Page 76 of Shadow of Justice
“There’s an empty jury room down the hall,” I said. “We can go there.” I eyed Gus, gesturing with my chin for him to follow. George caught it.
“No,” he said. “Not him. I don’t want him anywhere near me.”
Gus froze. Something went through his eyes, but he didn’t respond to George’s insult. I mouthed an “I’m sorry” to Gus then led the Landons and George Luke out of sight and into the open jury room.
Deena stayed glued to her husband’s side. I pulled out a chair for George but he refused it, preferring to stand against the wall.
“What would you have said in there?” George asked. “I’d like to know what happened between you and Jamie.”
“He’s a monster,” Doug answered for his wife. “If you care about your other daughter, you’d get her away from him.”
“I’m asking her,” George said.
“It’s okay, Deena,” I said. “We’re not in a courtroom now. You can say whatever you’d like.”
“Jamie was … he’s good at pretending to be someone he’s not,” she said. “You think he’s kind. Caring. But it turns. He … it’s little things at first. Just how he always seems to disagree. Has a better answer for everything. And he sounds right. He makes sense. But then, little by little, you realize you’re doing everything he wants you to do. It was almost a year. But my world got so small. He didn’t like my best friend, Lacey. He convinced me she was saying all this stuff behind my back. That she was jealous of me. I stopped talking to her.”
“Everyone loved Ellie,” George whispered.
“He takes over,” Deena continued. “And it feels like such a relief at first. When Jamie and I started out, my parents were going through a divorce. My mom caught my dad cheating on her with her best friend. It was just a mess. Constant turmoil. Jamie just started handling things. She threw my dad out and Jamie would do things around the house for her. Cut the grass. Fix the furnace. Just all the stuff my mom relied on my dad for. We didn’t know how my mom would have survived that first year without Jamie’s help.”
George Luke blinked. He didn’t say it, but I could imagine how Jamie had taken over when the Lukes were in their deepest grief.
“You tried to break it off,” I said.
“Yeah,” Deena answered. Doug put his hands on his wife’s shoulders and she leaned back against him for support.
“What happened, Deena?” I asked her the question I wanted the jury to hear.
“My mom had a weekly bridge game. Actually, that was Jamie’s idea too. He encouraged her to get out of the house. It was this divorcee support group he got her to join. Looking back, it’s like he knew when the house would be empty. I came home from work and Jamie was just there. He was in the house. He knew where Mom kept the spare key. We got into a huge fight. I’d told him two days before that it was over. Jamie was just dark that day. So angry. He pushed me against a wall. Knocked me down. He kicked me in the stomach. I think … I don’t know what would have happened. But I’d ordered a pizza before I left work. The delivery guy showed up. The front door was open so the kid could see through the screen. Jamie got spooked and he left. Then, for a while, he was just gone. I thought it was finally over. I moved on with my life. Doug and I started dating. Then … out of the blue, Jamie showed up again. Later on, I heard he’d found out I was going out with Doug. He showed up at the house. Barged his way in. But this time, Doug was there.”
Deena finished the story she’d already told me. How Doug intervened, beat Jamie up and scared him off. I wondered right along with her what might have happened if Doug weren’t in her life.
George Luke slid down the wall. He ended up on his knees, his face buried in his hands.
“George,” I said, rushing to him. Doug got there when I did. Together, we lifted the man off the floor and got him into a chair.
“What have I done? What have I done?” he cried.
“Nothing,” I said. The man clung to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He cried into my stomach.
“You’ve done nothing,” I said. He looked up at me with pleading eyes.
“Did he do this? Tell me! Did he kill my Ellie?”
I met Deena and Doug’s eyes over George Luke’s head. I found myself smoothing George’s hair back, trying to comfort him like I did my own son. He’d asked me that question before. I told him the answer months ago. But today, George Luke was ready to hear it.
“Yes,” I said. “I believe Jamie Simmons murdered your daughter, George. We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“He did this,” George said, turning to Deena. He reached out a hand. She grabbed it. “Just like you said. With your mother. He was just there. Doing things. Taking care of us. I let it happen. I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t mean to. Oh God. Oh God.”
I wanted to tell him it was okay. But I couldn’t promise it would be. It came down to what Sam had said. If the jury could remember their common sense, Jamie would go to prison. If Bennett Cutler succeeded in confusing the issues, he would walk free.
“What can I do?” he asked. “Tell me? What can I do?”
I stepped away from him. “You can pick yourself up,” I said, my voice going flat. “You can dry your tears. And you can go into that courtroom and tell the truth.”
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