Endangered (18 page)

A guttural moan escaped her quivering lips. Tears streamed down her face. “But what about the evidence? What about Shaun G and the gun? What about Loretta? She's in the courtroom, waiting to tell the judge what she knows. Doesn't all that mean anything?” Her voice rose a few octaves.

Calvin wrapped his arms around her, straightening her from a cowering hunch. “We will use every bit of evidence we have, but you have to know the risk you are taking.”

“It's all or nothing, Janae. All or nothing.”

Calvin hissed at Roger's simplification. He looked searchingly into Janae's eyes. “It is your choice. But we gotta know now.”

She sniffled as she tried to collect herself. “Do we have a good case?”

The men replied in unison, without hesitation. “Yes!”

“But there are no guarantees. I believe we can win the hearing,” Calvin said, shaking his head, desperately wanting her to get his next point. “But if we lose, he will face murder one charges in adult court. If you take their offer, Malik will only face manslaughter charges.”

“But the evidence is the evidence, regardless of which courtroom, right?”

“The consequences, though, are worlds apart.”

“Janae, look at me,” Roger said. “We will win the hearing.”

“Damn it, Roger!” Calvin's frustration was at boiling point. “You know you can not guarantee that.”

“We will win because it is time. Yes, this is Malik's case, but this is the start of something bigger than all of us. Don't lose your heart now,” Roger retorted.

There was a knock at the witness room door that rattled Janae. The courtroom clerk popped his head in. “The judge is waiting for you in his chambers. He wants you in there ASAP.” He shut the door without waiting for a reply.

“So what is it, Janae?” Roger asked.

“I want his life back. I want it back completely. Continue with the waiver hearing.” She grabbed them both by the wrists. “Win. Malik needs you to win.”

 

THE COURTROOM HAD FILLED. AT LEAST HALF THE PEOPLE WERE FROM news outlets. Tameka and Kim were seated close to Loretta. Janae sat between them, huddled in an embrace. A reporter, a few seats away, was indiscreetly observing Janae and her supporters while jotting notes on a pad. From the row of seats behind them, a male hand holding a small recorder bogarted the space between Janae and Loretta. Janae watched as the red record button was pressed down.

“Do you have anything to say, Ms. Williams, about whether your son should be tried as an adult?”

She bit down hard on her bottom lip to prevent herself from responding. She tasted the bitterness of her blood. She wanted Malik to be recognized for what he was: growing, but still very much a child. She wanted him to have every benefit of the law.

“Do you think it's fair that the victim's mother should have to endure this hearing—your son trying to get off easier than other murder defendants?”

Loretta grabbed the reporter's hand moving the recorder closer to her mouth. In a low husky voice she said, “I am the mother of Michael Gaines. He was the thirtieth murder victim this year. He was only eleven years old. I believe Malik Williams is innocent. I believe he is a child just like my baby was. My son was too young to die, and Malik is too young to be tried as an adult. I support him and his mother.” She reached her hand over to Janae and squeezed her shoulder. She then grabbed the reporter's hand again and pushed it away. She looked him hard in the eye and added, “That's enough.”

Janae stood up when Malik stepped into the courtroom. She wanted to make sure he saw her when he entered through the side door. He smiled briefly, then dropped his gaze. He was escorted to his seat at the defense table.

Standing next to Calvin, Malik was undeniably still a child. The top of his small Afro barely reached Calvin's shoulders. Malik's growing frame had not yet blossomed into a manly physique like Calvin's. Even the way Malik held himself, shoulders rolled forward, both ankles bent outward so that he nearly stood on the sides of his feet, revealed the uncertainty of an awkward teenager.

Calvin put his arms on Malik's shoulder, bringing him closer. He leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Malik responded with a subtle grin. A calm such as Janae hadn't felt since before Malik's arrest washed over her.

Judge McCormick banged his gavel. “Good morning,” the judge said like a teacher addressing an anxious classroom of students at the start of a new school year. “Today we have a waiver hearing to determine if the defendant Malik Williams's case will remain in juvenile court or be transferred to criminal court. We have a crowded courtroom. I know this case has received quite a bit of media attention.” His eyes briefly met Roger's. “However, the sole purpose of this hearing is to determine if Mr. Williams will be tried as an adult or a juvenile. Do you understand?”

