Raising Cain (44 page)

“You were actually advised to keep silent?”

“Yes, sir.”

“By whom?”

Paulie lowered his eyes. “I’d rather not say, sir.”

“Why
did
you come forward?”

Paulie looked at Gardner. “I was probably gonna do it anyway, but…”

Gardner stared back.

“Someone suggested that what I was doin’…” He straightened his shoulders. “Maybe I wasn’t bein’ a
man
about things. You see, Judge, down where I live I try to teach the kids to take care of themselves, to work, to study, to
stay off drugs, to have pride in their heritage… to be responsible….” He looked at Gardner again. “Maybe it was time for me
to be responsible
myself
.”

Judge Ransome nodded.

“What about the shoes?” King had finally found his voice. “How did they end up in the possession of the defendant?”

“I hid them,” Paulie explained. “In a hole off the trail. After I realized what Ruth had done, I figured people would know
he’d killed himself if they saw the note and the shoes. Like I said, I was real upset at the time. I wanted folks to think
he was executed for his crime. So I put the note in my pocket and stuck the shoes in a hole so no one would find them. They
were too big to lug around. I hid them good. Never thought they’d be found. I also threw away his car keys and a pill bottle.”

“My client
did
recover the shoes when he went to the crime scene to investigate,” Gardner added. “The keys and pills are probably still
out there. What kind of pills were they? Do you remember?”

“Some long word,” Paulie said. “Some kind of ‘zene.’ “

Gardner smiled. An antidepressant, no doubt. That settled it. That brought everything full circle. Point, set, match.

Judge Ransome looked at Gardner. “Do I hear a motion, Counsel?”

Gardner took the hint. “Renew my motion for judgment of acquittal.”

“Wait!” King interjected. “That’s out of order. There’s already been evidence presented on the defense case. He can’t renew
his motion.”

“Who’s in charge here, Mr. King?” Rollie asked.

King dropped into his seat without replying. It was over.

“Motion for judgment of acquittal as to all charges against Sergeant Brown granted,” Ransome said, slamming down his gavel.
“The jury is dismissed!”

*   *   *

Paulie left the stand and approached Brownie. They eyed each other cautiously, unsure how to proceed.

“What’s up, bro?” Brownie finally asked.

Paulie put out his hand. “Not much. How ‘bout you?”

Brownie ignored the hand and grabbed his brother in a bear hug. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“Sorry, man,” Paulie whispered. “I’m so sorry….”

“What for?”

“Everything. Mr. Lawson told me what you did.”

“What do you mean?”

“The school case. My arrest. Getting it thrown out. I didn’t know….”

“I never did anything like that.” Brownie released the hug.

Paulie smiled. His brother was straight to the end. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Nothing to talk about.”

Paulie nodded. Brownie had been his guardian angel his whole life and never admitted it. That was the brotherhood Paulie had
somehow missed. He’d been fighting the war all these years, but Brownie hadn’t. They were on the same side all along.

Bedlam filled the courtroom. Spectators ran forward to congratulate the defendant and his lawyer, among them Jennifer and
a string of police officers. The news had swept the courthouse, and the hallway was packed with well-wishers. King and Lin
Song escaped through chambers.

“Unbelievable,”Jennifer said, “I never expected
this
.” She stood awkwardly next to Gardner, as shocked about the last-minute revelation as everyone else.

“Neither did I,” Gardner mumbled.

“You did it,” she continued. “You went for the truth after all.”

Gardner didn’t reply. He was thinking how gorgeous Jennifer looked in her red suit and how much he’d missed her. “I only did
what you told me.”

“Well, you did good.”

He looked into her green eyes. “I’ve been pretty stupid these past few months… and I think I’ve finally figured it out. I
do tend to overreact, to be overbearing. I know that now.”

“Sometimes you do.”

“I drove you away. I never want to do that again. I’m ready to talk.” Gardner put his arm around her waist and his lips to
her ear. “You know…”

“You mean it?”

“I mean it.” Gardner suddenly held up his hand. “Excuse me, everyone, I have an announcement to make! May I have your attention,
please?”

Someone whistled; the pandemonium died, and every eye in the courtroom focused on Gardner. “I want to thank you all for your
support during this very tough time, and I want to acknowledge one individual in particular.” He looked at Jennifer.

