The Discovery - 25. Chapter 25

Kyle and the others rose from their seats as the judge walked into the courtroom. He kept his eyes on the judge while tempering the surge of emotions that were growing inside him. It was something that often happened to Kyle whenever a trial began. The eagerness combined with the knowledge that the real fight was starting, and he was ready to do his job. Josh, Michelle and Kevin stood next to him with Josh at the far end of the table that was set with all of their notes and papers. A small tremor of nervousness passed through him once the judge sat down and the rest of the room followed suit. The trial itself didn’t worry him but knowing that his father was seated right behind them in the gallery did give him an added incentive to start things off right. David let him know he intended to be present for every day of the trial to give Josh any moral support he might need. Jacob was still mostly neutral about what was going on, but Kyle sensed he was starting to come around now that they were finally talking about their real problems and making slow progress towards healing.

Judge Schumer’s voice broke through his thoughts and brought him back to the moment at hand. “This is the case, ‘Commonwealth v. Carter’ where the defendant, Joshua Grant Carter, is charged with murder in the second degree. I will begin this trial by reminding the jury that they are instructed not to discuss deliberations with anyone or speak to anyone regarding this trial until its conclusion. With that said, I now recognize the Commonwealth to begin with their opening statement. Mr. Jensen, you may proceed.”

Adam Jensen rose from his chair and approached the podium that sat in between and just in front of the two opposing sides. Placing his hands on the surface, he turned his head to the jury and began. “Ladies and gentlemen, the state wants to thank you for your time to be here for this tragic case. My name is Adam Jensen, and I will be representing the Commonwealth in this case. On the evening of June 18^th, 2017, Sharon Ellington left a party with her friends and from there went to see her boyfriend, Joshua Carter. The next morning, 911 received a call from Mr. Carter claiming that he found her dead in the front room of the house he was renting. When the police investigated, they found no evidence of forced entry, no signs of a struggle and nothing that would lead anyone to believe anyone but Joshua Carter murdered her. Why? With what? Doesn’t really matter. This case is about the basic fact that he killed his girlfriend for whatever reason people kill each other. The state will produce all the evidence they need to prove that despite his lies, Mr. Carter is the murderer in this case, and you will be left with the only choice available to you which is to find him guilty.”

Adam’s voice became more casual as he continued. “Now, Mr. Howard over here is going to tell you that all the state has is circumstantial evidence and there’s no motive and no definitive proof. And, if it weren’t for the fact that Sharon Ellington is dead, I’d have to agree with him. However, all he is bringing is his own brand of circumstantial evidence to make you doubt the proof that hangs in between both arguments. That Sharon Ellington is dead and no one else could have killed her besides Mr. Carter. So, just keep in mind that no matter what he says – no matter what tricks and sleight of hand he pulls off in the next two weeks – he can’t cover up the fact that Sharon is dead, and Josh is the only possible killer.” Finished with his speech, Adam turned and returned to his chair.

Before the judge could call on him, Kyle was out of his chair and heading to the podium. He waited for the judge to call on him before he addressed the jury. “Mr. Jensen makes a very convincing argument. What he’s leaving out is the lack of any confession, despite the police’s best efforts. For four hours after he called 911, the police grilled Mr. Carter and tried to get him to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.” Kyle held his arms out to his side. “Now, that’s not evidence. What it is, though, is a fact. And in the days leading up to this case, he’s been given opportunity after opportunity to confess and end this trial before it began. In the end, he refused. The truth of this case is that Josh Carter loved Sharon very much. She was the one person he relied on in his life. The only person he truly trusted. They loved each other very much and were planning on getting married. And the day leading up to the crime, Josh suffered a serious injury at his place of work that prevented him from murdering the only person in the world he loved. What I am preparing to present to you is the facts of this case. They are unassailable and undeniable. Joshua Carter did not kill his girlfriend. The idea of harming her was never something he could have ever contemplated. During this trial, you’ll hear from a lot of people. Experts, witnesses, police officers and in all of that, you are going to see a police department and a district attorney’s office bungling evidence, jumping to conclusions and failing to do any real investigation into Sharon Ellington’s murder. The police decided that Josh was guilty before they even started to attempt to collect evidence. Their bias is clear as day, despite Josh never wavering from his declaration of innocence. All I ask of you is to remember that, until you say otherwise, Josh Carter is innocent until you prove that he is guilty. And if at some point in this trial you feel there is reasonable doubt, then you cannot convict him for a crime that wasn’t properly investigated by the people at the time that could have exonerated him.”

