Page 66 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

Ooooh, Brazilian food too? Damn, this day really was going to end with a bang.

23

I wasn’t sure who was more excited today was D-Day. Well, no, that wasn’t accurate. Dwayne was the most excited out of all of us. For a very good reason.

Today, we were in court to appeal his case.

Dwayne was still in an orange jumpsuit, nothing to be done there, but Craig looked snazzy dressed up in a new navy pin-striped suit, hair slicked back with gel. He also had three boxesof evidence and such with him, which I had helped carry in, so this man was super prepared.

Also with us were Grant, Francesca, Dwayne’s parents, Nina, and the Gonzalezes. They’d swung back this direction specifically for the case. I was so glad to see Marc because an FBI agent’s word had more weight in some ways.

Solomon was also in the audience, and I really hoped he took the stand. Just so Craig could tear him apart. Petty Crocker, that was me.

Jon was also in the witness section, ready to be called in. He wasn’t sure how much weight his words would have, but I recognized the judge. The Honorable Yvonna Kauffman liked Jon very much and trusted him, so in this case? There would be a lot of weight.

Gonzalez slid in next to me, the wooden chairs not exactly comfortable, but they were what we had to work with. He leaned in and whispered, “Marc thinks he’s got a lead on our perp.”

Couldn’t jump out of my chair, couldn’t—but dammit, I just about did, I was so excited. “Oh my god, is he sure?”

“If he’s not our perp, he’saperp for sure. The guy’s basically a whole parade of red flags by himself. We’re in the process of tracking him down but swung by here first. Marc’s now chomping at the bit to get Dwayne free. Says it’s such an injustice, he can’t sleep at night.”

“I know quite a few people who say the same.”

The bailiff stepped forward and said loudly, “All rise! The Honorable Yvonna Kauffman is presiding.”

We rose. Poor Dwayne looked nervous as hell. I wanted to give him a hug. We got you, dude. We’ve all got you.

For an appeal trial, there was no jury. The main point of an appeal was to somehow prove either the law had failed, the procedure of the trial itself hadn’t been adhered to, or there was something wrong with the evidence. We were the plaintiff, andthe DA’s office was the defense, as it was their screwup they had to defend. Craig was choosing to focus on the evidence issues. It was the clearest way to free Dwayne, and right now, that was all we cared about.

Going after Solomon’s ass came later.

“All may be seated,” the bailiff intoned.

Yvonna Kauffman was a very pretty woman, perhaps late thirties, and her olive skin and straight dark hair gave her a distinctly Mediterranean appearance. She had always been very fair in the cases we’d been part of, and I could tell she took note of me and Jon in the audience. Then she spotted Grant next to Jon and just about did a double take. Her eyes narrowed in a shrewd way, and I could tell she was already putting the pieces together.

God, I loved this judge.

“Start recording,” she said. “We are here to hear the appeal ofState versus Evans. For the record, Mr. Evans, who is your counselor?”

“My attorney is Craig Moore, Your Honor.” Dwayne’s voice didn’t betray his nerves.

“Plaintiff, would you make your opening statement?”

“I would love to, Your Honor.” Craig stood to address her. “I’ll keep this brief. Your Honor, our goal here today is to prove that the case against my client should never have ended in a conviction. The evidence against him in the original hearing was shaky at best, highly circumstantial, and outright ignored witness testimony and security footage putting my client on the other side of the city during the supposed murder of his sister.”

Kauffman lifted a hand to stay him. “I don’t normally interrupt opening statements, but I must in this case. You say supposed? Do you not believe this woman is dead?”

“We highly suspect she wasn’t killed, Your Honor. For one thing, there is no corpus delicti.”

Abby sat on the other side of me and whispered, “What does that mean?”

“Body of the crime,” Gonzalez answered, barely shifting his head. “It can be figurative and not literal, but your dad’s saying there’s no proof of a body.”

Kauffman’s bright pink lips pursed. “Is that why Grant Walker is one of your witnesses?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Ho. Well, this case just got a lot more interesting. Continue, Counselor.”

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