Jude winked. “Don’t tempt me.”
Louis bellowed with laughter. “My heart couldn’t keep up with you. Sonny, take a look at this foxy gal. They don’t make ’em like this anymore.”
Sonny leaned his shoulder against the open door. He had a faint smile on his lips. He nodded a hello to Jude. They had gone to school together but had been in very different groups.
“Dad,” Sonny said. “I think the sheriff has some questions for you.”
“Oh, that sounds important.” He pointed his finger at Emmy. “You here for debate tips? I helped your dad when he ran against old Rusty Chamberlain.”
Emmy’s guarded expression softened a fraction. “How did he do?”
“Poor fella was shaking like a leaf. Took half a pint of Old Rip to get him on the stage.” Louis was laughing, but Jude knew he wasn’t exaggerating. “Gerald gets up there and says, ‘You know who I am. Vote for me or don’t. I’ve got work to do.’ Then he just walks away.”
His imitation of Gerald’s voice was so spot-on that Jude felt teary. She could see that it had the same effect on Emmy.
“Dad,” Sonny said. “Remember they’ve got some questions.”
“I remember. I’m notthatlooney tunes. At least not yet.” He made a show of being serious, leaning on his stool, crossing his arms, frowning. “Whatcha got for me, Martha?”
Emmy hesitated, because he’d directed the question at her, not Jude. “Mr. Singh. I need to talk about a trial that took place several years ago.”
“Well, I don’t think O.J. did it, if that’s what you’re here for. The cops lied about too many details to be trusted.”
Jude caught the smile on Sonny’s lips as he looked down at the floor.
Louis laughed. “I’m just pulling your leg. What do you girls need?”
Emmy clearly didn’t think the joke was funny. She tried again. “I’m here about the Neil Delano trial. I believe you were a juror.”
“Yes, I was the foreman. The county paid us fifteen dollars a day, plus lunch.” The question had physically changed Louis. He sat up straighter. Rested his hands on his knees. “The trial started six months to the day after nine-eleven. Evelyn Gilchrist was murdered. Bless her heart. She would’ve lived if the trauma center had been open back then.”
“That’s right.” Emmy’s tension ebbed a little. “Did anything strange happen during the trial or deliberations?”
“Ruel Clifton died the day before the prosecution was going to rest its case. We were all devastated by the loss. He was a good man. Judge Coleman suspended the trial for three days.” Louis shook his head, obviously still troubled by the loss. “When we came back, everything had changed.”
“Changed how?”
Louis’s face took on a blank look. He’d lost the story.
“The Neil Delano trial in 2002,” Emmy said. “Everything changed after Ruel Clifton died.”
“It did.” Louis agreed. “It certainly did. Most of us were leaning toward acquittal, but then we got back after the funeral and everything changed.”
Emmy said, “I apologize, Mr. Singh. I don’t think I’m following. The jury was going to find Neil Delano not guilty before Ruel Clifton died?”
“That’s right. The evidence didn’t stack up.” He looked at Jude. “Myrn, you remember me and Gerald talking about it after the trial. We were at the Elks Lodge for Alvin’s birthday.”
He’d mistaken Jude for her mother. She took Emmy’s advice about rolling with it. “That was a while ago. Can you remind me what Gerald said?”
“You know what he said, you silly goose. Gerald thought the whole trial was a sham. Said that old Chief Kitteridge had framed Delano. That Delano might’ve been guilty, but the evidence wasn’t there to prove it. Delano was a petty thief. A smash-and-grab man. I don’t mean to be rude, but he only robbed poor people.”
This last comment was directed at Sonny, who was dressed in torn jeans and a paint-stained hoodie.
Louis told Jude, “Knocking over the Gilchrist mansion took strategizing. Gerald figured it was a gang out of Macon. The alarm was bypassed. The dogs were drugged. The house was cased. Nobody was supposed to be home. Evelyn was only there because she was under the weather. All the items that were stolen—the watches and jewelry—were high-end, not the kind of stuff you could pawn over in Ocmulgee. That pointed to an organized crew, not one fella.”
Since Louis had directed the information to Jude, she asked the next question. “What changed your mind about Delano’s innocence?”
Louis stared at her. Jude thought he’d lost the plot again, but then he resumed. “In Delano’s first statement to the police, he claimed he’d never been inside the house. Then, right before the prosecution rested their case, they introduced new evidence. It took away all my reasonable doubt. I had no choice but to vote to convict.”
