The Discovery - 27. Chapter 27

Michelle sat at her desk with pursed lips as she read the file in her hands. Her eyebrows furrowed deeper, and her eyes darkened further down the page as they moved. With a frustrated sigh, she looked up at Kevin who was sitting on the other side of the desk. “How the hell did this happen?”

Kevin shrugged helplessly. “She has a good lawyer and they blindsided us. We tried to play it safe and only call the witnesses that we thought would help our case. I glossed over her statements to us in our report so I figured no one would bother to follow up on it. Seems we were wrong.”

With a frown, Michelle put the file down on her desk dismissively. “There’s no way the jury is going to buy her claim. She says Sharon wasn’t in love with Josh, only playing the field. How the hell is that going to sound to the jury?”

“Don’t let it bother you,” he said calmly, even if he felt a hint of worry starting to creep into his thoughts. “We can claim it’s all hearsay and have it stricken.”

“Have you ever been in a trial when you ask to get something stricken from the record,” she asked. “Just because we get it taken out of the record doesn’t mean the jury automatically forgets it ever happened. It’s going to make our version of events harder to sell.”

Kevin grimaced slightly. “That is if we can get it thrown out. Hearsay can sometimes be admitted into the record if the person they’re speaking for is dead. And in this case, it’s the dead person Josh is accused of killing.” He skimmed over his copy again and sighed. “What does Kyle say about all of this?”

“He doesn’t know yet,” She replied. “He left the office a few hours ago. Said he didn’t want to be interrupted during family time with his kids.”

“He needs to be told,” Kevin stated. “We can email it to him and text him to let him know to look. We’ll have to be ready for this by Monday and it’s Thursday now.”

“Kyle’s been acting weird since Tuesday,” she observed. “Not in a bad way. Just… off. He’s been smiling a little more by my estimation.”

“Well, maybe he got lucky,” Kevin said. “At least someone is…”

“Feeling left out,” Michelle asked with a hint of amusement.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Forget I said it. Not much of a dating pool here.”

Michelle shrugged. “Guess it depends on what you’re looking for. Weren’t you a small-town-boy at one point in your life?”

“Yeah,” He replied. “I’m probably off my game is all. Haven’t really dated anyone since college.”

“Well get out there and find you… whatever it is you’re looking for.” She sighed and picked up the file again. “In the meantime, we need to go over this and our notes from every person we interviewed to figure out what kind of angle we can use to discredit her testimony.”

“Will Kyle be in tomorrow?”

“He has to,” Michelle replied as she started reading over the deposition again. “We’ll be knee deep in this all day tomorrow to prep for court on Monday.”

A moment later, Monica appeared in the open doorway to Michelle’s office. “I just got off the phone with Ms. Crawford. She’s been in touch with Emma Griffin and she’s willing to come in and give a deposition. Where’s Kyle?”

“At home,” Michelle said. “When can we get Griffon to come in?”

“We’re working on that. There’s better news though.” Monica stepped in, carrying a thick file. “The forensic report from all the data that was subpoenaed is finally done. You’ll need to start putting it together for presentation in two weeks.”

Michelle put down what she had in her hands and grabbed at the file. “I’ll take care of it. We’ll need to start making maps and graphs at some point.”

Monica nodded. “Exactly. Which is why you need to familiarize yourself with all of that so when you put the data analyst on the witness stand you can pair it with his testimony.”

“Hopefully there’ll be something good in here.” Michelle opened the forensic file and started reading. “Kevin, forget your dating life for the weekend. We’re probably going to be spending it going over this.” Her eyes went to Monica who was still in the doorway. “This looks a lot more complicated than I expected. We’re gonna need him to come in and prep for his court testimony.”

Monica shrugged. “I’m sure Kyle’s already scheduled that. I’ll check with Rose and see if it’s on his calendar. I’m going to be working on my own side project.”

Kevin looked around towards her. “Side project? Is it related to this?”