He finished speaking and returned to his place. A cursory examination of the jury told him that they were attentive and had taken his last words to heart. Just before he sat down, he caught a small smirk on his father’s lips as they locked eyes. Kyle wanted to grin from the look of pride on David’s face, but he kept his professional composure to not give the jury the idea he seemed overly confident. The judge indicated for Jensen to call his first witness.

Adam looked to the judge and said, “People call Officer Andrew Baker to the stand, your honor.” A police officer in uniform rose from the galley and approached the witness stand. After he was sworn in, Adam began his questions. “Officer Baker, you were the first officer to arrive on the scene, is that correct?”

Looking confident and professional the officer responded, “yes, sir.”

“What did you see first when you entered the house?”

The officer glanced at the jury before replying, “when I first entered the house, I saw the victim laying on the floor. Her eyes were closed, and she was unresponsive. Mr. Carter was in distress and seemed highly agitated. When I asked him what happened, he was reluctant to respond.”

“Reluctant how?”

“His speech was slow, and he seemed to hesitate to answer at times. I had to repeat the questions on occasion. I made room for the EMT’s and later the coroner to look over the scene while our investigative unit began to process the scene.”

Jensen straightened his back as he asked his next question. “What was your impression of the defendant in those first moments after you arrived?”

Kyle knew Jensen was waiting for him to object and argue that the witness was speculating. It was likely that it would probably be sustained, and Jensen would lose his first fight. But Kyle sat and said nothing. His lips quirked up slightly waiting for how this was going to play out.

“My first impression was that he was likely coming off of some drugs,” the officer responded. “His eyes seemed dilated, and it appeared to me as if he wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings. With the lack of any sign of someone else being in the house, we were confident he was our primary suspect.”

Jensen smirked, though he was a little surprised the jury got to hear the cop’s answer. Maybe what he had heard about Kyle’s skills in a courtroom were just hype. “Thank you, officer.” He looked to the judge and said, “I have no further questions, your honor.” Going back to his seat, he saw the younger man at Kyle’s table stand up. His curiosity was piqued at the defense’s move.

Kevin approached the podium. “Officer, you say your impression was that he was on drugs and by that, you are inferring illegal drugs?”

“Yes, sir,” Officer Baker responded. His tone took on a slight edge as if he was aggrieved to be questioned.

Kevin shrugged and smiled slightly. “I just wanted to make sure we got that clear. Did you have any prior encounters with Mr. Carter prior to that day when you responded to the 911 call?”

“No. I’d never seen him before that day.”

Kevin nodded. “So, you were just going from your experience as an officer?”

Baker frowned slightly. “Yes.”

“And how long had you been an officer up to that point?”

“Four years.”

Kevin nodded as he frowned slightly, appearing impressed by that. He had been wary of this part of Kyle’s plan, but it seemed to be working. “That was in 2017. In 2019, did you respond to a domestic disturbance call?”

The officer’s frown deepened. “I respond to a lot of calls in a year.”

“Well, let me refresh your memory.” Kevin stepped over to the table where Kyle helpfully handed Kevin the report they had ready to go. When he returned to the podium, Kevin read through the page in front of him. “October 10^th, 2019. There was a domestic disturbance call in Brighton Heights. According to the report here, you investigated it and spoke to the couple involved.” He looked back to the witness stand and smiled slightly. “Does that ring any bells?”

There was a moment of silence in the room. “Yes,” the officer replied with a reluctant tone.

Jensen rose to his feet. “Objection. This has no relevance to the case before the jury, your honor.”

