Jason saw no reason to cross-examine Dr. Carton, so he passed the witness.
Next up was Sergeant Hatty Daniels, who was deliberate and methodical in taking the jury through her investigation and how it led to Waylon Pike and his subsequent confession. Daniels was still on the stand when Judge Conrad recessed for the day.
“Members of the jury,” he said, “we’ve made a lot of progress today. We will adjourn until nine in the morning. Remember to not discuss this case with each other or anyone else.” He then banged his gavel, and the bailiff led the jury out. As they were leaving, Russell Edmonson gazed at the defense table and smiled. Jana and Jason smiled back.
“He’s our only hope,” Jana said, speaking between her teeth.
Jason squeezed her hand. “All we need is one, sis.”
66
The following morning, Jason began to plant the first seeds of the defense’s alternative theory with Daniels.
“Sergeant, it took over a week for Waylon Pike to be apprehended, isn’t that so?”
“Yes, sir. Eight days to be exact.”
“And during that long time frame, you interviewed other possible suspects in the murder of Dr. Waters, correct?”
“No, that’s not correct. We didn’t interview anyone else we viewed as a suspect.”
“OK, let’s forget about technicalities. You took a statement from Trey Cowan, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you did that because Cowan’s family had sued Dr. Waters for medical malpractice and lost, and you felt like Cowan might have a motive to harm Dr. Waters?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say—”
“Judge, I object,” Jason interrupted. “I’m entitled to a straight yes or no answer to my question.”
“Your Honor, Mr. Rich has asked a compound question,” Shay said in a commanding voice. “The witness should be allowed to explain.”
“I’m going to sustain Mr. Rich’s objection. The witness shall answer the question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”
“Yes,” Daniels said. “We wanted to at the very least rule out Mr. Cowan as a suspect, which we did.”
“He didn’t have an alibi for where he was at the time of the murder, did he?”
“He said he was watching the fireworks on the Sunset Trail. We weren’t able to corroborate his story. This all became irrelevant when Waylon Pike confessed to killing Dr. Waters at the direction of Ms. Waters.” She snapped the words off like a machine gun, and it was all Jason could do not to take a step backward.
“You would agree that you hadn’t ruled Cowan out at the time Pike came forward.”
“I would.”
“You also hadn’t ruled out Colleen Maples, had you?”
“Actually, we had. She had a corroborated alibi for the time of the murder. She was with friends on the lake.”
Jason looked at the jury. “Of course, that corroboration becomes irrelevant once Pike came forward.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter where Maples was if she paid Pike to kill Dr. Waters, does it?”
There were several murmurs from the gallery, and Judge Conrad banged his gavel. “Quiet!” he screamed.
“Sergeant?” Jason pressed.
“Mr. Pike confessed that Jana Waters paid him to kill Dr. Waters.”
“And there’s no witness to that other than Pike, correct?”
“Correct.”
Jason walked over to the jury railing. “Sergeant, were you aware that Trey Cowan and Waylon Pike were friends?”
She squinted at him. “No.”
Jason spoke directly to the jury, though his question was for Daniels. “And were you aware that Colleen Maples and Trey Cowan were romantically involved?”
This time, Sergeant Daniels chuckled.
“Something funny, Sergeant?”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Is it? You haven’t answered the question. Were you aware that Trey Cowan and Colleen Maples, both of whom your office investigated to rule them out as suspects in the murder of Dr. Braxton Waters, were romantically involved?”
“I fail to see—”
“Yes or no, Sergeant?”
“No.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Jason glanced at the jury and then back to the witness stand. “No further questions.”
67
The final witness on Tuesday wasn’t a surprise, but the calling of the name still sent a jolt of fear and adrenaline through Jason. He figured his reaction paled to that of his sister.