A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 30

Jim Cooper was in his typical lousy mood that morning. His only solace from the day's cares was the cup of coffee and Danish roll he ate every morning. The elevator in the building was slower than usual that day, and his temper grew shorter as the ride got longer. He stepped off the elevator and then walked down to his office. He threw open the door when Myra Pope, his secretary, tried to tell him something. "Not now," was the only thing he said as he opened the door to his office. Sitting inside was Roger Taylor, waiting for him.

"Taylor, what the hell are you doing in my office?" he asked, feeling his annoyance growing.

"Cooper, I need to have a word or two with you, and it's not going to make you happy.," said Roger as he continued to sit in the chair across from his desk.

"Myra, hold my calls. I don't care if it's the governor, understand?" he sat down at his desk and situated his stuff to his liking. "Alright, Taylor, spill it. Why are you here so early? What is so important that it can't wait until later or never?"

"Lawson Pierson. That's what."

"Come on, Taylor, that case is closed. Why are you wasting your time with that?"

Roger shifted in his seat and produced a copy of the death certificate. "This is why. Take a look at it."

Cooper took the document and glanced over it quickly. "It's his death certificate, big deal. I've seen this a hundred times. Old news."

"Really? How close did you look at it? Something bothered me about this whole thing, and I couldn't quite understand why. Usually, even in the most airtight cases, there's a thorough investigation just in case, but not this one. Sidney Lewis is denied bail, takes a plea, and gets shipped away all nice and neat. The problem is nothing is ever that clean." Roger could sense that Cooper was starting to worry like he had hit a nerve. Now for the fun part. "That's when it hit me, so to speak. Take a look at this now."

Cooper took the second document from Taylor's hand and saw that it was another copy of Lawson Pierson's death certificate. "It's the same certificate, so what?" Taylor looked at him with piercing eyes. The same kind of eyes he used to stare at the criminals he helped put away.

"No. Take a closer look," Roger said. Cooper did, and that's when he noticed the difference. "That's the original death certificate or a copy of it, at least. You see, Dr. Meeks is like me, old-fashioned. He still keeps a paper copy of death certificates in this computer age of electronic files and whatnot."

Roger made his move. He got up and rested his hands on Cooper's desk to stare him in the eyes. "In my notes, there were two head wounds. One to the back of the head. The second to the side of the head. Just behind the right eye. There, on his temple. The coroner's report confirms it. It also confirms that Lawson Pierson died from the blow to the side of his head when he fell, not the wound to the back of the head."

Cooper began to squirm in his chair. He began to think about how he'd been so careful in changing that report. It never occurred to him that Meeks kept a paper copy of the death certificate. Meeks was a crazy old man who should have retired years ago. That old man had put him in a box, and Taylor was closing it shut. "What are you trying to prove here, Taylor? You trying to accuse me of something?"

"Not yet, I'm not. When did Pierson get to you, Cooper? I always knew you were an ass, but a criminal too? Was it easy for you to lock that girl away? Ruin her life? That easy for you, just because a scumbag like Leonard Pierson tells you to? Is that it?"

"You know damn well the evidence against her was solid," Cooper said angrily, "whether she meant to or not, she killed him. What does it matter if it was directly or indirectly?"

"What does it matter?" Taylor said, raising his voice. "You're a district attorney; you tell me why it matters. This isn't some game we get to play with people's lives here. The truth matters. Justice matters. And it matters to me. I stood back and watched this investigation fall apart. I stood there and let things go and said nothing. That's my part in this. I have to live with that."

"Look, Taylor, that's why she had a lawyer. It's not my fault he couldn't make a better deal. A guilty person is where she belongs. Case closed."

"But it's not Coop. You suppressed evidence, made up evidence, and you colluded with a criminal to win a conviction. It makes me ask, what else have you done for him? How many others have you done this to Coop? So I'll ask again, when did he buy you Coop?"

"You got nothing, Taylor. Whatever I did or didn't do, you can't prove a damn thing. So you can take your accusations and your righteous indignation and walk out of this office while you still have your badge, and don't count on that fact for much longer."

"You're right, Coop. I've got no hard proof that links you to this, but I'm looking. This certificate alone, though, throws serious doubt on the integrity of your office. Don't worry; you're safe now, but don't get too comfortable. I'll be back."

Taylor let himself out the door. As he walked to the elevator, a smile crossed his face. He knew he'd rattled Cooper. Now, he just needed Cooper to go crawling back to his boss. It shouldn't take too long for that to happen.

Cooper was on the phone that very minute. "Yeah, I need to speak with Mr. Pierson immediately; we've got a big problem."