Redress of Grievances (34 page)

"Mr.
Lassiter, who represents the interests of the State of Texas, has been relieved
of his burden, and his job is to question the evidence I present for your
consideration. The defense will prove that Sharon Taggart suffers from a mental
defect severe enough to prevent her from forming the requisite intent for the
crimes she is accused of committing, thereby make her not legally responsible
for her actions. I will present expert witnesses who will testify to Mrs.
Taggart's mental condition. The State will also call expert witnesses to the
stand who will deny that my client, in fact, has any such mental defect. Unfortunately,
when we deal with experts in any field, there will be differing opinions. In
part, this is because we are only dealing with opinions about an intangible
when we deal with matters of the mind. We can't touch, feel, smell, or taste
mental illness. And yet we have all seen people who have behaved in a manner
that seemed insane to us. A person who deliberately walks into the path of an
on-coming vehicle might seem to be performing an insane action until we examine
the reason he took that action. Perhaps he was depressed. Perhaps he was drunk.
Perhaps he was blind or got something in his eye. Perhaps he thought he could
get across the road before the truck reached him because of a depth perception
problem. Once he is dead, medical tests would tell us, without question,
whether he was drunk or blind. But how would we know if he was depressed, had a
cinder in his eye, or had a depth perception problem? We wouldn't know and
would have to rely on the opinions of experts as to what led him into the path
of the vehicle. If we dug into the person's past, we might indeed discover a
problem we couldn't have known from merely looking at him. Only then would we
understand what led to his death."

Glancing
toward Sharon for effect, Harriett saw Paige Dunne slip quietly into the
courtroom and make her way to an open seat halfway down the gallery area. She
wished the young woman hadn't decided to watch the proceedings and lowered her
head to gather herself before continuing. "Sharon Taggart appears to be
what most of us would consider normal. She appears to lead an average normal
life. She has parents, a brother, a husband, and two children. She holds a
responsible job that brings her into daily contact with hundreds of young
people who have been entrusted to her. She grew up in what appears to be a
stable, affluent home. But appearances can be deceiving. The realities of
Sharon Taggart's life cannot be seen by looking at her because they are locked
away in her mind. Through a series of witnesses, I will reveal the realities of
her life to you and feel compelled to warn you in advance that the testimony
you will hear will not be pleasant. It will be graphic and disturbing, but it
will provide you with the evidence you will need to determine, with a clear
conscience, that Sharon Taggart, a victim of incest at the hands of her brother
and abuse at the hands of her husband, is not guilty by reason of mental defect
and as a result was incapable of forming intent or determining the rightness or
wrongness of her actions."

Harriett
paused for a moment, maintaining eye contact with the jurors while she waited
for the ripple of whispers among the observers in the courtroom to fade away
before resuming her remarks.

"What
the witnesses will reveal will certainly be challenged by Mr. Lassiter. That is
his job. But no matter how well Mr. Lassiter does his job, there can be only
one verdict in this case. The prosecutor will take his job seriously. I will
take my job seriously. Once this case is turned over to you, Sharon Taggart has
the right to expect you to perform your job seriously as well. Thank you."

Stealing
a glance at Paige Dunne as she returned to the defense table, Harriett felt
profoundly sorry for the young woman and the part the case had forced her to
play in hurting her. Judge Landers called for a fifteen-minute recess to allow
the jury to prepare for a full day of testimony. As soon as Landers left the
bench, Harriett conferred briefly with Nick to get his opinion on the reactions
of the jurors to the opening statements.

"I
thought they looked fairly open to hearing the testimony. Lassiter gave a good
opening, so I'm glad yours was what they heard last," Nick said.

"I'm
seeing Landers in chambers before we leave today. The courtroom will need to be
cleared of spectators before Parker's high school friends take the stand
Monday."

"Personally,
I can't believe Wayne found one, let alone two men willing to testify about
molesting Sharon."

"I
didn't ask him how he got them to agree, and frankly, I don't want to
know," Harriett said.