Almost as one, ADA Dembe, Roger, and Calvin stood and affirmed their understanding of the purpose of the present hearing.

“Good. This case has had an unusual procedural history. It ended up in my courtroom because of the bomb threat at the CJC that just so happened to have occurred on the same day the defendant was arrested. He was processed as a juvenile per an emergency order as were all underage defendants who had the good fortune of being arrested on the day in question. Under normal circumstances, murder one is a statutory exclusion, which means the underage defendant's point of entry in the system is at the criminal level. The defendant is tried as an adult unless he is waived back to juvenile court pursuant to section 6322 of Pennsylvania statute 42. I am hearing this waiver, rightly or with great error, Ms. Dembe, because the case was assigned to me, and I do not see any point in sending it to criminal court just so the waiver hearing can take place there when I am well versed on the statutory requirements of section 6355, which govern this hearing. The defendant has the burden. Ms. Dembe, before the defense seeks to meet its burden, are you ready to give a showing of evidence regarding the homicide of Troy Barnes.”

“I am, Your Honor. I call Officer Peter Rhinehold to the stand.”

Loretta and Kim turned to get a good look at the officer, but Janae's eyes remained fixed on Malik. She could sense his discomfort the first moment he saw the officer who not only arrested him but beat him.

Officer Rhinehold, dressed in his official blue uniform, stood up. His Glock 22 was holstered on his right hip. His body was rigid and his eyes blank. A swishing sound filled the quiet courtroom as he walked toward the witness stand.

After the officer was sworn in, ADA Dembe asked from the prosecution table, “Officer, would you please state your name for the record.”

“Yes. Officer Peter Rhinehold, badge number 4552.”

“Officer Rhinehold, could you tell us your involvement in this case?”

“Yes. I was the lead arresting officer, along with Officers Elliott, Schmidt, Kartchner, and McDaniels. We received an anonymous tip that the perpetrator of the homicide of Troy Barnes, which had occurred two hours earlier, was on the corner of Fortieth and Poplar streets. A detailed description was given of the defendant—that he was an African-American teenage boy wearing a blue hoodie, black leather jacket, and blue jeans. The anonymous caller also said that the victim and the defendant had had an earlier argument, which was later confirmed by several witnesses. When we arrived at the exact location of the tip, we found the defendant wearing the exact clothing. We placed him under arrest and initially took him to the CJC, but we were rerouted to 1801 Vine Street because of the bomb threat.”

“Could you tell the judge the nature of the fatal wounds that the deceased sustained?”

Officer Rhinehold shifted his body slightly toward the judge, but kept his mouth still positioned squarely at the microphone. “The victim, Troy Barnes, was shot twice at point-blank range. Once to the back of the head”—he moved his right hand to the back of his own head and held it there for a few seconds—“and once in the lower back, around the fourth lumbar”—and again he indicated the spot on his own body.

“Is the person you arrested for the homicide of Troy Barnes in the court this morning?”

Pointing at Janae's son, the officer said, “Yes. It's the defendant, Malik Williams.”

ADA Dembe smiled at the officer. “That's all I have for you now. Thank you.”

As the officer turned his body, preparing to leave the witness stand, Calvin stood up.

“Officer Rhinehold, I have a few questions for you.” He buttoned his suit jacket and picked up his yellow legal pad. He stepped from behind the defense table and walked toward the cop. He stopped when he was about two feet from the officer. “Did you find the gun that was used in the homicide?”

Officer's Rhinehold eyes shifted from Calvin to ADA Dembe. He waited a few seconds before he began to speak, as if waiting for the ADA to object.

“No.”

“Forensic analysis is currently being conducted on bullets removed from victim Troy Barnes and a subsequent shooting victim, isn't that correct?”

Officer Rhinehold's eyes narrowed. Calvin shifted his body to block the officer's view of opposing counsel. “Well, isn't it?” he demanded.

