Broken (The Raiford Chronicles #3 Book 1) Read online

  Cross examination failed to weaken the doctor's testimony. The defense would have to wait to call its rebuttal witness.

  The next person to testify was Trista Gautier Johnson. The defense had nothing to cross as the young woman merely tearfully recounted watching her mother die. At the retelling, the temperature began to drop.

  Detective Anthony Pennington, then, testified regarding the bullet recovered at the scene of Detective Christine Gautier's murder. "Tests proved it came from a sniper rifle that Officer Lloyd Palermo had access to."

  With a deep scowl the defense attorney asked, "Was the gun registered to Trooper Palermo?"

  "No," Pennington responded.

  "Nothing else at this time." Lloyd's lawyer sat down. The judge adjourned for the day.

  On Wednesday, the next witnesses were the agents in Patrick Swift's team. Their testimony paralleled Trista's account of her mother's death. Agent Swift had died the same way. The bullet recovered at his murder scene had been fired from the same gun. The temperature in the courtroom became colder than the first day when Trista testified.

  Again, the defense couldn't disprove the testimony except that not one member of the team had actually seen Lloyd anywhere in the vicinity. That alone brought a smile to Mr. Chambliss's face.

  The last witness for the second day of testimony was the day dispatcher at the precinct where Steve Journey was killed. Her description of the way Agent Journey died was similar to that of two FBI agents and a teenage girl. The temperature dropped several more degrees.

  The judge frowned and called the bailiff to him, instructing him to have someone check the thermostat. Even in his legal robe, he was cold.

  Once again, the forensics on the bullet recovered matched the other two bullets. And, again, the defense had no argument beyond the fact that the woman had not seen Lloyd.

  The families dined together again and felt good about the testimony of the day although those who were scheduled to testify were not allowed in the courtroom and had to hear second-hand accounts. Raif asked Ray about the temperature change, and the twins exchanged knowing nods. Ray whispered, "Demonic. Damn Latrice."

  Raif whispered back, "She's not the only person who could have had some satanic involvement. I get really bad vibes from Lloyd's lawyer."

  The next day began with the testimony of Detective Parker Reynolds. Parker's description of Lawrence Dantzler's death was a duplicate of the other three deaths. He then testified as to the results of the tests performed on the bullet and the expelled cartridge recovered from the roof of the Eau Boueuse Public Library. The slug and the cartridge proved to have been fired from the same gun as the others.

  Parker continued testimony regarding the explosion of Detective Brian Baker's car. The forensic report showed that only an explosives expert could have rigged the trigger to the windshield wiper.

  "Did you conduct inquiry into Officer Palermo's service record?" asked the prosecutor.

  "Yes," Parker testified. "Investigation showed that Lloyd Palermo spent time with the state bomb disposal unit."

  "Thank you, Detective Reynolds."

  The defense rose and approached Parker. "Was there any evidence that Lloyd Palermo handled the expended cartridge or was in the vicinity of the bar, that three of Eau Boueuse's finest were exiting?"

  Parker admitted, "No, there was no direct evidence."

  "Detective Reynolds, how many beers had you consumed before investigating the crime scene?"

  "Two. It was happy hour."

  "So, you investigated a crime scene under the influence?"

  "Objection!" roared the prosecutor.

  The judge knitted his eyebrows. "Have to allow it. Overruled. Please, answer, Detective Reynolds."

  "I was off duty when the crime occurred, and two beers would hardly be enough to impair my judgment. Besides, much of the investigation took place the next day by experts in the crime lab."

  "No more questions at this time. Reserve the right to recall."

  The prosecution called their next witness, retired Police Chief Raiford Reynolds. Ray affirmed the description of Dantzler's assassination and the explosion of Brian Baker's car. Then, he testified that Lloyd Palermo had been at the scene of Agent Dantzler's death and had offered his assistance.

  The defense went for Ray's jugular. "Mr. Reynolds, you are retired now?"

  "Yes."

  "First, for the record, how many beers had you had at the bar when Detective Baker's car exploded?"

