Page 105 of Witness 8

‘I can’t,’ said John. ‘This is what the neighbors want. They want me out of this street. I haven’t done anything wrong. I won’t leave my home.’

‘John,’ I said, ‘I know how proud you are. And you have every reason to be. However, this is not about you. This is about the safety of the family. I know you’re a good protector and provider. Right now, I need you to be smart.’

‘But they’ll see that we’ve left. They’ll think I’m guilty.’

‘They already think you’re guilty. You want to win? Let my team do their job. Go to the hotel. Get room service. You’ll be much safer there. Trust me.’

John put his hands on his hips. This felt like the final straw for him. He had tried to hold on to his reputation, his job, his marriage, his family, his sanity. And this was one last thing that was being taken from him – his home.

He swallowed. Nodded.

Good enough.

‘Tell me more about Ruby,’ I said.

Alison explained that Ruby and her mom used to live on this street, but her father was an alcoholic and a gambler and lost everything. He ran out leaving them to deal with all of it, including the repossession of their home. Alison couldn’t be sure, but she’d heard Ruby’s father was a violent man. There were rumors that he regularly beat Ruby’s mom.

‘The thing is, with a background like that, you just wonder how she survived. Her future was ripped away. But she didn’t get angry or sullen, she just looks after her mom,’ said Alison.

‘Is her mom sick?’ I asked.

Alison nodded, said, ‘I don’t think she has long left. Look, I believe in Ruby. She has been such a rock for us these past months . . .’

I was about to say that Alison had also trusted Althea at one point, but I bit my tongue.

The sound of a key sliding into the lock drew our attention. The front door opened and a young woman in her early twenties stepped into the hallway. She wore a T-shirt, blue jeans and a light green jacket. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she carried a backpack. Soon as she got inside, she realized that everyone in the house had stopped to stare at her.

‘Hi, Ruby,’ said Tomas, breaking the awkward, stagnated quiet.

‘Hi, my little angel,’ she said.

She seemed perfectly nice. There was a cotton-candy sweetness to her voice and her easy smile. I wondered what the hell Bloch saw in this young woman that I did not.

And then I saw something. She looked at me.

For a second, maybe even just half a second, the smile dropped. It was like someone holding up a shelf, and just letting it fall momentarily before pushing it back up there again – level.

‘Ruby,’ said Alison, ‘John and I are going away for a few days. We’re taking Tomas. Could you help me pack?’

Ruby’s smile grew wider. Her eyes lit up.

‘I think that’s for the best. I can help you pack,’ said Ruby.

And before I said my goodbyes and took Clarence, I wondered what the hell was going on with Ruby Johnson.

She was hiding something.

46

Kate

Kate remembered Eddie telling her that a cross-examination was best treated like an armed robbery. Get in fast, get what you want and get out.

Given that her father used to be a cop, Kate disliked the analogy. But it was accurate.

With the jury settled, and all the players in court, Castro called the medical examiner to the witness stand.

The medical examiner, Dr. Joanne Kilter, testified that the victim, Margaret Blakemore, died from three gunshot wounds. One in the chest. Two in the temple. She was able to retrieve those rounds from the body and they were preserved in evidence for the ballistics expert – Mr. Harris.