"Lassiter
will object to clearing the courtroom," Nick said.

Harriett
shrugged, "Let him."

Turning
to leave the courtroom, Harriett saw Sean Lassiter still sitting at the
prosecution table looking over a sheaf of papers. On her way past the bar, she
stopped momentarily at his table.

"Can
I help you?" he asked without looking up from his paperwork.

"That
was an excellent opening statement," she said, walking away before he
could respond.

On
her way out of the courtroom, Harriett saw Alex and Paige standing in the
hallway with Senator Collins. Paige jerked away from Collins when he tried to
wrap his arm around her, and he and Alex appeared to be involved in a heated
discussion. As Harriett took a drink from a nearby water fountain, Alex walked
up next to her.

"Are
Sharon's incest allegations true?" she asked quietly.

"You
know I can't tell you anything about the case, Alex," Harriett answered,
wiping sprinkles of water from her mouth. "But I am asking Judge Landers
to clear the courtroom for some of the testimony."

"Paige
is extremely upset."

"I'm
sorry she had to hear my remarks, Alex. It wasn't my intention to hurt her. You
might want to keep her away from the trial as much as possible. A great deal of
the testimony would certainly upset her even more than she already is."

"Are
you talking about my testimony?"

"As
well as that of the other witnesses," Harriett nodded.

"I'm
not worried about your questions, Harriett."

"I'll
fend Lassiter off as much as I can, Alex. I'm sorry. I wish things could have
turned out differently."

"Me,
too. Great memories, though," Alex smiled.

"The
best," Harriett said, touching Alex's arm gently before walking away from
her for the last time.

Jess
leaned against a wall watching as Harriett and Alex talked. There seemed to be
a familiarity in the way they looked at one other, and their body language
spoke volumes. They made an attractive couple, and it was obvious to her that
the two women had once possibly been lovers for an extended period of time.

"Harriett,"
Jess said as Harriett walked toward her, obviously distracted by her own
thoughts.

"Oh,
Jess," Harriett said, "I'm sorry. I didn't see you."

"Complex
case you're dealing with," Jess observed. "I caught a part of it
before the recess."

"Very
complex," Harriett smiled.

"Has
anything else unusual happened to either you or Lacey?"

"I've
had a couple of hang-up phone calls, but that could have been anything."

"It's
not exactly kosher, but I have someone keeping an eye on Senator Collins."

Harriett
reached out and placed her hand on Jess's shoulder. "I appreciate that
very much. I'm really more concerned about Lacey than I am about myself."

"I
understand," Jess nodded.

"Why
don't you come over tonight?" Harriett asked with a smile. "Lacey and
her boyfriend will be there and maybe Nick. We're considering Chinese."

"Sound
great," Jess smiled.

"It's
a date." Harriett lightly squeezed Jess's arm before she turned to leave.

WELL,
ISN'T THAT sweet, he thought as he watched the two women. Harriett has found a
new lover. Glancing back toward Alex, he smiled. Perfect. Walking away from one
lover and into the arms of a new one at virtually the same moment. He couldn't
believe his good fortune. He could have reached out and touched Harriett when
she moved past him. It would have been so easy. Too easy. Would she have
recognized me? he wondered. He didn't think she would have, but was certain she
would have recognized his voice. He had called her house a few times hoping
Lacey would answer, but had only heard Harriett's low and sultry voice telling
him to leave a message. All he had left was the sound of his own breathing
before he hung up. He wondered if he would find Lacey's voice as inviting as
her aunt's. Bending over for a drink of water, he watched Harriett disappear
into the courtroom. He didn't know how much longer he could wait. Not much
longer, he thought as he walked down the hall away from the courtroom. Not much
longer.

Chapter
Thirty-Six

JESS
PULLED TO the curb in front of Harriett's townhouse. It would be dark within
thirty minutes. Checking her hair in the rearview mirror, she stepped from the
Durango. As she started up the steps, the front door opened and she was nearly
run over by Lacey. Grabbing her to keep from falling, Jess asked, "Whoa,
what's the rush?"

