Rich Blood (Jason Rich #1)(73)

Shay frowned. “We have evidence that Ms. Waters had an affair with a man from Sand Mountain named Tyson Cade.”

Jason flinched at the sound of Cade’s name. Was the prosecution actually planning to call him to the stand? And if so, was it fair game for him to cross-examine Cade? That wasn’t a violation of his promise but would certainly seem to violate the spirit of it.

Conrad smirked. “This Cade fella is the local drug lord, right?”

Shay glanced at Detective Hatty Daniels, then back at His Honor. “He’s never been convicted of any crime, but—”

“But he’s the guy,” Conrad said.

Shay nodded. “There’s video surveillance showing Cade and Jana Waters both at the Hampton Inn on the night of the murder.”

“Are they seen together?”

“Not on the video.”

Conrad grunted and rubbed his chin hard. “I’m going to grant the defense’s motion with respect to any evidence of an affair by Ms. Waters beyond Pike. If the state wants to make a proffer during the trial, I may change my mind.” He eyeballed Jason. “And I’ll certainly switch tunes if the defendant opens the door to character, so I’d be careful if I were you, Mr. Rich.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well,” he said, standing and looking out at them. “I’ve set aside next week to be in Guntersville. We’ll start picking the jury at nine a.m. sharp on Monday. Does everyone understand?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Shay and Jason said in unison.



Once the judge had left the courtroom, Shay Lankford approached Jason. “Mr. Rich, this is normally the time where I’d offer my best plea deal, but I can’t do that in this situation or I’d be run out of town. We’ll still be seeking the death penalty.”

“Understood,” he said, feeling a tad sick to his stomach. “With a witness with the credibility or lack thereof of Waylon Pike, I would have thought life in prison would at least be an option.”

“Would Jana take that?”

He frowned. “No.”

“Then it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

Before he could answer, she turned and strode out of the courtroom.



A minute later they were all gone, and Jason was alone. He turned to the jury box and stared at the twelve built-in chairs where the citizens who would decide his sister’s fate would sit. He walked over to the railing and gazed at the empty chairs.

How many times had his father, Lucas Rich, made his closing argument standing right here? What would his dad think of him now?

“See you, Monday,” he whispered over the railing.





58


They gathered around his small conference room table at 5:30 p.m. on Friday evening. Izzy, Harry, and Jason. A pizza box was between them, and all but one slice had been devoured.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Jason looked at Harry and pointed a piece of pepperoni at him before popping it in his mouth.

Harry slid the photographs across the table. “You tell me.”

Jason looked at them all again. Then he viewed the same shots in close-up on his laptop. “I haven’t been around Cowan in person like you have, but that’s definitely Maples.”

“Cowan is probably still at the Brick right now. Let’s go take a look.”



Ten minutes later, the trio were at a booth near the bar of the Brick. A man in jeans and a flannel shirt sat on a stool, sipping from a pint of beer.

“Iz?” Harry asked.

She glanced at the photograph and then the man. “Definitely him.”

“J. R.?”

Jason let out a deep breath. “Yep, that’s him all right.”

He glanced down at the photographs, which showed Colleen Maples embracing Trey Cowan on the steps outside the former football star’s apartment.

“I can testify that they went upstairs and into Cowan’s room.”

“So let’s walk through it together,” Jason began. “Cowan is angry at Dr. Waters because of the botched surgery. Maples is also angry at Braxton because of the jilted romance. Maples also feels guilty for her role in Cowan’s surgery and pissed that she was investigated and punished by the ABN while Dr. Waters suffered no such fate. She befriends Cowan, and they start up a romance. Cowan talks with Pike, who tells the two of them that Jana is thinking about hiring him to kill Braxton. Then Maples and Cowan decide that they’ll pay Pike the fifteen grand to kill Braxton. If he ever gets caught, he’s supposed to say Jana hired him.”

“So Jana’s withdrawal of 15K is a coincidence?” Izzy asked, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

“Not at all,” Jason said. “Jana must have told Pike she was taking fifteen grand out to pay Cade, and he must have alerted Cowan and Maples that they could pay him the same sum to do the deed to make Jana appear guilty.”

“I guess,” Izzy said. “Still seems like a huge stretch. Do you think Conrad will let you get all of this in front of the jury?”

“Jana’s entitled to defend herself and present alternative theories.”

“But you’re making great leaps with the evidence here,” Izzy pressed. “Is there anyone who overheard Pike and Cowan talking about Braxton and Jana? For all we know they talked about ball games.”