If We Dare to Dream (10 page)

“Everything will be fine. Just go in and tell him what you know. He can decide how to proceed.”

Finding it difficult to speak beyond the lump the size of a lemon it felt as though she swallowed, Jamie smiled tremulously. “I’m nervous, but I can do this.”

He bestowed upon her the smile that he usually reserved for his children, a mixture of indulgence and sympathy. “I know you can.”

The short walk down Central Avenue gave Jamie the opportunity to clear her head. It was a brisk day, and a cool breeze blew down the center of the street and caressed their faces. Their side of the road was in the shade, making the wind feel even cooler against her cheeks, but it felt good to Jamie. What she needed at that moment was the cold blast to the face, a rapid stride to keep her blood pumping and a few more moments to delay the inevitable.

Ford paused outside the heavy glass doors and glanced up at the numbers before grasping the thick, wooden doorknob and pulling it open. The interior was blessedly warmer than outside, and a broad entry towering three stories high with marble walls and plush leather sofas in the corner waiting area welcomed them. Jamie whistled under her breath. “Nice building.”    

“There are a lot of offices in here,” Ford replied.

Instead of heading toward the sofa to wait for Grady, he approached the information desk and nodded at the security guard who came to her feet as he neared. Jamie made her way over to the directory and found the lawyer’s office. It was on the twentieth floor. She traced the beautiful brown and pink marble wall until she located the nook holding the elevators tucked away in the corner. There were two separate elevators, one for floors two through fifteen and the other for floors sixteen through thirty. How organized, she thought wryly.

“Grady’s upstairs already,” Ford said as he returned to her side. His voice echoed loudly in the silent expanse of the lobby.

“Oh wonderful,” she whispered back. “Let’s get this over with.”

They were silent as they rode the elevator up to the twentieth floor. As the doors opened, a long hallway extended in either direction, but a plaque on the wall indicated which suite they wanted. Ford walked next to her, his hand lightly on her arm in a silent show of support. She was grateful, for her knees suddenly felt as though they would buckle at any moment.

As Ford held the door open for her to pass, a fresh faced and smiling receptionist quickly came to her feet, and her voice was excessively cheery and alert when she greeted them. Her exuberance reminded Jamie immediately of a Barbie doll and struggled to refrain from rolling her eyes. Before either of them could offer an introduction, she stepped around the desk and waved at them to follow.

“They’re waiting for you in the conference room. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you right down.”

Jamie and Ford exchanged a quick glance of surprise, but they obediently fell in step behind her past several glass enclosed offices and meeting rooms with beautiful views of South Mountain and the city below.

Jamie caught sight of Grady first behind the glass wall of the largest room they had passed. He was seated at a highly polished wooden table surrounded by plush leather chairs that took over the majority of the room, leaving only enough space for a small table with an ice bucket, napkins, and a plate of what appeared to be homemade cookies to rest. In the far corner, a tall potted plant soaked up the sunshine streaming in through the plate glass windows. Across from Grady sat another man in a dark gray suit that matched the color of his neatly trimmed hair. He was laughing at something Grady had said but stopped and turned in their direction when he saw Grady’s attention turn to the door.

“So our guests have arrived,” he said heartily when the receptionist opened the door. “Welcome, Miss Jamie!”

Coming to his feet, he approached Jamie first. His hand stretched out and grasped hers very energetically. When he released her and turned to Ford, she took a step back in relief.

“Come in, come in,” he continued, “have a seat. Brenda, why don’t you pour these two some water?”

Jamie opened her mouth to decline, but the receptionist was faster. Lifting the lid off the ice bucket, she used tongs to fill up two glasses and pulled two bottles of water from the small fridge tucked away in the cabinet of the table. Jamie followed the glass, taking a seat next to Grady where Brenda placed a small cocktail napkin and her water down. Smiling her thanks, she returned her attention to the lawyer.

He was tall and trim, the strength in his hand belying the age on his face. A figure of distinguished gentleman, Ted Beach appeared every bit as intelligent as she could have hoped. Her spirits lifted as he turned his attention away from Ford and pulled his chair back out.

“So I’ll tell you a little bit about me and answer any questions you have, and then you can tell me what you know, Jamie.”

When she nodded, he glanced at Grady. “Grady’s filled me in on a bit of your situation, and I think it’s a good thing that you came in. I’m a criminal lawyer, but I also specialize in appellate law as well. I’ve been practicing for twenty-four years in the state of Arizona, and I’ve also practiced in Nevada. I’ve been with this firm for twenty years now, and we cover everything from civil to criminal law, including DUI and child support and custody. So as you see, we’re multi-faceted but also very dedicated to what we do. There are no half-measures here. We care about doing what’s right.

 “Our legal team is composed of bar certified lawyers, paralegals and investigators that review cases and put together the best defense available. In your situation, or I should say that man that has been convicted, he’d be looking at filing a Rule 32 PCR or post-conviction relief appeal. That would mean an appellate brief must be written, describing what has changed and why his conviction should be overturned. It will take quite a bit of time, where he would need to have his legal team go over every word in his trial to pick out possible mistakes or oversights. Hopefully, he would have a good team on his side, as it’s usually a one shot deal. You, as a new witness, would need to complete a deposition to be admitted into evidence and may receive a summons to testify if he’s granted a second trial.”

She nodded.

