Chapter 62
Rory Caruthers had been MIA for months. After Beau Lee and Alvarez were unsuccessful subpoenaing him, as Caruthers himself had requested, they decided to log him as a witness in case he was still making up his mind, knowing how reluctant he’d been at the café months back.
But when Capes returned to the courtroom from answering his rapid-fire phone calls and told them Caruthers had been killed in a motorcycle accident just last night, not too far from his father’s house, where Caruthers grew up, Beau Lee and the team were shocked.
It was tragic on many levels, but the timing was clearly suspicious.
Beau Lee had felt certain that even though Caruthers had gone into hiding because of the pressure he faced for standing up against the blue wall, Caruthers would show up and testify in the trial that Mr. Montrose had never pulled his gun.
But he never imagined that the guy would be found dead only months after they’d visited his apartment.
The accident had occurred at six-thirty p.m. when Rory went through a busy intersection and failed to stop for the red light.
He had supposedly lost control due to faulty brakes.
Beau Lee notified the court as soon as he found out.
Beau Lee acknowledged in his mind that this was a devasting blow to their case.
Because Caruthers was the only person on the scene that night besides Mr. Montrose who was going to testify that he did not shoot his gun.
After the judge was advised of the news, she placed the court in recess for the rest of the afternoon.
Beau Lee and Alvarez were devastated to say the least. An honest man was dead, and even more, this was a blow to Hollis’s case.
Rory knew what happened and had been willing to testify that he never saw Mr. Montrose discharge his firearm.
“You think his accident was legit?” Capes asked during the recess. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack and Chaz messed with his bike.”
“Me neither,” Beau Lee said. “Not that we could prove it.”
Alvarez tried to remain calm and looked at Beau Lee for any sign of what he was thinking.
He’d suddenly grown quiet and seemed to be deep in thought.
She knew he was disturbed about the way the trial had been unfolding.
But this? An important witness being tragically killed in a motorcycle accident?
She felt as though she were in an episode of Law & Order and no one had informed her.
The trial was starting to feel unreal. But as being the consummate professional and advocate he was, Beau Lee had not let the judge or her rulings, DaSilva and his antics, the crazy egg-throwing white supremacists, or anything else get him off his game thus far.
He was fighting like she knew he would. But the death of a witness?
Alvarez wiped sweat from her brow and thought to herself that being a litigator was not for the weak.
As confident as she was in her career as an attorney, she wasn’t fully prepared for the Hollis Montrose trial.
They were both at the top of their games, but they just couldn’t catch a break.
Watching Beau Lee and trying this case with him had been an experience like no other, and she was grateful they’d been able to put their differences aside to fight for Hollis.
But now it was time to put her Ivy League education to work.
There was no way she would let the news about Rory Caruthers sink this case.
Beau Lee was fiercely advocating despite all the setbacks, and she knew he needed her more than ever.
She pulled out her trial notebook and began combing through her notes for what felt like the millionth time.
She was looking for something, anything to get them back on track.
And then, just like that, there it was. With all the craziness, she’d almost forgotten about Officer Caruthers’s affidavit.
But then she considered that there was probably no way the judge would admit it.
She knew the hearsay rules better than most law professors.
Nevertheless, she turned to Beau Lee and said, “We still have Rory’s affidavit.
I know it’s a long shot, but we have to try to find a way to get it entered into evidence. ”
Beau Lee took a deep breath. “We don’t have any other alternatives. So do your best to see if we can find some theory to get over the hearsay rule. But I would be shocked if this judge did us any favors.”
Alvarez told Beau Lee she was going to return to the office and start researching exceptions to the hearsay rules.
She would do her part, and legal research was one of her strengths.
In fact, she was basically a research queen, and she had declared in her mind that she would not sleep tonight until she came with an argument as to why this affidavit should be admitted into evidence.
Although she was emotionally and physically drained, this new challenge gave her a burst of energy.
She grabbed her rolling briefcase and Beau Lee gathered his things so they could depart together.
Capes led the way out a side exit to avoid the media.
The case had garnered so much attention that the media was always waiting outside, ready to bombard Beau Lee with questions.
It wasn’t that Beau Lee didn’t have anything to say about the tragic turn of events, but out of respect for Rory’s family, he decided against making a statement on his untimely death.
As soon as he opened the side exit door, Capes saw the driver waiting as he’d requested.
They got in and headed to Alvarez’s office to regroup.