Kevin smiled with practiced ease. Keeping his voice completely natural and almost sweet, he sprung the trap on Jensen’s arrogance. “Your honor, the prosecution is the one who is relying on the officers ‘impressions’ of a scene without any solid evidence before him. We have the right to bring his impressions into question.”

The judge eyed the two men as he leaned back in his chair nodded. “Quite right, Mr. Bryant. Overruled, Mr. Jensen. You may continue your questioning.”

Kyle glanced over at Jensen and smirked slightly before returning his attention back to the real action.

“Thank you, your honor.” Kevin looked at the officer for a moment before he went on. “Officer Baker, you responded to that call, and you did nothing because, according to your report…” He paused to read directly from the police report in front of him. “’The couple were having a simple argument.’ I’ll not add the names of those involved, but to boil it down, you talked to them and the man you were questioning told you it was just a simple misunderstanding, and you went on your way.” He paused to see if the cop would hang himself and save him the trouble. His silence told Kevin that he was well rehearsed to not answer statements, only to respond to direct questions. “What happened to the woman in that incident two hours later, officer Baker?”

Officer Baker glared at him, and Kevin made a mental note to stay under the speed limit in town for a while. “She was admitted to the hospital.”

“Because her boyfriend beat her, didn’t he,” Kevin asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes.”

“Given that happened six years into your career and Mr. Carter’s arrest was two years prior, do you think your observations only served for you to form a conclusion that you’ve stuck to without any evidence to corroborate it?”

Baker raised his voice slightly, showing annoyance at being questioned. “I know what I saw and what I heard.”

Kevin shrugged. He could already tell the jury wasn’t sure to believe him or not and that was his only goal in his questioning. “If you say so, Officer. No further questions, your honor.”

The judge sat forward to look at the list in front of him. “You may call your next witness, Mr. Jensen.”

****

David chewed on his sandwich as he sat across the table from Josh while Kyle and the others were gathered on the other side of the table that was the lone piece of furniture in the small meeting room down the hall from the courtroom. The morning had been interesting to him as he watched person after person being called up to the witness stand by the prosecutor for questions. He understood the basics of it all. They were there to answer questions, not for the lawyers in the room but for the jury to hear. “You kind of forget that after going over all that you know a hundred times it’s the twelve people in the jury that don’t know any of it,” Kyle had explained to him. “So, you ask questions you almost always know the answers to already, but you need the jury to hear the answers.”

He took it all in silently throughout the morning and was impressed with everyone involved in the process. But what really surprised him was seeing Kyle in action. Having known him since the day he was born, David had never really seen Kyle sound so aggressive at times when he would press for a specific answer from a witness. He had given Michelle and Kevin moments as well, but it was seeing Kyle break down the testimony of one of the investigators at the scene that really showed him what his son was capable of.

“In all, would you say that you took over a hundred pictures of the crime scene, sir,” Kyle had asked the man sitting in the witness chair.

“Yes,” the man replied.

“And out of those pictures, how many of them were entered into evidence prior to this trial?”

With a shrug, the man replied, “I’m not aware of how many there were in the last trial.”

“Understandable,” Kyle said as he leafed through pictures in front of him as he stood at the podium. He found the one he was looking for and looked to the judge. “Approach the witness, your honor?”

The judge had nodded. “You may.”

Kyle stepped around the podium with a picture in his hands and presented it to the witness. “Do you recall this picture?”

The man leaned forward to look at the picture. “Vaguely. It happened over six years ago.”

“Could you tell us what’s in the picture?”

“It’s a standard pill bottle that was found in the trashcan at the scene.”

“In the trashcan,” Kyle repeated as a question.

“Yes sir.”

David watched his son begin to fire off question after question. “And in the picture, can you tell if there’s anything inside it?”

“It appears empty.”

“Yes. There’s another picture where you or someone opened it to show it was empty. So, whatever had been in the bottle, is no longer there?”

“Correct.”

“And this picture was never entered into evidence before?”

“Yes.”

“But you can attest that you took this picture at the crime scene where Sharon Ellington’s body was found the morning after her murder?”

