The Cost of Commitment - KJ2 (45 page)

At 3:34 p.m., the jury retired to the jury room to begin deliberations.

Josiah Green and William Redfield met in a side room off the main courtroom.

“What do you think?” Redfield asked nervously.

“I don’t know. It will depend on how much weight the jury gives those audiotapes and how carefully they pick them apart. I think we made a strong argument.” He looked at his client carefully as Redfield shredded a piece of legal paper in front of him. “Look, I don’t think they have any basis on which to convict you of kidnapping. After all, as we explained to them and as was made clear on the tapes, you didn’t know that Breathwaite had arranged for the kidnapping. The only wild card is the conspiracy to commit murder count.”

“Great,” Redfield mumbled glumly. “That charge only carries a twenty-five year sentence.”

“That’s a maximum—the judge could give you less. Let’s just wait and see—you may well get off scot-free.”

David Breathwaite and Calvin Nepperson were sequestered in another room on the other side of the judge’s chambers.

“Calvin, sit down—you’re making me nervous.”

The lawyer was pacing around the room as his client sat doodling on a legal pad. “This is our last chance to work out a deal.”

The Cost of Commitment

Breathwaite jumped up and stormed over to Nepperson, getting right in his face. “I’ve already told you—twice now, in fact—that I will not make any deals. Don’t bring it up again.”

Nepperson backed off a little, holding his hands up in front of him.

“Okay, okay. Your choice.” He sat down heavily and began drumming his fingers on the conference table.

“Stop that and make yourself useful. I want to see Kirk. Can you get him in here without a hundred people seeing him?”

Nepperson gave his client a murderous glare and left the room, slamming the door behind him. He returned twenty minutes later with the private investigator in tow.

“You might not want to be here, Calvin. Wouldn’t want to offend your delicate sensibilities.” Breathwaite smiled unpleasantly.

When the lawyer had shut the door behind him, Breathwaite said, “Is everything in place?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said yes, didn’t I?” Kirk snapped.

“If this goes down wrong, I don’t want any mistakes. I want that bitch to suffer for the rest of her life.”

“So you’ve said on more than one occasion.” Kirk buffed his nails on his shirt.

“Damn it! Look at me when I talk to you.”

Kirk glanced up, and then back down at his fingernails.
If it weren’t
for the obscene amount of money being tossed my way,
he thought,
I
would tell this little weasel where to go.

Breathwaite began to pace. “If I get convicted, Kyle gets to find out that you just don’t fuck with David Breathwaite.” He laughed delightedly. “Understand?”

“Got it.” Kirk got up from the table and left the room.

Kate and Jay were standing in a conference room in the district attorney’s office, looking out the window at the wintry scene below.

“What do you think will happen?”

Kate shrugged, “Hard to say. I think Breathwaite should be a two-minute decision, but I’m not as sure about Redfield. It’s hard to prove the guy knew of, and approved, the kidnapping based on his reactions on the tapes. In fact, I would say it’s pretty clear he didn’t know. The conspiracy to commit murder charge, though...” She shrugged again. “In the end, it will depend on whether the jury bought the ‘he was just doing his job’ defense or whether they put more weight on his statement to Breathwaite that he could only hold the CERT guys off for so long.”

Lynn Ames

Jay nodded. “Yeah, that’s the way I’ve got it figured, too.”

Kate came up behind Jay, putting her arms around her. “Either way, sweetheart, once we have the verdicts, we have closure. Tomorrow we start a brand-new life.”

Jay turned around in her lover’s arms. “Boy, that sounds good.”

Sarah Alexander appeared in the open doorway and surveyed the scene. A momentary pang of regret surfaced before she shoved it away.

She thought about walking back out, but decided against it. Instead she cleared her throat. Kate and Jay turned at the same time, arms still linked around each other. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I thought you’d like to know the jury has asked the judge a question.”

Although Jay flushed bright red, she did not move away from her lover. She turned slowly to face her ex-girlfriend, sliding her hand down to grasp Kate’s. “Thanks, Sare. What is it and what does it mean?”

They moved to the conference table. “They wanted to know if there was a lesser charge than conspiracy to commit murder that they could consider for Redfield.”

“Ah.” Kate nodded knowingly. “I’m not altogether surprised by that.”

“What do you make of it, Sare?” Jay asked.

“I think it means that they’re done with Breathwaite and probably with the kidnapping charge for Redfield, too. I would guess they got the easy ones out of the way first. I suspect they’re stuck over whether or not what Redfield did, or didn’t, do constitutes conspiracy.”

“What did the judge tell them?”

“He told them that, since he hadn’t given it to them in their instructions, there was no lesser charge they could consider.”

“What do you think they’ll do? Any guesses?” Kate asked.

Sarah shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. This was a hard jury to read. They haven’t been out very long, and if they’re seriously deadlocked it could be a long time. The best I can say is get comfortable—it could be a long wait.”

At 9:36 a.m. the jury shuffled back into the courtroom. The defendants were already standing at their respective tables with their attorneys. Kate and Jay were standing in the front row. The remaining spectator seats were filled with reporters who, excited about the forthcoming verdict, radiated energy.

The judge addressed the jury. “You have reached your decisions?”

“We have, Your Honor,” said the jury foreman.

“With regard to Mr. Redfield, on the count of kidnapping, how do you find?”

“We find the defendant not guilty.”

The Cost of Commitment

Redfield nearly collapsed in relief.

“Again with regard to Mr. Redfield, on the count of conspiracy to commit murder, how do you find?”

“We find the defendant guilty.”

Redfield dropped his head into his hands and sobbed.

“With regard to Mr. Breathwaite, on the count of kidnapping, how do you find?”

“We find the defendant guilty.”

A buzz went through the throng of reporters, but Breathwaite showed no emotion.

