Rich Blood (Jason Rich #1)(92)

“Shandra Burns.”

Jason looked toward the jury and saw the expressions of surprise that he’d hoped to see. “No further questions.” He glanced at Shay Lankford, who stared back at him with a look of bewilderment.

“Cross-examination, Ms. Lankford?” Conrad asked.

“No, Your Honor,” Shay said, still gawking at Jason.

“OK, Mr. Rich, call your next witness,” Judge Conrad instructed.

Jason turned to Jana. “Ready?” he whispered.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Jason’s heart was pounding. “Your Honor, we call the defendant, Jana Rich Waters.”

His sister took the stand and was sworn in. After having Jana state her name for the record, Jason didn’t waste any time.

“Ms. Waters, did you hire a man named Waylon Pike to kill your husband, Dr. Braxton Waters?”

Jana looked directly at the jury. “No, I did not.”

“Ms. Waters, where were you on the night of July 4, 2018?”

“I went to Fire by the Lake, a restaurant on Highway 69.”

“What did you do there?”

“I had two vodka drinks, and then I left.”

“What did you do next?”

“I drove around for a little while.”

“Why?”

“My marriage was ending. I was . . . upset. I’d taken out $15,000 from my and Braxton’s joint account the day before, and I was worried what Braxton was going to say.”

“Why’d you take out the money?”

“Because Braxton had said he was going to divorce me, and I was afraid I wouldn’t have any cash.”

“Did you stop at a strip mall south of Fire by the Lake?”

“I might have. I don’t really remember.”

“What do you remember?”

“I remember not wanting to go home. The kids were both with friends, and I didn’t want to be around Braxton.” She put her hands on the wooden bench in front of her chair.

Jason approached the witness stand and clasped both of his hands over his sister’s. “Jana, what did you do next?”

“I got a room at the Hampton Inn. I brought a bottle of vodka with me, and I drank the whole thing in my room.”

“When did you go home?”

“The next morning. I checked out of the hotel and was still pretty messed up. I drove home and must have fallen asleep on the den floor, because that’s where I was when Nola found me.”

Jason looked at his sister, realizing that she’d omitted Tyson Cade completely from the story. Was she lying again? Or did she not remember being with Cade?

She’s making it up as she goes along, Jason thought, letting go of her hands and looking at the jury.

“Did you know Jackson Burns?”

“Of course. He’s our next-door neighbor on Buck Island.”

“You heard Ms. Thacker’s testimony a moment ago.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Were you aware that your husband was having an affair with Jackson Burns’s wife, Shandra?”

“No, I was not.”

“No further questions.”



Shay Lankford waded into her cross-examination of Jana with caution. “Ms. Waters, you had an affair with Waylon Pike.”

“Yes.”

“And you also had a relationship with a man named Tyson Cade, didn’t you?”

“Your Honor, I object,” Jason said. “May we approach?”

Conrad gestured to Shay and Jason to come forward. “Mr. Rich?”

“Any questions regarding an alleged affair with Tyson Cade would be a direct violation of your pretrial order.”

“Your Honor, the defendant and the victim both had extramarital affairs,” Shay countered. “It is our position that any relationship with Cade goes straight to the defendant’s motive to kill her husband.”

Judge Conrad scratched his chin and then nodded. “I’m going to allow it.”

Jason took his seat while Shay strode toward the witness stand. “Ms. Waters, did you have a sexual relationship with Tyson Cade?”

“No, that’s not true.”

“Well, you’ll at least admit that you were buying cocaine from Mr. Cade?”

“On the advice of counsel, I’d like to take the Fifth Amendment.”

Shay put her hands on her hips. She asked several more questions about Tyson Cade, and each time Jana pleaded the Fifth. Then the district attorney changed gears.

“You admit you took $15,000 out the day before your husband was murdered?”

“Yes.”

“Because you say you were afraid your husband was going to cut you off?”

“Yes.”

“You knew he was going to divorce you.”

“That’s what he said, but I don’t think he was ever going to follow through with it.”

“But that’s what he told you.”

“Yes.”

Shay slammed her notepad down on the prosecutor’s table. “No further questions.”

“Mr. Rich?” Conrad asked.

“Nothing further.”

Jana walked back to the defense table and sat down.

“Call your next witness.”