Brian Freeman - Goodbye to the Dead (Jonathan Stride Book 7)

He was warm where Dan Erickson was cool. He was like Santa Claus in a two-piece suit, with his curly hair, peppery beard, and twinkling eyes. He reminded them that Janine, sitting in that chair beside him, was innocent, and that the entire burden of proof rested with the state. With each sentence, delivered with a sad shake of his head, he cast doubt on that proof.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, pay attention to what you do not hear from the state in this case. You will not hear any evidence that Dr. Snow owned a gun, because there is no such evidence.

‘You will not hear any evidence that Dr. Snow fired a gun that night, because there is no such evidence.

‘You will not hear any evidence about the gun used to murder Jay Ferris, because that gun was never found. Think about that. Whoever killed Mr. Ferris took the gun away from the crime scene. On that basis alone, it’s reasonable for you to doubt that Dr. Snow could have committed this crime. But there’s more.’

Gale took a sip of water.

‘You will learn that Jay Ferris wrote things in his job as a columnist at the Duluth News-Tribune that offended people. Outraged them. Cost them their jobs. It’s reasonable to wonder whether one of those people killed him.

‘You will learn that an unknown vehicle was parked in the neighborhood not far from Jay Ferris’s house on the night of the murder and that the police never located this vehicle or who was driving it. It’s reasonable to wonder whether that person killed him.

‘You will learn that Jay Ferris took pictures of an armed man while hiking in a park near Duluth and that the police never identified this man or interviewed him about his whereabouts on the night of the murder. It’s reasonable to wonder whether that dangerous man killed him.’

And so it went on.

By the time Archibald Gale sat down, Howard was back to where he’d started. A blank slate. He had no idea about Janine’s guilt or innocence. All he could do was stare at her face and wonder. This time, her face wasn’t a photograph on the computer screen in the basement of his house. She was real. She was so close that he could smell her perfume.

She was waiting for him to decide.

‘Mr. Erickson,’ Judge Edblad said, ‘call your first witness, please.’

Cindy felt physically ill on the witness stand.

At the counsel table, Janine offered her the tiniest of smiles. They were still friends. There were no hard feelings, even though Cindy was the first witness, pounding in the first nail.

Dan Erickson stood up to address her. Cindy knew exactly the kind of man he was. Inside the courtroom, he played his role, leading the jury down the path he wanted them to follow. Outside the courtroom, he was vain, self-absorbed, and manipulative. He was good-looking, and he knew it. He was married, but his eyes and hands wandered over every pretty woman he met.

He took her through introductions. Established who she was. And who her husband was.

‘Mrs. Stride, where were you on the evening of January 28 of this year?’

‘I was at a birthday party for Deputy Police Chief Kyle Kinnick at the Radisson Hotel.’

‘Was the defendant there?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was the defendant’s husband Jay Ferris there?’

‘No.’

‘During the party, did you speak to the defendant?’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘Did you see her consume any alcohol?’

Cindy hesitated. ‘Yes.’

‘How much?’

‘I don’t know exactly. She was drinking white wine. She had several glasses.’

‘Did the defendant subsequently ask if you would drive her home?’

‘Yes, she did.’

‘And do you remember exactly what time it was when you drove her home?’

‘I remember that the clock in my car read 9:32 p.m. It’s not far. We would have reached Janine’s house just a few minutes later.’

‘When you arrived at the defendant’s house, did you accompany her to her front door?’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘At that time, did you see Jay Ferris, the defendant’s husband?’

‘Yes, he came to the door and opened it.’

‘He was alive?’

Cindy smiled faintly. ‘Yes, obviously.’

‘Did you see or hear anyone else in the house?’

‘No.’

‘Were there any other cars in the driveway or parked near the house?’

‘No.’

‘What happened next?’

‘Janine went inside with Jay. He closed the door. I left.’

‘Before you left, could you hear any part of the conversation between the defendant and her husband?’

‘I heard loud voices. It sounded like an argument.’

‘Would you characterize this as a heated argument?’

‘I guess so, yes.’

‘Was there physical contact between them?’

‘Yes, Jay grabbed her wrist, and Janine pushed him away.’

‘Did you see or hear anything else?’

‘No, I left after that.’

‘As you left the house that night, Mrs. Stride, did you see anyone else?’

‘No. There was no one else there. I was alone.’

‘What about other cars?’

‘Mine was the only car.’

‘Did you see anything that raised your suspicions?’

‘No.’

‘Thank you, Mrs. Stride. Now is it fair to say you consider the defendant a friend?’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘Do you see her regularly on social occasions?’

‘Yes, I do.’

‘Has the defendant ever shared any information with you about her perspectives on the state of her marriage?’

‘She told me that she considered her marriage to be a mistake,’ Cindy acknowledged.

‘Did she express an intent to seek a divorce?’

‘Yes, she did.’

‘On more than one occasion?’

‘Yes.’

‘Mrs. Stride, in December of last year, did you ask the defendant about the status of a possible divorce from Mr. Ferris?’

Cindy didn’t want to say it. She’d known the next question was coming. They’d gone over all of it in her statement to the police. Even so, she hated having to say it out loud, in a courtroom, with the jury listening. With Janine listening.

‘Yes. We had lunch, and I asked if she was going ahead with a divorce.’

‘What did she say?’

Cindy opened her mouth, but her throat was too dry to speak. She reached for the water and drank.

‘Mrs. Stride? How did the defendant answer that question when you asked her if she was proceeding with a divorce?’

‘She said no.’

‘Do you remember her exact words?’

‘She said, “I wish I could, but Jay has me trapped.”’

Archibald Gale stood up to conduct the cross-examination.

‘Mrs. Stride, while you were driving Dr. Snow home from the party on January 28, did you stop the car at any point?’

‘Yes. Janine wasn’t feeling well. I stopped, and she got out and threw up.’

‘So she was a mess?’ Gale asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Mrs. Stride, if you threw up on the side of the road, what would you do when you got home?’

Cindy smiled. ‘I’d take a shower.’

‘And what would you do with your clothes?’

‘I’d put them in the washing machine.’

‘Thank you. Now when you arrived at Dr. Snow’s residence and you saw Jay Ferris, did he have a gun?’

‘No.’

‘He wasn’t waving one in the air?’

Another smile. She saw the jurors smiling, too. ‘No.’

‘What about Dr. Snow? Did she have a gun at the party?’

‘No, not that I saw. I mean, she had a purse, but it was tiny. It would have been noticeable if something as big as a gun were inside.’

‘Okay. And you say you left Dr. Snow’s house at approximately 9:45 p.m., is that about right?’

‘Yes, that would be about right. A couple minutes on either side of that.’