Death and a Life in Emerald CoveChapter 18
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Wyatt Quinn tried his hardest to shake Currence on several points the man had made the day before but the witness was resolute. He didn't waver on any point despite the fact that Quinn kept him on the stand for almost six hours of cross-examination.
Finally he gave up and released the witness.
"That's all I have for now," Quinn stated as he sat down.
"Your Honor, the prosecution plans to release Mr. Currence from his subpoena," Attenborough informed the court. "There is no reason for us to pay for his care and feeding. We will not recall the witness. I ask you to inform the defense if they have anything more to ask him, they need to do it now."
"I might have some questions later, Your Honor!" Quinn replied.
"Then I submit that the defense can be responsible for reimbursing the state of West Virginia from this point on," Attenborough said. "Oh, wait, that wouldn't do any good. Mr. Currence is not on the defense's witness list – and I will vigorously fight any attempt to add him at this point in the trial. We release Richard Currence from his subpoena and ask that he be transported back to West Virginia forthwith."
"So ordered," Manning said.
"Your Honor, I must have access to this witness later in the trial!" Quinn said.
"Then you should have included him on your witness list, Mr. Quinn," Manning said. "The witness is released to be returned to the state of West Virginia by the end of court today. Mr. Attenborough, please call your next witness."
The state recalled Bea Harrison to the stand to discuss the forensic analysis done on the condoms found in Ricky Currence's Huntington refrigerator.
The most important thing she relayed was that although there were trace amounts of vaginal fluid on one of the condoms, the second contained no vaginal fluid. The second condom contained fecal matter in larger quantities than would be expected from anal sex. The condom with trace amounts of vaginal secretions had a higher level of urine coating it. All the samples matched the victim's DNA.
"Did you find anything inside the condom?" Jonah inquired.
"I found seminal samples that matched the sample taken from the defendant, Jonathan Mayfield," Bea told them.
"What did this lead to believe, based on your experience and your analysis," Attenborough said.
"That the condoms were inserted into the body after death," Bea testified. "That Mr. Mayfield had both vaginal and anal sex with the corpse of Mary Beth Brockleman."
Two men on the jury turned toward the defense table with murder in their eyes. One woman visibly trembled. Several turned pale and appeared to be ready to rid themselves of their most recent meal. They knew Jonathan Mayfield had been charged with abusing a corpse but to hear of the reality from a pleasant woman like Bea Harrison was enough to make them queasy. The judge granted a 20-minute recess to give the jurors a chance to compose themselves.
Quinn wanted absolutely nothing to do with this testimony but he had to try something to discredit it. He attacked the forensics and the chain of custody. He did reasonably well until his final question.
"We only have Mr. Currence's testimony – the testimony of an admitted rapist – that these condoms were retrieved from the Roadside Inn on the night of Miss Brockleman's death," Quinn said. "Isn't it possible the samples came from some other date and time?"
Bea blinked hard as she parsed through the question.
"Mr. Quinn," she said, "I'm not exactly sure how many times you think a person dies but I can assure you that once is all anyone I've ever seen gets. Miss Brockleman was killed once, Mr. Quinn. The fluids I found on those condoms are consistent with what I would expect to find in the anal and vaginal cavities of a dead person."
Quinn's face reddened at the answer and he quickly dismissed Bea Harrison from the stand and Judge Manning called a recess for lunch.
Dining in the defense room was a terse affair. Mayfield was unshackled so he could eat but his appetite was gone.
"You have to do something to stop this!" he exclaimed to his attorney.
"How do you expect me to do that?" Quinn asked reasonably. "We discussed Currence when we got to his name on the witness list. You told me, and I quote, 'He's my boy. He won't say anything'. Well, not only did he say something he did something. The condoms were extremely damaging. You've led me to believe that those were unrelated to this case until we got the forensic report back. If you'll recall, that's when I urged you to take the state's last plea deal."
Mayfield sat glumly in his seat.
"You've underestimated the police and prosecutors in every instance, Mr. Mayfield," Quinn said. "Sadly, so have I. I believed we had an advantage because of their inexperience in big trials. You believed that they wouldn't be able to prove the case against you. We both were wrong. The prosecution is filling in every blank. They have mode, method and opportunity. The only place they're lacking is motive. There are five witnesses left on their list. I want you to look at the names again and tell me what you know about each of them."
