AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Lee,” she said with a warm smile.
“I doubt that will last,” he replied.
Her smile vanished as Jack held up a piece of paper. “This is a public notice from the county water department. On June fourteenth, the only Belk department store in Freeman County was closed. Water main break.” He handed the paper to Battle before turning back to Drucker. “So how did you go into a store that was closed?”
“I... I must have misremembered. It must have been another store. Yes, that’s right.”
“And you seemed so sure yesterday.” He pointed to a woman in the second row. “You see your friend Bella Andrews right there? You suggested we reach out to her? Well, my investigator took her statement, after he showed her the water department notice and told her about your previous testimony. She is now prepared to swear that you told her to lie for you if we contacted her, and that she hasn’t seen you in person for over a month.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” bellowed an infuriated Ambrose. “Is that true, woman?”
Drucker started to sob. “Please, I didn’t want to do it, but they made me.”
“Who made you?” demanded Jack.
“I don’t know.”
“Just like Tyler Dobbs?” said Jack, wheeling around and pointing at Battle. He turned back to her. “How did they make you? The truth now!”
Drucker sobbed, “I... I embezzled some money from the place where I used to work. These people found out and said if I didn’t testify, they’d have me arrested.”
“You never saw Pearl Washington that day, did you?”
“No. I... I was on a bus, but... she wasn’t.”
“So who told you about the details? The bag, the work shoes?”
“It was in a note I got.”
“And you have no name to give us? It just appeared out of nowhere?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Jack stared at her in disgust and then said, “Motion to strike every bit of this witness’s earlier testimony from the record.”
“Motion granted,” spat Ambrose. He turned to the jury. “There is now no evidence presented by the commonwealth that Pearl Washington was ever on that bus carrying the things this witness said she was carrying. You are not to consider her testimony from yesterday in any of your deliberations. It is as though it never happened.” He pointed his gavel at Battle. “I will expect her to be charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. You think you can do that without screwing it up, Mr. Battle?”
The bailiff swept forward and led away a distraught Drucker.
DuBose glanced around in time to see Howard Pickett get up and hurry out.
Ambrose continued to stare at Battle. “If this keeps up, sir, I’ll hold you in contempt and you’ll spend some time behind bars, too.”
Edmund Battle looked like he wanted to vanish into the floor of the courtroom.
DuBose rose and said, “Defense calls Peter Clancy.”
“Who?” said a clearly overwhelmed Battle. “He’s not on the list.”
“Well, as you so cavalierly told us once, we just became aware of him,” shot back DuBose.
Clancy, the elderly man DuBose and Jack had met while looking at the rowhouse where Pearl had had her abortion performed, rose and walked slowly to the witness stand.
That was where DuBose had gone off in Jack’s car. It had occurred to her that Clancy might have seen Pearl go into the rowhouse, since it appeared that with his TV and water pitcher out on the porch with him, Clancy might spend a great deal of time out there. And she had turned out to be right.
After he was sworn in, Clancy took his seat in the witness box and adjusted the glasses he wore. DuBose approached him.
“You are Peter Clancy?”
