Chapter 63: The Twenty Shot Murder Case: Preliminary Hearing [2]

The courtroom stirred once more as a middle aged woman walked slowly toward the witness stand.

“Momma!”

Thomas abruptly shot to his feet, causing the officers standing nearby to close in around him in case he attempted anything rash. Yet Thomas ignored them completely. His gaze shifted toward Damian, who wore a sly, vicious smile, and a cold chill ran down his spine.

He did not know why, but his instincts screamed that it was over for him, all because of this white boy. Helpless, he could only keep his eyes on his mother as he was pulled away from the witness stand.

Mama Breezy’s expression was weary yet resolute. After being sworn in, she sat with her hands folded tightly together as Damian approached her with measured gentleness.

“Mrs. Caldwell, how are you related to the previous witness?”

“He’s my son.”

Her voice carried a deep exhaustion that no one in the room could miss.

“Mrs. Caldwell, did your son speak to you about the night Marcus Vale was killed?”

Damian went straight to the point, and Ruiz’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yes.”

The courtroom grew noticeably quieter. Breezy sprang to his feet again, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth hanging open, yet no sound came from him. He simply stared at his mother in stunned silence, unable to form a single word.

“What did he tell you?”

She turned her head and looked at her son. Her eyes filled with a mixture of pain, apology, and fierce resolve. After the back to back visits from an angel every single night reminding her of the horrors that would befall her son should he walk free from this jail, she knew she had to do something to protect him.

All her life she had tried to pull him away from the life of crime he insisted on living, and now the heavens had given her an opportunity to do so.

“He told me he was there.”

Damian asked carefully.

“Did he tell you who shot Marcus Vale?”

A long pause followed. Everyone in the courtroom leaned forward almost instinctively, their eyes locked onto her lips.

Then she answered.

“He said he did.”

Buzz!

Gasps rippled through the gallery, and Ruiz shot to his feet.

“Objection! Hearsay!”

Judge Vance raised her hand and the courtroom fell silent once more. Her eyes shifted toward Damian, then toward Ruiz.

“This is a preliminary hearing determining probable cause, not a jury trial. The court will allow the testimony.”

Ruiz slowly lowered himself back into his chair, his fists clenched tightly.

“Mrs. Caldwell, did your son say anything else about the shooting?” Damian continued with a faintly mischievous grin.

“He said things got out of control. He said he fired the gun.” Her voice trembled slightly. “He said he panicked.”

Damian nodded gently.

“Did he ever tell you that Declan Dwayne shot Marcus Vale?”

“No.”

“Thank you.”

Damian returned calmly to the defense table while Ruiz rose immediately for cross examination. His questions came quickly, though tension tightened every word.

“Mrs. Caldwell, your son never confessed this to the police, correct?”

“No.”

“And you only came forward after meeting with the defense.”

“Yes.”

Ruiz froze for a brief moment as he thought through the situation. Mama Breezy’s involvement was something he had never anticipated. At this moment he was completely unprepared to fight this kind of battle. Letting out a quiet, defeated sigh, he turned toward the judge.

“No further questions.”

The testimony ended, but the atmosphere inside the courtroom had shifted.

Judge Vance watched Damian carefully, and there was unmistakable admiration in her eyes.

Even she had been stunned when Breezy’s mother was called to the stand, and judging from the reactions around the room, everyone else had been stunned as well. How this man had managed to persuade a mother to testify against her own son remained a mystery to her, and that mystery was driving her nearly mad with curiosity.

This beautiful man… she wanted to know more about him.

“Counsel, do you have additional witnesses?” Judge Vance asked, her voice remaining perfectly professional.

Ruiz hesitated briefly before shaking his head.

“The State rests for the purposes of this hearing.”

Judge Vance turned her attention toward Damian.

“Defense?”

Damian rose once more and walked calmly to the center of the courtroom.

“Your Honor, the State bears the burden of establishing probable cause that my client committed first degree murder under 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1).”

He spoke with calm, unshakable confidence.

“They have presented a witness who was found in possession of a firearm connected through manufacturing to the crime scene. That witness claims my client fired the shots.”

“Moments later, the court heard testimony from the witness’s own mother stating that the same individual privately confessed to committing the shooting himself.”

Damian allowed the silence to stretch through the room.

“In other words, Your Honor, the State’s central witness is either lying now… or lied to his mother about committing murder.”

He glanced briefly toward Breezy, and a vicious grin curled at the edge of his lips.

“Neither scenario establishes reliable probable cause against my client. There is no murder weapon tied to my client. No forensic evidence placing a firearm in his hand. And all eyewitnesses provided by the State have now twice proven to be deeply compromised.”

“The defense respectfully requests that the court dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause.”

Buzz!

Judge Vance sat very still, and even Twenty straightened in his seat. Not even he had expected Damian to attempt ending the entire case during the preliminary hearing.

At that moment Judge Vance’s eyes met Damian’s, and for a brief instant the tension inside the courtroom seemed to dissolve. She felt as if the world itself had faded away between them, leaving only the two of them standing in some quiet, suspended place.

Then Damian gave her a deep, warm smile, the kind of smile one might expect from a lover.

In the very next moment the world rushed back into place, and she remembered exactly where she was. Straightening herself, she began to speak.

“The court has reviewed the testimony and evidence presented today.”

Her voice carried clearly across the silent room.

“The State’s burden at a preliminary hearing is to establish probable cause that the defendant committed the offense charged. However, the credibility of the State’s primary witness has been significantly undermined by contradictory testimony introduced by the defense.”

Ruiz held his breath as his hand tightened around the edge of the table, gripping it so hard it looked as though he might break it. His face burned red as if he were struggling to contain himself in the middle of the courtroom.

“Given the lack of corroborating evidence and the substantial doubt regarding the reliability of the State’s witness, the court finds that probable cause has not been sufficiently established.”

She lifted the gavel.

“The charge of first degree murder against Declan Dwayne is dismissed without prejudice.”

Gasps erupted throughout the courtroom as the gavel struck once.

“Court is adjourned.”

Buzz!

The room exploded into noise. Twenty jumped to his feet, his entire body trembling with excitement.

Meanwhile Judge Vance allowed herself one final glance toward Damian.

The look she gave him lingered longer this time, and he made sure to return it with a knowing smile. He understood perfectly well the importance of having a powerful figure like Judge Vance in his pocket, and he fully intended to secure that advantage, even if it meant beginning an affair with this elderly woman and giving her a treatment her husband had never given and could never dream of giving her.

Across the courtroom Ruiz remained seated, his eyes wide as he stared at Damian’s back as though he were looking at a monster. His mind had gone completely blank, not a single coherent thought passing through it.

The man was utterly defeated, both in body and in spirit.

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