A Hole In One, Paul Weininger [top novels to read txt] 📗

mentioned his posture and the way he waved and didn’t smile. At what time would you say this happened?”

“It was sometime between 11:00 a.m. and noon, because we had just finished watching the morning news and were getting dressed to go out.”

“Did you believe that having a different hand wave or being slightly slouched over meant that it was not the Rabbi but someone else?”

“Not at all. I did find it strange when I noticed the Rabbi throw gloves into the fire when he first set it, but I never suspected that it was anyone other than the Rabbi. I went into his backyard about an hour later, I was afraid that the fire might get out of hand and possibly cause a cinder to hit one of my trees and start a fire in my backyard. I just wanted to make sure that it was out. I only called because I feared the fire and saw a skull on top of the ashes.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

When the attorney returned to his seat, his client gave him a very belligerent stare and said a few silent words to him. The lawyer then whispered in his client’s ear and it appeared to settle him down.

“Madam D.A., I see you getting up, do you wish to retain the witness in the box?” asked the judge.

“I do, Your Honor.”

The judge told Weissman to remain seated in the witness box as the D.A. approached.

“Mr. Weissman, when you saw the Rabbi that day, did you believe he was not the Rabbi but someone imitating him?” the D.A. asked.

“Not at all. As I just replied to the other attorney, I’ve known the Rabbi for years and I had no doubts that he was the same Rabbi living in the same house as my neighbor whom I’ve known for years. I just didn’t understand the burned-up ashes and a skull near the top of them in his backyard and that’s why I was afraid to approach him about it.”

“No further questions for this witness, Your Honor,” said Stanford.

“Thank you, Mr. Weissman, you may now get off the hot seat. No pun intended,” said Judge Garnett. “Any more witnesses, Ms. Stanford?”

“Yes, Your Honor, the people call Mrs. Colleen Weissman.”

The court clerk called Colleen Weissman into the courtroom. As the spouse of the prior witness, she was sequestered outside of the courtroom so that she would not be able to hear her husband’s testimony. She was sworn in and the D.A. began her questioning.

“Mrs. Weissman, would you please tell the jury what you saw on September 4 in the Rabbi’s yard?”

“I remember my husband Frank coming back into the house after dropping off the trash at the curb. He was extremely anxious, frightened, and talked very rapidly about what he had just seen in the Rabbi’s backyard.”

“Why exactly, to the best of your recollection, did you go out into the Rabbi’s backyard?”

“Frank told me that he had just seen the Rabbi haul something large and heavy looking, rolled up in tarp into his backyard. He told me that the Rabbi placed it onto the ground, covered it with leaves and lit it on fire. He asked me to come out and see what had happened. After telling me what he saw and then having seen it for myself, he immediately called 911.”

“Objection. That’s all hearsay as to what her husband told her,” said Jaxson.

“Overruled. Mr. Weissman already testified to that.”

“Let’s try and clear up the defense’s objection. Did you witness anything yourself?” asked Stanford.

“Yes, after Frank asked me to go with him to the Rabbi’s backyard, I saw that some leaves still had a few tiny embers, yet most of what lay on the ground was ashes, and I noticed some kind of skull protruding from those ashes but thought it may have belonged to an animal.”

“No more questions for this witness”

“Does the defense wish to question this witness?” asked the judge.

“No, Your Honor,” said the defendant’s attorney.

“Mrs. Weissman, you are excused,” said the judge.

◆◆◆

Jack Green arrived twenty minutes before he was scheduled to testify as a witness. As he sat in his car parked outside of the courthouse, he used his Bluetooth and called Andre, whose phone number he got from Detective Pratt.

“Hello?” Andre answered his landline.

“Andre, this is Mr. Green, I just wanted to thank you so very much for saving my life after I was shot. I’d like to send you a check for $10,000 in appreciation for what you did for me, but I need your address.”

“Well, Mr. Green, I sure could use the money but that’s not why I did what I did. I don’t want your check, sir. I just did what I was trained to do when I was in ’Nam. If I saw a fellow soldier wounded, we were all trained to attempt to stop the bleeding and save his life. ‘No man left behind,’ that was our motto. That’s all I did, and I don’t expect a reward for that. I’m simply happy it helped you.”

“Thank you again, Andre. From here on in, you and I are on a first name basis. You will call me Jack and not Mr. Green, and if there is ever anything at all that I can do for you, your wife, or your son, please don’t hesitate to ask me. You were there for me. I will be there for you.” Jack said with emphasis on I will.

“Well, there is one thing you can do for me,” Andre said.

“You name it and if I can do it, I will,” replied Jack enthusiastically, thinking he could repay him right away.

“Detective Pratt told me that if they catch the shooter, I will have to testify in court. Can you pull some strings so that I won’t have to do that, Mr. Green? Since I didn’t see anything but just helped stop your bleeding, there really should be no reason for me to have to appear in court. I sure would be happy if you could