Page 79 of Shadow of Justice
“Time went on. I didn’t know Jamie and Erin were getting close. I thought it was kind of a brother/sister thing. But I’d say a little over a year after Ellie went missing, it was clear Erin was smitten with Jamie. They were inseparable. Erin didn’t make a move without Jamie.”
“How did you feel about that?”
“I don’t know. I was still so numb. Erin seemed happy. I … God. This is hard to admit. But when you lose a child. It blows up your world. Your heart. Sometimes it seems better not to feel at all. I don’t want to say I didn’t care. But I just didn’t have the mental strength to think anything of it. Erin was over eighteen. I thought Jamie was a little old for her. But Claudia thought it seemed natural. They were both grieving Ellie. So it was easy to think their love grew from that. But … things started to happen.”
“What things?”
“Erin was a different person. She’d always been my wild child. My troublemaker. After Ellie, she got quiet. Withdrawn. Jamie became dominant over her. He had opinions about everything. What she wore. Her haircut. Erin was going to go to college but then she never did. Before we knew it, she found out she was pregnant and Jamie married her.”
“How did you feel about that?”
“By then, I had nothing to say about it. Erin was almost twenty. Jamie had a good job and could provide for her. And on we went. Whatever Jamie says goes. Every time I’ve tried to speak up when I saw something I didn’t like, Erin would get so upset.”
“What things didn’t you like?”
“Erin is … her world is small. I never thought that would happen to her. I thought it was because of what happened to Ellie. Erin became agoraphobic. Didn’t want to leave the house. And it’s like her personality changed. She’s meek. Afraid. Looks to Jamie for everything. God. I should have said something. I should have gotten her into counseling or something. And then when I started seeing bruises …”
“Objection!”
“Approach the bench,” Judge Saul said.
“We’re right back here,” Cutler said. “Ms. Brent is trying to do through George Luke what this court wouldn’t allow her to do with Deena Landon. If she’s trying to paint some picture that my client is a domestic abuser, it’s impermissible as a prior bad act.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Judge Saul said.
“Your Honor, this witness can establish a pattern of abuse going back decades. His obsession and control over this family is at the heart of this case.”
“And like I told Mr. Cutler, you’re free to argue that in closing.”
“There is no record of any abuse,” Cutler said.
“My witness is competent to testify about what he saw,” I said.
“He can say he saw bruises on his daughter,” Judge Saul said. “But she’s not the one who was murdered, Ms. Brent. Let’s not forget that. The objection is sustained. Wrap it up.”
She hadn’t ruled that George Luke’s testimony be stricken. The jury had just heard he’d seen bruises on Erin Luke. Would it be enough?
I went back to the table. I brought up two photographs that had been previously entered into evidence. One was Erin Luke, the other her lookalike sister, Ellie.
“Mr. Luke,” I said. “Can you tell me who these photographs depict?”
“Those are my girls,” he said. “That’s Ellie on the left. Erin on the right. Everyone used to think they were twins.”
“The resemblance is remarkable,” I said. “Mr. Luke, are you aware of what your granddaughter, Hayden, found in your son-in-law’s basement?”
“Yes,” George said through gritted teeth.
“Did you speak to Hayden about it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He told us … Jamie swore to us we shouldn’t believe it.”
“You shouldn’t believe your own granddaughter?”
“Yes. He said she was disturbed. He said … God. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. But this is what he does. He makes you think he has all the answers. Makes you doubt yourself. Preys on your vulnerabilities. God. Did he do that to Ellie? Did she trust him too?”