  "Objection!" hollered Prosecutor Desmond. "Has no bearing on the case. Mr. Reynolds did not actually investigate anything at the scene."

  "Sustained," agreed the judge.

  "Mr. Reynolds, what official action at the scene did you perform?" asked Mr. Chambliss, the lead defense attorney.

  "I had Detective Baker pronounced dead at the scene and put him under heavy guard at the hospital just in case the perpetrator went after him again because he failed the first time. Then, I had his family taken into protective custody."

  "Did you drive yourself to the hospital?"

  "Yes."

  "After drinking?"

  "Objection!" snarled Desmond. "Mr. Reynolds has not been charged with a DUI or any other crime."

  "Withdrawn." Chambliss smirked.

  Chambliss changed direction. "Mr. Reynolds, were you injured in the explosion?"

  "Yes, mildly."

  "It was a head injury, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "Concussion?"

  "Mild."

  "Yet, you were able to drive?"

  "Yes."

  Chambliss thumbed through the documents on his table. "After the explosion, did you do something a bit underhanded to the public?"

  "If you're referring to hiding Brian's actual condition, yes."

  "No, I'm asking about false reporting. Did you leak false information to the press?"

  "Incomplete and with the full knowledge and cooperation of the press, yes."

  "So, you lied to the public?"

  "If you say so." Ray laced his fingers together on top of the rail in front of the witness chair.

  "Which members of the press cooperated?"

  "I refuse to answer that question."

  "Your Honor," Chambliss addressed the judge.

  "Why, Mr. Reynolds?" asked the judge.

  "The members of the media who cooperated in order to help catch a killer should not be disparaged as reporters. They acted in good conscience and with every intention of complete disclosure when the case is closed."

  The judge thought and nodded. "I will not trample on First Amendment rights. Move on, Mr. Chambliss."

  "Very well. Mr. Reynolds, on the day that Agent Dantzler was killed, you testified that Officer Palermo was at the library and offered his assistance."

  "Yes."

  "Was he in uniform?"

  "Yes."

  "Did you know who he was?"

  "No." Ray sat back, a bit more rigid in the witness seat and shivered at the cold, though he had dressed expecting the temperature to be frigid. "I thought he was a fellow law enforcement officer willing to help catch a killer."

  "Did you give him orders or instructions?"

  "Yes. I told him to help detain any and all patrons on the premises."

  "So, Officer Palermo did not look suspicious to you?"

  "Not at the time."

  "Does Officer Palermo have a library card for the Eau Boueuse Library?"

  "I have no idea. You'll have to ask the librarian," Ray replied.

  "I can do better." Mr. Chambliss retrieved Lloyd Palermo's library card that had been obtained two years earlier. "Defense exhibit one—Officer Palermo's library card with an address in an apartment complex six blocks away where he has lived for over two years." He turned back to Ray. "So, Mr. Reynolds, do you see any reason why a state trooper who just finished a shift should not go to the library to check out a book?"

  "No."

  "If he stopped by on his way home, is it feasible he wou
ld be in uniform?"

  "Of course."

  "So, is it possible he just happened to be there?"

  "Objection!" Desmond stood. "Calls for speculation on the part of the witness."

  "I'll withdraw the question." Chambliss looked over his shoulder at the prosecutor then back to Ray. "Was he wearing his sidearm?"

  Ray rubbed his head as a migraine began to creep up. "I don't recall seeing it."

  "Thank you. No more questions."

  The prosecution's next witness was Police Chief Brian Baker. Baker offered testimony regarding his own attempted murder. The only new information he could offer was the parking ticket, which had been destroyed in the explosion.

  The defense approached Chief Baker with a copy of the ticket. "Chief Baker, do you realize you have an outstanding parking ticket?"

  "What?"

  "Yes," Chambliss said. "Defense exhibit two. A copy of the citation legitimately issued that night because you were parked in a loading zone. Please note the signature."

  He handed the ticket to Baker. "Did Lloyd Palermo issue the ticket?"

  "No."

  "Who did?"