“Yes, I can.”

“And how can you do that?”

The man pointed to the bottom right corner of the picture. “I’m holding a card with my name. And there is an imprint of the time and date in every picture for accuracy.”

“Thank you.” Kyle walked back to his seat and ended his questioning there. When he did, David noted a satisfied look on his son’s face. As if he had won a serious victory that he didn’t understand.

“I have a question,” Kevin piped up in between bites of his lunch.

“Go for it,” Kyle replied.

“That first guy. Why didn’t we object when we could have?”

Kyle smirked. “Because we might have won it or lost it. We wanted to call his credibility into question. If we had objected and won, then the jury wouldn’t have heard it. If we were overruled, then we might have looked too combative to the jury.” Kyle shrugged and sat back in his seat. “So, you just let the pitch go by, knowing that later, you’ll be able to get the witness to discredit himself since the prosecutor already opened the door to it and it ends up making Jensen’s case seem less believable overall.”

David, not wanting to look bored by the lawyer talk going on between his son and his employees, turned his attention to the quiet man across the table from him. Over the past weeks, David had regularly called and checked in on Josh and spent time getting to know him better. He found Josh to be not that dissimilar to Jacob. The main difference between the two is that where Jacob had support and connections that helped him out of his alcoholism and dealing with his feelings about his father, Josh reached a point where he had given up on finding those connections in his life a long time ago. Because of that, he never knew how to trust or how to give a voice to his pain and loneliness.

As David thought about all of this, Josh ate his food quietly with a vacant stare. He was a man who had already given up on a possible future. He might say he believes Kyle will find a way to free him, but David knew that look and understood it to some extent. He was just going along with the trial because he didn’t have anything to lose.

“What do you think about all of this so far,” David asked Josh.

Josh looked at David before he shrugged. “Seems a lot like the last time so far.”

David nodded in understanding. “I can believe that. Things will be different later once Kyle gets his turn.”

Josh looked down at the remains of his lunch. “We’ll see.”

“How do you feel?”

“I dunno. Like the same person I was yesterday.”

“I spoke to some of your family the other day.”

Josh’s eyes flicked up from his plate. “What family?”

“Your aunt and uncle,” David replied with a small smile. “They didn’t know about you. I guess when your mother died, Joe was so heartbroken, he signed you over for adoption before he even left the hospital.”

Josh’s gaze returned to the table. He could barely claim to be surprised. To him, it was just the start of a life of being unwanted. “Did they say why he did that?”

David shook his head. “They thought you died along with your mother,” he replied gently. “Randy seemed pretty pissed about it. The best he could guess is that Joe didn’t feel he was up to the task of caring for two little boys, so he did what he thought was right.”

“Lucky me, then.”

David reached across the table, putting his hand over Josh’s. “All of that doesn’t matter anymore. They know about you now and they want to help you. And I think learning about his past has given Jacob a lot to think about too.”

Josh felt the warmth of David’s hand on his. He wanted to be hopeful, but it was so hard for him to lower his guard. “Well, good for him. Not that he seems to care about me or anything.”

“That might be how it seems,” David said with a sigh. “But he’ll come around. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I know my son,” David gently insisted. “He might not have my blood, but he’s as much mine as Kyle is. Believe me when I tell you that he will be there for you when the time comes.”

Josh believed David meant what he said. At the same time, he wasn’t going to expect any miracles or any sudden “family” to suddenly burst out of nowhere. He spent too long as a kid fantasizing about that to let himself believe in it now. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. He can find me pretty easily when he wants.”

David nodded. “He will. I’m not expecting you two to be instantly best friends. But if you give him a chance, he won’t disappoint you.”

Josh thought David was naïve saying that. In his life, most people have been disappointments to him. Always making promises that they never intended to keep or said just to extract something from him. “How are you so sure he won’t?”

