Page 52 of Shadow of Justice
“Who is this, Hayden?”
“It’s my mother,” she said. “Erin Luke Simmons.”
Four members of the jury gasped. They saw what we all saw. Jamie Simmons had married and impregnated a woman who looked exactly like the one I knew he had murdered. And before them sat Hayden. She, too, looked enough like her mother and aunt. She had their eyes. But she had her father’s coloring. A perfect blend of the two of them. His final trophy.
“Thank you,” I said. “I have no further questions.”
18
Cutler stood at the lectern for a moment, rifling through notes I suspected he wasn’t even reading. More likely, he wanted to build anticipation. Make Hayden even more nervous as she waited for his attack.
“Thanks for your patience,” Cutler finally said. “I’d like to talk about this so-called box of yours for a minute. You say you found it in a drawer in the basement of the home you shared with who, again?”
“At the time, I lived with my mother and father. Erin and Jamie Simmons,” she said.
“But they weren’t the only ones with access to the house, isn’t that right?”
“We’re the ones who lived there. I don’t know what you mean.”
“Who is Willa Jennings?”
“Willa’s my mom’s cleaning lady.”
“She comes once a month, isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“And she has the passcode to get into the front door, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Last spring, isn’t it true your parents hired contractors to do a kitchen remodel? Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“How many workers were in and out of the house that you recall?”
“I … what? I don’t recall. It took them a couple of weeks, I think.”
“Was it more than five workers?”
“I think so.”
“More than ten?”
“I don’t think more than ten.”
“Willa works in the home by herself sometimes, doesn’t she?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean a lot of the time the house is empty when she’s cleaning, right?”
“Um … sure.”
“Good. Okay. Thanks for clarifying that. And the coal bin. The space in the basement you say your father has converted to a workshop. Is there a lock on that door?”
“There’s a latch on the outside of the door.”
