bodyguard.” He paused. “At least not at this point. Your father is just concerned about your safety, and rightly so. He cares about you a lot, Sophie—I could tell just from talking to him—and he’s really worried.” It was a strong contrast to the horrendous relationship he had with his own father. He’d never known that kind of love from his dad—just the opposite.

  Her big blue eyes softened. “I know, and I love my father. But you have to understand that it’s his nature to overreact when it comes to me. And I think this time he took it too far.”

  Cooper had a job to do, so he needed to figure out how to convince Sophie that it was in her best interest to hear him out. Randall had warned him that Sophie was going to be very resistant to the idea. She liked to stand on her own two feet. “Can we talk for a minute about the letters you’ve been receiving?”

  Sophie picked up her pink coffee mug and took a sip. “Sure. There have been a number of threatening letters, but in this job, that’s not out of the ordinary. After being a prosecutor for going on eight years, you rack up a list of people who aren’t happy with you. I did receive them more often in my prior position, but criminals don’t follow my career path. There has been a recent uptick, which I suspect is related to the local media attention.”

  He wondered if she realized how formal and lawyer-like she sounded. “Do you have the letters here?”

  “I have copies of them scanned into my email. Let me get my computer.”

  He waited patiently as she retrieved her laptop from her bag and booted it up. A few minutes later, his eyes scanned through the notes on her screen. “This one says, ‘you’ve messed with the wrong family.’ That sounds like a direct link to the Wades to me.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, but it could just be someone in the gang who supports them. Although I realize that’s also a problem.”

  Cooper took his time and read the remaining letters. One of them specifically said they were coming after her. It included some foul and slang language that seemed like it could also be gang-oriented. The other notes included vague threats of physical violence. “Thanks for letting me see these. I think your father is right to be concerned.”

  “Hopefully it’s nothing.”

  He needed to understand her change in jobs better in order to gauge the threat of the letters. “Can you explain more about your shifting roles to me?”

  “I used to be an ADA in the general trial division, handling everything from assaults to murders to drug cases. A few months ago, I was promoted to senior ADA and moved into the White Collar Crime Unit. I know these letters seem troubling to someone on the outside, but threats come with the territory, and I understood that risk when I too
k the job.”

  “Your job as a prosecutor is a lot different than being a star witness.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Who said anything about being a star witness?”

  That was exactly what she was going to be. “Just look at the headlines.”

  She blew out a breath. “What are you suggesting?”

  “For now, just let me keep an eye on you. I’ll try to stay out of your way, but I’ll be around. Not intrusive, but around. I used to be an Atlanta police officer. I know how these gangs work. Let me use that knowledge to help you, so you can keep your attention on your job.”

  She considered him for a moment. “All right. But if at any time I think this has gotten out of control, I’m going to call you off. I’ll deal with my father if that happens, so don’t worry about that.”

  “Like I said, I’ll do my best to just let you do your thing. In fact, just so we’re starting on an open and honest playing field, I need to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  He wasn’t the type to hide the ball, and if this was going to work, he needed to tell her the truth. “I’ve actually had my eye on you since before the preliminary hearing. I was there in the back, on the opposite side of where you were sitting.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “That’s when your father first contacted me and asked me to start this job. But once you received the letters, he wanted me to work more closely with you.”

  “You’ve been watching me?” Sophie’s voice cracked.

  “Yes, just keeping an eye on you.”

  Her ivory skin turned pale. “Am I that oblivious? I had no idea. No inkling I was being watched.”

  “I’m a professional. I know how to operate in the shadows when needed.”

  She held so tightly onto her coffee cup that her knuckles turned white. “I’m still disturbed that I was so clueless.”

  “A reminder to be more aware, but seriously, if you had spotted me, I would’ve questioned if I was getting rusty.”

  “Why did you leave the police force?” she asked.