Mayfield sighed and looked at the paper in front of him.
"That one's the cop," he said, pointing to Bryant's name.
"We'll be able to discredit him somewhat by introducing his service record," Quinn said. "We also have his prior relationship with the prosecutor to taint his testimony some. Outside of that, we really have nothing. Judge Manning has already ruled on the evidentiary value of the DNA testing. That's not going away."
"I don't know who these three are," Mayfield continued, pointing at a trio of names.
"They are others who either handled DNA or other records," Quinn told them. "They were put on there in case I was able to punch holes in the forensics."
"Which you didn't," Mayfield said bitterly.
"They did a solid job," Quinn said. "I can't create problems when there aren't any. We'll put a dent in that when we review their testing procedures during cross-examination. It won't shake it completely but it will put some doubt in the jurors' minds. What about the Shrekengost kid?"
Mayfield shook his head firmly.
"There is no way he'll show up," Mayfield stated. "He ran as soon as he could and he hasn't popped his head up since. My dad spent thousands of dollars looking for him. I know the sheriff up there has been hunting for them, too."
"The sheriff has been under arrest since around the time you have," Quinn pointed out. "Is it possible they've tracked him down?"
"Even if they did, he won't say anything," Mayfield told him. "Currence had it wrong. Shrekengost is scared of me, not the other way around. He knew the score. Once I turned eighteen, I have the money and the connections. He's got nothing."
Quinn let out a long breath.
"What will he say if gets on the stand?" he asked. He had not bothered to try to depose Shrekengost because his client had assured him that the kid wasn't going to testify. He had come to understand that Mayfield had a skewed sense of his power.
"He won't testify!" Mayfield maintained.
"But if he does... ?" his lawyer pressed.
Mayfield looked at his hands.
"If he does, I'm screwed," he admitted.
When Jonah Attenborough announced the state's next witness Jonathan Mayfield let out a loud gasp and turned in his seat to watch the door.
The defendant's face whitened noticeably when Mark Shrekengost strode purposefully through the door. Shrekengost never took his eyes off the defendant as he walked up the aisle and through the gates that separated the gallery from the participants.
His gaze didn't leave Mayfield until he turned to walk to the court clerk and be sworn in to testify.
"Sidebar, Your Honor," Quinn said. He turned to glare at his client momentarily but Mayfield's eyes were on the table.
Manning motioned the attorneys to the bench. Quinn had nothing in his arsenal but he wanted a few moments to compose his thoughts. He also knew that seeing all the attorneys hover around the judge's desk might cast doubt on the witness' testimony without him having to say a word.
"I have yet to be able to depose this witness," Quinn said.
"Which isn't our problem," Allyson shot back.
"Why haven't you spoken to this witness?" Manning asked. "Are you alleging that the prosecutors have hidden him from you?"
"No, no," Quinn said quickly. "It's simply a matter of time, Your Honor. With all the requisite filings the defense is required to make, we ran out of time and deposed only the witnesses we believed would actually testify."
"If you hadn't pulled us into court over every single piece of evidence you'd have had plenty of time," Allyson said in an angry voice. "I swear to God, we were here six times every week yet we found time to depose witnesses."
"That's quite enough, Ms. Granger," Manning said.
"Respectfully, Sir, it's not enough," Allyson replied. "Mr. Shrekengost has been on our witness list from its inception. This is nothing more than a defense ploy to delay the trial or to cast doubt on the witness' testimony. He's pulled this crap over every single thing and I'm sick of it."
Manning let out a deep sigh. He believed he had done everything in his power to ensure the defense got a fair trial. Wyatt Quinn was asking for something beyond the pale.
"She's correct, Mr. Quinn," Manning said after a moment of reflection. "You can't ask the prosecutors to do your job for you. I happen to know that Mr. Shrekengost has made himself available and he has kept his address updated with the court. There is no valid reason that you are unprepared. I'm not going to give you a second bite at the apple. Sit down."