“He hasn’t so far,” David answered with surprising assurance. “Yeah, he might mess up once or twice along the way, but he does his best.” He leaned closer to Josh and said in a quieter voice, “I know you don’t want to believe it. I know your first instinct is not to trust people. You’ve been through a lot in your life, and I don’t blame you one bit for being scared. But it’s time you realized that you’re coming to a point where everything is going to change for you. When this trial is over, you’re going to be free again and you can do anything you want. You can either go it alone again or be brave and give yourself the chance to have a family again.”

Josh stared at him in silence for a moment. It was a hard idea for him to conceive that it could be that simple. “You know,” he began softly. “When I was a teenager, I used to pretend that someday, my dad or one of his brothers or someone would walk in and take me away. And then I would have a place where I belonged. Where I wouldn’t feel alone all the time in a crowded room. I remember, spending my nights alone in a room in a house where people pretended to care as long as they got paid to feed me.”

David looked at him, feeling heartbroken by the life Josh had been forced to live. “I wish I had known,” he said softly. “It may sound silly, but I feel like I failed you.”

Josh looked at him, perplexed. “You couldn’t have known.”

David shrugged. “I might have found out if I had actually confronted Joe back when I first took Jacob in. Your brother was seventeen when I first met him. Maybe if I had done more before things got out of hand…”

“Doesn’t really matter,” Josh said. “You worry too much,” he added with a brief smile.

David chuckled silently. “Fathers do that sometimes. Well, I do at least.”

“We can’t go back and change it all,” Josh said with a sigh. “Trust me, if I could, there would be a lot of things I would change.”

“I guess that just leaves us with going forward.” A twinkle in David’s eyes and a sly smirk lit his face. “So, maybe from now on, you give yourself a chance to trust and not let your past scare you out of something wonderful. And make that teenage dream come true.”

Josh looked into David’s eyes and saw once again the sincerity of his words. He wondered if David was like this with everyone. “Okay,” he finally said. “If Kyle gets me out of this, then I guess I can hang out with you for awhile and see how it goes.”

David smiled brightly as he got what he wanted. “That’s all I ask.” It was only a first step, but he had faith that it would be the beginning of something wonderful for Josh and everyone else.

****

Chase finished pulling the textbook out of his locker and closed it to discover Tanner on the other side. His best friend stood there saying nothing and stared at him with one side of his lips pulled up in a playful smirk.

Had it been anyone else, it might have startled him. But over their years of friendship, he’s become accustomed to these sudden appearances. “Can I help you,” Chase asked him.

Tanner’s half-smirk remained in place for a moment before he pushed away from the locker, and they fell into step together towards their next class. “Just curious about how things are with you.”

Chase gave him a perplexed look before replying, “same as they are since you saw me two classes ago.”

“I figured as much.” They proceeded down the hall, turning a corner towards their science classroom. “You never said anything about your dad in a while. I was wondering if you told him about…”

Chase rolled his eyes. “No. I haven’t.”

“Why not?” Tanner still couldn’t understand what Chase was concerned about. “You really think he’ll blow up or something?”

“Not exactly.” They entered the classroom and took their seats in the back corner before he continued. “He was asking me about other stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Despite Tanner being his closest friend in the world, there was still a minor sense of embarrassment discussing some topics. “Well, like who I like and stuff.”

Tanner frowned in confusion. “What’s what supposed you mean.”

Chase rolled his eyes and leaned closer. “You know. Liking people. Like, liking girls and stuff.”

Tanner giggled into his hand to keep their conversation as private as possible in a room full of other kids. “What brought that on?”

“You won’t believe it,” Chase said with a growing grin on his face.

“Don’t leave me hanging!”

He leaned in a whispered in Tanner’s ear. “Somehow, he got it in his head I’m into Bill. From your wrestling team.”

Tanner’s hand clamed over his mouth to muffle his laugh. “Oh my God! What made him think that?!”

“I dunno,” Chase said with a shrug. “But I decided to just go with it and see where it went.”

“Wait, so he thinks you’re gay now?”

With a grin, Chase went on. “Only for a few seconds. Then, I mentioned something about a girl I really liked and that totally threw him off so now he doesn’t know what to believe.”

