The Diamond Syndicate

“I got a surprise witness. Plus, I got one of the witnesses who testified already to come back.”

“No.” She sat up in her chair.

“Yes, I do.”

“Who is it?” She was eager to hear who he’d gotten. He’d come up with a good surprise witness, but she’d been murdered.

Peter pulled a paper from his inside pocket and unfolded it. He laid it on the table in front of them.

Prosecutor Swartz’s eyes lit up after reading the name of the surprise witness and the information written below it. “OK, I know this one.” A frown on her face, she pointed to the name on the paper. “But who is this one?”

“Somebody who contacted our office. Just trust me on this one.” Peter was ecstatic. He didn’t reveal the information to Prosecutor Swartz like he knew he was supposed to because he really wanted to prove to her that he could do the job.

Prosecutor Swartz wasn’t too happy about the whole thing, but decided to play along and trust Peter’s judgment.

Finally the bailiffs began to let the spectators into the courtroom. The room filled quickly. Once the courtroom was filled to capacity, the side door opened, and Dante and Diamond were escorted in, the way they had been since the trial started.

Judge Fritz was then introduced, and he banged his gavel to start court.

“Have all the listed witnesses been questioned?” he asked the attorneys.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Prosecutor Swartz said.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Kyle said.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Kendall also said.

“Are there any witnesses that either of you would like to recall, or are there any last-minute witnesses?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Prosecutor Swartz said as she stood. “First, I’d like to recall Shakeeda Bingham to the stand.”

Kyle and Kendall looked at each other, wondering why she was being called back.

Shakeeda made her way down the aisle and back into the witness stand.

“You are still under oath, young lady,” Judge Fritz told her.

Shakeeda nodded, letting Judge Fritz know she understood.

Diamond sat forward in her seat. She was filled with anger, and it showed on her face. Diamond didn’t think about what effect her expression would have on the jurors, who had been studying her closely during the trial. She was desperately trying to get Shakeeda’s attention, so she could try to instill fear in her.

Shakeeda never gave Diamond eye contact, knowing she would try to intimidate her.

“Ms. Bingham, you were called back because you spoke with one of the attorneys on my staff, and you said you were ready to cooperate. Correct?” Prosecutor Swartz asked.

Kyle looked over at Diamond, her gaze locked on Shakeeda, and thought he saw a glimmer of fear in her eyes.

Diamond sat there thinking how her life had turned out. She was indeed afraid. Afraid of what might come of the time she had left on this earth. She thought that if she’d just accepted the doctor’s love and not allowed her greed to get in the way, she would’ve been happy.

She battled with her two minds, as she often did. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry for her mother. Why did she do the things she did? Her father always told her that she shouldn’t let people take advantage of her, and she’d always lived that way. Because she protected her heart, people still tried to hurt her. Why?

As she sat and thought about those things and listened to Shakeeda’s testimony, she began to do what she did best—protect her heart and not let anyone know she was in pain.

“Yes,” Shakeeda answered.

“Go ahead and tell the court what you want to say.” Prosecutor Swartz took her seat and crossed her legs.

“Well, Diamond Reed came to me and asked me if I would create a couple of false claims so that she could get some extra money.”