Quinn wore a feigned scowl as he walked back to his table, trying to deliver a message to the jury that his client was being treated unfairly.
"I want you to write down everything you know about this kid," he whispered in his client's ear. "I want to know every time he cheated on a test, every piece of candy he stole and every crime he committed along with you and your band of idiots. Do you hear me?"
"I don't know anything like that," Mayfield whispered back. "But I need to tell you something."
"Mr. Quinn, the witness is about to give his testimony," Manning said from the bench. "You and your client need to remain silent. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Quinn replied.
Mark Shrekengost walked the jury through his relationship with not only the Gallia Crew but with Mary Beth Brockleman. It was the same story that Ricky Currence had related earlier.
The biggest surprise during his first hour of testimony was his address.
"I'm a college student at Georgia Southern University but my permanent address is Emerald Cove, South Carolina," the young man stated into the microphone.
Jonah made certain that the jury didn't think he was a long-term resident (and thus a suspect) and elicited testimony that he had moved to South Carolina from Pennsylvania the previous December.
It wasn't until the second hour of testimony that Shrekengost had any new information to impart.
"We've heard testimony that you and the victim, Miss Brockleman, stopped dating in high school," Jonah said. "Is that correct?"
"No," Shrekengost said. "But we kept our relationship secret from everyone. We planned to get out of Gallia County and let everyone there forget about us. Then we would move to the same town and start over. We didn't count on those assholes chasing victims across the eastern United States."
"Language, Mr. Shrekengost," Manning chided.
"If you can come up with a better description, Your Honor, I'm open to using it," Shrekengost replied angrily.
"Let's try to keep curse words out of our testimony," Manning told him. "You're a smart young man. You can come up with a better term. Am I clear?"
Shrekengost nodded.
"Why did you hide your relationship with Miss Brockleman?" Jonah asked.
"Things got out of hand with Mayfield and his groupies the summer before," Mark replied. "I had to intervene and I knew they would use her to get to me."
"What happened?" Jonah asked.
"I suspected they had broken into a young woman's home and humiliated her and her mother," Shrekengost stated. "I knew the police wouldn't do anything so I took matters into my own hands."
"Did you assault them?" Jonah inquired.
"I did," Mark Shrekengost answered. "I caught them alone and, uh, well, I spanked their behinds for them. It was something that should have been done a thousand times before, if you ask me. I knew their parents would never stop them so I did what I could. I saved Mayfield for last and made sure his boys got to watch. In hindsight, I shouldn't have stepped in. I believe that my actions that day led to Mary Beth's death."
"Were you still dating Miss Brockleman at the time of her death?" Jonah asked.
"No," Mark replied sadly. "It's like so many things. Once she got out of Gallia County, Mary Beth was able to spread her wings – to finally be the person she was meant to be. At the same time, I had moved to Pennsylvania with my mother and I was in the same spot. We realized we didn't have anything in common except for where we came from and a mutual dislike of the place. We broke up for good the summer before she was murdered. I was dating someone else when she was killed."
He paused for a moment.
"That doesn't mean I didn't care about her," he continued. "I still considered her a close friend. Once she got out of Gallia County, I came to realize just how smart and how funny she was. She didn't deserve to have some animal track her down and kill her to get back at me."
"You believe that is why Mr. Mayfield attacked Miss Brockleman?" Jonah asked.
"I'm positive," Mark stated firmly. "He told me exactly what he was going to do her if he caught her alone. She was already gone and I thought it was an idle threat."
"He told you what he was going to do to her?" Jonah asked for clarity's sake.
"A few days after graduation, right before I left Gallia County for good, I heard about Lucy Jones and her family," Mark said. "I found Mayfield and his cronies at the pool and I braced him on the way home. I pinned him up against the wall and told him that if I ever found out he or his family was behind the deaths, I'd put him in the ground."
"You pinned him against the wall?" Jonah asked. "Are you admitted to assaulting Mr. Mayfield a second time?"
"If they want to charge me, I'll take whatever they give me," Mark said. "But, yeah, I lifted him off the ground with my forearm under his neck."
"Is that when he threatened Miss Brockleman?" Jonah asked.