She blinked nervously.

“To her I wish to say, first of all, I’m sorry for being such a blockhead.”

Someone clapped.

“And second of all…” He paused and took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”

Jennifer crossed her arms and stared at him.

“Well?” he prompted.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

Gardner’s face fell.

Jennifer suddenly smiled and embraced him around the neck. “I’ve thought,” she said.

Gardner kissed her hard. And a cheer went up from the crowd.

They slowly disentangled, and Gardner gathered his files. “Let’s get out of here,” he told Jennifer. “I’m sick of this place.”

“Gard…” The brothers had finally made their way through the throng. “Sorry about—” Brownie began.

“Nothing!” Gardner interrupted. “We’ve never apologized to each other before, and we’re not going to do it now. The case is
closed.”

Brownie gave him a hug. “I respect you for what you did.”

Gardner squeezed his friend’s shoulders. “You’d have done it for me.

“Hey, congratulations on your proposal,” Brownie added.

“Thanks.”

“Mind if I kiss the bride-to-be?” He gave Jennifer a peck on the cheek. “Way to go, girl. You chased him till he caught you.”
“Thank you, Brownie.”

Then Brownie’s expression changed. “Am I reinstated with the department?”

Gardner signaled to Larry Gray, struggling through the crowd. “Better ask
him
.”

The police chief finally got past the human wall. “Congratulations!” he yelled.

“Am I still on the force?” Brownie asked.

“Of course!”

“With full powers?”

“Of course.”

“What’s going on?” Gardner asked. Brownie was behaving strangely. He should be ecstatic, but he suddenly had a detective look
in his eye. Something was up.

“Unfinished business,” Brownie said.

“What?”

“Another case.”

“What case?”

“I’ll explain later. First, me and Paul got to go somewhere.” He pulled his brother aside, out of earshot.

“Brownie!” Gardner yelled.

But Brownie was talking to Paul. And a moment later they both hurriedly left the courtroom.

Althea Brown looked up from her Bible. There was a noise at the front door. She had been reading and praying all morning,
as she’d done for the past two weeks. She could not bring herself to attend her son’s trial. Her time could be better spent
here, asking the Lord for guidance.

Suddenly a man entered the living room. “Joseph,” she cried with surprise.

Brownie smiled. “Hello, Mama.” There was a shadow behind him in the hallway.

“Who’s that?”

The shadow emerged.

“Oh, my God, Paulie!”

The brothers embraced their mom. “Son, son,” she cried. Her prayers had been answered.

“It’s all over, Mama,” Brownie said when he finally broke away.

“The trial?”

“I’m free. Paulie saved my life. He came to court and testified, and he proved that Ruth killed himself. The judge dismissed
the case.”

Althea looked at her other son. “Praise God,” she said.

Paulie tried to speak, but his mother grabbed him, hugged him, and sobbed against his shoulder. “I’ve waited so long,” she
whispered.

Paulie finally found his voice. “I did wrong, Mama.”

“Don’t…”

“I hurt you, I hurt Joe. It took me a long time to realize that I was hurting me, too. I’m sorry.”

“That’s not important now,” his mother said. “What is important is that we’re together.”

They sat down and caught up, and talked about the strange twists and turns that had brought them to this point.

“Well, it’s all over now,” Althea said with a sigh.

“Not quite.” Brownie pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his mother. “We’ve got one more thing to do,
one more piece of business.”

“What’s this?” she asked.

Brownie looked her in the eye, his expression somber. “A phone number. I need you to make a call.”

Althea didn’t understand. “What for?”

“For Daddy.”

The police van was parked in the trees behind Althea’s house. It could not be seen from the road. Night had fallen, and a
light powdery snow sprinkled from the black sky. Inside the van, Gardner, Jennifer, Brownie, and Katanga waited.

“I want to know the full story, and I want to know it now,” Gardner demanded. Brownie had been tight-lipped about why they
had to set up a surveillance at his mom’s. He only promised that a lot of questions would be answered before the night was
through. They had been waiting for two hours, and so far nothing had happened. Gardner and Jennifer were bundled together
in the back of the van, and Paulie and Brownie sat up front.

