False Accusations by Jacobson, Alan (great novels of all time .txt) 📕

someone he or she believes in,” Leeza said, looking at Hellman. “Thanks.”

“Practice was getting boring. I needed something to spice it up. Maybe I should be thanking you.”

“So what happens now, to Harding?”

“Now that the DNA’s been a confirmed match, they’re running it through a different method just to make sure. Denton looked bad once: he doesn’t intend to look bad twice. He said he wants to go into this trial with as much foolproof ammunition as possible.”

“You think the jury will convict her?”

“With everything we’ve given him, Denton’s got enough to make a compelling case of it. I think there’s a good chance she’ll go down.” He looked at Madison, afraid to broach the subject, but realizing he had to, sooner or later. “How would you feel about testifying at her trial?” He couched it as a casual question, as if Madison really had a choice.

“Do you think that’s really going to be necessary?”

“Denton thinks so. He asked me to mention it to you.”

“Why should I? Because he’s been such a nice guy to me?”

“He was just doing his job, Phil. Besides, he needs your testimony to establish motive. If he can show that she had a reason to kill, and a reason to frame you with the crime, he’s got a case. But without an eyewitness and no established motive, his case is weak to the point of almost being fruitless.”

“I thought you just got through saying that the case was compelling,” Leeza said.

“With Phil’s testimony it is. Without it...” He shrugged and tilted his head, as if to say, Who knows?

“He’s got the DNA in the car,” Madison said.

“You don’t really want to base the entire case on that. Who’s to say that the cans weren’t planted there? It’s not likely, but that could be what the defense will argue.”

“Personally, I’d rather you didn’t testify, Phil,” Leeza said. “Enough is enough. A minute ago we were talking about putting this episode behind us and moving on, and now you’re asking Phil to testify,” she said, throwing her napkin onto the table.

“What I’m hearing is that I really don’t have much of a choice.” He looked at Hellman.

“If you won’t agree to testify, Denton will subpoena you.”

“This is ridiculous,” Leeza said. “Haven’t they caused enough—”

“What’s your recommendation?” Madison asked Hellman.

“Agree to testify voluntarily. Let’s help them make the case and get this whole thing behind us. Permanently,” he said, looking over at Leeza, who was staring at him through narrowed eyes.

Madison looked at Leeza. “I don’t have a choice, honey. Better to do it voluntarily than to be antagonistic. You never know when you need them on your side. And maybe it’ll do me some good to tell my story.”

She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “You’re nicer than I would be. A week ago, they were preparing to hang you in the town square.” She looked hard at Hellman. “I’d tell them to go to hell.”

CHAPTER 58

HIS TIE WAS loosened at the neckline, his thinning hair was windblown and uncombed, and he had a five o’clock shadow. Denton looked at Jeffrey Hellman sitting across the desk from him and raked a hand across the stubble on his chin. “No, I can’t do that.”

Hellman leaned forward in his chair. “Can’t or won’t?”

“Won’t. I won’t give Phillip Madison immunity if he testifies. It’s as simple as that.”

“You need Madison to make your case. He’s a key witness.”

“If he’s innocent, as you’ve claimed so fervently, why would he want immunity?”

“He isn’t asking for it, I am. He doesn’t know anything about this conversation. I consider it part of my responsibility to my client—I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t ask for it.”

Denton took a sip of coffee that had been sitting on his desk for several hours. He knew that all good defense attorneys asked for immunity in cases such as this. Depending on the prosecutor and the witness, it was sometimes granted.

“Tim, look at it from my perspective: you were days away from placing him on trial for a double murder he didn’t commit. So being truly innocent isn’t worth jack shit in my book. I don’t have to tell you this wasn’t the first time an innocent person was charged with a crime.” He paused to size up Denton, who was reclining in his chair, expressionless, listening to Hellman’s argument. “Not only that, but my client’s going to take the stand and testify against a person who’s tried very hard to destroy him by ruining his reputation. The defense attorney’s going to try and tee off on him. He’ll bring in anything he can possibly get his hands on—true or not—to discredit him. And I won’t be there to protect him.”

“You have my word that I’ll do everything in my power. I don’t want to see him get beaten up on the stand. Remember, he’s my witness too. He’s crucial to my case.”

“That’s exactly my point. He’s crucial to your case. His wife doesn’t want him to testify, and he’s not exactly keen on the idea either. He’s had enough. It’s been a very rough six months for them. And it’s questionable whether or not he’s ever going to be able to put his professional career back together. You don’t want your relationship with one of your key witnesses to be adversarial.”

“So what’s your point?” Denton said, making no attempt to mask his impatience with the conversation.

“Give him immunity and I’ll make sure that you have the most cooperative witness you could ask for.” Hellman waited for a response; there was none. “Look, you yourself felt that with the new DNA evidence there wasn’t enough of a case against Madison. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have dismissed the charges.”

“But who knows what the future holds? New evidence, a new witness for that matter, could come forward that implicates your client.”

“How often does that happen?”

“Not very often,” Denton conceded. “But it does happen.”

“Yeah, once in a million cases. The same could be said