Devious Minds

  Yikes! I tried to zero in on which juror was thinking that, but Chris stood up to object to something Strickland had asked, and Strickland objected to that, and soon they were arguing with each other. Everyone stopped thinking their own thoughts to listen to the drama, before the judge stopped it by pounding on his gavel. He told them to rein it in, or he’d start handing out fines.

  After that, several people started thinking that this was courtroom drama at its finest. Or was that just Billie? I tried to zero in on Oliver again, but it was hard to block everyone else’s loud thoughts out of my head, and I knew my brain was reaching the breaking point. At times like this, I needed a few minutes of quiet, or I’d get a pounding headache and be of no use to anyone.

  “I’ll be right back,” I whispered to Billie. “Keep an eye on him for me?”

  She nodded with enthusiasm, and I slipped into the hall, relieved to put all that noise behind me. I relaxed for a few minutes, then moved into a quiet corner and decided to call Chase and see if he’d found out anything. At the rate things were going, I needed some answers fast.

  “Hi Chase, it’s Shelby. Have you found anything yet?”

  “Uh...yes,” he answered, “but you’re not going to like it.”

  “Why? What is it?”

  “There’s a lot of money that’s been transferred out of several accounts, but not by Oliver.”

  “Then who?”

  “Donovan,” he answered. “He authorized each transaction.”

  “That can’t be right,” I said.

  “I know. It doesn’t make sense, but everything looks legit.” He sighed. “Donovan did this sometimes when we needed extra money to buy out the companies, especially if we were stretched a little thin. When I look at the... wait a minute... maybe this is something else. Uh... let me check this out and I’ll call you back.” He disconnected, and I let out my breath before putting my phone away. I sure hoped it was something he could figure out, but what if it wasn’t?

  I concentrated hard on putting my shields up and went back inside. Billie moved over for me, and I quickly sat, glancing at Oliver. I zeroed in on his thoughts, but he was caught up in the testimony of the forensic science expert who explained why Donovan couldn’t have shot himself.

  During his explanation, I caught Oliver’s thoughts that he wished he would have known all this stuff before, then maybe Victoria wouldn’t be in this mess, and it would have been ruled a suicide. I rolled my eyes. He needed to be put away for this, and I was determined to figure out how to do it.

  Chris began his cross-examination by going after the expert. “Isn’t it true that your conclusions are not one hundred percent accurate?”

  “Well, based on the evidence gathered, there is a certain margin of error,” he answered.

  “And what is the percentage of this margin of error?”

  “Based on the samples I had, I’d say it’s close to twenty percent.”

  “So,” Chris interjected. “There is a twenty percent chance that your conclusions are wrong?”

  “I suppose so, yes.”

  “Does this indicate there is still a twenty percent chance that Donovan killed himself?”

  “Well, yes, but...”

  “What about the large amount of alcohol found in his bloodstream? I have a report stating that his blood alcohol level was over point one, high enough to cause severe mood swings and depression, which could easily contribute to suicidal tendencies.”

  “Objection,” Strickland said. “Counsel is leading the witness.”

  “Sustained.”

  Chris pursed his lips. “Is it true that blood alcohol levels in this range could contribute to depression and suicide?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Thank you, no more questions.”

  Strickland stood. “Your honor, in view of the defense’s line of questioning, I have one more question.” At the judge’s nod, Strickland began. “According to your scientific test results, isn’t it possible that the blood alcohol level may have dropped significantly in the hours before the body was discovered?”

  “Yes, that’s true, especially if you take blood loss into account.”

  “Based on this, what would you determine his blood alcohol level to be at time of death?”

  “Much higher, I’d say at least point two if not more.”

  “Objection,” Chris stood. “Uncertainty of blood alcohol testing not based on fact.”

  “You introduced this line of questioning,” the judge said to Chris. “Therefore, I will permit his answer.”

  “At that point,” Strickland continued. “Isn’t it possible that Donovan could have passed out and given anyone the opportunity to place a gun in his hand and, using Donovan’s finger, pull the trigger?”

  “Objection,” Chris stood. “Leading the witness.”

  “Overruled,” the judge said. “You may answer the question.”

  “Yes. Given all the forensic evidence, I believe that’s exactly what happened.”

  “Thank you. No further questions.” Strickland strutted to his chair, and my hopes fell. Chris’ tactic had backfired, and it made me sick to my stomach. I hoped he had something better than that for the next witness.

  Just then, they called Oliver Hampton to the stand, and my breath caught. It was happening too fast. My heart started racing, and I knew Chris was helpless to stop him from testifying. He glanced back at me, thinking that I needed to get up there and sit behind him.

  “I’ve got to help Chris,” I whispered to Billie. “But I’ll find you after.”

  “Sure,” she agreed.

  As Oliver made his way to the witness stand, I followed at a discreet distance, then stepped over a couple of people and scrunched between them into the bench behind Chris. He moved his chair back to the railing and handed me a legal pad and a pen. “Here, use this to write notes.”

  I nodded and sat back to wait.