“You’ll see,” Brownie replied.

“See what?”

“When it goes down, you’ll see.”

“Come on, Brownie,” Jennifer said. “Don’t keep us in suspense. What’s this all about?”

“Yeah. How ‘bout it?” Katanga added.

“Okay, okay,” Brownie conceded. “I wanted to
show
you, and then explain.”

“Just tell us!” Gardner urged.

“All right.”

Gardner and Jennifer leaned forward, and Katanga turned. Brownie shifted around so he could see their faces in the shadows.
“I never gave up on the investigation of Daddy’s death,” he began. “And from the beginning, something bothered me. I knew
that a snake had been wrapped around Daddy’s neck. The tests showed scale marks, and it didn’t matter what the examiner concluded.
I
knew
what happened. Then the article came out about Ruth and the snakes, and I got sidetracked. I thought ‘Ruth’ and ‘snakes’
and ‘Daddy’ and got all balled up in the idea that he did it.…” Brownie’s voice drifted off. “But I had overlooked something
important. There was no way that Ruth could have known about Daddy’s fear of snakes. That was a secret that only a few of
us knew. Daddy didn’t talk about it to anyone. He was ashamed and kept it to himself.”

“So whoever put the snake on your father had to know about his fear,” Gardner said.

“Exactly. And that person could not have been Ruth. No way he could have gotten that information.”

A headlight against the side of Althea’s house interrupted his words. “Showtime!” Brownie exclaimed. “Follow me.” Brownie
opened the van door and jumped out.

They ran to the rear of the house, Brownie leading, Gardner, Jennifer, and Katanga following behind. Then they entered the
kitchen and tiptoed to the doorway beside the den. Voices could be heard on the other side.

Brownie drew his 9-millimeter and raised it to a shooting position. Then he sprang through the door.

“You’re under arrest! Get down on the floor!”

Reverend Taylor dropped the check that Althea had just given him.

“Get down on the floor now!”

Althea stepped back, and the others rushed in.

“What’s the matter with you, brother?” Taylor asked defiantly. He was still on his feet.

Brownie cocked the hammer on his Beretta. “If you don’t hit the floor now, I’ll put a hole in your head.”

“You’re making a mistake,” Taylor protested, going to one knee.

“All the way down!” Brownie shoved the barrel against the reverend’s skull.

Taylor lay flat, and Brownie cuffed him behind his back.

“Mama,” Brownie said, “this is the man who killed Daddy.”

Althea put her hands to her face, and Katanga leaped forward. “Him?”

“Lie!” Taylor hollered. “It’s a lie!”

Brownie frisked him and rolled him on his back. “Tell them your real name.”

“Taylor!”

“Try Corey Jenkins!” Brownie snapped. “A con man who cleaned out a small town in Oregon five years ago. Took life savings,
stole old folks’ cash, preachin’ and pretending to give a damn about them and their lives. Slipped out of town with the loot,
but got caught and served time in jail—”

“That’s not true!” Taylor struggled to get up, but Brownie pushed him down with his foot.

“It took me a long time to get a line on him. I had my troubles to worry about, so it took longer than it should have. He
used a lot of aliases, moved around to a lot of places, but I finally tracked him down. He makes his living cheating people.”

“This is an outrage,” Taylor blustered. “God has forgiven my sins. I have done nothing wrong here!”

“Try again,” Brownie said sarcastically. “You set this whole thing up. You came into this little town and began laying your
trap. You talked to folks about their lives, gained their confidence, learned private things about them. Who had the money,
who was vulnerable, what people’s fears were.”

“
He
used the snake,” Gardner said suddenly.

“Yes, he did.”

“No!” Taylor began struggling again.

“He found out about Daddy’s phobia. And he also found out about the railroad pension. If he got rid of Daddy, and got close
to Mama, he could also get close to the money.”

“No!”

Katanga picked up the check that Taylor had dropped. It was written to Taylor in the amount of $80,000.

“He
was
after the money,” Althea said. “For the church…. He said he was going to set up a fund in Daddy’s name.”

“I knew he’d come back for it,” Brownie declared.

“You can’t prove anything!” Taylor sputtered.