Due Process (Joe Dillard #9)(51)

“And when the judge asks me how I got my hands on this, what do I say?” I said to Stony.

“You’re going to call Riddle as a witness, correct?”

“That’s the plan.”

“The first witness you need to call is Bret Marshall. He was Riddle’s partner early on, only been with the department for two months. He set this up and can authenticate the video. He quit the job, and he’s willing to testify.”

“Are you kidding? He’s willing to violate the code of silence? His career as a cop will be over.”

“It’s already over. He resigned as soon as he made this tape. He told me if being a cop means he has to stand by and watch things like this take place, he doesn’t want to be a cop.”

“Does he have another job?” I said.

“Not yet.”

“Well, call him and tell him to go see Leon Bates. Leon’s guys are honest. He’ll hire him.”

“Will do,” Stony said.

“This will blow Judge Neese’s head off,” Jack said.

“It gets worse,” Stony said.

“How much worse could it get?” Charlie said. “This is so blatant that Riddle should be fired at the very least. He should go to jail for this.”

“He might,” I said. “If the judge lets me use it, he’ll commit perjury on the stand. Of course, it’ll be up to his buddy Armstrong to prosecute him and I doubt that’ll happen. But the judge could hold him in contempt and put him in jail. If she does, Gene Starring will fire him.”

“I have a short recording of a telephone conversation you need to listen to.”

“Okay,” I said. “Who’s doing the talking?”

“Mike Armstrong and a woman you know.”

She pushed another key on the laptop.

Mike Armstrong: “Hello?”

Erlene Barlowe: “It’s me, sugar. We need to meet.”

Mike Armstrong: “Where?”

Erlene Barlowe: “Usual place.”

Mike Armstrong: “Has something gone wrong?”

Erlene Barlowe: “Not yet, but you need to up the pressure. You need to make sure you nail these boys and do it in a hurry. We’ll talk about it when we meet.”

They hung up. That was the extent of the conversation.

“What is Erlene Barlowe doing encouraging the district attorney to ‘nail these boys?’” Charlie said.

“She’s doing what she does best,” I said. “Pulling strings. I just have to find out exactly which ones and why.”

“I can’t tell you why, but I can tell you how she’s manipulating him,” Stony said. “I have some more recordings of Armstrong that you probably don’t need to hear. I’ll hang on to them in case you really need them later, but I think all you have to do is let Armstrong know about the tapes.”

“Are there more recordings of Armstrong and Erlene?”

“No. He has a boyfriend, Joe. An electrician named Michael Adams. I guarantee you she knows about it. Some of the stuff I have on tape is pretty graphic. He wouldn’t want it getting out. She might have the same kind of thing.”

“Anything else?” I said.

“Yes, a couple of things as a matter of fact. I spoke with the officer who arrested Sheila Self. Her name is Tonya James.”

“I’ve read her report,” I said.

“One thing she didn’t include in that report was that she got a judge to sign an order for a Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault panel. Armstrong has the results. Has he provided them to you in discovery?”

“No. There hasn’t been any mention of it from him.”

“Another thing for you to go after him on. He’s withholding evidence from you that is probably exculpatory.”

“What a surprise,” I said.

“One last thing,” Stony said. “Some of my old friends at the FBI say they’ve been picking up chatter from various hate groups, both white and black. They’re mobilizing and they’re headed this way. Both sides are looking for an armed confrontation.”

“At least one side is already here,” I said, “given what happened at my house.”

“More are on the way.”

“Great,” I said. “That’s just great. Do we need to start wearing bullet proof vests?”

“Might not be a bad idea. Be alert.”

I stood and started toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Jack said.

“To get some equipment from my office and then to Erlene’s house to see if I can put a stop to this. She won’t be at work this early. Thank you, Stony. Great job. You guys finish up without me.”





FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11

I pulled into Erlene’s driveway a little after ten. She lived between Johnson City and Jonesborough in the Boones Creek area, not far from the chic Ridges development. Her house, which was far too large for one person, sat atop a hill on a two-acre lot surrounded by a wall of fifteen-foot-high Arborvitaes. The house itself was a Craftsman style, similar to ours. It was two story, made of stone and glass and wood with a little decorative brick thrown in. The porch was a wide wraparound and the roof was low-pitched. The grounds were perfectly manicured, and there was a large pool with a pool house and Jacuzzi in back. It was an extremely nice place.