“In a way,” she replied with a cryptic expression. “I can’t get into it. I gave Kyle a few hints but told him it was best if he didn’t know what I’m uncovering while the trial is going on.” Before they could say anything else, she put her hand out. “Put it out of your minds, for now. Focus on what’s in front of you. Kyle’s going to need all that information sooner than you think. The sooner you get Mr. Carter acquitted, the sooner you’ll find out what I’m doing.” Finished with what she had to say, Monica headed towards Rose’s desk. “Ms. Lewis, does Kyle have a Mr. Seth Peterson on his appointments for next week?”

Rose gave her a guarded look, wondering why she was so interested in Kyle’s schedule. “Let me check.” She opened her appointments tab on her computer screen and examined its findings. “Wednesday next week. Two p.m.” Rosette looked back up at Monica with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

Monica gave her a tight but pleased smile. “Good. Just making sure. No matter what happens between now and then, don’t cancel that appointment. He’s going to be a key witness for Kyle’s case later.”

Rose nodded. “I’ll make sure. I have some messages from some calls for you earlier while you were out.” She picked up a small stack of notes and handed them to her with a knowing look.

“Why, Ms. Lewis,” Monica said with a note of surprise and a cheeky grin. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you already know what these messages are about.”

“Just because Mr. Howard doesn’t know doesn’t mean I don’t know,” Rose informed her. “I’m just better at keeping my mouth shut.”

Monica nodded in approval. “Excellent. Keep it that way.” She skimmed over the notes Rose had just handed her and seemed pleased with what she found. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.” Monica went past Rose’s desk and down the hall to her office and got to work on her own version of justice.

 

****

 

Jacob felt uncomfortable in the metal chair as he waited in the empty room. From the moment he arrived, he already wanted to leave. This was never a place he ever wanted to be near. In his past he could count on both hands the number of times he nearly ended up here. From public drunkenness to a few more serious offenses, there were more times than he would like to admit when he came very close to ending up in jail.

The harsh glare and the buzzing sound of the florescent lights was annoying in the stark silence of the room, which contained only two chairs with a small metal table in between them. The longer he sat there, the more Jacob started reconsidering his decision. It didn’t feel right to him. To be in this place, about to meet this person. David had assured him that it would be fine and that he was doing the right thing, while Kyle had warned him about what he could and could not speak about while he was here.

The door to the room suddenly opened causing Jacob to sit up straighter in the chair even as he felt his chest tighten and a chill of fear creep into his heart. A uniformed security guard walked in with his hand on the arm of a prisoner in a county jail jumpsuit. Jacob’s eyes went to the prisoner’s face and while he had seen that face in pictures, seeing it in person made it appear more real than any face he had ever seen in his life. He could feel his mouth getting dry as the prisoner was escorted into the room and to the chair across from him. As the guard was removing the handcuffs from Josh, Jacob’s eyes met his. The similarities between them were striking. It was an unusual sensation to be looking into someone else’s eyes and seeing your own stare back at you with an unreadable expression. The hair was also the same along with a few other features. The differences in size and weight along with Josh’s cheeks, which seemed to be more pronounced from his own, only served to enhance those traits the two of them share.

He remained silent as the guard made his way out of the room. At the sound of the lock clicking, Jacob realized he had to say something. Some way to get this torturous moment started to get it over with. Josh gazed at him silently, taking him in with cautious eyes. Unbidden, Jacob heard a voice in the back of his head that sounded conspicuously like David.

“You know, he’s probably just as afraid of you as you are of him.”

Jacob frowned slightly, feeling foolish for being uncomfortable when he had no real right to be. None of this was his fault. It was just how life worked out. Clearing his throat, he decided to just start and see how things went. “Hi.”

Josh squeezed his hands together on his lap to control the tremble in his body. His gaze reflexively dropped to the table. “Hi.”

Hearing Josh’s voice for the first time, the mix of fear and resignation to a fate he had no control over, hit Jacob deep. Without realizing it, Josh sounded just like he used to when he was a teenager. Before Kyle. Before Troy, David and everyone else who had come into his life and given him a reason to not only live but to thrive and reach for dreams he never imagined were possible. One-word sentences would not be enough to reach the person hiding inside. “I’m sorry for not coming to see you sooner.”

Josh’s shoulders moved in a slight dismissive shrug without looking up. “It’s okay. I was kind of surprised when they said I had a visitor.”