“The appellate brief has to be concise and detailed, and the stronger ones usually see a better outcome. Again, a good appellate lawyer is needed for the best chances of success. He or she will also need to put together a new defense for obvious reasons. For instance, the first trial had a guilty outcome… why? A new trial has to have that stronger defense or the conviction will stand. Once the PCR is submitted on his behalf, it’s reviewed by the appeals court. That could take months and there’s no guarantee that they’ll approve anything, depending on how strong the prosecution’s case is. Remember, these appeals could be landmark decisions and therefore are carefully considered so that their decisions are not criticized later.”

Listening carefully, Jamie had periodically nodded her head encouragingly, but as the reality of the situation sunk in she glanced over at Grady. Her shifting gaze caused Ted to pause.

“Your situation doesn’t sound like anything groundbreaking or precedent-setting, Jamie. Don’t let that scare you.”

Ford leaned forward, taking the break in the conversation as an opportune moment to interject. “Aren’t there deadlines? Is Jamie too late to help him?”

Ted turned to Ford. His smile was still patient and broad. “Usually PCR’s are filed within 90 days. However, since Jamie wasn’t located during his initial trial, that timeline can be waived. The important thing is to make sure that the facts are clear and strong in his favor… Which brings me back to you, Jamie. Can you tell me what you know? We can see how strong his case is.”

All eyes turned to her at that moment, and Jamie once again told her version of the story. Ted listened carefully, nodding at appropriate times and enthusiastically widening his eyes when she finished her story with his truck following her up to Clay’s. When she finished, his lips compressed together, and he nodded his head slowly.

“You haven’t seen or spoken to this man since that night?”

“No, not at all.”

“And you didn’t know him prior?’

“No, I had never met him before.”

“But you’re confident it was him?”

“Yes, I remembered his face and his name.”

“Is there any way you could have mistaken his face?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You see, he had this scar by his eye. I remembered it when he smiled.”

“You say that the prosecution had witnesses who identified him leaving with the victim, but you say that he left with you just a few minutes later?”

“Yes, that’s right. I thought it was because we both had black jackets on and dark hair.”

“Could be, or it could be that another man left with her, someone similar to
him
.”

Jamie had never thought of that. “I really wouldn’t know, but I suppose it’s possible.”

He shook his head. “Don’t suppose, Jamie. Don’t elaborate – ever. I didn’t expect you to know the answer to that.”

Feeling chastised, she abruptly closed her mouth. Grady was not daunted, and his quick mind latched on to the possibilities. “So those transcripts should be carefully reviewed, as well as all of the surveillance that night.”

“Exactly. That’s just one possibility. The other, of course, is that they confused Jamie with the victim.” He glanced at her with a smile. “You have a good recollection, but do you have any proof?”

“I still have the jacket I wore that night, and I’ve emailed my girlfriend for photos. She’s going to send me the digital copies.”

“That’s good.”

He sat back in his seat and cupped his chin in his hand as he stared beyond Jamie and Grady to the scenic view behind them. Just like Ford, his eyes took on a faraway look while he pondered. Grady nudged Jamie under the table, his smile encouraging and proud. Apparently he approved of her story, and it appeared as though he concluded Ted did as well. She smiled back and then looked at Ford, who also nodded his head approvingly. Jamie felt bolstered, more confident, and even a little bit hopeful.

After another few minutes of thinking, Ted sighed thoughtfully. “There were statistics released by the Department of Justice not so long ago stating that on average between eight to twelve percent of convictions are wrong and that the person convicted was innocent. With new DNA testing, even old cases are being reviewed and overturned. Men and women who have served years are suddenly being heard and listened to. There are non-profit organizations out there such as the ACLU and the Innocence Project that do everything they can to help those who fight to prove their innocence. Unfortunately it’s a lengthy and very expensive task. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

“So what do you think his chances are? Should I go through with this?” Jamie asked hesitantly.

“Of course you should,” he replied. “This man may have been wrongfully convicted and is now serving time. Now I don’t have access to his trial transcripts and have no knowledge of what evidence they had that proved his guilt at the time, whether there was DNA evidence left at the scene or multiple other things, but with what you have told me I feel there is enough doubt that he could have made it back to the scene with the timeline they described.”

“That’s good, right?” Ford asked.

“In his case, yes.”

“So what do we do now?” Grady asked.

“Get in touch with his lawyer. Start there and make sure he’s still representing him. If he is, he may need help with an appeal. You can tell him that you’ve spoken to me and he can contact me with any questions. I’ll do what I can to help.”

“Ted, that’s great,” Grady said. “Even with your caseload?”

“Well,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s never a good time or an easy time, but I won’t let you down.”

Jamie and Ford exchanged nervous smiles, but Grady came to his feet and reached across the table to pump Ted’s hand enthusiastically. Though Grady was the soft-spoken one in their family, Jamie was impressed with his self-assured confidence at that moment. He certainly had friends in good places.

“We all hope this ends well, Ted, and your input today has definitely given us hope.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He came to his feet, and Jamie followed his lead. After shaking hands again, he guided them out the door and led them back down the hall, sharing small talk with Grady as they went. Jamie and Ford led the way, both feeling trepidation about what was to come.

They said their farewells and returned to the elevator, where the three remained silent and trapped in their thoughts until the doors opened and the elevator proved empty. Once inside, Grady placed his hand on Jamie’s shoulder and smiled.

“You did well, Jame,” he said. “Are you ready to do it again?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. Her mind was spinning like a top, whirling with thoughts and concerns. What Ted had told her made her feel even more remorse that she had not been available during his initial trial to prevent what had happened. “I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. The real question is whether or not he’s ready for me.”

Though Ford and Grady chuckled, Jamie was serious, and time would show just how right she was. 

Chapter 5