Due Process (Joe Dillard #9)(45)
“Officer Milhorn, this is Investigator Bo Riddle. I’m lead on the ETSU rape case, and I understand you were at Kevin Davidson’s house today when he came and picked up his things.”
“That’s right,” Milhorn said.
“So everything went smoothly?”
“Yeah, it was fine, except for the lawyer. I almost tased him.”
“Tased him? Why?”
“Because he was a belligerent bastard. I told him he couldn’t come in the house and he just barged right past me. I didn’t take it well.”
“His lawyer’s a jackass. All defense lawyers are jackasses,” Riddle said. “How did it turn out?”
“It was tense for a minute, but I eventually let him come inside. They gathered up the kid’s things and left.”
“Who’s they?” Riddle said.
“The kid, his parents and the lawyer and the lawyer’s son.”
“Did you hear any of them say anything about where the kid was going?”
“I got the impression he was going to stay with his lawyer.”
“Seriously? The kid has an old Honda registered in his name. Was he driving it?”
“Yeah.”
“When they left, did you notice if the kid followed the parents or the lawyer?”
“I noticed. The parents went west, and the lawyer’s son, who was driving a Jeep, went east. The lawyer was riding with his son. The kid followed the Jeep.”
“Thanks,” Riddle said. “Just trying to stay on top of things for my investigation. Appreciate your help.”
Riddle disconnected the phone, wondering exactly what was going on. The kid had no girlfriend that Riddle knew of. He had no family in the area. Riddle wondered if Dillard really had decided to take him in until the trial.
Part of him hoped exactly that. Dillard was already a marked man simply by virtue of representing a nigger who had raped a white woman. If he was housing him and protecting him as well, bad things were in store for Joe Dillard.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
The introduction to Rio had gone well; the dog sniffed him over, licked his hand, and wandered away.
“Okay,” I said. “You’ve passed inspection. You’re in. He’ll still bark at you when you come to the front door. Just unlock it and talk to him. He’ll calm down and let you in. We’ll play a little game tonight with him that will really make him like you.”
I invited Jack and Charlie over for supper. Caroline had put a pot roast in the slow cooker, and Caroline, Kevin, Jack, Charlie and I all sat down for supper. I wanted to make Kevin feel as comfortable as possible. We ate and made small talk, and after we were finished eating, I helped Caroline and Charlie clean up while Jack helped Kevin get settled into Jack’s old room, showed him which television remote operated which function, and familiarized him with the bathroom and the inside of the house. Afterward, I took him outside and introduced him to Sadie, Charlie’s horse, and showed him around the barn and the property. I showed him the trail where I still jogged almost every morning at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m., and I showed him the boundaries of the ten acres we owned. We stood looking down onto the lake, which the Tennessee Valley Authority had drawn down more than ten feet since Labor Day. The government agency constantly manipulated the water levels by using a system of dams.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Kevin said.
“Yeah. I love it. We’ve been here a long time.”
“Can I ask you a question, Mr. Dillard?” Kevin said.
“Sure. Fire away.”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you taking me in, giving me a job? You could be putting yourself at risk.”
“I’m not afraid for me,” I said. “I’m afraid for you. I’ll just be honest with you, Kevin. You’re the only player who’s going to be out on bond before the trial. The others can’t afford it. They’ll sit in jail until the trial. I think they’ll be safe there, because the sheriff runs a tight ship at the jail. But since you’re out, you’ll be the target. I think some white supremacist looking to make a name for himself could try to kill you, and I want to do everything in my power to make certain that doesn’t happen.”
“But why do you care?” he said.
“Because I’m a human being. Because I’m a lawyer. Because I look at this case and it stinks to high heaven. They don’t have any reliable evidence against you, but they indicted you anyway. The DNA tests came back negative. The photo lineup Bo Riddle showed the girl was coached, unconstitutional, and will never see the inside of a courtroom. We have video of everything that happened from the time the girl arrived at the party until the time she left. It proves no rape took place, but Mike Armstrong wouldn’t even look at it.”
“So you think this is purely a racial thing?” Kevin said.
“That’s part of it, especially with Riddle, but there’s something else going on I haven’t been able to figure out. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
Kevin turned to face me and stuck out his hand.
“Thank you, Mr. Dillard. I mean it. Right now, I feel like my entire world has been blown apart, but there’s something about you that makes me think it’s going to turn out all right.”
“I hope so, Kevin,” I said. “I really do.”