The Diamond Syndicate

She looked at him with mischief in her eyes. “I guess I do.”

THIRTY-ONE

The State versus Reed and Reed

“If there are no further questions, then, counselor, you’re up,” Judge Fritz said to Prosecutor Swartz.

“Your Honor, I’d like to call Shakeeda Bingham to the stand,” Prosecutor Swartz said as she glanced at the paper with the young lady’s name written on it. She wanted to make sure she pronounced it right. She looked into the audience to see if Shakeeda was coming.

At the rear of the courtroom in the last row, Shakeeda stood. Prosecutor Swartz rolled her eyes when she saw Shakeeda’s bright red hair.

Shakeeda was a key witness for the state, because she was Diamond’s caseworker down at the Department of Health’s welfare assistance program. She wore tight-fitting, straight-leg jeans with a low rise and a fitted shirt that showed tons of cleavage. Her eyes were shaded with heavy blue eye shadow and her lipstick cast a bluish-colored. As she pranced down the aisle in her six-inch glass-heeled stilettos, her cleavage jumped with each step. She had a swooped bang, and her red hair was pulled up into a neat ponytail on top of her head. The added weave extensions flowed down to the middle of her back.

As she made her way past Prosecutor Swartz, she gave a small smile and climbed into the witness stand. The room buzzed at her appearance, and the judge banged his gavel for silence.

As soon as the room was silent, Prosecutor Swartz walked over to the table and flipped through her notepad. She then clasped her hands behind her back and stepped over to the witness stand.

The bailiff began to swear Shakeeda in. “Raise your right hand,” he told her. “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“Yes.”

“State your full name for the court.”

“Shakeeda Dawn Bingham.”

“You may be seated,” Judge Fritz told Shakeeda.

“Ms. Bingham, do you know the defendants, Diamond and Dante Reed?”

“I know her, but not him.”

“Is she a friend of yours?”

“No.”

“How do you know the defendant?”

Shakeeda huffed because she thought the line of questioning was irrelevant. “I was her caseworker.”

“Ms. Bingham, where do you work?”

“I work for welfare.”

“In what city?”

“In Newark. Don’t you know that already?” Shakeeda, nervous as hell, couldn’t understand why Prosecutor Swartz was asking her questions she already knew the answers to.

Judge Fritz looked down at Shakeeda over the top of his glasses. “Just answer the questions, young lady.”

Shakeeda sat back in her chair and slouched. Worried that her involvement in the welfare fraud might come out, she didn’t want to come to court in the first place. After a couple of years had passed without her seeing Diamond, she thought it was over, but when she received a subpoena in the mail, she really didn’t have a choice. She showed her supervisor, Joe, the notice, and he advised her it would be best to cooperate with the courts. Afraid she could lose her job if she didn’t cooperate, she was now in court answering questions she preferred not to answer.

Shakeeda looked up at the judge. She was so nervous, she could hardly keep still.

“When was the first time you noticed the defendant was committing welfare fraud?” Prosecutor Swartz asked.

“I don’t remember the exact date.”

“OK, so can you give an estimated time frame?”