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “I’ve been out of sorts the last few months.”

Glancing up to see the face across from him, Josh saw what seemed like genuine regret. “I heard,” he remarked. A hint of sarcasm colored his words as he added, “sorry if I messed up your life.”

Jacob frowned slightly at his tone. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s just been a shock to discover that you… existed. I thought I knew my past and then it turns out that what I thought I knew was a lie.”

“Yeah.” Josh fixed his stare to the table, closing in on himself. “Okay.”

“Josh…” He sighed softly in frustration. Having this turn confrontational was not what he wanted when he decided to come here. But why did he come here? To get to know someone he didn’t really want to know. To make Kyle and everyone else happy he at least made the smallest effort to reach out to this stranger who shared the same blood as he did. Or was it a chance to atone for a horrible mistake he made years ago? “You didn’t mess up my life. Or anyone else’s.” Jacob paused to give himself a new starting point. “I was angry at first. But it wasn’t you I was angry at. I was angry at our dad for not telling me about you. Maybe if he had, we could have done something more.”

Josh took a moment to absorb what the person across the table said to him. He didn’t want to think about this being his brother. Not yet. That idea was still an abstract concept in his mind. Even if Kyle told him months ago about Jacob’s existence, he still had not been able to really understand what that meant to his life. “What was he like?”

Jacob shifted slightly in his seat as he grasped for a polite way to answer that. “He was complicated. More than I thought when I was a kid, it turns out. Truth is, he went through a lot of trauma as a kid himself and was abused by his dad.” He gave Josh a meaningful look as his voice turned more bitter. “So… you know… family tradition for us, I guess.”

“Along with addiction,” Josh replied as he dared to meet Jacob’s eyes and smirk slightly. “How bad was that for you?”

His addiction was never something Jacob felt comfortable talking about with others in the past. But seeing Josh’s face and knowing he was probably the first person out of a support group who understood what it was like, he didn’t feel offended by the question. “About as bad as you would expect. I didn’t get into drugs like you did. Drinking, especially whiskey, was my main vice. Couldn’t get enough of it. I drank a lot of beer and got fat just to keep a buzz going.”

Josh nodded, knowing how that felt. “I wish I’d just stuck to alcohol. Might not be here. But then I never would’ve met Sharon, I guess.”

Worried about what might happen, Jacob said, “don’t talk about her. I mean… you can’t. Kyle said you shouldn’t talk about her or your case or anything like that with me while I’m here.”

“Because they’re probably listening,” Josh nodded knowingly. “So, what do we talk about?”

Jacob thought of something he could ask about without it interfering with Kyle’s work. “Kyle said you were brought up in the foster care system.”

“Yeah,” he replied with a slight frown.

“You didn’t have any good families that you lived with?”

Josh sighed. “It’s not that they weren’t good. For the most part, some of them were. The hard part… the part that hurt… was knowing I was never staying for long. There usually wasn’t any kind of warning or anything to let us know when the state was going to move me to a different home. So that made making friends hard. But there were a few couples who were good.” He paused, remembering. “One of the first foster parents I had were really sweet. Linda and Mark. They didn’t put any pressure on me. They had rules and all that, but they explained it was to keep me safe.” Josh nodded to himself and smiled slightly. “I think out of all of them, they actually tried to show me something like love.”

“Good. What do you like doing? I mean, do you have any interests or any kind of talent for anything?”

Josh gave him a quizzical look. “What, like a hobby or something?”

“Anything,” Jacob replied with a smirk. “I just… wanna know what you like.”

Staring at Jacob for a moment, Josh was almost shocked to realize that he was telling the truth. “Well… I like doing stuff with my hands,” he finally said. “No one’s really asked me before.”

“Really? I like working with my hands too. Well, I mean, I work with wood…”

Josh tilted his head slightly, looking interested. “I was a mechanic before all this. I liked working with machines.”

“Well, it’s a lot like that, only I cut and sculpt the wood for whatever the client wants.”

“Clients? What do you make?”

Jacob shrugged. “Whatever they want. I sell some commercial stuff at my shop, but I mostly do custom made requests. Tables, desks, stuff like that.”