“On the count of conspiracy to commit murder, how do you find?”

“We find the defendant guilty.”

The noise in the room increased, and still Breathwaite made no move.

“On the count of conspiracy to incite a riot, how do you find?”

“We find the defendant guilty.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service. You are dismissed. The defendants are to be remanded to custody for a sentencing hearing. Court is adjourned.”

As he was being led away, Breathwaite spotted Kirk standing in the back corner. He nodded once in Jay’s direction and back to Kirk before he was swept out the door.

Kate and Jay embraced each other, smiling.

“Is it really over?” Jay asked.

“Yeah,” Kate responded, “it really is.”

As they turned to leave the courtroom they were surrounded by a mob of reporters.

“Kate, how do you feel?”

“Kate, was justice served today?”

“Kate—”

She held up her hands for quiet. “The jury has spoken. Honestly, if I were given a choice, I would have preferred that none of this had been necessary.” She gestured to the courtroom behind her. “I wish I could turn back the clock and rewrite the story of those events at Attica, but I can’t. For me and my family,” she glanced at Jay, who was standing at her side, “this has been a long and very painful chapter. I am very relieved to see it ended so that we may move on. Tomorrow is a new day, ladies and gentlemen.”

She guided Jay through the crowd as reporters continued to shout questions at them.

The ballroom was awash in gold glitter, men and women in formalwear crowding the dance floor as a popular ballad singer belted
Lynn Ames

out a well-known tune. When the song was finished, an announcer intoned, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Charles Hyland.”

The room broke out in thunderous applause. The president made his way down the steps from a balcony above, his wife on his arm, flanked by a dozen Secret Service agents. He waved at the crowd, stopping to shake hands and receive compliments on his inaugural speech.

Kate and Jay stood in the center of the room, looking happy and relaxed. “He does look good in a tux.”

“Yep, I’ll give him that,” Jay agreed. “Very presidential.”

“Mm.”

The president mounted the stage and took the proffered microphone.

He held up his hands to quell the applause so that he could speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you all for coming tonight.

Without you, I wouldn’t be standing here. I just want to say that I intend for this to be the start of a new beginning—a brighter day—a time we can all look back on and be proud of. Enjoy yourselves tonight, as I will, because I’ve got a lot of work to do come tomorrow.”

The room erupted in cheers once again as the president handed the microphone back to the singer and invited him to continue his performance.

As the strains of a familiar ballad washed over the room, the president stepped down from the stage, walked unerringly to the middle of the room, and stopped in front of Kate and Jay.

“Ladies, might I say that you look positively radiant tonight.”

“Thank you, sir,” they said in unison.

“I didn’t get a chance to call you this morning before the inauguration, but I wanted to tell you how glad I am that the ordeal with Redfield and Breathwaite is over with. I know you’ll never be able to forget, but I do hope you’ll find some peace now.”

“Thank you, sir. I think we’re both happy to close that chapter of our lives.”

“I’m sure. Speaking of new chapters,” he looked at Jay, “are you sure I can’t lure you away from
Time
? I have a great position with your name on it. The pay is okay, the hours are awful, and the boss is a tyrant, but other than that it’s a great job.”

Jay laughed. “You make it sound so attractive. Thank you, sir, but I think I’ll stick with the lousy pay, irregular hours, and demanding boss that I already have. In fact, I leave tomorrow for a story in Arizona.”

“Well, if you ever change your mind, my door will always be open to you.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m honored.”

The Cost of Commitment

As the trio stood talking, a tuxedoed figure standing just off to the side in the shadows listened intently. It was amazing, Kirk noted, what a fancy set of clothes and a hefty campaign contribution could buy you.

He’d had no difficulty getting an invitation to the inaugural ball, despite the tight security, and even less trouble getting to his target. Having heard what he needed to, he slipped away. “Arizona,” he muttered to himself. “Perfect.”

The president continued talking. “Ms. Kyle, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning in the Oval Office.”

Kate groaned. “Remind me why I agreed to take this job?”

Together, the president and Jay said, “Because the pay is okay, the hours are awful, and the boss is a tyrant.”

“Oh,” Kate laughed, “now I remember.”

The president took his leave, having spotted the chairman of the Democratic National Committee standing close by.

“Bob, it’s good to see you.”

“Congratulations, Mr. President.”

President Hyland considered. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does, sir.”

The singer announced, “This is for all you lovebirds out there. Grab that special someone and hold them tight, because when you find the right one, you should never let go.”

As he began singing a love ballad, Kate took Jay into her arms, staring into the face she adored. “I’ve got that special someone right here,” she lowered her head and kissed her lover on the mouth, “and you can be sure I’ll never let her go.”

“I love you, Kate.”

“I love you, too, Jay, and I always will.”

The two women proceeded to dance the night away, savoring the moment and the beginning of the next chapter in their lives.

THE END

About the Author

An award-winning former broadcast journalist and former public information officer for the nation’s third largest prison system, Lynn Ames is a nationally recognized speaker and CEO of a public relations firm with a particular expertise in image, crisis communications planning, and crisis management.

Ms. Ames resides in the Southwestern U.S. with her favorite guy (relax, it’s a dog), a golden retriever named Alex, who bears a remarkable resemblance to a character in this book. She enjoys all manner of sports, reading, traveling, all things intellectual, singing, dancing, and writing (which no longer counts as a hobby, as your purchase of this book attests).

Ms. Ames’s other works include
The Price of Fame
and, as a contributing author,
Infinite Pleasures: An Anthology of Lesbian Erotica
.

More about the author, including contact information, other writings, news about sequels and other original upcoming works, pictures of locations mentioned in this novel, links to resources related to issues raised in this book, author and character interviews, and purchasing assistance can be found at www.lynnames.com.

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