AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 34
JACK POURED OUT TWO MORE cups of coffee as DuBose sat at the worktable in his office. They had gone over all the documents provided by Battle, and DuBose had made a list of issues and follow-up items. But what was most troubling was what their clients had not told them.
Jack handed DuBose the fresh coffee and sat down across from her.
“When is your investigator going to be coming?” she asked.
Jack checked his watch. “Anytime now.”
“He has his work cut out for him on this one.”
Jack picked up her list and read down it. “The commonwealth’s case is pretty straightforward,” he said. “Jerome needed money. He had been inside the Randolphs’ house before to use the bathroom.”
DuBose nodded. “And on the day of the murder Pearl was not at work.”
“And they found cash money hidden in Jerome’s lean-to. Money that Jerome says he was given, but we have no way to prove that without putting him on the stand. Battle will then have the right to tear him apart on cross-examination, or else we’re forced to instruct Jerome to plead the Fifth, and we could lose the whole case right there.”
DuBose said, “They also have sworn testimony from Curtis Gates that the Randolphs were going to fire Jerome because they were afraid of him. No wonder he was so smug about Jerome being guilty,” she added bitterly.
Jack picked up another piece of paper and read from it. “And the gardener, Tyler Dobbs, will say that Jerome had acted belligerently toward the Randolphs, which supports Gates’s testimony and that Jerome told him he needed money. And they also talked to Gordon Hanover. He’ll testify that Leslie Randolph thought Jerome had stolen from him and was going to fire him. And, lastly, Sam Randolph will testify that his father told him he was going to leave something to Jerome in his will. Which would be another motive.” He dropped the paper and shook his head. “Does not look good, Desiree.”
“This all seems woven too neatly,” replied DuBose. “But yet it’s also contradictory. Randolph was going to fire Jerome, but he was also going to leave him something in the will? Jerome was stealing, but Anne Randolph gave him a bonus?”
“I guess you’ve seen a lot of manufactured evidence,” he said.
“Not that they needed to go that far. Most white juries have already convicted Black defendants before the trial even starts.”
“And they have footprints from Jerome’s shoes in that room. Not from the blood but from dirt he had on his shoes and that left an imprint.”
“He doesn’t deny he was there,” pointed out DuBose.
“But the medical examiner’s report says his footprints are the only ones other than the two deputies’,” pointed out Jack.
“And he also said the murder weapon had a blade at least eighteen inches long. That was no kitchen steak knife. So whoever killed them came prepared to do just that.”
“And where was Jerome going to hide that while riding his bike to work?” Jack said, shaking his head in frustration. “Except for Jerome being in the room, it’s all speculation and circumstantial.”
“They’re also suggesting, as part of their grand plan, that Pearl called the police from a pay phone so they’d be sure to find Jerome there.”
“If true, that was risky as hell,” said Jack.
“But how would Jerome and Pearl know someone wouldn’t happen along after the maid and gardener left? In fact, someone did. The person in the blue convertible.”
“If Jerome is to be believed about that,” said Jack.
She shot him a harsh look. “You think he’s lying?”
“You never had a client lie to you?”
“I could hardly blame them with the deck stacked against them.”
“Whoever did it certainly knew the routine of the place. By one, the gardener was gone. By two, so was the maid. Jerome said he saw the convertible around four.” Jack pulled out a document. “Okay, let’s go through alibis. Cora Robinson and Tyler Dobbs both have solid ones for the time in question. Christine and Gordon Hanover were in Washington, DC, all day. They didn’t get back here until very late that night.”
“But Sam Randolph has no alibi.” said DuBose. “So we’ll need to talk to him.”
Jack dropped the file and said, “But do we really have to do that? Jerome wants to sacrifice himself to save Pearl.”
“What if Battle won’t agree to waive the death penalty?’