“Huh.” Josh turned the idea over in his head. “Sounds like you enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s fun in an annoying, frustrating way.”

Josh’s lips lifted in a small smile. “I think I understand that. Kyle doesn’t seem like the hands-on type.”

Jacob chuckled. “No. No, he’s not. Well, not with carpentry. He’s very hands on with trees. Just like his dad.” When he saw Josh’s quizzical look he explained, “we have an apple orchard. It’s where we live.”

“So, what, like a couple dozen trees or something?”

“No, no.” Jacob laughed at that idea. “Acres and acres of trees. Not sure what the total count is off hand, but probably a couple thousand.”

Josh was slightly surprised by that. Kyle had mentioned an orchard, but he always imagined it was just a small patch of land, like the space of a couple empty house lots. “That sounds like a lot. I’ve spent my life in the city. Don’t think I’ve seen more than a park’s worth of trees at one time.”

“Well… maybe when this is over, you can come see it.”

“Maybe. So, it’s like… how many people there?”

“Six of us,” Jacob answered. “Me, Kyle, Dad, Colt, Matt and Aaron.”

“Sounds like you already have a full house.”

Jacob grinned. “Actually, no… There’s still two empty bedrooms. Mostly used if some of the boys stay the night.”

“The boys?” Josh was having a hard time conceiving of a house that big. “How many boys are we talking about?”

Jacob blinked in surprise. “Kyle’s never mentioned everyone else?”

Josh shook his head. “No. Who else is there?”

“Oh, shit.” Jacob sighed. “Well, there’s Troy and his wife along with their three kids. Then Andy and Brian with their two kids.”

He stared at Jacob, feeling slightly stunned. “That’s all your family?!”

“Well… I mean, yeah. I guess. It’s kind of hard to explain, but yeah, they’re our family.”

Without realizing it, Josh was leaning forward, close to Jacob. “How are you all related?”

Jacob laughed at that question. “We’re not. Troy and the others grew up with Kyle. I met them when we were all in high school and… well… we’ve always just stayed together. So, we are a family that we made ourselves.” He smiled seeing Josh’s reaction to that. In his eyes, Jacob saw a hope and unspoken desire to know what that kind of life felt like. “They help me stay sober. Give me something to live for and want to be a better person. I like to think I’ve done pretty good on that.” For a moment, Jacob’s mind went through all of the little moments of his life since he met Kyle. Those moments where he first felt connected not just to Kyle, but to Troy. Andy. Brian. The way they encouraged him and supported him. Their unconditional love they gave him every day. He realized in that moment how much of what he had done with his life over the last two decades was as much a testament to the bond that they all shared as it was from his own efforts.

It dawned on him that from the moment he shared that first kiss with Kyle so many years ago to this very moment, he had not just received but given them that love back. And that had been the foundation of his life ever since. And now he saw, sitting across from him, what his life could have been without that. Only Josh had not chosen his own fate. This life had been thrust upon him by a world that had forgotten him. “Josh, I’m sorry for everything that you’ve been through. What dad did to you wasn’t fair and this is his fault as far as I’m concerned.”

Josh shook his head. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s just life. Not everyone wins.”

Jacob stared at him, remembering how reluctant he had been before Josh walked into the room. Ever since he learned about his brother all he had wanted to do was bury his head in the sand and forget all about it. He had shut down every chance he had to right a wrong and when he found out Kyle had done the right thing when he had turned his back, how did he repay him? Colt had been right about him being selfish. For the first time in years, Jacob felt ashamed. And that was only compounded by the fact that this time it was well earned. He knew he would have to make this right. “No. It’s not just life. The people who were supposed to be there for you abandoned you. And I’m ashamed to say that I was one of them.”

Josh frowned looking a little confused. “Jake…”

Jacob chuckled. “I used to hate being called that. And it was because that’s what Dad always called me when I was a kid.”

“Jacob then.” He sighed. “You don’t owe me anything. If Kyle can get me found innocent, then that’ll be enough.”

“Well, it’s nice of you to say that, but…” Jacob realized the words were not going to come easy, but he had to say them. To finally be truthful to himself and, in a way, honor the family that got him to where he is now. “…but, you’re my brother. And that makes your life and mine connected. You’re not alone anymore. And you never will be again.”