  "Officer Perini, one of my patrolmen."

  "No more questions."

  The prosecution called Raiford Gautier. Raif told the same story about Lawrence Dantzler. Then, he testified about his visit with Edyta Descartes.

  The defense objected, "Hearsay!" The judge sustained.

  Prosecutor Desmond rolled his eyes.

  Three days of testimony regarding multiple homicides was exhausting. At the end of the third day, the prosecution was ready to move to the other charges on the next Tuesday, since the following Monday would be a holiday. The families went home for a long weekend.

  The first witness on the fourth day of testimony was Neely Rivers Gautier. Neely bravely testified about the assault and then the visit in Hawaii to deliver a message from Lloyd. The judge had to give Neely several breaks. It was understandable the event had been devastating to her. Desmond asked, "Mrs. Gautier, can you identify your attackers?"

  "Not with any certainty." She narrowed her eyes to slits, afraid he was about to ask specifically about Kyle LaFontaine; thus, breaking her agreement. "I mainly remember part of a tattoo."

  Rather, Desmond gave her a gentle smile, and said, "No more questions."

  The defense was not so kind. Mr. Chambliss, the expensive attorney Lloyd Palermo had, began, "Mrs. Gautier? Is that correct?"

  "Yes," replied Neely.

  "Let's see. You're the wife of the first murder victim's widowed husband. Correct?"

  "Yes."

  "Ring around the rosy!"

  "Objection!" shouted Prosecutor Desmond. "The unusual fact that Miss Rivers met Mr. Gautier sometime after his wife's death and fell in love is irrelevant to the case."

  "Sustained," said the judge. "Stick to the case, Mr. Chambliss."

  Chambliss continued. "Mrs. Gautier, what happened to you was a travesty. Nobody should have to endure something like that. However, at any time during your attack did you see Officer Palermo?"

  Neely looked Lloyd Palermo in the eye as she responded. "No. He was too much of a coward to be there himself. He had to use children to do his dirty work."

  "Your Honor," whined Mr. Chambliss.

  The judge nodded. "Mrs. Gautier's statements passed, 'No,' will be stricken from the record."

  Mr. Chambliss asked, "Mrs. Gautier, did your assailant in Hawaii give you a last name of Lloyd?"

  "No."

  "Where is that alleged assailant now?"

  "I have no idea."

  "Would it interest you to discover that Honolulu police can find no record of such an incident?"

  "That's not possible."

  Chambliss gave a sarcastic shrug and Neely's mouth dropped open.

  "So, have you ever met Mr. Palermo?" Chambliss went on.

  "No."

  "By the way, for the record, when did you first meet Mr. Gautier?"

  "Several years ago when he got a tattoo."

  "What was that tattoo, dear?"

  "He and his twin brother got the Chinese symbols for older brother and younger brother and they both got tattoos with their wives' names. Ray's is an angel and Raif's is a unicorn."

  Mr. Chambliss chuckled. "So, you're married to a man who has his dead wife's name tattooed on him, which you actually tattooed on him. Like I said, 'Ring around the rosy.'"

  "Objection!" shouted Desmond.

  "Sustained!" bellowed the judge. "Mr. Chambliss, you will not mention the fact that Mrs. Gautier is now married to the widower of one of the victims again, or I will hold you in contempt."

  "No more questions," said Chambliss.

  Neely stared hostilely at Lloyd Palermo before a slight smile flickered across her face. As she stepped from the witness chair, she removed the jacket she wore to reveal her rose tattoo. She wanted to make sure Lloyd recalled his grandmother's warning.

  As Neely passed before him, she heard him gasp. Just the reaction made her feel good.

  The judge called court recessed for the day. "It's my understanding the prosecution's next witness is a minor. I won't have this child subjected to what in my opinion is tantamount to torture on different days. Court reconvenes at nine A.M. tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be no cameras or sketch artists in my courtroom. The minor witness will be protected as much as possible."

  "What kid is testifying?" whispered Lloyd to Chambliss.

  "The LaFontaine kid. Don't worry about the little hoodlum."

