A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,119

said, “Yes, I do.”

“Has Mr. Brigance explained to you what will happen in court?”

“Yes, we’ve talked about it.”

“Has he told you what to say?”

She shrugged and looked confused. “I guess.”

“So what did Mr. Brigance tell you to say?”

Jake, itching for a fight, interrupted with “Why don’t you just ask her what happened?”

“Okay, Kiera, what happened that night?”

Avoiding eye contact, she focused on a legal pad in the center of the table and told her story: awake at 2:00 a.m., waiting for Stuart Kofer to return home; hiding in her bedroom with Drew while their mother waited downstairs; unable to sleep because of the fear; sitting on her bed in the dark with her brother with the door locked; seeing the headlights; hearing the car; hearing the kitchen door open and slam; hearing the voices of her mother and Kofer as they argued; then louder voices as he called her a whore and a liar; the sound of her mother getting slapped around again; then the silence for a few minutes as they waited; the heavy footsteps of Kofer climbing the stairs, calling her name as he got closer; the rattling of her doorknob; the banging on the door as they cried and held their breath and prayed for help; the silence for a moment as he decided to leave them alone; the sounds of him going back down the stairs; the horror of knowing their mother was injured or else she would have been fighting to protect them; the long awful silence as they waited.

Her voice cracked and she wiped her cheeks with a tissue.

Dyer said, “I realize this is difficult, but please try to finish. This is very important.”

She nodded and clenched her jaws in determination. She looked at Jake and he nodded. Finish it.

Drew eased downstairs and found their mother unconscious. He ran back upstairs and, in tears, said she was dead. They went to the kitchen where Kiera begged her mother to wake up, then she sat down and took her mother’s head in her lap. One of them, she couldn’t remember who, said to call 911. Drew made the call as Kiera held her mother, who wasn’t breathing. They knew she was dead. She held her mother’s head and stroked her hair and whispered to her. Drew was moving around but she wasn’t sure what he was doing. He said that Kofer was passed out on his bed. Drew closed the bedroom door and Kiera heard the gunshot.

She began sobbing and the adults in the room avoided eye contact. After a minute or two, she wiped her cheeks again and looked at Dyer.

He asked, “What did Drew say after the gunshot?”

“He said he shot Stu.”

“So, you did not actually see him shoot Stuart?”

“No.”

“But you heard the gunshot?”

“Yes.”

“Did Drew say anything else?”

She paused and thought about this and finally said, “I don’t remember anything else he said.”

“Okay, what happened next?”

Another pause. “I don’t know. I was just holding my mother and I couldn’t believe she was dead.”

“Do you remember a deputy arriving on the scene?”

“Yes.”

“And where were you when you saw the deputy?”

“I was still on the floor, holding my mother.”

“Do you remember the deputy asking you what happened?”

“I think so. Yes.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said something like, ‘Drew shot Stuart.’ ”

Dyer offered a sappy smile and said, “Thank you, Kiera. I know this is not easy. While you were holding your mother, was she breathing?”

“No, I didn’t think so. I held her for a long time and I just knew she was dead.”

“Did you try to check her pulse?”

“I don’t think so. I was too scared. It’s kinda hard to think when something like that happens.”

“I understand.” Dyer looked at some notes and paused before proceeding. “Now, I believe you used the word ‘again’ when you said that you heard Stuart Kofer and your mother arguing and fighting downstairs. Is this correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“So this had happened before?”

“Yes sir. Many times.”

“Did you ever actually see these fights?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t call them fights. My mother was just trying to protect herself when he beat her.”

“And you saw this?”

“One time, yes. He came home late and drunk, as usual.”

“Did he ever hit you or Drew?”

Jake interrupted with “She’s not answering that.”

“Why not?” Dyer shot across the table.

“Because on direct examination you’re not going to ask that question. She’ll be your witness then.”

“I have the right to know what her testimony will be.”

“On direct, when she’s your witness. You have no right to know what she might