to identify the real perpetrator, the other half we do not. Here, it looks highly unlikely. The case is old. The evidence is gone. The real killer is, as you say, living well somewhere far away.”
“Or he’s dead,” Duckworth says. “Gun thugs don’t last long in the cartels.”
“So why are they watching us?” Vicki asks.
“Why not? You’re easy to watch. The court filings are public. Why not keep up with things?”
I ask, “Ever hear of a Miami drug lawyer named Nash Cooley?”
“I don’t think so. Is he with a firm?”
“Varick and Valencia.”
“Oh sure. They’ve been around for years. Well known in the trade. Why do you ask?”
“Nash Cooley was in the courtroom last week when we argued our motion.”
“So you know him?”
“No, but we identified him. He was with a guy named Mickey Mercado, one of his clients.”
Being a good cop, he wants to ask how we identified the two, but he lets it go. He smiles and says, “Yes, I’d be careful if I were you. It’s safe to assume they’re watching.”
Chapter 29
According to Steve Rosenberg, Judge Marlowe has more clout than we gave her credit for. He suspects she lobbied the Alabama Court of Appeals to move at what could be a record pace. Barely two months after the hearing in Verona, the court unanimously affirms Judge Marlowe’s command to DNA test the seven pubic hairs. And they order the testing to be paid for by the office of the Honorable Chad Falwright. Two detectives from the state police drive the evidence to the same lab in Durham that we used to test the saliva of Mark Carter. I stare at my phone for three days until it buzzes with a call from Her Honor herself.
With perfect unaccented diction and in the most beautiful female voice I’ve ever heard, she says, “Well, Mr. Post, it appears as though you are correct. Your client has been excluded by DNA testing. All seven pubic hairs once belonged to Mr. Carter.”
I’m in Vicki’s office and my face says it all. I close my eyes for a moment as Vicki quietly hugs Mazy.
Her Honor continues, “Today is Tuesday. Can you be here for a hearing on Thursday?”
“Of course. And thank you, Judge Marlowe.”
“Don’t thank me, Mr. Post. Our judicial system owes an enormous debt of gratitude to you.”
These are the moments we live for. Alabama came within two hours of killing an innocent man. Duke Russell would be cold in his grave if not for us and our work and our commitment to undoing wrongful convictions.
But we’ll celebrate later. I leave immediately and head west toward Alabama, phoning nonstop. Chad doesn’t want to talk and of course he’s far too busy at the moment. Since he’ll try to screw things up again, and since he’s incompetent to begin with, we’re worried about the apprehension of Mark Carter. To our knowledge Carter knows nothing about the DNA testing. Steve Rosenberg convinces the Attorney General to call Chad and get him in line. The AG also agrees to notify the state police and ask them to keep an eye on Carter.
Late Wednesday morning, Duke Russell is lying on his bunk, the same one he’s had for the past ten years, reading a paperback and minding his own business when a guard looks through the bars and says, “Hey Duke. Time to go, man.”
“Go where?”
“Goin’ home. A judge wants to see you in Verona. Leavin’ in twenty minutes. Get packed.” The guard shoves a cheap duffel through the bars and Duke begins stuffing in his assets: socks, T-shirts, boxers, two pairs of sneakers, toiletries. He owns eight paperbacks, and since he’s read each at least five times he decides to leave them for the next guy. Same for his small black-and-white TV and rotating fan. By the time he walks out of his cell, in handcuffs but no leg irons, his comrades are cheering and clapping. Near the front door the other guards have gathered to slap him on the back and wish him well. Several walk him outside where a white prison van is waiting. As he leaves death row he refuses to look back. At Holman’s administration building, he is transferred to a county patrol car and whisked away. Once outside the prison, the car stops and the deputy in the front passenger’s seat gets out. He opens a rear door, unlocks the handcuffs, and asks Duke if he would like something to eat. Duke thanks him but declines. His emotions are overwhelming