  Chapter 3

  Strickland began his questioning by having Oliver state his name and his relationship to the victim. He then asked Oliver if he knew Donovan was having an affair.

  “Yes,” Oliver answered. “I wasn’t happy about it, but I knew.”

  “And when did Victoria find out? Wasn’t it the day Donovan was murdered?”

  “Objection,” Chris said, standing. “Leading the witness.”

  “Overruled,” the judge said. “Answer the question.”

  “Yes it was. I remember that day clearly because Victoria came in to work to see Donovan. He was out, so she waited in his office. I happened to be passing by and noticed her sitting at his desk and looking at his computer. Then, barely a minute later, she came rushing out. She passed me and looked so upset that I asked her if she was okay. She didn’t answer, but she had tears in her eyes, and I just knew...”

  “Objection,” Chris said again. “This is hearsay based on conjecture. He’s only guessing. He doesn’t know what she saw on that computer.”

  “Sustained,” the judge said.

  Strickland smirked. “Do you know what she saw on that computer?”

  “Yes,” Oliver said.

  “How do you know?”

  “After she left, I went into Donovan’s office and saw that his browser was opened to his email account. There were a bunch of emails from someone called “Aphrodite,” and one of them was open.”

  “I’d like to submit these as evidence to the court.” Strickland pulled a few papers from his folder and handed them to the clerk who passed a copy to the judge and Chris. He then handed a copy to Oliver. “Let the records show that this is evidence of the emails in question. You’ll notice the date on them is the same date as Donovan’s death. Could you read this for us, Oliver?”

  “Uh... sure.” Oliver cleared his throat and began. “Dearest Donovan, Has it only been two days since that magical afternoon? I don’t know how much longer I can wait to see you again. You’re all I think about. I want you more than anyone I’ve ever known. I’m free for a coup
le of hours at noon today... please say you’ll meet me. Same place? I’ll be waiting... Aphrodite.”

  “Thank you. Did you happen to notice what time it was when you found this email?”

  “Yes, because of the contents of the email, I checked my watch. It was nearly one o’clock in the afternoon. He must have been with her when Victoria came to see him.”

  “Thank you. No further questions.”

  Now it was Chris’ turn, but I had absolutely nothing to give him. He leaned toward me and I whispered, “He did it... but I don’t know why yet.”

  With a frown, Chris stood. “Oliver, it’s been established that you are Donovan’s older brother, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Oliver said, his lips turning down.

  “How did you two get along?”

  “We got along very well,” Oliver said, not giving an inch.

  “What about work? He was your boss, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you feel about that?” Chris asked.

  “Objection,” Strickland said. “This line of questioning is irrelevant and has nothing to do with the case.”

  “I’ll allow,” the judge said. “You may answer the question.”

  “Donovan knew how to make money, not me. He started the company on his own and asked me to work for him, which I gladly did. I never resented that.”

  But Oliver was thinking that he was with Donovan from the beginning and should have been his partner, not Chase. It was Oliver’s encouragement that got Donovan into the business. Then he’d worked his tail off to get his accounting and business license, only to have Donovan cut him out of the management position because he didn’t have ‘what it took’ to grow the company.

  After assuring Oliver that he’d have full partnership, Donovan asked Chase to be his partner and stuck Oliver in the accounting department to rot, never once including him in any decisions of how to run the company like they’d agreed. He’d had to sit there and take it while Donovan ignored him.

  I quickly wrote down that Oliver was supposed to be Donovan’s partner and handed the note to Chris. He scanned it, and glanced at Oliver. “But weren’t you supposed to be Donovan’s partner? Wasn’t that the agreement you made when you both started the company?”

  Oliver’s lips turned down, and he shot a glace of pure loathing my way before answering. “Not at all. Donovan put me exactly where I wanted to be.”

  I wanted to stand up and shout “Liar!” but wrote it down for Christopher to use instead, adding that Chase’s testimony would counter Oliver’s lie. Again, Chris looked at the note before continuing.

  “And where is that?” Chris asked.

  “I manage the accounting department.”

  I caught a sense of smugness about that... like it was the perfect place for him to stick it to Donovan, and he was actually surprised that it had taken Donovan so long to figure out what he’d been doing for months.

  Chris glanced at me, so I quickly wrote down a question and handed it to him. He turned to Oliver and asked, “Where were you on the night Donovan was killed?”

  “At home.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  I frantically wrote another question and handed it to Chris. He glanced at it and shook his head, thinking we couldn’t accuse him of being at Donovan’s house without evidence to back it up. But if he was there, maybe a witness could have seen him, or a security camera could have picked him up.

  He turned to the judge. “Your honor, that is all I have for now, but I’d like to reserve the right to call this witness at a later time in our case.”

  The judge was thinking that Chris might be onto something. A jealous brother in the mix could certainly change things up. “Agreed. Mr. Hampton, you may step down until such time as you are called by the defense.”

  Oliver left the stand with a disgruntled stare in my direction, hoping to intimidate me. He didn’t like Chris asking him about his relationship with Donovan, but he still felt confident that he wouldn’t get caught. Not with so much evidence against Victoria.

