Джон Гришэм - A Time for Mercy

Jake stood and said, “Your Honor, the defense calls Mr. Drew Gamble to the stand.” There was a rustling through the crowd at this unexpected move. Lowell Dyer shot Jake a wary look.

Drew rose and marched to the court reporter, took his oath, and settled into the witness chair. He was startled by the entirely different view of things. Jake had told him this would happen, said it would be shocking at first to see all those adults staring at him. His written instructions read: “Look at me, Drew. Look me in the eyes at all times. Do not look at the jurors. Do not look at your mother or sister. Do not look at the other lawyers, nor the people out there in the audience. Everyone will be looking at you, so ignore them. Look me in the eyes. Don’t smile, don’t frown. Don’t speak too loud, nor too soft. We’ll start with some easy questions and you’ll get comfortable. You’re not in the habit of saying ‘Yes sir’ and ‘No sir,’ but DO IT EVERY TIME when you’re on the stand. Start practicing now with me and the jailers.”

In his cell, late at night, Jake had shown him how to sit and keep his hands still, how to stay six inches from the mike, how to frown at a confusing question, what to do if the judge spoke to him, how to sit passively if the lawyers got into an argument, and how to say, “Sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.” They had practiced for hours.

The easy questions and answers did indeed settle his nerves, but then Drew felt oddly at ease to begin with. For a day and a half he’d sat between his lawyers as witnesses came and went. As Jake had instructed, he watched them carefully. Some were good, others were not. Kiera had been visibly frightened, but her fear had connected with the jurors.

He had learned a lot about testifying just from being there.

No sir, he had never known his father, nor his grandfathers. He did not know any of his uncles or cousins.

Jake asked, “Now, Drew, how many times have you been arrested?”

It was an odd question. Youth court convictions were off-limits. The State certainly couldn’t mention them. But, as with Josie, Jake wanted transparency, especially when it benefitted the defense.

“Twice.”

“How old were you the first time?”

“Twelve.”

“What happened?”

“Well, me and a buddy named Danny Ross stole two bicycles and got caught.”

“Why did you steal bicycles?”

“Because we didn’t have one.”

“Okay, and what happened when you got caught?”

“We went to court and the judge said we were guilty, and we were. So they put me in a juvenile detention center for about four months.”

“And where was this?”

“Over in Arkansas.”

“Where were you living at the time?”

“Well, sir, we were, uh, livin’ in a car.”

“With your mother and sister?”

“Yes sir.” With a quick nod, Jake invited him to continue. Drew said, “My mother didn’t object to me goin’ to the juvenile jail because at least I would get somethin’ to eat.”

Dyer stood and said, “Objection, Your Honor. Relevance. This trial is about capital murder, not a stolen bike.”

“Sustained. Move along, Mr. Brigance.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” But Dyer did not ask for the response to be stricken from the record. The jury heard that the kids were hungry and homeless.

Jake asked, “And what was the second arrest?”

“When I was thirteen I got caught with some pot.”

“Were you trying to sell it?”

“No sir. It wasn’t much.”

“What happened?”

“They sent me back to the same place for three months.”

“Do you use drugs now?”

“No sir.”

“Do you drink alcohol?”

“No sir.”

“Have you been in trouble with the law in the past three years?”

“No sir, other than this.”

“Okay, let’s talk about this.” Jake stepped away from the podium and looked at the jury. If Jake did so, then it was okay for Drew to have a quick look too. At that moment, the jurors were watching Jake.

“When did you first meet Stuart Kofer?”

“The day we moved in. I don’t remember when it was.”

“How did Stuart treat you in the beginning?”

“Well, we sure didn’t feel welcome. It was his house and he had a lot of rules, some he made up on the spot. He had us do a lot of chores. He was never nice to us and we knew right away that he didn’t want us in his house. So we, me and Kiera, tried to stay away from him. He didn’t want us at the table when he was eatin’ so we took our food upstairs, or outside.”

“Where did your mother eat?”

“With him. They argued a lot, though, right from the beginnin’. Mom wanted us to be a real family, you know, do things together. Have supper, go to church, things like that, but Stu couldn’t stand us. He didn’t want us. Nobody has ever wanted us.”

Pitch-perfect, thought Jake, and with no objection from Dyer. He wanted to pounce and object to the leading questions, but at the moment the jurors were captivated and would resent the interruption.

“Were you physically abused by Stuart Kofer?”

Drew paused and looked confused. “What do you mean by ‘physically abused’?”

“Did he hit you?”

“Oh, yeah, I got slapped around a few times.”

“Do you remember the first time?”

“Yes sir.”

“What happened?”

“Well, Stu asked me if I wanted to go fishin’, and I really didn’t want to because I didn’t like him and he didn’t like me. But my mom had been buggin’ him to do something with me, you know, like a real father, throw a baseball, go fishin’ or something fun. So he got his boat and we went to the lake. He started drinkin’ beer and that was always a bad sign. We were in the middle of the lake when a big fish hit my hook hard and took off. I was surprised and didn’t grip the rod fast enough, and so the rod and reel disappeared underwater. Stu went crazy. He cussed like a dog and slapped me twice in the face, hard. He was out of his mind, yellin’ and cussin’ and sayin’ that rig cost him over a hundred dollars and I had to pay him back. I thought he might knock me out of the boat. He got so mad he cranked the engine, flew to the ramp, got the boat out, and headed home. He was still cussin’. He had a terrible temper, especially when he was drinkin’.”

Dyer finally stood and said, “Your Honor. Objection. Leading and relevance. I’m not sure what’s happening here, Your Honor, but this is a direct examination and this witness is being allowed to ramble on forever.”

Noose removed his reading glasses and chewed on a stem for a moment. “Agreed, Mr. Dyer, but this testimony is coming in regardless, so let’s allow the witness to testify.”

Jake said, “Thank you, Your Honor. Now, Drew, what happened as you were driving home from the lake?”

“Well, when we got close to the house, he kept lookin’ at me and saw that my left eye was swollen where he’d hit me. So he told me not to tell my mom. He told me to say that I slipped and fell as we were loadin’ the boat.”

Dyer stood and said, “Objection. Hearsay.”

“Overruled. Continue.”

Jake had instructed him to immediately continue when the Judge said “Continue.” Don’t wait on the lawyers. Finish the story.

Drew said, “And then he threatened to kill me.”

“Was that the first time he threatened you?”

“Yes sir. Said he would kill me and Kiera if we ever told Mom.”

“Was he physically abusing Kiera?”

“Well, we know it now, I guess.”

“Okay, Drew, before he died, did you know that Stuart Kofer was sexually assaulting your sister?”

“No sir. She didn’t tell me.”

Jake paused and checked some notes on a legal pad. The courtroom was quiet, but for the window units. The temperature was improving as a layer of clouds moved in to block the sun.