Page 38 of Shadow of Justice
“Truth,” George spat. “Seems to me the truth is whatever someone twists it to be.”
That sounded like Jamie Simmons talking. Lord, he really had done a number on this family. No wonder Hayden had been so terrified. No wonder she decided to confront Sam and me out in the open in a public place.
“No,” I said. “The truth is what the physical evidence in this case revealed. Jamie Simmons murdered Ellie. I’m so sorry for that. And even more sorry for what he’s done to your family since then. It’s hard to accept. Of course it is. But I am telling you. We have the right man. We know what happened to Ellie.”
“How could you?” Claudia said. “All you have is assumptions. You know what Mr. Cutler says? He says Hayden knew exactly what they found at Ellie’s crime scene. It’s all online. She knew what she’d need to make it look like her father was some kind of monster. The internet is the devil. It’s taken my granddaughter away from me.”
This was going nowhere. Claudia and George Luke wrapped themselves in Jamie Simmons’s lies for protection. The truth was far too awful for them to accept. I could only hope the jury could see through it. And that Hayden Simmons could hold up to Bennett Cutler’s withering cross-examination. I could hear it in my mind.
Cutler would try to demonize Hayden on the stand. He would sever whatever thin ties she had to her family. She would be the villain. The whack job. If she wasn’t strong enough to withstand the onslaught … Jamie Simmons might just get away with murder.
Claudia and George Luke stood abruptly, ending our meeting. I didn’t try to stop them. There was no point. There was only one thing left to do. I had to prepare Hayden Simmons for the brutal attack headed her way. And all she’d done was tell the truth.
14
Seventy-two hours before opening statements, Hayden Simmons sat in my office worrying a long beaded necklace between her fingers. She had an opened envelope on her lap when I walked in.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said. “Do you need something? Coffee? Juice? Have you eaten?”
“I’m okay,” she said, but didn’t look it. I hadn’t seen Hayden in a few weeks but she was much thinner. Her hair hung lifeless around her face. Her forehead had broken out. She tried to cover it with thick makeup that was too dark for her pale complexion. This nineteen-year-old girl looked forty today. I feared it would only get worse.
I sat down behind my desk. “Thanks for coming in. I just wanted to touch base with you and answer any questions you might still have heading into Monday.”
She shook her head. “I just want to get this over with.”
“I spoke to your grandparents a couple of weeks ago. Did they tell you that?”
Hayden looked down. “It’s awkward with them. My grandma tries to stay in contact. But we don’t talk about anything real. It’s just surface stuff. She asked me how I’m doing in school, if I need anything.” Hayden let out a bitter laugh.
“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on you, Hayden. But you know you’re doing the right thing.”
She picked the envelope up off her lap and reached across my desk to hand it to me. Frowning, I took it from her.
“That was delivered the day before yesterday,” she said. “A man came to my work. I thought he was putting in his coffee order but he came behind the counter and put that in my hand. My boss saw. My coworker.”
I recognized the court caption across the top. Erin Luke had filed for a restraining order against her own daughter. I skimmed it.
“This is only a petition,” I said. “It’s not a court order. This means the judge wouldn’t grant it without a hearing.”
I read the bottom of the form. A hearing had been set for two weeks from now, smack in the middle of the trial.
“Have you had contact with your mom?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’ve tried to call her. Text her. She blocked my number. I asked my grandma to give her a letter from me but she said she didn’t feel comfortable getting in the middle.”
Anger bubbled through me. This smacked of a Bennett Cutler tactic, though he wasn’t the one who’d signed the petition. Erin Luke had done that presumably on her own.
“She wants to make it illegal for me to talk to her?” Hayden asked.
“This is a stunt,” I said. “This is so Bennett Cutler can ask you about it on the witness stand. An attempt to poison the jury’s impression of you. As much as you can, I need you to not let this rattle you, Hayden.”
“It’s not her,” she said. “My mom wouldn’t think to do this on her own.”
“Probably not.”
“I feel like such an idiot. There are so many things that I should have picked up on over the years. It’s only in the three months since I’ve been out of that house that it’s starting to be clear.”
“What things, Hayden?” I asked.