  "Is he the one who brought that last charge?"

  "Yeah. Don't worry about it. It's your word against his."

  "Have you seen that kid?"

  "No, and neither have you. Shut up."

  35

  Witness

  The next day Prosecutor Desmond called Kyle LaFontaine to the stand. He was dressed very simply in a light-blue button-down oxford shirt and khaki slacks. With his platinum blond curly hair and big pale-blue eyes, he looked angelic.

  Lloyd whispered, "He looks just like his father." Chambliss shot his client a look. Lloyd shrugged. "I actually miss Robert. We understood each other."

  Desmond approached Kyle even more gently than he had Neely. "Please, state your full name for the record."

  "Raiford Kyle LaFontaine."

  "Who is your father?"

  "The late Senator Robert LaFontaine."

  "What name do you use?"

  "Kyle." The boy shuddered and looked at his fingernails as they began to turn purple in the chilled room.

  "Kyle, how old are you?"

  "Seventeen."

  "For the record, are you testifying today in exchange for immunity?"

  "Yes and no."

  "Explain."

  "I'm testifying today because it's the right thing to do. Yes, you offered me immunity, but I had already made up my mind to do the right thing. Immunity is icing on the cake for me. I should go to prison, but I'm exceedingly grateful for another chance to prove I'm not a vile person."

  "All right. You're here to give testimony regarding three counts against a decorated Louisiana state trooper. How do you feel about that?"

  "I'm scared."

  "Why?"

  "I don't want people to know what's happened to me or what I've done, and I'm afraid of Officer Palermo."

  "Objection!" snapped Chambliss.

  "You can't object to the witness's state of mind, Mr. Chambliss," responded the judge.

  Mr. Desmond continued, "But you're testifying anyway."

  "Yes. Mr. Desmond, courage is not the absence of fear, but acting appropriately in spite of fear."

  "I find that admirable, Kyle, but have you always felt like that?"

  "No, but in the past year, I've grown up a lot, and I've learned that real love is unconditional." Kyle glanced at his mother and Courtney. He needed the assurance he saw in their faces.

  "Very well, Kyle. I want to work backward in your testimony. First, have you ever been associated wi
th Lloyd Palermo?"

  "Yes."

  "How so?"

  "Working backward?"

  "Either way."

  "Last year, he paid me and some of my buddies to find Christopher Reynolds in Biloxi and to beat him up. Two and a half years ago, he paid me and four other fellows to attack, beat, rape, and kill the owner of Timeless Tattoos in New Orleans. When I was ten"—Kyle looked Lloyd Palermo in the eye—"he raped me."

  The courtroom buzzed with comments. "Order!" shouted the judge as he banged his gavel. "Quiet or I will clear this courtroom!"

  Testimony finished, previous witnesses were allowed in the courtroom. Raiford Gautier rubbed his head for the sound was so similar to the effect the aneurysm he had endured years before caused when he had thought he was schizophrenic and hearing voices. Then, he shivered and noticed others wrapping garments more tightly to keep warm as the temperature seemed to plummet.

  The buzzing drone of multiple conversations stopped, and the judge instructed, "Mr. Desmond, proceed."

  His breath frosting the air, Desmond asked, "Kyle, when was the last time you interacted with Officer Palermo?"

  "Last March."

  "Tell us about it in your own words." Desmond stepped slightly to Kyle's right so he could block direct eye contact with Palermo.

  Kyle turned his gaze toward the jury. "My family has a beach house in Gulfport. We often go there weekends, beginning usually in February, spring break, and most of the summer. Last year, Police Chief Raiford Reynolds sent his family to Biloxi because he was concerned for their safety. He had concluded that the assassinations taking place around Louisiana were connected to a case a long time ago when a woman named Latrice Descartes killed a lot of people. Dr. Reynolds, the chief's wife, was an intended victim. Chief Reynolds thought all the people involved in the woman's arrest were potential targets, and since his wife had been very instrumental and actually killed the woman, he was afraid she would be a target. Our families have known one another for a long time."