Saved Folk in the House (29 page)

“Jesus, please bring my mommy home. Amen,” Damon added.

Two weeks after their family visit, Sharia was up for parole. Just as she had instructed her children to do, Damon and LaKisha would come together daily in agreement and pray for their mother’s release. They often read their Bibles together. They also followed their mother’s instructions and read the same scripture every day until they had it memorized, then moved on to another. She wanted her children to get the understanding she was getting while they were young. Understanding would make their prayers more powerful and effective. Eventually, the children had John 8:36 memorized.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free,” Damon said proudly during a Bible study one evening. “Lord, please set our mama free. Then she can come home. Amen.”

“Amen,” LaKisha agreed.

Chapter Fifty

M
ia was spending the night with Taylor. They had a lot of work to do to prepare for the trial.

“Mommy, can you help us with our opening statement?” Taylor asked Pam.

“That wouldn’t be fair, honey. You have all the information you need to prepare an opening statement and build a case on your own. Then, after all of the evidence has been presented, you’ll sum up only the parts that add up to a guilty verdict, and present your closing argument accordingly. You girls can do this, can’t you?” Pam asked. She truly wanted to see what the girls would come up with by themselves.

“Of course we can. Come on, Taylor, we can do it.”

Mia would do most of the talking, with Taylor’s coaching, of course. They decided to capitalize on each other’s assets. Being exposed to her mother’s approach to preparing for a case, Taylor’s strongest point was finding the evidence to present. Mia’s power was in her presentation. She couldn’t resist an opportunity to perform. With Mia’s outgoing personality and Taylor’s studiousness, they were an awesome team.

Over at Jay and Zakia’s house, Taj was spending the night working on the case with JJ, prepping their surprise witness, five-year-old Ahmad. They didn’t need Damon. He was the defendant. All he had to do was sit at the table, be quiet, and look innocent.

Over at Jim and Jean’s house, Shay was cuddled up in her granddaddy’s arms on the sofa watching her favorite Disney movie,
The Lion King,
eating popcorn, thankful to have him all to herself. He didn’t even feel neglected by Taj and Mia with all the love Shay showered upon him. He absolutely adored this very special grandchild. The next day, the trial would begin in Zach’s huge basement.

“Here comes the judge. Here comes the judge,” courtroom spectators and witnesses Zeke and Essence chanted.

The grandparents were the jury along with Eli, Micah, and Pam. Ahmad stayed upstairs in the kitchen with Zakia and Eboni and helped them prepare lunch. LaKisha and Shay didn’t care in the least about the trial. They were doing hair and nails in Zach’s gigantic guest suite. Taj served as both JJ’s assistant and bailiff.

“All rise,” Taj instructed as the Honorable Judge Zachary entered his home-theater-turned-courtroom.

Zeke and Essence burst into laughter because he actually had on a robe. His bathrobe. The other adults snickered, but the young attorneys did not crack a smile. They were intensely serious, and both sides were ready to present their cases and win.

“You may be seated,” Taj directed like a seasoned bailiff after Zach took his seat at his desk before giving instructions.

“After the opening statements, the prosecution will call its witness for direct examination. Then the defense has the option to cross-examine the witness. Afterward, the prosecution will have an opportunity to redirect or rest. Do you understand these instructions?” Zach asked looking at the prosecution table.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Mia and Taylor answered in unison.

“Good,” Zach said. Then he turned his attention to the defense table.

“Next the defense will call its witness for direct examination. Then the prosecution will have the option to cross-examine the witness. Afterward, the defense will have an opportunity to redirect or rest. Do you understand these instructions?” Zach asked JJ.

“Yes, Your Honor,” JJ said.

“Good. The prosecution may begin with its opening statement,” Zach said.

Mia took center stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” Mia said. She took a long pause to ensure that she had their undivided attention before continuing. “The evidence will prove to you today beyond a shadow of a doubt that the defendant is guilty of murder.”

With those words, things instantly got serious, especially for Micah. Pam put her hand on his knee, sensing his tension. Being on this side of the fence for the first time, she felt what those she had prosecuted felt. She was grateful for this dry run for Micah before the real trial began.

