Chapter 25

In the State of South Carolina, the prosecution gave the first closing argument. The defense would follow and then the state would get the chance at rebuttal.

But before either side got the chance to wrap up its case, the judge would go over the instructions he planned to read to the jury before they began deliberations.

As with most things in South Carolina v. Mayfield, this was ground for a contentious meeting between the opposing sides.

Alex Manning passed out a sheet containing his instructions and Wyatt Quinn didn't even get past the first page before he was objecting.

"Your Honor, this can't be correct," he said. "Subsection III is highly prejudicial to my client."

"It's a point of law," Allyson cut in before the judge could answer. "It has nothing to do with bias. It is a point of South Carolina law that an unconscious person cannot consent. Any sexual contact without consent is a felony. Read the damned criminal code book!"

"Miss Granger, please," Manning said in a tired voice. He had concluded that Allyson Granger wasn't grandstanding for the jury. She genuinely didn't like Wyatt Quinn and Jonathan Mayfield.

"She's correct, Your Honor," Jonah Attenborough chimed in. "If you do not issue this instruction, we'll have grounds for appeal if Mr. Mayfield is acquitted. It is case-letter law and the jury must be advised of the fact that unconsciousness is a predicate condition for rape – and rape is a predicate felony for the death penalty. Just because Mr. Quinn has been unable to shake our scientific testimony doesn't mean he can get you to do it for him."

"I agree, Mr. Quinn," Manning said. "This is not open for debate. I gave you those so you would have them for your files. I've done a great deal of research on death-penalty cases since this was added to my docket. The instructions I have chosen to issue have been upheld on appeal in similar cases. I am not breaking new ground; I simply chose to use what has been successful in the past.

"The jury needs to understand that in order to find Mr. Mayfield guilty of murder with special circumstances they first must find him guilty of first-degree rape or forcible sodomy. If they find him guilty of only abuse of a corpse, the death penalty cannot be considered. The state has chosen to limit the jury's choice to capital murder and murder in the first degree. They need to be aware of the difference and they need to be aware of what conditions must exist for a finding of one and not the other. You understand all this, Mr. Quinn. You have made it a point to reference your death-penalty experience any number of times while you were arguing your points in chambers."

"I know you have tried several capital cases successfully and, while this is the first one in my courtroom, it doesn't mean we're completely incompetent. Now, have you other motions you wanted to bring up?"

"I would like for you to consider granting a request to allow the client's father bail so he may attend the reading of the verdict and the sentencing," Quinn said.

"He's clearly a flight risk, Your Honor," Attenborough said. "However, the state does not object to Bruce Mayfield's conditional release for those events."

"What conditions?" Quinn asked, turning in his seat.

"Substantial bond," Attenborough said. "That is a must. When I say substantial, I mean enough money that it will put a severe crimp in the Mayfield fortunes if he runs."

"He's not charged with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping!" Quinn said.

"He is charged with assault on a law enforcement official," Attenborough said. "He is also charged with battery against you! The first charge is a felony in South Carolina. If convicted, he will go to prison for at least two years and possibly as long as five. He has no ties to the jurisdiction and does have the means to flee. I think the state has also proven that extradition from his home county could prove troublesome."

"Yes, yes," Manning said. "I get it. Okay, a half a million dollar bond and electronic monitoring. He is not to leave the courthouse for any reason short of a fire alarm. He will be transported to my courtroom by my bailiffs and he will be returned to jail each day after court. The county will refund the bond once the sentence is read and Mr. Mayfield is returned to jail to await trial. That's the best you're going to get, Mr. Quinn."

The defense attorney nodded. He wasn't thrilled at having Bruce Mayfield in the courtroom behind him but his client was pissing and moaning about it – and the man was better than dealing with Jonathan Mayfield's mother.

"What else?" Manning asked.

"I would like my client to be unshackled during closing arguments and for the reading of the verdict," Quinn said. "It has been highly prejudicial for the jury to see him handcuffed and strapped to his chair during the defense's case in chief but I understand why you thought it necessary. But he has behaved for the past three days and I think he should be unbound during the remainder of the trial."

"We don't object so long as Mr. Quinn is held responsible for his client's behavior," Attenborough said after conferring with Allyson for a moment.

"So order but with one more stipulation," Manning said, glaring at Quinn. "If he so much as utters an audible peep, I will put you in jail for 30 days and I will have him handcuffed, shackled and gagged for the remainder of the trial. No, strike that. I will put you in jail and he will be removed from the remainder of the trial. He no longer has to aid you in your case so there is no reason for me to put up with him. I expect you to make perfectly clear what will happen to him if he can't maintain decorum."

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury," Jonah began, "when this trial opened I told you it was about the life and death of a remarkable young woman – Mary Beth Brockleman. The state has proven through the testimony of a witness with much to lose and nothing to gain that the defendant was the last person to see Mary Beth alive. You have heard testimony from another unassailable witness that the defendant was enamored by Mary Beth since their teenage years.

"We have proven though the testimony of a respected medical practitioner that Mary Beth was drugged prior to her arrival at the hotel room where she was murdered. We have proven through forensics that the defendant engaged in non-consensual sexual intercourse with her while she was unconscious. We have proven that he desecrated Mary Beth's lifeless body by raping her after she had been murdered.

