Dying Declaration by Randy Singer

Author:Randy Singer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781414341521
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2010-05-29T04:00:00+00:00

37

CHARLES THOUGHT about what to say and how he would say it the entire two-hour drive to Richmond. He could have called Denita but decided that something this important really needed to be done in person. He owed her that much.

He tried to judge his motivations and gain a clear picture of his turbulent heart. He had moved beyond resenting Denita for the opportunity she had. Some serious prayer time had helped. And while he didn’t share her views on many legal issues, that was really none of his business. The senators would have to plumb those depths. His role, his only role, was to decide whether he should disclose the fact that his wife had an illegal abortion four years ago, using a drug that had not been approved in the United States at the time and was even now the object of great controversy.

To complicate matters, Denita had managed to keep her views on the volatile issue of abortion secret throughout her legal career. Charles suspected that was one of the reasons both sides had settled on her as a compromise candidate. Only Charles knew the truth. She not only favored abortion rights, she had a personal history that would make it impossible for her to remain objective.

Charles also knew that this fact, if it ever seeped out in the press, would disqualify her immediately. The president would never stand for it. Senator Crafton would desert her in a second, throwing his weight behind some other female African American lawyer. And so it all came down to Charles and his decision whether to betray his ex-wife or imperil the future of so many unborn children.

Denita claimed she had changed. But one thing had not changed, could never change. He would be reminded of it later this afternoon, after he talked with Denita, when he visited a small plot in a Richmond cemetery he had purchased a few days after he learned about the abortion. “Baby Arnold,” the marker said. It had been a little over a year since he had been there. He tried to make a pilgrimage every year, on the anniversary of the date Denita said she had induced the abortion. But this year he was a couple of weeks late.

When he arrived at the law firm of Pope and Pollard, Denita’s secretary told him that she was in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, putting in a few pro bono hours representing youthful offenders. Her people, Charles thought as he drove down to Richmond J&DR court. He wondered how long she had been doing this public service. Probably started as soon as she learned about the possible nomination.

He found her in Courtroom No. 4 in the massive Richmond Judicial Center and was surprised at how comfortable she looked seated at the defense counsel table and whispering to the brooding young man sitting next to her, challenging the prosecutor’s claim of a parole violation. Charles watched her for about fifteen minutes before she turned and gazed in his direction.

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