Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
CHASE
S ilence settled over the courtroom after Jules muttered “It’s about damn time” and a whistle came from someone—probably Grizz. The judge looked entertained. Opposing counsel looked predictably exasperated. Katrina smiled in a way that proved she had set me up. Violet still didn’t say anything, though tears streamed down her face.
I didn’t know what they meant, but the only person whose reaction I cared about was hers. I’d said a lot already, but it wasn’t the full story. And I’d just sworn on a bible to tell the whole truth. So I decided to go on.
“I’m sorry, Vi,” I began again, finally breaking the silence. “I know the first time I say it to you shouldn’t be in a court of law, in front of God, and all our friends, and the whole state of Tennessee. I know how wrong it’s been for me to have feelings for you all these years. But there’s something you ought to know. I fell in love with you a long time before you and Todd even met. And I’ve spent every day since y’all two got together trying to shut my feelings down.”
Now, her tears ran faster. It occurred to me how badly I’d put her on the spot. That everyone was looking at her and that she probably didn’t want them to be. I was the one who had put it all on display, so it was me who ought to do something to take the heat off of her.
“Do you have any further questions?” I asked Katrina.
Katrina looked to Violet, who began scribbling things on the legal pad. Katrina looked down to read it, giving a little nod before she asked her next question.
“Do you plan on staying in the fire service, Mr. Greenleaf?”
“No, ma’am.” I looked at Violet. “Though it’s been my honor to serve my country again, on my farm is where I belong now.”
Violet scribbled another question on the pad. Katrina smiled before she asked it.
“Do you promise to quit doing stupid things, like driving a motorcycle and riding mechanical bulls?”
“Objection. Relevance.” Opposing counsel didn’t bother to stand up, he was so out of sorts.
“Sustained.” The judge finally shot Katrina a warning look. Katrina only looked mildly chagrined. “Withdrawn, Your Honor. The plaintiff rests.”
The judge looked at the DCH attorneys. “Counsel, do you wish to cross-examine?”
Opposing counsel stood. “Yes, Your Honor. We request a three-day recess to review new evidence.”
“Permission granted.” The judge turned to me. “Mr. Greenleaf, you may step down. Please be available to return in three days’ time.”
I nodded and made the short walk toward the back of the courtroom. Now wasn’t the time and this wasn’t the place to talk to Violet, but I could do at least one small thing. I reached into my pocket and gave her my handkerchief as I walked by.
Her friends shifted down the bench they were on to make room for me to sit. Nikki gave me an affirming nod. I tried to return it with a smile, but didn’t succeed. I had finally told the truth about how I felt, only some of which Violet ever suspected. All of this was a lot for a single day.
The judge picked up her gavel, looking ready to adjourn. It was midway to striking its sound block when Violet called out.
“Wait!” And she didn’t just call out—she stood up. “I’d like to take the stand.”
She looked over her shoulder at me, then with pleading eyes toward Katrina. “I’d like to testify about Chase.”
Katrina exchanged a long look with Violet, until the subtle confusion on her face melted into a smile.
“Your Honor, the plaintiff calls Violet LaRue to the stand.”
“Objection, Your Honor.” The opposition sounded even more put out than before. “Counsel cannot call a witness in the middle of a different witness’s testimony.”
The judge gave him a sharp look. “This is my courtroom, Mr. Morone. Counsel may do whatever I allow her to do.” She turned to Violet. “Ms. LaRue, you may take the stand.”
Violet hastened to the witness box, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief I’d given her as she walked. The bailiff swore her in and Katrina went through the same thing she had with me—establishing Violet’s full name and identifying her relationship to the case—then she started in on the real questions.
“Ms. LaRue, can you please explain why you wanted to testify today?”
“I’d like to serve as a character witness to Chase Greenleaf,” she began. “The other side called his character into question, but I’ve known this man going on ten years. I can honestly say, Chase Greenleaf is one of the most upstanding people I’ve ever known. He promised Todd he’d be there if he ever died in the line of duty. Chase has been there for us every single day.”
“Who do you mean by ‘us’?”
“Me and my two children, Brielle and Trey.”
“Can you give some examples?” Katrina prodded gently.
“Chase was at the hospital the day my son, Trey, was born. Todd was already gone by then. I was struggling a lot, between the hormones and the grief, and later postpartum depression. There were days when I wanted to give up, but Chase was there every day. He was the one who convinced me to get help. And he didn’t just tell me to go to therapy or walk on eggshells around me like everybody else did. He made the appointments when I couldn’t, and he put me in his car and gave me a ride.”
Violet was testifying to the court, but her gaze locked on mine again. Emotion from the times we never talked about shone clearly in her eyes.