Josh felt his emotions rise up as he turned his head. He felt so childish having tears spring into his eyes just from hearing something so simple. It was one thing to hear it from his lawyer or from an old man whose heart was in the right place. Hearing it from this person who clearly was related to him and called him brother, it made it feel real for the first time in his life. It became an undeniable fact of his life that would last until the end.

He was not alone anymore.

“Josh?” Concern tinged his voice as Jacob slowly got up from his seat.

Josh waved him off with one hand while the other covered his eyes. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t sound okay.” Jacob moved around the table and sat on the edge. “I meant what I said,” he added in a softer voice. “And, even if it turns out your jury is stupid and they send you back to prison, it wouldn’t change anything. You’re a part of my family and that’s all that matters.”

Josh buried his face in his hands to pull himself back together. The burden that he had carried for so long he had become used to it was suddenly gone. As he drew in air, it felt different. “I’m sorry.” He looked up at Jacob. “This is all new to me. It’s going to take some getting used too.”

The door opened. “Times up,” the guard said.

Jacob looked at the door and back to Josh. “Take all the time you need.” He smiled in reassurance. “I’ll be back.”

Josh got to his feet looking at his brother and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you later then.” He started to walk away and stopped. “I’ll remember to just call you Jacob next time.”

Jacob gave him a half-smirk and replied, “you can call me whatever you want.” He watched as the guard escorted Josh out of the room. A moment later, another guard appeared to escort him out. As he walked out of the building and towards his truck, he was mildly surprised to discover he felt more relaxed than he had when he went in. When he started to drive away, he resolved to give Kyle a more proper apology for all the problems he caused.

 

****

 

“Commonwealth calls Mindy Hayes-Preston to the stand.”

Kyle watched from his spot at the well-dressed woman with perfect makeup and perfect poise move from the gallery towards the witness stand. He felt his face neutral to hide his displeasure of the woman who it was obvious was here to cause trouble for Josh and his case. The clerk swore Ms. Hayes in before she was allowed to sit.

The prosecutor moved from his spot to the podium and began his questioning. “Ms. Hayes, the state wants to thank you for taking the time to come here to answer a few questions about your friend, Sharon Ellington. How well do you remember the night that led up to the death of your friend?”

“I would say very well,” Mindy responded with a sweet and smooth voice. “It was the last night before our little get togethers ended.”

“Did they end because of Sharon’s death?”

Mindy nodded slightly. “I think that was part of it.”

Jensen nodded in understanding and pleased that his questions were having the expected response. “Was Joshua Carter at these gatherings often?”

“I would say infrequently,” she replied. Kyle noted that her head was turned slightly away from them, though her eyes shifted. He quietly pulled a small notepad from his briefcase and set it in front of him as his eyes stayed on her.

“Why do you suppose that is,” Jensen asked her.

“Well…” She hesitated for a moment. “He was more of a blue-collar person than the rest of us. I mean, we all had degrees and he didn’t really have any history with the rest of us other than sharing a drug addiction with Sharon which is where they met.”

“You knew Sharon when she was battling her addiction?”

“Oh, yes. It was sad, really. She almost overdosed before her family got her help.”

“I see. After she got treatment, did she stay clean?”

“To my knowledge,” Mindy answered with a hint of a smile on her lips.

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Well… I suspect she had started to dabble a little. But she never showed any obvious signs.”

Jensen frowned curiously and Kyle had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the obvious performance being played out before him. “What kind of signs did you see back before she got treatment,” the prosecutor asked.

“She would be a bit more… moody. Aggressive. Maybe short-tempered would be a good way to describe it.”

“Now, before… when you were in college with her and she hadn’t started doing drugs, was she short-tempered or hostile as you say?”

Mindy shook her head as her eyes flicked across the room. “No. She was very happy and outgoing. Friendly. It was only when she started snorting coke that her moods would swing.”

“You know for a fact she was using cocaine, Ms. Hayes?”

She nodded affirmatively. “Yes. I saw her using it once. Her dorm room was just down the hall from mine.”

