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She looked at him, her features tight and anxious. “And I also never told you that I was... sweet on Joshua, either.”
Frank and his sons exchanged startled glances, while DuBose kept her gaze fixed on the woman.
Hilly continued. “He grew up to be one handsome man—and even better, a kind one. And he could play the fiddle so good it was like his soul was coming out his skin as music. Many an evening his bow and fingers would dance on those strings, and I would sing along. ‘Old Black Joe,’ ‘O Ride On, Jesus,’ ‘’Tis Me, O Lord.’ Still remember the words after all these years. It was... a nice time during hardship.” She looked around. “And then I moved here and then suddenly I started seeing color, because everybody around me was seeing it, too. And I just went along, like sheep being herded, because I was weak.”
“I don’t know anybody who would describe you as weak, Hilly,” said Frank.
“But I was,” she said sharply. She looked dead at DuBose. “I was. On the mountain the Blacks were always poor. And most of the white folks were, too. The Taylors were the best friends I ever had. And I would like to think I was the best friend they ever had.”
She looked at Jack and her son gazed back at her. “You found that picture of me and Joshua when you were a little boy. Well, now you know, son.”
Jack nodded and then glanced away from his mother’s vulnerable gaze.
“Do you know what happened to Joshua?” asked DuBose quietly.
Hilly nodded dumbly, her mouth trembling. “He went away to college. And the man never came back. And then I became... what I am...”
She turned and walked out, leaving them all staring at one another.
CHAPTER 65
WHEN GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD BY Judge Ambrose, Edmund Battle rose, buttoned the jacket of his three-piece light gray suit fronted by a yellow tie, made a sharp left turn around the counsel table, and approached the jury box containing twelve men who stared earnestly back at him.
He eyed every one of them, lingering a few seconds on each face, smiling, like he’d known them all his life. Back at the counsel table his two associates were readying documents and jotting down notes and being fine little foot soldiers for their leader.
Battle began, “Gentlemen of the jury, I am Edmund Battle and I represent the interests of the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are here today to prosecute Jerome R. Washington and Pearl H. Washington for capital murder. It is the most egregious felony in this state, and any other state, as it should be. And we will ask you to return a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. And then we will ask you to impose a sentence of death on both defendants. We do not undertake this action lightly, I can assure you.”
He spread his hands wide. “And let me tell you why we are asking you to do this, because it’s not an easy thing to take the life of another, nor should it be. But that is exactly what both defendants are charged with. Taking the lives of Leslie and Anne Randolph, while they were in their home, an elderly couple enjoying their time together, when those lives were brutally ended by the defendants.”
He stepped back and put his hands in his pockets and glanced down at his polished dress shoes, as the jury’s attention remained riveted on him.
He looked up and said, “The evidence will show that on the fourteenth day of June of this year, Jerome and Pearl Washington entered the home of the Randolphs between three and five p.m. They found them in a room at the back of the house where Jerome Washington knew they would be because he worked for them and knew their routine. Using a sharp, long-bladed knife wielded with considerable force, he repeatedly stabbed and sliced both victims until they were dead. After doing so, the defendants stole money from the Randolphs. And then his wife”—Battle pointed at Pearl— “in accordance with a plan they had concocted together, took his bloody clothes, shoes, the murder weapon, and the money, provided clean clothes and shoes for her husband, and then left. It is the commonwealth’s belief that she made a phone call to the police telling them of the murders. We have traced a call from a pay phone that was very near the Randolphs’ home to the police dispatcher at the relevant time in question.”
Here Battle paused once more and looked around the courtroom. Christine Hanover and her husband were staring resolutely back at him.
Battle continued. “While she did that, Mr. Washington stayed with the bodies until the police came, to make it seem like he was innocent and had no weapon or money on his person, nor was he wearing bloody clothes. Now, the defense will no doubt argue that no sane killer would wait around for the police to come and arrest him. But the fact is, Mr. Washington worked for the Randolphs and was known to have been there that day. In fact, at the time of their murders, he was the only person other than the Randolphs who was there. Were he to have fled the scene, the man would have been hunted down and arrested immediately.” As he said this Battle pointed directly at Jerome and Pearl. “The Washingtons knew this. Thus, their plan was slickly designed to cast off suspicion. Luckily for us, and the interests of justice, they made mistakes or overlooked things along the way.”
He held up one finger. “Our evidence will show, first, that cash money they stole was found hidden at their home, by police executing a lawful search warrant. Second, you will learn that Mrs. Washington was absent from her work that day, indeed the first time she ever was, without explanation. Well, the reason was because she had to help prepare for the crime, and then travel to and from the Randolphs’ home to aid her husband in the execution of said crime. Third, the medical examiner will testify that the killer was right-handed, as is Mr. Washington. Fourth, only Mr. Washington’s footprints were found at the crime scene. Fifth, we have witnesses who will testify that Mr. Randolph had decided to fire Mr. Washington, because they had grown afraid of him, and for his belligerence and also due to the fact that Mr. Randolph believed Mr. Washington had stolen things from him. And you can all see that Mr. Washington is a large, powerfully built young man. He would intimidate most people, especially an elderly couple like the Randolphs. Sixth, we have testimony that Mr. Washington believed Mr. Randolph had also left him something in his will. Therefore, he had the strongest possible motive for killing the couple, as that would hasten his inheritance. Seventh, we have testimony that Mr. Washington had been in the Randolphs’ home without their knowledge or permission and was no doubt casing the place for this future crime. Eighth, we have testimony that after coming back from Vietnam, Mr. Washington was prone to violent outbursts. And finally, we have testimony that the Washingtons desperately needed money, and the Randolphs represented their best possible chance to gain that money both by robbery and also, they believed, by inheritance. An inheritance that would come to them sooner rather than later, by his and his wife’s criminal actions.”
Battle turned once more to the gallery. “The Randolph family members are in this courtroom today and they obviously want justice. As do I. As we all should.”
Christine, looking miserable, rubbed at her watery eyes with her gloved hand, while her husband put his arm around her.
Battle placed his hands back in his pocket and gazed at the jury.
“What we have here is a calculated double murder committed for that age-old motive: greed. The Randolphs had something the Washingtons wanted: money. Under these facts, the only possible verdict is guilty. And for these premeditated and gruesome crimes, the only acceptable punishment is death. I am confident that the evidence and your own common sense will lead you to that same conclusion. Thank you.”
He walked back to his table as Ambrose looked at Jack and DuBose.
“Defense? Your turn.”
CHAPTER 66
JACK ROSE AND LET HIS jacket remain unbuttoned. He and DuBose had talked at length about who should deliver the opening statement. And she had finally won out, insisting that he do it.
She had argued, You’re the hometown boy. And you connect with people. So go out there and connect.
And he had practiced his remarks over and over again in front of her, with DuBose praising some, critiquing some, and suggesting some. And he had learned a hell of a lot from the woman in doing so. DuBose was far more strategic in her approach than he was. While he often winged it in court, she thought about how every point and argument moved into the next one, and the one after that. And then how the whole case came together after you built it deliberate block by deliberate block.
