Chapter 26
Icould still hear George Luke railing out in the hallway. Muted voices beneath his told me several of the deputies were still trying to calm him down and get him out of the building. Doug and Deena Landon stayed in the courtroom, determined to see how this played out.
Jamie Simmons remained remarkably stoic through it all.
I knew he was guilty. Believed it in my bone marrow.
But his chilling gaze forward cut through me.
The man was a master manipulator. It occurred to me he wasn’t afraid.
It occurred to me that even from behind the defense table, he had manipulated George into action with his smug expression while the man bared his soul in public for the first time.
“Your Honor,” Cutler started. He was sweating, his face flushed.
If his client hadn’t been upset by the events of the last fifteen minutes, Cutler certainly was.
“The conduct of the prosecution’s case has been a farce since the beginning.
Ms. Brent has been allowed a parade of witnesses with nothing relevant to testify about.
George Luke is merely the latest stunt. After that unchecked outburst, I don’t believe there is any way a fair verdict can be rendered in this case. ”
“Unchecked?” I said. “Mr. Luke was dragged out of this courtroom by two armed deputies. He is a grieving father. If we declared mistrials anytime a family member of a murder victim got upset in court, there’d be no justice at all.”
“Mr. Cutler,” Judge Saul said. “If you’re bringing a motion for a mistrial, you’re going to have to do better than personal attacks against the prosecution.”
“George Luke’s entire testimony was irrelevant and highly prejudicial,” Cutler said.
“It does not matter what his relationship with the defendant is. It does not matter what Jamie Simmons’s relationship with his wife is, or his father-in-law’s perception of it.
I raised objections to that effect repeatedly and got shot down.
Well, now we’ve seen exactly why he shouldn’t have even been allowed to take the stand. ”
When I spoke, I had to make a real effort not to shout.
To keep my cool. “Mr. Luke testified about how Jamie Simmons exerted undue influence on his family. How he essentially lied to Ellie’s family about their relationship.
His behavior around the time of Ellie’s disappearance and the discovery of her body is extremely relevant.
The physical evidence in this case was found in Jamie Simmons’s home.
In his possession. He collected souvenirs from his victim, including her whole family. ”
Vivian Saul squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Mr. Cutler, I’m inclined to agree with Ms. Brent.
As I’ve said repeatedly, you are free to argue the relevancy of Mr. Luke’s testimony in your closing arguments.
But your client’s conduct with the Luke family, especially within the time frame of the victim’s disappearance and the discovery of her body, is relevant. ”
“My client is on trial for murder,” Cutler shouted.
“The critical issue of this case is whether the state can meet its burden of proof that Jamie Simmons caused the death of Elizabeth Luke. Everything George Luke said pertained to events that happened after Ellie Luke’s disappearance and death.
Everyone in this room but me seems to want to conveniently forget that.
Mr. Simmons isn’t on trial for the kind of son-in-law he is.
Or the kind of friend he was to Ellie Luke.
And his outburst just now? You can’t ask the jury to disregard it.
Well, you can, but it’s not reasonable to expect that they will. ”
“I have more faith in the jury than you do,” Judge Saul said.
“Your motion for mistrial is denied, Mr. Cutler. However, I will strongly admonish the jury to disregard Mr. Luke’s emotional outburst at the conclusion of his testimony.
I don’t know how many ways I can say this, but closing arguments will be your opportunity to argue to them whether the state has met its burden. ”
“Your Honor …” Cutler began to raise his voice again. Judge Saul’s withering gaze looked like she could have melted him with it.
“That’s my ruling,” she said. “Your objections have been sufficiently preserved for appeal. We will proceed. It’s late enough in the day now that we’ll restart in the morning.
I’m going to have the jury brought back in.
I will do what I said I was going to do.
They’ll be instructed to disregard Mr. Luke’s behavior.
We’re back here first thing in the morning.
Will you be ready to call your next witness at that time, Ms. Brent? ”
“Of course,” I said.
“Good.” Judge Saul directed her bailiff to bring the jury back in.
I stayed on my feet while she told them to pay no attention to George Luke’s emotional outburst. She explained it was not evidence and should not be given weight as such.
Once again, Cutler raised an objection, asking for Luke’s entire testimony to be stricken.
Once again, he was overruled. Then Saul banged her gavel to dismiss us for the day.
Jamie Simmons rose to his feet. Saul’s bailiff approached the bench.
From where I stood, I could read his lips.
The deputies had made sure to remove George Luke from the courthouse.
There was no chance he would run into Jamie Simmons on the way out.
The entire time, Simmons stared straight at me as he turned toward the deputies ready to be led back to his holding cell. He winked at me.
Hojo stood at the door to my office as I walked in. “What the hell happened in there?” he asked.
“George Luke finally woke up,” I said. “He all but accused Jamie Simmons of murder right in front of the jury. Right before he jumped over the witness box ready to strangle Simmons with his bare hands.”