“But then she changed,” Jensen stated. “She got treatment after college and cleaned up her act, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, let’s go back to that last night at the party. What were you and everyone else doing?”

“We were at Grant Dawson’s house. Well, his parents’ house.”

“I see. And Mr. Carter was absent that night, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Mindy replied.

“Did anyone ask about him not being there?”

Mindy nodded. “Rhonda asked about him. She had a soft spot for him, I think.”

“Did you hear Sharon’s response when asked about Josh?”

Kyle quickly scribbled down a note on the pad and handed it to Michelle who read it before passing it on. He hated doing it, but he did not want to tip off the witness or anyone else that he was aware that Mindy was making eye contact with someone in the gallery. So, since he or his associates craning their necks looking around the room would draw attention, he passed it off to the one person who could.

“I heard her say that they were having troubles.”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose at her answer. “What kind of troubles?”

“She didn’t elaborate. Just said they were having troubles.”

Jensen nodded. “Had Sharon and Josh had problems before?”

Mindy shrugged. “Not that I had ever seen. He was the quiet type. At least, that’s how he was around us. I never spent time with him outside of our little parties.” She barely flicked a glance towards Josh before looking back.

“And when you heard about her death, how did you react?”

“I was stunned. I mean, he looked a little rough around the edges, but after a while I figured it was more than possible. He lived in a pretty rundown neighborhood.”

“Thinking back on that night, do you remember anything about Sharon’s mood?”

“She seemed a bit agitated.”

“Would you say she was a bit moody?”

Kyle rose. “Objection; he’s leading the witness. She said agitated, she doesn’t have any inner knowledge about the emotional state of the victim.”

Jensen looked at the judge. “Your honor, given the fact that the victim is not able to speak for herself, I feel it’s only right for a witness to that night be able to give her assessment of the mental state of someone she knew for years prior to her murder and meeting the defendant.”

Judge Schumer frowned. “The objection is sustained. If you have questions about the victim, you may ask, but you may not put words in the witness’s mouth, Mr. Jensen.”

Jensen frowned and switched his approach. “Ms. Hayes, you say she seemed agitated. Do you remember a time before when you saw her in that kind of state?”

Kyle glared at her as Mindy answered in a way that could only be described and pre-rehearsed. “She reminded me of what she was like in college.”

“Back when she was doing drugs?”

“Yes.”

“Was she the first one to leave the house that night?”

Mindy nodded. “Yes. She left around ten o’ clock.”

“You said you were stunned when you heard the news about Sharon’s murder. Were you surprised?”

“I was surprised that she was killed. But I wasn’t surprised about who killed her.”

“And that person being…?”

“Josh Carter.”

“No further questions,” Jensen said before he returned to his seat.

Kyle rose, knowing he was mostly flying blind but trying his best to mitigate the damage. “Ms. Hayes, where is your primary residence?”

“Houston, Texas.”

“And how did you come to know about this trial?”

Mindy smirked. “I believe it was your associates who told me they were appealing his conviction.”

“Did you talk to anyone else about this?”

“Just to a few of my friends who were there that night.”

“Can you name them for the record?”

Mindy sighed and replied, “Rhonda and Phillip Spencer.”

Kyle returned her smug smirk. “Anyone else?”

She shook her head. “I spoke to Tracy. Tracy Long. She lives in Texas not far from me.”

“And no one else,” he pressed.

“No.” She met his gaze. They both knew the game he was playing, and she had come prepared.

Kyle decided to go for it. “You didn’t speak with Dylan Goode or Grant Dawson or Rodger Reid?”

She shook her head. “No, sir. Just those who I already mentioned.”

Kyle nodded. “I see.” He knew what it meant. He turned back to pick up something from his briefcase and quickly scanned the gallery before meeting his father’s eyes. David met Kyle’s eyes and turned his head towards the back. Kyle followed David’s gaze and wrote down a brief description before returning to the podium. “You said that Sharon mentioned that they were having troubles, but didn’t specify what kind?”

“Yes.”

“So, you can’t be certain if they were fighting or they had trouble with work or an injury, can you?”

“No, I can’t,” she admitted. “But, given where we are now, I would safely say they were having relationship problems.”