“We will prove that he”—Mia walked over and pointed directly at Damon—“deliberately took a gun to use on anybody who tried to take his computers from him.” She paused for effect. “He went looking for trouble . . . and he found it. Thank you very much,” she said as she bowed deep.

Jim stood up and started clapping.

“Order in the court,” Zach yelled as he banged his wooden spoon gavel on the desk. Damon was glad that this was for play because Mia definitely made him feel guilty. He would do what JJ and Taj told him to do: just ignore everything and play with his handheld video game. As long as he couldn’t get into any real trouble no matter what they said about him, he was fine. Plus, he had all the snacks he could eat. He didn’t mind this at all. It was like watching Court TV with his grandmother, except it was live.

Since the defense opted to make its opening statement before the prosecution called its witness, JJ took the floor.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, our client is not guilty, and we will prove it. As you all know, people take umbrellas with them when they leave home just because it looks like rain. It may or may not rain, but as we’ve been taught, better safe than sorry. In other words, be prepared. We will prove that our client was prepared to feel and be safe. Thank you,” JJ stated, and sat down.

Zach was grateful that he had the foresight to set up the video camera to tape the mock trial. He knew these children were smart, but he had underestimated just how brilliant they were.

“Is the prosecution ready to call its witness?” Zach asked.

“Yes, Your Honor. I would like to call Essence White to the stand,” Mia said.

“Place your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand,” Taj instructed, and Essence obliged.

“Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?”

“I do,” Essence said.

“State your name.”

“Essence White.”

“You may be seated.”

“Essence, do you know the defendant?” Mia asked.

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“All our lives.”

“So you know him pretty well?”

“Yes.”

“Has he ever been in a fight?”

“Yes,” Essence answered.

“Did he start it?”

“Objection! Relevance!” JJ shouted.

“Overruled,” Zach stated, wanting to see where the prosecution was going. JJ grimaced.

“Let’s just hear her out,” Zach said softly to soothe JJ. “The witness will answer the question.”

Mia was elated.

“So did the defendant start any fights?” Mia asked again, smirking at JJ.

“I doubt it,” Essence said.

“Did he win?”

“Every one I witnessed.”

“Did he try to walk away from a fight?”

“Not that I remember.”

“So to your knowledge, when the defendant found himself in a fight situation, his choice was always to fight, never to walk away?”

“Sometimes he didn’t have a choice.”

“Thank you. No more questions,” Mia said gleefully as she pranced back to her seat, full of confidence. JJ got up to cross-examine the witness.

“So you know the defendant well, you say?” JJ asked as they looked over at Damon, who was totally tuned out, concentrating on his video game and blowing bubbles with a big wad of grape bubble gum.

“Yes, very well,” the witness answered.

“Is he an instigator?”

“No.”

“A bully?”

“No.”

“A troublemaker?”

“No.”

“A man who isn’t afraid to defend himself?”

“Yes.”

“No more questions,” JJ said.

“Mia?” Zach inquired.

Mia and Taylor had their heads together.

“The prosecution rests,” Mia answered.

“You may step down,” Zach said to Essence. “The defense may call its witness.”

As Essence left the witness chair, JJ got back up.

“I would like to call Ezekiel Carter,” JJ stated.

Zeke went through Taj’s swearing-in process and took the seat Essence had vacated.

“How long have you known the defendant?” JJ asked his brother, turning toward the defense table to see and hear Damon loudly slurping the remains of a juice box, still oblivious to the attention.

“Since I was a baby.”

“Would you say you are good friends?”

“More than that.”

“Would you lie for him?”

“No.”

“Did he tell you what happened that night?”

“Yes.”

“What did he tell you?”

Taylor poked Mia in the side as she wrote something on a piece of paper.

“Objection!” Mia yelled, reading the paper and jumping to her feet. “Hearsay!”

“Because of the unusual nature of this case, I’ll allow it. Objection denied,” Zach said calmly. Zach had planned to overrule every objection because he wanted to hear everything the children had to say. Mia was livid.

“Denied?” she asked, pouting.

“Denied, sweetie,” Zach said lovingly. “The witness will answer.”