Lacey
laughed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Raines. We're on our way to pick up dinner."

"Please,
just Jess," she smiled. "I don't want to feel any older than I
already am."

"Jess,
this is my boyfriend, Devon Shore. Devon, this is Aunt Harriett's date, Jess
Raines."

As
she shook Devon's hand, she decided that he and Lacey made a nice looking young
couple. Devon had an open face and a genuine smile.

"Go
on in," Lacey said as she took Devon's hand. "We won't be gone
long."

She
watched as the two teenagers climbed into Harriett's truck and backed out of
the drive. When she turned back to the front door, Harriett was smiling at her.
Jess walked up the steps and greeted her with a light kiss. "Cute
couple," she said.

"Them
or us?" Harriett asked.

Laughing,
Jess answered, "They're cute. We're fabulous."

Harriett
wrapped her arm around her waist and escorted her into the living room.
"Jess, you remember Nick?" Harriett asked as Jess nodded. "And
we have a surprise guest as well." Jess saw a bear of a man who appeared
to be in his late fifties or early sixties hoist his body from the sofa.
"This is Wayne Graham, my investigator."

She
took a step toward Wayne and shook his hand firmly. "A pleasure, Mr.
Graham."

"Not
many people say that to me. You a cop?" he asked.

"I'm
not on the streets anymore," Jess nodded.

"Jess
is a special investigator with the Attorney General's office," Harriett
added.

AS
THE ADULTS got acquainted, Lacey drove the big blue pickup through Austin
streets toward Harriett's favorite Chinese restaurant.

"How
long did they say it would be before the order was ready," Devon asked.

"About
an
hour, but it could be sooner," Lacey smiled at him across the
truck.

"Or
maybe longer," Devon smiled back. "Makes me glad your aunt's favorite
Chinese place is on the other side of town."

Lacey
switched lanes and guided the truck into traffic on the interstate highway.
Devon knew immediately where she was going. Three cars behind them a dark car
entered the highway. That big truck was so easy to follow, he thought. Might as
well have a fuckin' neon sign on it. There wasn't any reason to stay behind
them since they didn't have a clue he was following them. Speeding up, he
passed a couple of cars and fell in directly behind the truck, driving much too
closely.

"What's
that idiot doing?" Lacey asked. "If I stop, he'll run into me."

Devon
glanced back, but couldn't see who was driving the vehicle behind them.
"Take the next exit, and let the jerk have the road," he frowned.

Lacey
turned off while the car stayed on the highway and sped past them. A few turns
later Lacey brought the truck to a stop on a grassy area overlooking Town Lake
and turned off the ignition. Without a word, she moved closer to Devon and
kissed him. Pulling her closer, he kissed her deeply, allowing his hands to
wander.

With
its headlights off, the black car eased to a stop. Through the trees he could
see the silhouette of the truck. Ah, young love, he thought. Groping and
gasping their way through a quickie in the cramped cab of a pickup truck.
Slowly he made his way through the trees toward the truck. The windows were
already beginning to fog.

Devon
shifted himself on the seat and lowered Lacey onto the seat, his hands pushing
her sweater up over her breasts. "You're beautiful, Lacey," he
whispered as his mouth took in one of her breasts. Her breathing became heavier
as her hands pulled his mouth harder against her breast.

Crawling
to the truck, he could hear laughter and panting sounds from inside. As he
slowly raised himself nearer the driver's window, the window was almost
completely fogged over except near the bottom. Through the rapidly closing slit
he watched as Lacey's half-naked body moved beneath the boy's mouth. Yes, she
would be very hot, he thought, as he felt his own body react to what he saw.
Lacey's hand flew up to the window, momentarily startling him into ducking down
again. The sounds of increasing teenage passion had aroused him quickly to the
point of painfulness. Unzipping his pants, he reached inside and coordinated
his hand movement with the sounds from inside the truck.