A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 12

District Attorney Jim Cooper was in no mood to be patient this morning. Since the news of Lawson Pierson's death reached him, he had taken call after call from Lawson's family, telling him he better do his damn job. "Piersons think they own ever damn thing," he said aloud as he walked into the station. "Butler," he said as he walked into the police chief's office, "did that girl do it or not?"

Ashton Butler was in his sixth year as police chief in Warrenton. He knew Jim Cooper could be a real jerk, but today, he seemed even more so. "Yes, come in. Why don't you have a seat, Mr. Cooper?" The chief was also not in a good mood. The phone hadn't stopped ringing from the media, Pierson's family, and everyone else trying to get the story. Half of the callers were glad the bastard was dead, and the other half wanted to put this girl away for life or worse. A media circus in the making with sex, lies, video, the whole thing made for TV. Why the hell did it have to happen in his town?

"Cut the smart-ass crap, Butler. If that girl killed Lawson Pierson, you better do everything possible to lock her up good."

"That's not my job, sir, that's yours. My people investigate, and from what Detective Taylor told me, there's no way a 1st-degree murder charge will stick."

"I don't care about that. I got Leonard Pierson breathing down my neck about elections, funding, and all that crap. Now, you tell me whether or not I can tell him this girl will rot in jail."

"Really, is that all you care about? Forgive me, but I thought justice was what we were about. Have you ever heard of serve and protect? Even the accused have rights in this country. Now I'm going to do my job. Did she kill him? Yeah, she did. Was it deliberate or overly heinous? No, it is a crime of passion in the heat of the moment. Bastard might have even pushed her first."

"She tried to hide it, didn't she?" Cooper replied, starting to calm down just a bit. "She went all night without calling the cops or seeking medical help, right?"

"Yeah, looks like." Butler's voice also began to relax. "She's a scared kid, Coop. You look at her for two seconds, and she looks like a damn rabbit in a room full of coyotes." He flung a file down hard on his desk and sat down in his chair. "I hate cases like this. Always hoped I'd never have one."

"What did he do to her?" Cooper knew that Pierson's good name covered a lot of secret sins. Still, Leonard Pierson was not a man to let something like the death of his son go without retaliation.

"Typical stuff for Lawson. He filmed them during sex without her knowledge and showed all his buddies. Led her on about marriage and kids and all, and she's too young and dumb to see through it until now."

"God Almighty knows," sighed Cooper. "What do we know about her?"

"Not a damn thing. Clean record. Not even a parking ticket."

"Damn it, Ashton, why couldn't she have been a money-loving slut? Would have been a hell of a lot easier."

"Yeah, well, she's not." Butler leaned forward and looked Cooper in the eyes. "You going to throw the book at her?"

"You tell me, Ash. You think she deserves it?"

"She broke the law. She killed a man while he was walking away from her. It ain't right. Was she in the right frame of mind? No, she wasn't. Would she do it again? No, I don't think so, and her attorney will bring all of that out at trial. You might even get a sympathetic juror to hold out long enough for a mistrial."

Cooper let out a long breath. "I'm going murder in the second. It's the only thing that will satisfy the Piersons. She'll serve 12 to 15 years."

"Manslaughter would be better. I think it qualifies under...."

"No," Cooper said, cutting off the chief, "She hit him in the head with his back turned. She killed him whether she meant to or not, and there's no self-defense. I hate to lock up Cinderella like that, but that's what's got to happen. The Piersons are creeps, but they did lose a son. Even creeps are entitled to justice."

"You really think that's going to make them happy?"

"Hell no, but that's what they're going to get. I'll set things up for the hearing tomorrow and then reach out to her lawyer. Who is it?"

"Luke Brady."

"Oh dear God, could they have found a worse attorney?"

"They are not a rich family, and I think he's been a friend of her dad's for years."

"They would almost be better with a public defender. Alright, let me get moving on this. And I want the press to know only what they have to know. Tell your officers to keep their mouths shut on this one. I don't care what those reporters pay them."

"I'll do my best."

"Yeah, you do that," Cooper said as he marched out the door.