“Geez. How’d Cutler handle it?”
“Not well. But Saul wouldn’t give him his mistrial.”
“Thank God.” Hojo sank into one of the chairs in front of my desk. I took the other.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Cutler got a few clean shots in.”
“Like what?”
“He was able to establish that Ellie Luke’s bedroom was kept untouched for up to two years after she went missing. That any number of people, including Jamie Simmons, would have had access to it.”
Hojo rubbed his chin. “He’s gonna try to argue whatever Simmons had in that box. He collected it after she went missing?”
“That’s crap!” I startled, not having heard Sam walk up. He stood in the doorway, his campaign hat in his hand. I waved him in.
“It might be reasonable doubt,” I said.
“Mara, fine. Maybe that theory works for the underwear. But Ellie was wearing those earrings when she disappeared. He took one off her dead body. Agent Palmieri established that the lock of hair was cut straight from her head.”
“And that’s my counterargument,” I said. “But the problem I have is the same one I’ve had since day one. I can prove he’s a creep beyond a reasonable doubt. Murder is something else. I just wish … we needed more time.”
“We didn’t have it,” Hojo said.
I was exhausted. George Luke had unsettled me. So had Deena Landon. But as I sat there, I had to bite back the retort bubbling up in me. Kenya Spaulding would never have filed charges in this case when we did. She’d have given me more time to work on the Luke family.
“I’m worried about Claudia Luke,” I said. “George went rogue today. That’s why Cutler was so unhinged. He tightly controlled that family at Jamie’s behest. I need to talk to Hayden. Fill her in on what happened. I have no idea how this is going to shake out for her.”
“Mara,” Sam said. “I know how invested you are in this thing. But you’re not responsible for the Lukes. It’s not your job to play social worker for them. Hayden’s got support. She’s been provided resources through the Silver Angels.”
“What’s next?” Hojo asked. “Who do you have left to call?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said. “George Luke left an impact. I said Cutler got off some hits. But George basically laid out what Simmons has done to the entire family. If the theory of this case is an obsession, Ellie’s father painted the picture I needed.
And the bottom line … I don’t have anything stronger than Jamie Simmons’s box of souvenirs. ”
It was a dig. Both Sam and Hojo knew it. I felt guilty for a moment. The outcome of this case impacted their careers more than mine. They were trusting me to do my best. I hoped I had.
“Call it a day,” Hojo said. “Go home, Mara. Get some rest. Come back fresh in the morning. If you rest, Cutler’s going to come on strong. Who do you expect he’ll call?”
“I don’t know. He may feel he’s gotten his best case in during cross.”
“You think he’ll put Simmons on the stand?” Sam asked.
“He’d be crazy to,” I said. “But I suppose that depends on how much control Cutler has over him.”
“If Jamie Simmons wants to testify,” Hojo said. “He’ll testify.”
“He’s not stupid,” Sam said. “He’s disturbed. A psychopath. But he’s no fool. He won’t take the stand.”
Hojo rose to his feet. “Well, my advice stands. Get a good night’s sleep, Mara.”
He passed an awkward look to Sam. Then Hojo patted me on the shoulder and left.
“He’s not wrong,” Sam said. “You look beat.”
“It was a lot,” I said. “I said George Luke woke up today. That’s what it felt like.
He listened to Deena Landon. Her experience with Simmons was like the pregame to what happened to Ellie and her family.
God. Sam. In some ways, it feels like Ellie’s murder was the least awful thing Jamie Simmons did.
George used the term grooming. He’s right.
Simmons worked his way in when the Lukes were at their most vulnerable.
He took over. He made them think they couldn’t survive without him.
Ellie ended up being the strong one. Maybe the only one who saw Jamie for what he was. ”
“He didn’t protect her,” Sam said. He stared in the distance.
“George said that. He blamed himself for not protecting Ellie.”
“No,” Sam said. “I mean he didn’t protect Erin. Simmons molded her into what he wanted her to be. His.”
“Yeah. The thing he couldn’t do with Ellie.”
“So he killed her for it. Maybe Erin isn’t as asleep as you think she is. Maybe she just figured out how to survive him.”
“God, Sam,” I said. “What if she never believes it? Even if I get a conviction. What if Erin stays loyal to him?”
Sam came to me. “You can’t worry about that. You can’t let it into your head. It’s not your job to save the Lukes. It’s only your job to convince that jury.”
The jury. I couldn’t read them. Were they as asleep as the Luke family?
“But if he walks, Sam,” I said. “Then Erin isn’t safe.”
“Come on,” he said. “Let me take you to dinner. Let’s try to put the Luke case out of our minds just for tonight. Hojo’s right about that. Come at it fresh in the morning.”
I took his hand and walked out with him. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Erin Simmons would never be free of her nightmare.