“That’s just guessing though.”

“I’d call it more of an educated guess.”

Kyle smirked. “So, it is a guess, thank you.” He let the smirk drop and put his professional face back on. “Did you ever experiment with drugs when you were in college?”

She shrugged dismissively. “I tried it once, but it wasn’t something I liked.”

“What was it you tried?”

“Weed.”

Kyle nodded. “No shame in that. We all tried stuff at some point in our college years. You only tried it the one time?”

She frowned slightly as she answered. “Yes. Just once.”

“Why did you never do it again?”

“I didn’t like how it smelled and all it did was give me a headache.”

Kyle smiled slightly. “So, you remember it pretty well, don’t you?”

Mindy rolled her eyes. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

“Can you answer my question, please?”

“Yes. Yes, I remember doing it.”

Kyle locked eyes with her and asked, “who gave it to you?”

Mindy’s attitude shifted as she went from annoyed to worried. Jensen rose behind Kyle and said, “objection; Ms. Haye’s past drug experimentation has no bearing on this case.”

“Sustained,” the judge declared. “Mr. Howard, you’re beginning to move out of the bounds of the case. Ms. Hayes is not on trial here.”

Kyle tried to recover. “Your honor, defense is trying to establish a pattern.”

The judge looked at him squarely. “Which you can do when you bring your own witnesses to the stand when the prosecution rests their case. Until then, the objection is sustained, and we are moving on.”

Kyle was disappointed but moved on. “Yes, sir. Ms. Hayes, one last question: If you are so sure that Joshua Carter killed Sharon Ellington, then why didn’t you say so at the first trial?”

Mindy sat there, trying to come up with an answer. “I guess… no one asked.”

Kyle nodded. It wasn’t much, but it would play into his defense later. “Thank you. No further questions.” He turned to go back to his seat as Adam Jensen rose to his feet.

With a slightly pleased look, Jensen announced to the judge. “Your honor, the commonwealth, rests.”

The judge sat forward in his seat and looked at the information in front of him. “Given the circumstances, unless the defense has any objection, we will recess until next Monday and defense may call their first witness then. I will remind the jury to not discuss this trial with anyone during the break.” The judge looked at Kyle and his team. Seeing no move to object he tapped his gavel and finished, saying, “this court stands in recess.”

Kyle turned to say something to David, but he was already on his feet heading out of the courtroom as if he was in a hurry. “What’s he up to?”

“Your father,” Michelle asked. “Don’t know, but I wouldn’t dare put anything past him.”

Kyle agreed. “Kevin, go follow him.” When the younger man headed out, Kyle looked back at Michelle. “Did you see the person she was looking at?”

Michelle snorted. “I know better. That’s why I let your dad look.” She turned to Josh and smiled. “You did good today. I know it’s hard to remain stone faced when you hear a witness call you out like that, but you didn’t flinch so that’ll look good to the jury.”

Josh nodded politely and gave her the briefest of smiles. “Thanks.”

Kyle smiled at him and moved closer before the bailiffs reached him. “Jacob tells me you two had a good talk the other day.”

Josh’s smile returned. Small but genuine. “Yeah. I’m glad he came.”

Kyle nodded, happy to know that something good was happening for Josh through all of this. “Good. Maybe during this long break he can come visit a few more times.”

Josh shrugged as the bailiffs started to handcuff him. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“I’ll make sure he does.” Kyle watched as he was led away, making a mental note to go out and get him another set of clothes for court. Would look better if he was seen wearing something different from what the jury had already seen. He and Michelle headed towards the doors and into the hallway, looking for Kevin and his father.

David was standing up against the wall to one side of the corridor and smirked when he saw Kyle and Michelle come into view. “Well, that was fun.”

“What did you do,” Kyle asked.

David smirked and moved towards his son. “Got you what you wanted; I think.” He held up his cellphone and showed a picture of a man that appeared to be taken there in the hallway.

Kyle looked at the picture and nodded. “Send it to me so I can send it on.”

Michelle looked over Kyle’s shoulder. “What’s that all about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kyle replied. “From the looks of it, it’s something for Monica, not us.”

