Chapter 45
PRESUMPTION OF GUILT
Paul Thayer called just before noon to tell me he'd located Jimmy Bennett and that he was out on a cruise ship gambling. He said he had someone in Biloxi waiting for him and just as soon as they made contact he'd let me know. I couldn't believe Jimmy was that irresponsible. How could he go out on a cruise ship to gamble when he knew he was about to go on trial for murder?
Stan and I left for court together this time. Stan didn't want me to have to deal with the reporters alone. He led me in the courthouse through the basement entrance and then up the stairs to avoid the reporters who were lurking around the elevators. At 1:00 p.m. the judge made his entrance. After everyone was seated, he looked at me and said, "Miss Waters, I see that your client is still missing."
I stood up and said, "Yes, Your Honor. We've located him but we won't be able to get him here until tomorrow morning?"
The judge just stared at me. Finally, he said, "Is this some kind of joke. Does your client think we're playing games here? Where exactly is he?"
"Ah. Well, he's apparently on a cruise ship out of Biloxi, Mississippi."
"Is he running?"
"No. No. It's a gambling ship."
"What?"
"You know. They go out into international waters so everyone can gamble, then they come back into port."
There was laughter in the gallery.
"Well, I'm going to have a surprise for your client, Miss Waters. There's going to be welcoming party for him when his ship comes into port."
"Yes, Your Honor."
"I'm hereby revoking Mr. Bennett's bail and directing he be arrested forthwith and brought back to this courtroom to stand trial. Now, in the meantime, let's get on with picking the jury."
The bailiff handed us jury information sheets and the judge told us we had thirty minutes to study them before he brought in the jury panel for voir dire. Stan and I went over the list of jurors and discussed those that might be a problem. When the jury panel was brought in, the Judge introduced all of us and explained how the trial would proceed. Wilkerson then gave a short synopsis of the case whereupon we started asking questions of the individual jurors. We worked hard all day but hadn't finished when 5:00 p.m. arrived, so the judge adjourned the case until the following morning.
When we got back to the office a little after six there was a message from Paul Thayer. The local police were at the dock in Biloxi to pick up Jimmy Bennett when the ship docked, but he wasn't aboard or somehow had eluded them. My heart sank at hearing this news as now I knew I'd face another scolding from Judge Wingate and the jury would think Jimmy was running because he was guilty. Depression hit me like a lead pipe. How could everything have gone so wrong? Fortunately, Stan came in to cheer me up and make some suggestions.
"I think we're going to have to adjust our approach a little."
I laughed. "Just a little?"
"Well, a lot actually. Because of Jimmy's little gambling trip, proving reasonable doubt isn't going to be enough to get him acquitted. The jury will be so prejudiced by his absence that only if we prove beyond any reasonable doubt that someone else murdered Don and Amanda, will he walk. That means we'll have to select a suspect and gamble on being able to prove that person is the killer. If we fail, Jimmy will face the death penalty."
"I can't believe he did this," I said. "He seems to be a reasonably intelligent person. What was he thinking?"
"I'm sure he just got scared and went to a bar—one thing led to another."
"So, what suspect are we going to gamble on?"
"I don't know. If we find that Skip Henderson was in town on the day of the murders, I'd vote for him and Don's three partners. If that doesn't pan out, I guess we've got to go with your jealous stalker—what's his name?"
"Phil Smart."
"Right."
"Okay, I'll waive my opening statement until we put on our case. That will give us a little time to make a final decision on our suspect."
"Good idea," Stan said. "It will take Wilkerson two or three days, at least, to put on his case. With a little luck we'll have the weekend to complete our investigation and make a final decision."
"Yeah, and if we're really lucky, they might find Jimmy and bring his sorry ass back here."
I didn't feel like cooking when I got home so Bart took me out to Carellli's for some good Italian food. I hadn't eaten all day so I was famished. Bart listened attentively as I vented all my frustrations between bites of lasagna and garlic bread. He didn't complain about my tirade, but just listened and smiled. After eating my fill and having a few glasses of Chardonnay, I was starting to feel better.
When we got back to my condo Bart wanted to make love. I didn't really feel like it, but he had been so nice to me all evening I could hardly say no. When we finally made it to bed, it was after midnight and I was so exhausted I fell asleep almost immediately. It had been the worst day of my career and the only positive thing I could think of was that it couldn't get any worse.
I had been sleeping for some time when the telephone rang. Bart rolled over and tried to answer it but only managed to knock it on the floor. I got up, went around the bed and picked the phone off the floor.
I sat down on the side of the bed and said, "Hello."
There was music in the background like the radio was on or the caller was having a party. After an awkward moment of silence, I said, "Who is this?"
"Who do you think?"
"Jimmy?"
"I have to whisper. I'm being watched. Every damn cop in the state of Mississippi is looking for me."
"What did you expect? You shouldn't have left?"
"Right, and face a certain death sentence."
"It's not certain. We've got a good shot at proving reasonable doubt."
"It doesn't matter. They'll buy the jury."
"Who's they?"
"The same people who killed Don. The hit men from the Agency."
"We're not certain they did it. It's just a theory."
"It all makes sense though. Don knew too much, so they had to kill him but make it look like someone else did it. I was the perfect fall guy. So, now they can't afford to let me get off."
I suddenly regretted having told Jimmy our United Recycling theory. That was the problem with keeping clients fully informed, they sometimes couldn't differentiate between fact and theory. Now Jimmy was sure the CIA was out to get him convicted even though we couldn't prove it. We certainly hadn't intended to spook him so much that he'd start running.
"You need to come back to Dallas. Tell me where you are and I'll send someone to pick you up. They'll bring you to the courthouse and you can walk in and apologize to the judge and jury for leaving."
"But they'll put me in jail."
"I know. But running isn't the answer. If you believe the CIA is out to frame you, maybe we can sell that scenario to the jury."
"I can't take that chance. I'm sorry."
The phone went dead. "Jimmy! Jimmy! Damn it!" I said and slammed down the telephone.
Black Monday, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 7 Page 45