“Then what happened, Mr. Pike?”
“I rolled his body off the dock and into the lake. Then I walked around the side of the house and back down Buck Island Drive. Ms. Waters picked me up about a hundred yards past Burns’s place.”
“What happened next?”
“She drove me back to my car, which I’d parked in the back of the strip mall. Once we got there, she handed me an envelope and said my money was inside.”
“Was it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Waylon said. “I counted it before I got out of the car.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Shay walked to her desk, looked at her pad, and strode back to her spot at the edge of the jury box.
She’s good, Jason admitted. This was a symphony. A well-rehearsed play. And, judging by the looks on the jurors’ faces, they were gobbling it up.
Shay looked at the jury and then back at Waylon. “Please describe your criminal background, Mr. Pike.”
“I was convicted of arson in 2014. Served three years at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Athens.”
“Is that a felony?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“Have you been convicted of any other crimes?”
“Yes, ma’am. At least four misdemeanor thefts. Possession of cocaine. One DUI.”
Shay walked again to the prosecution table and took out a two-page document. “Is this a fair and accurate depiction of the crimes you’ve committed?”
He looked at the document. “Yes, it is.”
“Your Honor, I’d like to publish this to the jury and offer it as an exhibit.”
“Any objection?” Conrad inspected Jason with a glint in his eye, knowing full well there wouldn’t be. Jason again was impressed with the strategy. Shay Lankford was owning Pike’s history of crime and actually making a production out of it.
And taking all the steam out of my cross . . .
“None,” Jason said.
Shay handed the pages to the first person in the jury and waited for a full minute as each of them had a few seconds to pore over Waylon Pike’s transgressions.
“Mr. Pike, did the defendant ever ask you about your criminal background?” She held up the exhibit as she placed it on the evidence table in the middle of the courtroom.
“Yes, she did. A lot.”
“What did she say?”
“I remember her asking me how it felt to set the fire that I did and why I did it.”
“Did she ever say why she’d selected you to kill her husband?”
Jason cringed as he realized what was coming. “Yes,” Pike said. “Ms. Waters said she wanted someone to do it who wouldn’t back out. Who would go through with killing him. Someone like me, who wasn’t afraid to set a fire and walk away.”
“Were those her words?”
“Yes.”
Shay retrieved an additional document from the state’s table. “Mr. Pike, you’ve entered an agreement with the state to provide truthful testimony today, is that correct?” She placed the stapled pieces of paper in front of him.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Mr. Pike, has the state made any promises to you in exchange for your testimony?”
“None.”
Shay nodded at the jury and turned back to the witness stand. “Mr. Pike, a few final questions. When did Ms. Waters go over her plan with you?”
“That night at Burns’s and then again the day before.”
“On July 3.”
“Yes.”
“Where did y’all meet then?”
“She was in her boathouse. Drinking and listening to music. I had done the last of my work at Burns’s and dropped by.”
“Was her daughter Nola home?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see her?”
“I did. I went through the house and told her that her mother wanted me to look at something that was going on with one of the Jet Skis.”
“And was that a lie?”
Waylon cocked his head. “I mean, I did look at the oldest Jet Ski while I was down there, so technically, no.” He stared at the jury. “But that wasn’t why I had to see Jana.”
“Why did you have to see her?”
“To go over the plan for killing her husband.”
“And did she review the plan with you?”
“In great detail.”
Shay glanced at the jury. “You said you shot Dr. Waters three times in the head. Where did you get the gun?”