CHAPTER TWENTY
Sally Stillwell emerged from the elevator on the thirtieth floor of the building and walked directly through the large glass doors into the office. Two receptionists were seated behind the expansive reception desk in front of the large gold letters announcing ‘Henson & Byars, LLP.’ The woodwork was a rich dark walnut giving all who entered the correct impression that any work done in this office was going to be expensive.
It was ten minutes after five in the evening. Many of those who had braved the snow and come into the office were already gone for the day, though working hours at the firm formally ended at five-thirty. Outside her office window Sally noticed the overcast sky was darkening. It was the perfect sky to match the doleful mood she had acquired at the arraignment of General Hastings. From his corner office at the end of the floor, Russell Byars saw Sally arrive and came down to meet her just as she moved behind her desk. She picked up a handful of pink ‘While You Were Out’ slips and was thumbing through the phone calls she would need to return.
“How’d it go?” Byars asked as he crossed her threshold.
“Not well, Boss,” she said. “Hastings has been taken back into custody and will await trial comfortably incarcerated in the luxurious confines of the Oklahoma City Jail. The general is not happy.”
“What? I’m shocked,” said Byars. “The man is a retired general officer from the U. S. Army, for Pete’s sake. Who’s the judge on this?”
“It’s Judge Stemmons, Russell,” Sally answered. “Nora Quinn is representing the State and told me earlier today that the D.A. does not want any inkling of a flight risk. It was a grisly, gruesome murder and they feel that their case against Hastings is solid. I didn’t have much to argue other than his military record. Clearly that wasn’t enough.”
“Yeah, I understand,” Byars said, though he had hoped for a better outcome. “It’s not your fault. So, how does your defense look? Will you have a better argument in court?” he asked.
“Quite possibly,” she said sounding a bit more upbeat. “Hastings got a call from a Mexican earlier this afternoon that he claims took credit for the killing. The guy is some big shot with a Mexican crime cartel. Hastings says the guy is trying to force him to sell guns from his company to them.”
“Did you tell Stemmons about that?” Byars asked.
“I hinted at it,” she said. “I couldn’t really say, ‘Your Honor, my client got a phone call today from a Mexican kingpin that completely exonerates him of this crime.’ I knew that wouldn’t fly. I plan to pull the records from Hastings’ cell carrier. Producing a recording of the call at trial could be more convincing”
“That certainly would help,” he said.
“Yeah. But what we really need is the real killer… if it, in fact, wasn’t Hastings.”
“Do you doubt his innocence?” Byars asked.
Sally looked back at Byars. “I didn’t say that, Russell. But all the facts… his presence there, his involvement with the victim… Some people could see those as opportunity and motive. I know for a fact that Hastings doesn’t have much respect for women.”
“What? Why would you make a statement like that?” Byars asked.
“Sorry. I really shouldn’t have said that,” Sally answered.
“No. Really,” he pressed. “Why do you say that, Sally?”
Sally sat down in her chair. A look of resolution crossed her face. “Please close the door, Russell,” she said, “and have a seat.”
Though no one was close by, he closed the door and sat in the arm chair in front of her desk.
Sally seemed to take a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to say. “I told you that Jack Hastings and I had a history.”
“Yes, I remember,” he said.
“He was stationed at Fort Sill back when my father was there. I was up here at OU for most of the time. I had met Jack and his wife, Jana at some social functions down there. He was quite the ladies’ man even then. I can see that he still is. Anyway, I happened to be coming into town on that April day when that asshole McVeigh bombed the Murrah Building. In fact, I had an appointment in that building. I was looking for a parking place when the bomb went off. I missed being in it by minutes. My car was covered in rubble and I had to crawl out of it. It certainly couldn’t have been driven. I called my father’s office and Hastings answered the phone. My dad was out, so Hastings got in his car and drove up here to get me. He picked me up and drove me straight back to my parent’s house.” She stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts.
“That was an awful day,” Russell said. “I remember it well.”
She overlooked his remark and continued. “I was a senior at OU and graduated that June. I had been accepted for law school at Stanford and was due to leave in August. The night before I left, some of my OU pals and I were out bar hopping in Norman. We were in Casa de Tio and I had a bunch of Margaritas, really throwing them down…” She was looking off in the distance, at nothing. Then she looked over at Byars. “This is not easy for me, Russell.”
He nodded and said, “It’s really none of my business, Sally. You can stop if you want.”
“Well, I’m already into it now,” she said. “At some point that night, I looked up and saw Jack Hastings sitting at the bar. He was there alone. I found out later that his wife had gone back somewhere to visit her parents. He saw me and my friends and waved, and I waved back. I had had enough to drink that I was pretty friendly. I waved him to come over and join us and he did.”
“Sally…”
“No. Let me finish. You probably know what’s coming. We drank some more and… well, Hastings and I ended up in a hotel room.” She stopped and looked over at Byars.
“You spent the night?” he asked.
“Well, not all of it. But enough. I had to fly out to California the next day. He took me home and my parents were none the wiser,” she said. “It certainly wasn’t rape. I was quite willing. Me and Jose Cuervo. But the next morning, I couldn’t live with myself. He was a married man. It just grated on me and grated on me. It is the worst thing I’ve ever done and I’ve never forgiven myself for it. My parents dropped me at the airport for my flight to San Francisco and thought my sullen mood was all hangover. Of course a good bit of it was.” She sat silently for a moment. “So, that’s my history with General Jack Hastings. I just remember what it was like, being with him that night. He used me. He was rough; physically and verbally. I am sure there are many other women that he used that way.”
Now it was Russell who sat quietly for a moment. He sighed deeply, then, looking directly at her said, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry it happened. And, I’m sorry you had to relive it.”
“Oh, believe me, I’ve relived it more times than I can count,” she responded. Then she seemed to lighten up a bit. “It was a long time ago, Russell. I was a kid. I was a stupid kid. I’ve put it behind me, for the most part. But seeing him and dealing with him is not pleasant.” She cocked her head a bit and said, “You see, he doesn’t see a thing wrong with what we did.”
“Do you want off of the case?” he asked. “Henson and I could…”
“No. Not now. I can’t run from it forever. I think that it just might be good for me to defend the son of a bitch. I’ll even try to get him acquitted,” she laughed.
Russell smiled at her. “You’re a good kid, Sally,” he said, “and a damn good lawyer.”
Again, she laughed, sarcastically this time. “Not so much, Russell. But, thanks for saying so. This is not a story that I’m proud of. In fact, you are the only one I’ve ever told.”
“Well, I feel like I coerced you…”
“You didn’t. And I lived through it. It’s good that you know,” she said.
Russell stood. He reached across and patted her arm. “Let me know if I can help.”