4th of July

Chapter 19

I’D BEEN A WITNESS dozens of times during my career, but this was the first time I’d had to defend myself. All my years of protecting the public, and now I had a bull’s-eye on my back. I was raging inside, but I couldn’t let it show.

I got to my feet, swore to God on an old worn Bible, and placed my fate in the hands of my attorney.

Mickey cut straight to the chase. “Lindsay, were you drunk on the night of May tenth?”

The judge broke in: “Mr. Sherman, please don’t address your client by her first name.”

“Okay. Lieutenant, were you drunk that night?”

“No.”

“Okay, let’s back up. Were you on duty that night?”

“No. My shift was over at five p.m.”

Mickey took me through the events of that night in excruciating detail, and I told it all. I described the drinks I’d had at Susie’s and told the court about getting the call from Jacobi. I stated that I’d told Jacobi the truth when I’d said that I was good to go along that night.

When Mickey asked why I’d responded to the call when I was off duty, I said, “I’m a cop twenty-four hours a day. When my partner needs me, I’m there.”

“Did you locate the car in question?” Mickey asked me.

“We did.”

“And what happened then?”

“The car took off at high speed, and we chased it. Eight minutes later, the car went out of control and crashed.”

“After the crash, when you saw that Sara and Sam Cabot were in medical distress, were you afraid of them?”

“No. They were kids. I figured they’d stolen the car or made some other bad decision. Happens every day.”

“So what did you do?”

“Inspector Jacobi and I put away our guns and tried to render aid.”

“At what point did you pull out your gun again?”

“After Inspector Jacobi and I had both been shot and after warning the suspects to drop their weapons.”

“Thank you, Lindsay. I have no further questions.”

I reviewed my testimony and gave myself a passing grade. I looked across the room and saw Joe smile and nod even as Mickey turned away from me.

“Your witness,” he said to Mason Broyles.