“What’s next?” Hojo asked. “Who do you have left to call?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said. “George Luke left an impact. I said Cutler got off some hits. But George basically laid out what Simmons has done to the entire family. If the theory of this case is an obsession, Ellie’s father painted the picture I needed. And the bottom line … I don’t have anything stronger than Jamie Simmons’s box of souvenirs.”
It was a dig. Both Sam and Hojo knew it. I felt guilty for a moment. The outcome of this case impacted their careers more than mine. They were trusting me to do my best. I hoped I had.
“Call it a day,” Hojo said. “Go home, Mara. Get some rest. Come back fresh in the morning. If you rest, Cutler’s going to come on strong. Who do you expect he’ll call?”
“I don’t know. He may feel he’s gotten his best case in during cross.”
“You think he’ll put Simmons on the stand?” Sam asked.
“He’d be crazy to,” I said. “But I suppose that depends on how much control Cutler has over him.”
“If Jamie Simmons wants to testify,” Hojo said. “He’ll testify.”
“He’s not stupid,” Sam said. “He’s disturbed. A psychopath. But he’s no fool. He won’t take the stand.”
Hojo rose to his feet. “Well, my advice stands. Get a good night’s sleep, Mara.”
He passed an awkward look to Sam. Then Hojo patted me on the shoulder and left.
“He’s not wrong,” Sam said. “You look beat.”
“It was a lot,” I said. “I said George Luke woke up today. That’s what it felt like. He listened to Deena Landon. Her experience with Simmons was like the pregame to what happened to Ellie and her family. God. Sam. In some ways, it feels like Ellie’s murder was the least awful thing Jamie Simmons did. George used the term grooming. He’s right. Simmons worked his way in when the Lukes were at their most vulnerable. He took over. He made them think they couldn’t survive without him. Ellie ended up being the strong one. Maybe the only one who saw Jamie for what he was.”
“He didn’t protect her,” Sam said. He stared in the distance.
“George said that. He blamed himself for not protecting Ellie.”
“No,” Sam said. “I mean he didn’t protect Erin. Simmons molded her into what he wanted her to be. His.”
“Yeah. The thing he couldn’t do with Ellie.”
“So he killed her for it. Maybe Erin isn’t as asleep as you think she is. Maybe she just figured out how to survive him.”
“God, Sam,” I said. “What if she never believes it? Even if I get a conviction. What if Erin stays loyal to him?”
Sam came to me. “You can’t worry about that. You can’t let it into your head. It’s not your job to save the Lukes. It’s only your job to convince that jury.”
The jury. I couldn’t read them. Were they as asleep as the Luke family?
“But if he walks, Sam,” I said. “Then Erin isn’t safe.”
“Come on,” he said. “Let me take you to dinner. Let’s try to put the Luke case out of our minds just for tonight. Hojo’s right about that. Come at it fresh in the morning.”
I took his hand and walked out with him. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Erin Simmons would never be free of her nightmare.
27
“Your Honor, at this time, the prosecution rests.”
Judge Saul didn’t look surprised. The jury did. Beside me, Bennett Cutler did what all defense lawyers do at this stage of the trial. He moved for a directed verdict in his client’s favor. He argued I had not met my burden of proof as a matter of law.
Judge Saul did what most judges do at this stage of a jury trial. She denied Cutler’s motion. After ruling on several other procedural items, Saul dismissed us for the day. We would be back here first thing Monday morning where Bennett Cutler would call his first witness for the defense. I tried not to, but I couldn’t stop myself from looking over at Jamie Simmons. Without the jury present, he kept a smug look on his face. If he was scared or nervous, he would never let me see it.
I collected my notes, stuffed them in my briefcase, and left the courthouse. A handful of reporters tried to get me to comment as I made my way to my car.
“No comment,” I said. “You know I’m not going to talk about an ongoing trial.”