Tanner couldn’t hold back laughter anymore causing a few heads to turn. “That’s mean, bro,” he whispered as he fought to regain control of himself.

Chase just shrugged. “I’ll tell him the truth eventually. For now, though, keep it to yourself.”

Before Tanner could respond, the teacher started speaking and the class began. He reminded himself to follow up on their conversation later after school.

****

The judge waited until the witness left the stand before making his decision. “Without objection, the court will stand in recess until nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Mr. Jensen rose to his feet. “Your honor, if I may, prosecution needs to add to their testimony.”

Everyone in the room paused as they turned their attention back to the judge. “Proceed, Mr. Jensen,” Judge Schumer maintained his usual stoic expression, though his tone hinted of his displeasure.

Jensen glanced at Kyle first before answering the judge. “In chambers, if possible, sir?”

With a sigh, the judge rose from his desk. “Very well. The jury is dismissed. Mr. Jensen and Mr. Howard will join me in chambers.”

Kyle looked at Michelle and Kevin who both shrugged to show the same confusion he felt before he followed the prosecutor towards the rear door of the courtroom that led to the judge’s private chambers. He wasn’t sure what to expect. It was only the first day of the trial and things had gone about as well as could be expected. A sliver of fear crept into his thoughts but was quickly banished so he could focus on what his opponent was going to say.

Once the door to the room closed, Judge Schumer moved to his desk and remained standing as he regarded the two lawyers before him. “What is it, Mr. Jensen?”

“I’m sorry, your honor,” Jensen began. “I just wanted to inform the court that we’ve had an additional witness come forward and we intend to depose them before putting them on the witness stand.”

Kyle immediately was on guard. “What witness?”

Jensen looked at him with a smirk. “Mindy Hayes-Preston. Said she had information she felt we needed to know.” He turned his attention back to the judge. “She’ll be flying up from Texas in three days.”

The judge frowned. “Is this an eyewitness?”

“No, sir,” he replied. “But she was present at a party the victim was present for hours before her death. I noticed she wasn’t on Mr. Howard’s list so I felt I would give her a call and follow up.”

Kyle didn’t like this. When Michelle and Kevin returned from Houston, they reported to him that Mindy Hayes was likely to be an uncooperative witness, so she was dropped from consideration. “This is a little late in the game to be deposing a witness, don’t you think?”

“She seems compelled for some reason,” Jensen said as if he was surprised himself. He shrugged helplessly. “If you would allow it, your honor, we can hold for a few days after tomorrow.”

“My client has been waiting years for his exoneration,” Kyle began.

The judge interrupted him, saying, “and he can wait another week. I’ll allow the new witness, so long as she is deposed with both counsels present. We will convene tomorrow as scheduled and then break for the week when I expect your witness to be here ready to testify next Monday, Mr. Jensen.”

“Absolutely, your honor,” Jensen said with a nod of his head.

“Then if that’s all you two have, then you’re dismissed until tomorrow morning.”

Kyle and Jensen stepped out of the office and returned to the courtroom to gather their things. He wanted to ask what was so important that Mindy Hayes felt she had to testify, but he had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer. It would be a better use of his time to talk to Michelle and Kevin in more detail between now and when she arrived.

David watched his son with a quizzical look as Kyle pointedly ignored the man walking in front of him. He became concerned by the troubled look in his son’s eyes which prompted him to step closer to where Josh and the others had waited for his return. “Everything alright,” he asked.

Kyle took a breath and looked down as he thought about his next move. “Dad, can you go ahead home and tell Jacob I might be a few minutes late? No more than half an hour.” He tilted his head towards Michelle and Kevin as he explained, “I need to have a talk with these two and it might take a minute.”

David nodded. “Sure. I’ll make sure dinner is ready when you get there.”

“Thanks. Tell him I’m sorry for being late.” He turned to the others as he continued. “We have a slight wrinkle we need to work out. Prosecution is adding a witness.”

“Anyone we know,” Michelle asked.