"You have heard the testimony of a respected law enforcement professional about how Mr. Mayfield and his band of cronies were tracked across four states and how he was brought to sit before you. There can be no doubt in any of your minds that defendant stalked Mary Beth from middle school to college. There can be no doubt that he followed her from Ohio to Emerald Cove for the sole purpose of extracting vengeance on a nemesis – Mary Beth's former boyfriend.

"There can be no doubt that he saw his opportunity on the night of April 7th of last year. He slipped choral hydrate into an alcoholic beverage. He carried her to his car. He transported her to her hotel room. He raped her vaginally and anally. He strangled her and then he raped her again.

"This case all comes back to Mary Beth Brockleman. She was strong enough to stand up to a group of bullies while in middle school. She found an ally for protection during high school. She did everything she could possibly do to break free – to start what promised to be a wonderfully successful life away from the defendant. And still he followed her. He couldn't let go of his childhood fantasies. He couldn't let go of his childhood anger and resentment.

"Rather than do what Mary Beth had done – move forward and leave the past where it belongs – the defendant reacted like the spoiled, self-entitled man we've proven him to be. In order to prove the defendant guilty of murder, the state had to prove three things. We had to show the defendant had the means to commit to the crime."

Jonah ticked off points on his fingers.

"The defendant rented a house not 40 minutes from Emerald Cove on the night Mary Beth was murdered. An accomplice has told how the crime was committed and how the hotel room was cleaned after the murder. He had the means."

"We must also show he had the opportunity," Jonah continued. "He was the last person seen with Mary Beth while she was alive. His semen was found in her body cavities – including at least two deposits that forensic scientists say were left after her death. He had the opportunity."

Jonah looked down the row of jurors. The jury foreman was nodding along and every other eye was on him.

"Finally, we must prove he had the motive," Jonah said in a soft voice. "In most cases, the motive is murky, undefined. In this one, it is crystal clear. Mary Beth had rebuffed the defendant's advances for almost a decade. She had a relationship with the defendant's arch-enemy. She was unobtainable – an icon that the defendant knew he could never touch with her consent. He told Mary Beth's boyfriend more than three years ago what he planned to do to her – and he did it."

He turned to face the defense table.

"Jonathan Mayfield is a monster," he said in a louder voice. "He is a monster spawned from two other monsters. He is a rapist, ladies and gentleman. He is a rapist and he is murderer. When you go into your room for deliberations, I ask you – I implore you – to see through the smokescreen that the defense has used to blind you. Look at the evidence the state has presented. Look at the testimony from our witnesses. Remember the picture of Mary Beth Brockleman that I showed you at the start of the trial and then do your duty. Do what is right. Let the world know that you see Jonathan Mayfield for exactly what he is. And let the world know that Mary Beth Brockleman deserved so much more than to have her life ended by a coward and a bully!"

Wyatt Quinn had little in his arsenal and he knew it. His main witnesses, Arnold Dusker and Melinda Gross, had been savaged on cross-examination. Jonathan Mayfield and his mother had lied their asses off on the stand in the vain attempt to paint the little bastard as an angel. He had spent most of the night rewriting his closing argument and even now he wasn't satisfied with it. He tucked it into his briefcase and opted to wing it.

"I don't think anyone with a rational mind would argue that Jonathan Mayfield is anything but a jerk," he said. "He is spoiled and selfish. He is arrogant and condescending. He is a bully and, to be blunt, a bastard. I've been around him for almost a year and, truly, I can't stand him.

"You've seen that he comes by it naturally, though. His mother is just as bad – if not worse. You should be thankful that I didn't expose you to the kid's father. He's twice as bad. I can't wait to wash my hands of the whole lot of them, if I'm truthful."

The jurors were looking at the defense attorney like he was insane but at least he had their attention.

"But the fact he is a little asshole doesn't mean he's a rapist. The fact he has the world's worst parents doesn't mean he's a murderer. The esteemed prosecutor told you this morning about everything you've learned during this trial. He told you that the state proved Jonathan Mayfield was the last person to see the victim alive.

"Did he really prove that? He trotted out a real rapist – tried, convicted and sentenced – to pass that information along. Can you really trust anything Richard Currence has to say? I wouldn't. I'm sure he's pretty interested in avoiding the death penalty himself – interested enough to pass the blame onto someone else.

"What about the so-called hero cop that tracked Mr. Mayfield to Ohio? We've already seen that he will go to any lengths to secure an arrest. He's not above killing someone if he doesn't think he can get the charges to stick. Is it really outside of the realm of possibility to think he wouldn't concoct evidence? Not to me it isn't."

Quinn leaned forward with his elbows on the lectern as though he was having a conversation with the jurors. In fact, he was speaking to only one – a man he saw frowning as Bryant had offered his testimony. Now he shifted his gaze to one of the women that had seemed unimpressed by Bea Harrison.