"No, that was when he wet his pants," Shrekengost stated. "It wasn't until his boys rolled up that he got his nerve back – not that I wouldn't have snapped all their necks and saved the court the cost of a trial."
"Do you recall what he told you that afternoon?" Jonah pushed.
"Word for word," Shrekengost replied. "Once he had backup, he stepped right up to me and looked up at me. He said, 'You can't protect her forever. Someday, somewhere, I'll find her. I'll knock her out if I have to. I'll fuck her in every hole then I'll choke the life out of her. And just for you, Mark, just for you, I'm going to fuck her in the ass after she's dead'."
It took several moments for Manning to get the courtroom back under control.
Jonathan Mayfield had jumped to his feet and yelled something unintelligible. Whatever he'd said was drowned out by the loud gasps that had come not only from the gallery but also from several jurors. It appeared that the only person who managed to make out what the defendant had said was the witness.
Shrekengost practically leaped over the barrier in front of the witness chair and started toward Mayfield – who quickly ducked down behind his attorney. Jonah Attenborough wrapped his arms around Shrekengost's waist but was being dragged across the room.
"You better hope you get the death penalty, you son of a bitch!" Shrekengost screamed. "It'll be far more humane that what I'm going to do to you if I ever see you on the street again!"
Jan Elliot vaulted through the gate and intercepted Shrekengost a few feet from the defense table. Even though the angered young man towered over her, he stopped when she stepped in front of him.
"Sit back down, Mr. Shrekengost," she said in a firm voice before she turned to Mayfield. "And if you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to let him have you next time."
Manning and the bailiffs finally got everyone settled down and seated again before turning the witness over to Wyatt Quinn.
Quinn had come to a decision as Shrekengost had testified. He would be the perfect fall guy for the SODDI defense. SODDI was an acronym used by defense attorneys for Some Other Dude Did It or a defense that pointed the jury to another suspect. He had planned to use Ricky Currence in this role, and he decided he still might, but Shrekengost would play into something he expected one of his witnesses – a psychologist – would say. His psychologist had mentioned that the level of violence was reminiscent of a scorned suitor than just a casual acquaintance. However that was before Ricky Currence had told the jurors that Mayfield had chased after the girl for years.
Quinn walked to the podium with a new determination.
"Now, Mr. Shrekengost, let's take a look at your testimony," Quinn said."You said you didn't break up with Mary Beth Brockleman in high school. Is that correct?"
"That's correct," Shrekengost replied.
"Isn't it true that Miss Brockleman broke up with you?" Quinn asked with disdain.
"That's incorrect," Shrekengost said in an even voice. He had been warned that the defense would try to paint him as the culprit in Mary Beth Brockleman's death. He had come prepared.
"Isn't a fact that Mary Beth Brockleman not only tossed you aside in high school but she also spurned your attempts to reconnect with her after you'd graduated?" Quinn pressed.
"This is pure badgering, Your Honor," Attenborough cut in before the witness could answer. "Could you please remind the defense attorney of the proper decorum for a courtroom?"
"I have to agree, Mr. Quinn," Manning said. "Mr. Shrekengost has already testified to the nature of the relationship he had with Miss Brockleman. If you have information to the contrary, you can call that witness to rebut the testimony. But I will not allow you to use this forum to inject pure supposition in lieu of factual testimony."
Quinn let out a long breath. He had expected to get in at least two more questions before being hammered down. He knew he was out of bounds but judges usually gave the defense a lot of leeway.
"Your Honor, this line of questioning is crucial to the defense," he tried.
"That is becoming a tired refrain," Attenborough interjected. "Whether we were discussing a police officer's service jacket or the admission of solid evidence, it's always been 'crucial' to the defense. He's been so scattershot I'm not sure he even has a defense other than to moan and complain about every single issue. Frankly, it's become tiresome."
"I've made my ruling, Mr. Quinn," Manning said. "Move along. And Mr. Attenborough, this is not the venue for discussing your impression of the defense."
Attenborough nodded and resumed his seat as Quinn turned back to the witness.
"Can you tell the jury where you were the night Mary Beth Brockleman died?" he asked.
"Yes," Shrekengost answered. Quinn waited for him to continue but the man sat mutely.
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