“He walked the floor with both of my babies,” Violet waxed on. “He woke up with them at night. Made sure they were clean and fed and clothed, and happy and loved. Made sure they never wanted for anything, especially when we didn’t have any money. This man made my children baby food from scratch. All of this was while he was going through his own grief. All of this after he’d lost his own best friend. After he had inherited a farm he had no idea how to run.”
Nikki handed me a tissue and strong hands grabbed my shoulder from behind. Knowing my friends had my back did nothing to staunch the flow of my emotion.
Katrina nodded. “What would you say to the opposing counsel’s claim that Mr. Greenleaf might be biased?”
Violet broke her gaze with me long enough to send a glare toward the other side and lifted her chin.
“I would tell them that Chase is a man of duty. That I’ve just demonstrated how he fulfilled the duty he had to his best friend. That he fulfilled his duty to the Secretary of the Interior by not disclosing his investigation to me and going through the proper channels to ensure he could testify in court. That he fulfilled his duty to the people of Tennessee through his work with the Green Valley Fire Department and to the people of the United States of America through his work with the National Forestry Service, protecting the people and the land. I would tell opposing counsel that Chase Greenleaf is a goddamned hero.”
A hoot went up from the back of the room—the firefighters, of course—but they weren’t the only ones who were getting behind Violet. Members of the jury were nodding their heads and one even applauded. But it turned out Violet wasn’t finished.
“If Chase’s character is being called into question, then I’d ask Mr. Morone how many burning buildings he’s ever run into, and how many burning forests, and how many lives he’s saved. I’d ask him how many terrible things he’s had to see and how many friends he’s lost to the job and how—if all that happened to him—he finds a way to wake up in the morning. And if he’s never had to go through any of that, I’d tell him to thank Chase for his service.”
God, I love this woman.
I thought it at the same moment the courtroom erupted into cheers. The judge tried to call order in the court but it took her a solid minute. The jury had begun to talk amongst itself and firefighters were a rowdy bunch. The second-string player on opposing counsel was busy objecting, which seemed like pretty much all they knew how to do. Head counsel, Mr. Morone, had finally shut up and was looking rather salty.
I shook my head as I looked back at Violet, my lips melting into a smile at the same time as hers did the same. We stayed that way until the judge managed to quiet the courtroom, urging Katrina to finish with her line of questioning and get Violet off of the stand.
“Ms. LaRue, I just have one final question: is there anything you can say on your own behalf about whether you might be biased in favor of Mr. Greenleaf? You’ve just indicated to this court that you may feel indebted to him. Don’t you have incentives—personal incentives—to portray him in the best possible light?”
“You’re right—I am indebted to him. But what I owe him is something that no court testimony could ever repay. And I am biased in his favor. I’m head over heels in love with this man.”
Now, Violet was grinning and I was pretty sure I was, too. And the next thing I knew, I was on my feet. And, suddenly, she was out of the witness box and we were walking toward each other. And then, all hell was breaking loose again but I couldn’t have cared less, because Violet and I were kissing in the middle of the courtroom floor.
The judge demanded order, but we made no move to stop. For starters we were among the least disruptive. Plus, I hadn’t seen this woman in ten days. I had needed her through all of this and I had craved holding her. The truth was, we had needed each other—not just this past week but for all the times when we’d had to downplay our feelings. Our need for connection could no longer be denied.
We took our cue sometime later only when the judge admonished us directly.
“Mr. Greenleaf, Ms. LaRue, please be seated at once.”
Violet sat back next to Katrina and I sat back next to Nikki. Once again, there were hands on my shoulder—not squeezes of support but pats on the back.
“Your Honor, permission to speak about a mitigating factor?” Katrina was still on her feet.
The judge actually rolled her eyes. “If this has to do with anybody in this courtroom being in love with anybody else, the answer is no.”
“No, Your Honor. Rather, I would like to inform this court that DCH is not only the insurer for the fire service of the state of Tennessee but also the insurer of record for Cal Fire. If the court agrees that this is no longer a case of accidental death, but a case of wrongful death, my client will revise her claim.
“My client also wishes for the court to know that DCH made a settlement offer of 500,000 dollars, which is 100,000 dollars greater than the value of the policy in question. Due to the unusual nature of the settlement offer, we request permission to call additional witnesses to understand what additional evidence DCH may have had about the case and to determine whether an obstruction of justice has occurred.”
Damn. Katrina’s good.
Titterings of surprise went up in the courtroom. When the judge spoke again, she was overtly hostile.
“Defending counsel, you’ll have your three days. However, if the revised cause of death is irrefutable according to this report, you will act swiftly to offer this woman justice.”
She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes.
“And, furthermore, Mr. Morone, Ms. LaRue is not the only party who may be inclined to look into obstruction. If I catch a whiff of wrongdoing, I’ll file federal obstruction charges myself.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
I took great pleasure in watching him squirm.
“Good. This court is adjourned.”