"Then there is the forensic evidence to consider," he said. "Forensic labs are notorious for shading the truth in order to get a conviction. I have it on good authority that the state's star forensic witness, Bea Harrison, is now employed by the police in this very county. Is that coincidence or is it quid pro quid for her testimony? That's up to you to answer.

"Mark Schrekengost appeared out of nowhere with testimony implicating Mr. Mayfield in a series of despicable acts. Now he and his mother are full-time residents of this cozy little town. The city also hired one of the sheriff's deputies from Mr. Mayfield's hometown as part of the deal."

Quinn stood up straight and looked down the row of jurors.

"Mary Beth Brockleman's murder is tragic," he said in a sorrowful voice. "About the only point the prosecution and defense can agree upon is the fact that it should never have happened. But this case isn't about guilt or innocence. Mr. Attenborough was wrong when he told you this case was even about a young woman's death. This case is about money. Emerald Cove's economy was tanking because of a series of unsolved crimes and a corrupt police department. In order to bring the tourists back, they needed a scapegoat – preferably a high-profile scapegoat.

"That's all my client is. He was in the area when the murder occurred. He has a history of antagonizing the victim and her friends. He ran around with some kids who have gotten into trouble on their own. The city brought in a disgraced police officer for the sole purpose of finding someone to take the fall for a female student's death. That's what they've done.

"So, sure, my client is a louse. Sure he is nowhere near as smart as he'd like to think he is. Sure his parents are about two steps above whale dung. He is as unlikeable a person as you're ever going to meet. He's also the perfect person to take the fall for a city's failings. Do not let that happen. Do not let the city of Emerald Cove, its corrupt police department and its bribery lead you to the wrong conclusion.

"Jonathan Mayfield is a lot of things – and most of those things are bad – but he did not rape Mary Beth Brockleman and he did not kill her. Thank you."

Allyson started tugging on Jonah's arm at the opening of Quinn's argument and a hushed conversation ensued. It was she that stood to deliver the state's rebuttal.

"Well, that was an inspired performance," she said as she walked to the lectern. "It is the state's obligation to prove its allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. For reasons you can see after Mr. Quinn's argument, we're allowed to rebut the more obvious fallacies in the defense's closing arguments."

"Move along, Miss Granger," Judge Manning warned.

"I was just getting warmed up," Allyson said as she turned back to the jury and offered a shrug. "Let's start with a couple of things I actually agree with Mr. Quinn about. The defendant is a dirtbag. He got that one right. Oh, and the defendant's parents are among the worst I've ever seen. He nailed that one, too. The rest of his argument, well, that was a little far-fetched.

"We'll start with Richard Currence – another dirtbag, if I do say so myself. Mr. Currence, if you will recall, was not offered enticements for his testimony. He will not receive a lesser sentence or a parole recommendation. He will receive a life sentence as an accessory after the fact once you do your civic duty and convict the defendant of capital murder. The young man had no reason to lie and I think everyone here saw his emotional testimony as nothing short of genuine.

"Let's move on to Bea Harrison, our forensic expert. She is employed in this county. She testified to that at the outset. She is not employed in any capacity by Emerald Cove, its government or its citizens. Her employment is with the State of South Carolina – the same employer she had when Jonathan Mayfield killed Mary Beth Brockleman and the same employer she had when she performed the forensic tests that identified him as Mary Beth's rapist to the exclusion of everyone else on this planet!

"The failings of the Emerald Cove Police Department in the past are no secret. The prosecution has done its best to lay bare the investigative faults and flaws. We have hidden nothing from you. This investigation started after the corrupt police officers were arrested. Mr. Quinn can't fall back on that this time.

"That brings me to Bryant Hawkins. As we told you, he is my ex-husband. As we told you, he and I were estranged for many years. One thing we didn't tell you is why. I'll do that right now. I started my career sitting in the seat Mr. Quinn now occupies. I was a defense attorney. I believed the exact same garbage that Mr. Quinn just tried to shovel down your throats. I thought Bryant would do anything necessary to secure a conviction and if that didn't work, he would use his gun.

"I was wrong! Bryant Hawkins is a diligent investigator. He proved that during his time in the military police and he proved that with his swift rise of the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. But nowhere were Chief Hawkins' talents more evident than in this case. There are things I can't tell you because the judge has decided they would be prejudicial against Mr. Mayfield. He's probably right. One thing I can tell you is that Chief Hawkins is not beholden to Emerald Cove. He could leave here today for any number of jobs in law enforcement because of the work he performed on this case.

"The City of Emerald Cove and those of us who work for the city are beholden to him, though. Not because the tourists came back. Not because of any economic reason. We're beholden because for the first time since I moved here five years ago, I know I'm safe. I'm safe because of Bryant Hawkins and Chief Jan Elliot and the fine people they've brought in to our police force. Mr. Quinn wants you to accept the lowest common denominator. He wants you to believe that the whole world conspired against his poor, little innocent client.

"I think you're too smart for that. I trust you to look at nothing more than the evidence in front of you and come to the right conclusion. But I did not want a single one of you walking through that door believing the innuendo and gossip that Mr. Quinn just presented as fact. The people who delivered the testimony on the state's behalf are fine, courteous professionals and the only thing they want is for the truth to come out.