Emmy asked, “What evidence?”
“They found Delano’s fingerprint on the refrigerator door handle inside the Gilchrist home. The thumb, if I recall correctly.” Louis held up his thumb to show Emmy. “The police officerexplained during his testimony that that’s a thing burglars do. They don’t just steal your valuables. They drink your milk straight from the carton, then they put it back in the fridge. Can you imagine?”
Jude watched Emmy grapple with a way to ask a very complicated question. Evidence that damning didn’t come up as a surprise ending to a prosecutor’s case. They presented it early on because it was tantamount to a smoking gun—The defendant claimed he’d never been inside the house. Here’s his fingerprint proving he’s a liar.
Emmy clarified, “At the last minute, the prosecutor called a police officer to the stand who presented evidence that put Delano inside the Gilchrist house?”
Louis pointed his finger at her. “I found the timing very suspicious, too. My parents came here to escape the British Raj. No offense, young lady. I see how you’re dressed, but I am very skeptical of the government. Police officers are not always truthful.”
“Okay,” Emmy said. “What made you trust this particular officer?”
“I’ve known the family for years. Watched him grow up, play ball in high school.” Louis leaned forward. “You know Reggie. He wouldn’t lie.”
Jude saw Emmy’s nostrils flare.
“Reggie Wilder?”
“That’s right. Good kid. Followed his daddy onto the police force.”
Emmy looked down at the floor while she composed herself. Then she looked at Louis. “At the trial, did Reggie explain why the fingerprint evidence came in so late?”
“He took full responsibility. That’s one of the reasons I found his testimony credible. Reggie was very new to the job. It was his fault that the slide with the fingerprint wasn’t sent to the state lab with the rest of the evidence. Once he realized his mistake, he drove it up there himself.”
“I bet he did,” Emmy mumbled. “Can you remember the names of any other jurors?”
“Well, there’s Cal Nader, but he left town after the trial.Sent me a postcard from Montana. He bought a tractor repair business.”
Emmy took out her phone and started typing. “Anyone else?”
“Guy Harrison retired to Florida, which was surprising. He was only forty-something. Heard he did well in the stock market. Lived on a houseboat until he died. Victoria Daniels must’ve married well. She moved to Paris, of all the crazy places. Geraldine Hopkins was the alternate juror who took Ruel’s place. She died of cancer ten years ago. Left a tidy sum to the library. Now, she was a nice-looking woman. Not like these skinny girls today. Looked like she could eat a sandwich.”
“Dad,” Sonny mumbled.
“All right, all right, I’m just trying to help.”
“You’re being very helpful, Mr. Singh.” Emmy finished typing the last name. “Anyone else you can remember from the jury?”
Louis scratched the side of his cheek as he thought it through. “There was another tough-guy type. I can’t recall his name. Chuck or Doug—no, Chuck Douglas. Moved to Atlanta. Started an appliance repair shop. I heard he did pretty well for himself. You know, it’s funny, but looking back, just about everybody had their life change for the better after the trial. Except for Ruel, of course.”
Emmy’s gaze found Jude’s.
“Look at what happened to Bernadette,” Louis said. “She was barely a child back then. Worked in the diner off Route Sixteen. Then she paid her way to law school, started her own practice, and now she’s running an entire city.”
Jude saw Emmy’s hands tighten around her phone.
“Bernadette Grayson, the mayor of Clayville, was on the jury?”
“Yes, but she was still Bernadette Booker back then. Now, she was close to another juror. I was actually worried because she was so young and he was a bit older. I found him very off-putting. He certainly wasn’t North Falls people.”
“Can you tell me his name?”
Louis grimaced. “Sorry, honey, I’m drawing a blank. Probably put him out of my mind because he was so unpleasant.”
“What bothered you about him?”
“Well, he was a pushy fella, but I deal with all sorts of pushy types in this business all day.” Louis crossed his arms over his chest. “The problem was, Judge Coleman instructed us that we were not allowed to talk about any testimony before jury deliberations, but this fella kept pushing us for information, trying to pin us down on which way we were planning to vote. I almost asked the bailiff to intercede, but then of course Ruel died and everything was very somber after that.”
Emmy was clearly struggling to keep her equilibrium. “You’re sure you can’t remember the pushy fella’s name?”