Once he was done, the four of them continued towards the elevators. “We have the whole week,” Michelle commented. “What’s the plan?”

Kyle stepped into the elevator with them. “We get ready to fight. They made a decent case, but not a perfect one. Ours has to be airtight. So, we go over every scrap we have and make sure we put it all out there.”

David grinned. “Look at my boy, all take charge…”

Kyle spared him a sardonic smirk. “Gee, thanks Daddy…”

Kevin and Michelle laughed softly as they stepped out and headed towards the exits. David spoke up as they stepped out into the warm spring air. “I think I’ll cook tonight,” he said before turning to Michelle and Kevin. “You two should come over and have dinner with the rest of us.”

“Oh, Dad…” Kyle couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at him treating his employees like friends from school when he was a kid.

“No, I mean it,” David insisted. “We’ll be eating around six,” he told them. “Just make sure you’re there by then.”

Kevin blinked in surprise when he realized it wasn’t a joke. He looked at Kyle before asking David, “are you sure?”

“Of course I am,” the older man said with a grin. “Trust me. You’ll have fun.”

Michelle was all smiled, loving the idea. “Hey, free food and fun? I’ll be there for sure.”

“Excellent, then it’s decided.” David clapped Kyle on the shoulder. “Let’s get moving so I can prep while you spend some time with your boys.”

Kyle knew it was useless to argue so he just went with it. “I’ll see you two later then.”

As they walked towards Kyle’s car, David inquired, “you seemed a little disappointed back there when you were questioning that woman. Why’s that?”

Kyle shrugged as he opened the car door. “I was hoping to get her to admit that one of the people she spoke to about the trial before coming here was Dylan Goode. But she didn’t. So, she either lied or she told the truth and there was a three-way communication between her and someone else. Trust me, she didn’t come all the way up here out of a sense of justice. She was sent here as a favor for him to help put the pressure on Josh to get him convicted again.”

David gave him a skeptical look. “How can you be sure about all that?”

He started up the car and began the long drive home. “Same way you know when you need to prune a branch to keep a tree from breaking itself from too many apples even before they start to grow.”

David laughed silently as the car moved through the streets of Pittsburgh. “Maybe someday you’ll learn to use that kind of intuition with your husband and not just with your job. He seemed to be in a good mood the last few days.”

Kyle smiled and sighed in relief. “Yeah, he has been. Our last therapy session was good. Then he went to see Josh the next day, which surprised the hell out of me. But when he came back, he seemed… happy. Maybe not totally comfortable with the idea of Josh being a part of his life, but he definitely wasn’t hostile. I asked him what happened, and he said they just talked. About what, I don’t know. Jacob assured me they didn’t talk about the trial or anything like that.” Kyle shrugged. “He said they just talked, so I hope that means they’re getting to know each other at the very least.”

“Good.” David felt a bit of tension drain out of him hearing the news. “So, any plans for the next few days?”

Kyle laughed. “Work. Just because I’m not going to be in a courtroom doesn’t mean the trial is over. We need to plan our attack and come up with our list of witnesses. Plus, there’s getting airplane tickets for some of them, hotel rooms, and preparing them for what the prosecutor is going to try and pull when they get to question them. So, it’s gonna be a pretty full week. Not to mention school ending for the boys at the end of the month. Matt and the boys are going to be going to sixth grade next year which means a new school and growing up. So, this’ll be a pretty big summer.”

“Not to mention maybe getting a new uncle,” David mentioned with a smirk. “Maybe we can get together for lunch or something this week.”

“I’d like that,” he said with a smile before he turned serious. “After this is all over though… the trial and whatever ends up happening to Josh… there’s going to be some changes.”

“Oh?” His father turned to regard him curiously. “What kind of changes?”

“Not sure yet,” Kyle replied, sounding almost sad yet hopeful. “I just know that there needs to be a change.”

“For the better, I hope?”

“Definitely. I just hope things turn out for the best.”

“They will, son,” David said with his usual optimism. “You know what you’re doing, and you know we’re all pulling for you.”

Kyle’s smile slowly returned as he drove on in silence. That he had Dad, Jacob and his whole family supporting him was one thing he knew he never had to question.