“Mindy Hayes,” he answered. “I’ll need you two to go over your notes from your interview with her.” Kyle then turned his attention to Josh and gave him a tired smile. “The trial will be delayed for about a week while we depose her, I’m afraid.”

Josh seemed unsurprised. “That’s okay. I can wait.”

“Maybe, but you shouldn’t have too.” Kyle grabbed his briefcase. “Dad, do you and Kevin want to walk back with Josh?”

“Normally I’d say yes,” David said with a sympathetic smile to Josh. “But unless he needs me to, I should head home and get things ready there.”

Josh looked at David and offered a rare if small smile. “I’ll be okay for once.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll call you later in the week to check on you.” David said his goodbyes to the others and walked out of the courtroom and out of the building. As he headed out to his vehicle, he thought about everything he experienced over the previous weeks with Kyle, Jacob and Josh. Driving home, his mind was occupied with the puzzle before him. The tension in the house had eased since their trip to visit Jacob’s aunt and uncle but it felt like something else was missing. The crux of the problem seemed vague, and he had to admit that the two of them had hidden and obfuscated their personal problems with each other while he allowed it to continue. He let out a deep sigh as he drove down the highway heading for home, wishing he knew what was holding them back. The longer his mind dwelled on it all, the more he came to realize that he was missing something important. Some piece of information he didn’t know.

David drove in silence turning over in his mind every memory he had of his time with Jacob. The talks they had back in the past. When Kyle was away at college and after that. Those rare moments when Jacob would tell him about Joe and their history. He felt frustrated because it was so long ago so much had happened since then. Jacob first told them all about the abuse at his father’s hands when he first came home from the hospital. After that, there were rare instances when Jacob’s drinking wouldn’t be enough to block out the memories of pain and neglect. But David could only remember Jacob talking about his teenage years and almost never his childhood.

He could vividly remember the day the police came to the house to inform Jacob of Joe’s death. It was David who answered the knock on the front door and saw the two uniformed police standing there looking serious and asking for Jacob. His initial fear was that Jacob was in trouble. When Jacob joined them at the door, the officers stepped outside with him and spoke to Jacob privately. David stood there but could not hear what they said. All he saw was Jacob’s body stiffen and then slump before he thanked them and came back inside. When he told David that the cops had said his dad was dead, he felt such sympathy for Jacob even though the boy seemed unaffected. David had waited patiently for Jacob to talk about it but when pressed, the young man avoided the subject, telling David it was what it was.

A sudden realization hit David so profoundly, he nearly slammed the brakes on his car. He hit the phone button on the steering wheel and waited for the beep. “Call Sam,” he said out loud.

The sound of the phone ringing filled the car before the familiar voice came through the speakers. “What’s up?”

“Sam…” He hesitated, wondering how to say it exactly. “Do you remember when Jacob’s dad died?”

“Vaguely,” Sam replied in a voice that sounded annoyed. “That’s out of left field, don’t you think?”

“Sorry.” David was well aware of Sam’s more hands-off approach to dealing with the boys, with the exception of Troy. “I’m just wondering what he died of.”

“Davey, that was years ago. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“More than it probably appears. Jacob never said anything to you?”

“Nope. I gave him some time off. That was around the time he was going to community college. Didn’t act all that weird.”

David frowned. “Okay.”

There was a pause in the conversation before Sam asked, “you think that has something to do with the stick up his butt lately? No offense.”

David smirked at Sam’s attempt at humor. “I think it has more to do with everything.”

“Well, you can always call the county courthouse and find out if you really want to know.”

David had a better idea. “Good idea. I’ll talk to you later.”

“See you Saturday,” Sam replied before ending the call.

David pushed the button again and said, “Call Kyle’s work.”

When the ringing stopped, he was greeted by a familiar voice. “Howard and Jones, this is Rose.”

“Rosette, it’s David.”

“Oh lord,” she said, changing to her less formal tone. “What happened?”

David chuckled. “Nothing. I need a favor.”

“The ‘don’t tell my son’ kind of favor?”

“Yup.”

There was a silence on the line for a moment before she sighed and said, “go on.”