“He said that he went to sell some computers and it was a setup. The guys who had given them a down payment to make the delivery just to get them off campus had no intention of buying the computers. They had planned to rob them all along. It wasn’t his idea to take a gun, but he remembered they had it, and he just got to it real fast thinking that he was going to die. He didn’t want to die. He said he didn’t want anybody else to die either; he just wanted to sell his computers, but it was a setup that backfired, and fortunately, he didn’t get hurt. Unfortunately, the robber did,” Zeke testified.

“Your witness,” JJ said, looking at Mia with a deal-with-that expression.

Taylor whispered something to Mia. Nodding, Mia got up to cross-examine.

“So the defendant had a kill-or-be-killed attitude?” Mia asked the witness.

“No. He had a let’s-close-this-deal attitude that turned into an I-will-not-die-tonight attitude when a gun was put in his face. It’s called self-preservation.”

“What about the preservation of someone else’s life?”

“With a gun in your face, the only life you are thinking of preserving is your own.”

“But do you have to kill to live? Can’t we all just try to get along?”

“Objection, Your Honor. Calls for conclusion,” JJ stated.

“Denied. Please answer,” Zach said.

“I suppose under different circumstances,” Zeke responded.

“No more questions,” Mia stated smugly, confident she had proven her case.

Chapter Fifty-one

T
he defense would like to call a surprise witness,” JJ stated.

“Objection!” shouted Mia. “Sidebar, Your Honor?”

Taylor had instructed her to call for a sidebar in case there were any surprises.

“Counsel may approach the bench,” Zach said.

Mia voiced her displeasure at JJ calling a surprise witness without giving her a chance to prepare for a cross-examination. JJ was able to convince the judge that this witness was crucial to the case, as his testimony would bear out. Zach warned JJ against any theatrics. This was solely for Mia’s benefit. Then he allowed the testimony. Mia was incensed as she took her seat.

“You may proceed,” Zach stated, bubbling over with pride.

“The defense calls Ahmad.”

Taj had slipped out earlier to get Ahmad, who was, at this point, sitting beside Damon smacking on his own wad of bubble gum.

“Ahmad, sit right here,” Taj instructed, pointing to the witness chair.

Ahmad did as he was told and completed Taj’s swearing-in process.

“Did you overhear Jaron tell Zeke what happened that night he went to sell his computers?” JJ asked, keeping the names real so as not to confuse his young witness.

“Yep,” Ahmad stated, smacking loudly on his gum.

“Did he say that he had shot somebody?”

“Yep,” he answered, trying to blow a bubble.

“What did he say about why he shot that guy, and how did he say it?”

“Objection, Your Honor! Hearsay and leading!” Mia insisted.

“Again, because of the unusual nature of this case and the litigants involved, I’ll allow it. You may answer the question, Ahmad, but first, please remove your gum until after you finish speaking,” Zach instructed.

Ahmad took his wad out of his mouth and held it between his thumb and forefinger, with every intention of putting it back in after he completed his testimony. He proceeded.

“Jaron was scared, and he was crying. He kept saying, ‘I didn’t mean to do it, I didn’t mean to do it. I have to go to the police because I came over here thinking somebody had a gun and was gonna shoot me in that neighborhood. I was praying that he didn’t die. I just didn’t want to die.’ Jaron really didn’t want the guy to die. He said he maybe could have tried to take the gun, but the guy was bigger than him and would have beat and killed him. He didn’t know what else to do to make sure the guy didn’t shoot him,” Ahmad testified.

“Your witness,” JJ said, sitting down, leaning back, and crossing his legs at the knee.

Mia looked at Taylor, who shook her head. She had nothing else for Mia.

“No questions,” Mia said.

The defense rested.

Zach adjourned for lunch. It was a pretty intense morning. Zakia and Eboni had prepared a wonderful meal of pastas, salads, deli meats, fresh-baked bread, gourmet soup, fresh fruit, and juice. All of the adults were impressed with the children’s efforts. Having been instructed by Zach not to discuss the case, they limited their onversation during lunch. The attorneys were famished, having worked up hearty appetites. Damon and Ahmad hardly touched their food, full after all the snacks. Ahmad still had gum in his mouth. LaKisha and Shay were allowed to take their food back to the guest suite. They wanted to continue their girl talk in private.