Page 123 of The Right to Remain

“CJ was afraid because—as he told you—Owen would be furious if he found out the two of you were doing this together, behind his back.”

“Yes—I mean no.”

“Because your husband and Mr. Vandermeer despised each other. True?”

“They did, but that wasn’t the issue.”

“Because Mr. Vandermeer ponied up the money that made it possible for you to adopt Austen from my client.”

“Yes, but—”

“Because Owen wished he’d never adopted your son.”

“No!”

“Because—”

“Because we were having an affair! All right? That’s why CJ was afraid of what Owen might do!”

Jack heard a gasp from behind—the first sound from Elliott in weeks—and the courtroom seemed to gasp along with him. Jack stood frozen before the witness, who appeared stunned by her own words. The admission was more than he had hoped for. Far more.

Patricia Dubrow rose from her seat in the first row of the gallery.

“Your Honor, as counsel for the witness, I would request a brief recess.”

Jack needed to capitalize on his momentum. “Your Honor, rather than recess, I ask the court to dismiss the witness and immediately take up my client’s renewed request for pretrial release.”

“The State of Florida joins in Mr. Swyteck’s request,” said Weller, “except to add that the court should immediatelydenythe defendant’s request for release.”

The judge addressed the witness. “Ms. Pollard, you may step down.”

Helena rose and walked quickly toward her lawyer. A handful of reporters jumped from their seats and followed them to the rear exit and into the lobby. No one else moved.

“Ms. Weller,” the judge said, “the law requires this court to release Mr. Stafford on bail unless the prosecution can establish a strong presumption of guilt. In light of what we’ve just heard, tell me: What is left of your case?”

Chapter 45

Silence. It had been Jack’s nemesis since his client had broken off all communication with him, the court, and the entire system ofinjustice. In this latest turn of events, however, he embraced the silence, as the prosecutor found herself at a complete loss for words.

“Ms. Weller, my question was not rhetorical,” the judge said. “I need an answer. What is left of your case against Mr. Stafford?”

Jack wished the question were his to answer but waited his turn.

“Our case remains strong,” said the prosecutor.

“Enlighten me,” the judge said dryly.

A less experienced lawyer might have crumbled. Weller seemed to take the judge’s skepticism as a challenge.

“Let’s start with regrets,” said Weller, her voice smooth and confident, as if she were delivering a polished closing argument. “This defendant is full of them. He regrets his decision to undergo gender-affirming treatment. Regrets that she—nowhe—will never give birth to another child. Regrets that he couldn’t stop his mother from selling baby Austen to the Pollards.

“Regret begot resentment. He resented Owen Pollard for the way he treated Austen. For the way he treated his wife, Helena. For calling him a ‘freak’ and telling him to stay away from Austen.

“Resentment drove his quest for revenge. He took a job at Owen Pollard’s company to insinuate himself into the life of the Pollard family. He volunteered at Helena Pollard’s dance conservatory to be close to Austen. This is the behavior of a stalker, not an innocent man.

“Finally, the regrets, the resentment, and the defendant’s thirst for revenge turned to action. On the morning of his death, Owen Pollardtold the defendant in no uncertain terms that an open adoption was out of the question and warned him to stay away from his son. What did Mr. Stafford do? The unassailable testimony from Austen Pollard is that the defendant went to the Pollard house that very evening. Maybe he went there to make one more effort to reason with Mr. Pollard and talk him into an open adoption. Maybe he went there to confront him. Whatever his purpose, things went terribly wrong. The defendant got his hands on Mrs. Pollard’s gun, which Helena had left behind when she ran from the house that morning. Mr. Stafford shot the victim, tried to make it look like a suicide, and stupidly tried to hide the real murder weapon by burying it in the yard.

“Your Honor, I could go on, but this is not a trial at which the state must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a hearing on pretrial release, and there is more than enough evidence to justify pretrial detention of a defendant who presents a serious risk of flight—an accused murderer who has no problem with a change of identity, no fear of radical hormone treatment and a surgically induced change of his own physical appearance and anatomy. The request for bail must be denied.”