  Oliver also made sure the documents Donovan had shown him that night were destroyed. Without those, no one would suspect the truth. So why did my involvement put him on edge? He didn’t have to worry about fingerprints since he’d worn gloves and, although Donovan had security cameras installed, he’d made sure to avoid them. But... was there something he’d missed?

  The judge glanced at his watch and made a decision. “It’s nearly five o’clock, and it’s been a long day. I’ll adjourn this court until nine tomorrow morning.” He reminded the jury that they were not to discuss the case with anyone, then pounded his gavel and left for his chambers.

  Oliver’s traitorous testimony had shattered Victoria’s composure, and while Larsen tried to comfort her, Chris turned to me. “What have you got?”

  I leaned close to him. “He did it. He was there that night. I think he was taking money from the company and Donovan found out.”

  Chris’ thoughts turned to the surveillance cameras mounted at the house, but he’d already seen the footage and knew the tapes showed no sign of him. How did Oliver get around that?

  “Oliver knew how to avoid them. He had a key to the house and got in through the back.”

  “Let’s go to my office and you can fill me in on everything you found out.”

  Victoria and Larsen heard the end of Chris’ comment to me and both had high hopes that I’d figured out something that would solve the case. Chris was hoping that after I explained things, we’d be able to find some kind of evidence that would tie Oliver to the house that night. He thought there had to be something that would link Oliver to the crime scene since he was there.

  I didn’t want to burst his bubble, but I couldn’t think of a darn thing. The best chance we had of nailing Oliver was figuring out how he took the money and tracing it back to him. Still, that didn’t mean we could prove that he killed his brother. Short of a confession, this whole thing was starting to look hopeless. Was he actually going to get away with murder?

  As we made our way to the exit, Chris caught sight of Billie waiting at the door. I caught his thoughts of protecting Victoria from the press, and his ready response to tell her to leave us alone.

  “I’ll talk to Billie,” I told him. “You go on ahead, and I’ll catch up.”

  “We have nothing to say,” he told me.

  “I know. It’s fine.” I stopped next to Billie and waited until they passed before turning to her. “He was worried you were going to ambush Victoria.”

  “Yeah, I kind of got that.” She was upset that Chris couldn’t even smile or say hello. She thought it was too bad that he looked at her profession first, and friendship second. At least I didn’t treat her like that. But then, she was kind of using our friendship to get the scoop on this story, so maybe she wasn’t any different, and a little surge of guilt tore through her heart.

  Hearing that made it a little easier to tell Billie I couldn’t talk to her. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t discuss the case.”

  “I know. I didn’t mean to put you in this position. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked.

  “Uh... not right now, but if I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay.” She knew that wasn’t going to happen, but she thought it was nice of me to say.

  As we walked toward the stairs, I decided to change the subject to something more comfortable. “So how are things going with you and Dimples?” After she’d been shot a few months ago, Dimples, or Drew, as she called him, had hardly left her side.

  “Oh... great. We’re good, uh... really good.” A cute blush turned her face pink and, all at once, I knew there was something she didn’t want me to know.

  “Oh yeah? Why is that? Something you want to share?”

  “Uh... not really.” She was thinking things were moving kind of fast s
ince, just last weekend, he’d asked her to marry him. They hadn’t told a soul yet, since it wasn’t official until he got the engagement ring and it was on her finger, but she was bursting with the news.

  Holy cow! My breath caught, and it was all I could do not to jump up and down. Instead, I blurted, “Are you sure? I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “What? Oh no... you’re not supposed to know.”

  “Um... well, I can’t help it if I get premonitions, you know that.” At her surprise, I continued. “I mean, I work with Dimples too, so sometimes things just come out.”

  “Shelby... what are you... did he tell you?” Billie’s eyes narrowed, and suspicion coursed through her veins. Had Drew told me he was going to ask her to marry him? Before he’d asked her? He’d better not!

  “Of course not!” I said. “In fact, for the last week or so, he’s had me down looking through all the cold case files... and now I think I know why. He didn’t want me to pick it up from him. That sneaky son-of-a-gun.”

  “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”

  “No, but... wow! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you. Have you set the date?”

  “Damn... you really do know.” She never doubted my premonitions before, but now that it was about her, it was kind of freaking her out. “Uh... thanks. We’re picking out the ring tonight, then we’ll have to decide on the date. I’ve always wanted to get married in June, though. What do you think?”

  “That’s perfect.” I didn’t think it gave her a lot of time to get ready, but knowing Billie, she could pull it off, no problem. “I can’t believe it! You’re getting married! This is so exciting!”

  She finally squealed with excitement, and I gave her a hug, right on the courthouse steps. We chatted for a few more minutes before I told her I had to go.

  “Good luck with the case,” she said. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.” She was thinking about checking out Oliver Hampton, since I’d basically given it away that he was the killer, and finding out as much as she could about him. That way she’d be ready to write up the article once he got arrested. He must have done it in a fit of jealous rage... yeah... that would work. She could see the headline now, “Sibling Rivalry to Die For,” or something like that. She’d have to work on it...