“Objection, Your Honor,” Dembe's voice bellowed through the courtroom. “This is a hearing, not a trial. Counselor's job here is to present a basis for allowing the defendant's case to remain in juvenile court. This goes beyond the scope of the limited purpose of this hearing.”

“My job, Your Honor, is to provide the best legal defense for my client at every opportunity. If this bullet analysis comes back matching, the prosecution just may have the wrong defendant. And at the very least, it specifically addresses the culpability of my client, which is a factor in the hearing.”

The judge leaned sideways toward the officer. “Answer the question.”

The officer gritted his teeth. “An analysis is being conducted. Last I checked, there weren't any results yet.”

“Has an arrest been made in that subsequent case?” Calvin looked down at his notes and slightly shook his head. “Let me rephrase that, what is the name of the individual who was arrested for the murder of Michael Gaines?”

Janae and Loretta simultaneously turned toward each other. Loretta looked like her heart was shredding all over again. Janae squeezed her hand.

If Calvin knew the answer to this question he sure was not letting on. It was clear that Roger was just as confused by the direction his partner was going as the rest of the people in the courtroom.

ADA Dembe, who never sat down from her first objection, raised a new one. “Objection, Your Honor, this is irrelevant. Counselor has moved on to another case and has yet to address the one he is counsel on.”

Calvin turned to the judge. “If you would just allow the question, I will demonstrate the connection.”

Judge McCormick pursed his lips. He gave Roger an eye of warning. “I am inclined to give you this inch of leeway, but it better produce fruit. Objection overruled. Counselor, get to your point. And quickly.”

The officer cleared his throat. “We just made an arrest at five this morning. The defendant's name is Jonathan King, aka Little John John.”

“That is a
lie
! He is
lying
.” Loretta violently leaped up off the bench. She stood, shaking with a tear-stained face.

The judge banged his gavel. “Take your seat, ma'am, or I am going to have you ejected from this courtroom.”

Both Janae and Tameka, on either side of her, tugged gently at her arms. “Loretta, please sit down,” Janae whispered. “Don't you want to hear what the cop has to say?” Janae tugged at her stiff arm again. “Sit down.”

Reluctantly she sat in her seat, all the while speaking under her breath, “That officer is lying. It couldn't have been Little John John.”

“Officer, in your investigations into the murders of Troy Barnes and Michael Gaines, did the name Shaun G come up?”

The officer shifted in his seat. He leaned farther in to the mic, his lips nearly touching it. “No.”

Janae closed her eyes and shook her head.
Is Shaun G real? Is he a figment of our imagination? Could Michael and Kim both be wrong?

“Did you interview Michael Gaines's mother?”

“Yes.”

“That is a damn lie! You never interviewed me.” She was on her feet now, pointing a stiff arm at the officer. “He is lying! How dare you sit there and lie!”

Worry coursed through Janae like poison. She sat on the edge of her seat.
Why would the officer risk lying about interviewing Loretta? If he would lie about Loretta, he'd lie about Shaun G, too.

The judge pointed his gavel at the bailiff. Immediately the tall uniformed man walked toward Loretta and grabbed her by the arm. She snatched herself loose before he had the chance to physically remove her from the courtroom. She almost made it to the other side of the bar before she felt a harsh tug on her right arm. That didn't stop her, though. Her mouth was still free. “Why are you lying?”

Without prompting, the officer said, “That investigation has not officially closed. I said we interviewed the mother because that's normal protocol. If it hasn't happened yet, she can expect it any day now.”

“Are you changing your answer to the question? Are you now saying you did not interview Michael Gaines's mother?”

The officer cleared his throat again. “I am saying your question was confusing. Michael Gaines's mother will be interviewed, if she hasn't already been.”

The judge sat unnaturally erect as he followed this exchange.

“Really?” Calvin's eyes squinted as he stared the officer down. “My question was confusing?”

“I have no further questions for this witness.” Calvin turned to walk back to the defense table. He rubbed his chin pensively.

Roger grabbed Calvin by the arm before the young attorney had the chance to address the court again. “Where the hell did that come from?” he whispered.