Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [85]
“Come on in, Luke. How are you?” As she spoke she slid her hand over the name on the file she had been reviewing.
“Well, Emily, actually, I could be better. I just saw your star witness at the jail and I'm afraid he is in a foul mood, to put it mildly. He thinks I sold him out with the four-year deal. I'm supposed to deliver a message to you that he wants probation and he wants to get out today.”
“Are you kidding?” Emily asked, her voice rising.
“I wish I were. And there's more. He's threatening that if he doesn't get what he wants, he'll have more to say and it will some?how hurt you. He didn't give me any more details than that.”
Luke Byrne could see that Emily was both shocked and upset.
“Luke, I appreciate the heads-up. He can say whatever he wants, then he'll get his four years. And be out of my sight.”
“And mine,” Luke said smiling. “See you later.”
At one thirty, Jimmy Easton, shackled and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, was led from the holding cell into the courtroom. After the attorneys had entered their appearances, Judge Stevens asked Luke Byrne to speak.
“Your Honor, Jimmy Easton's testimony was critical to obtaining a conviction of Gregg Aldrich for the brutal murder of his wife. The jury obviously accepted his testimony as credible. The state agreed that his maximum sentence would be four years. Your Honor, he has already spent eight months in jail, and it has been very difficult for him. Many of the other inmates ostracized him because he cooper?ated with the prosecutor and he is always in fear of being harmed because of that.”
Byrne paused and then continued, “Your Honor, I am asking that Mr. Easton be sentenced to probation and time served. He is willing to be very closely supervised and he is willing to do community ser?vice. Thank you.”
“Mr. Easton, you have a right to speak on your own behalf,” Judge Stevens said. “Is there anything you want to say?”
His face flushed, Jimmy Easton drew in a deep breath. “Your Honor, I'm being railroaded. My lawyer didn't do nothin' for me. If he had called their bluff and kept fighting, they would have given me probation. They needed me for their case. I did what I was sup?posed to do and now they just want to dump me in the garbage.”
Judge Stevens nodded to Emily. “Prosecutor, I'll hear you.”
“Your Honor, it is absurd for Mr. Easton to claim that he is being railroaded. Our first plea offer was six years, and after much negotia?tion, we lowered it to four years. We believe that Mr. Easton, who has a long criminal record, must be sentenced to prison. There was nothing more his attorney could have done to persuade us to offer probation. It was never going to happen.”
Judge Stevens turned to Jimmy Easton. “Mr. Easton, your case was assigned to me from the beginning. The proofs against you on this burglary charge were very strong. Your attorney vigorously nego?tiated with the prosecutor. You received and accepted a plea offer that was much lower than you would have gotten under any other circumstances. The state undoubtedly received a substantial benefit from your testimony and you will now receive a substantial benefit for your cooperation. But under no circumstances can I accept that you are an appropriate candidate for probation. You will be commit?ted to the Department of Corrections for a period of four years. You have a right to appeal if you are dissatisfied with your sentence.”
As the sheriff's officer took his arm to lead him away, Jimmy Eas?ton started screaming, "Dissatisfied? Dissatisfied? I'll show everybody what it means to be dissatisfied. Just wait! You'll all hear from me soon.
“And you won't like it.”
Just Take My Heart
57
On Monday morning, Phil Bracken, the foreman at the Pine Electronics warehouse on Route 46, was sorry to hear from Zach Lanning that it was necessary for him to leave the job ahead of time because his mother was dying.
“Zach, I couldn't be sorrier,