“I’ll tell you what,” MJ said. “The LC has investigated every person who I had sex with – anyone I remembered, anyone who said we did. It’s supposed to be as complete a list as possible. She has one for everyone on the team. Some intelligence thing. I can ask her if your sister is on the list. Would that make you feel better?”
“No, I don’t care,” Honey said.
“You don’t?”
“You married me, not her. And no matter what she says, you’d never have married her. Ever,” Honey said. “As for the rest, I know you’re good at what you do. The docs at Craig said over and over again how lucky I was that you were there to save me. ‘Only an experienced, field trained professional could have saved your life.’ That’s what they said. So I don’t care what their lawyer or so called experts say. Plus I know you love me and would do anything to keep me here.”
Smiling, MJ kissed her cheek. They took off toward the hospital. They were waiting at the elevator when Honey asked:
“Are they going to let her go because of your team? If they let her go, she’ll come straight after me.”
“I don’t know,” MJ said. “But I’ll find out.”
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday morning – 6:25 A.M.
“Aden?” his secretary’s voice came over the speaker on his office phone. “Your lawyer’s on the phone.”
“Lipson or personal?” Aden looked up from the share report he was reading.
“Samantha Hargreaves.”
“Thanks, put her through,” Aden said.
Aden took a drink of water before he answered the phone. With any luck, the charges would be dismissed today and he could move on with his life. Smiling at the thought, Aden picked up the phone.
“Are you sitting down?” Samantha asked.
Aden beamed. She must have good news.
“Yes, what’s the news?”
His heart pounded in his chest. His mind raced forward to his future dreams – a new school for Nash, marrying Sandy, a new baby, and Noelle’s beautiful unbruised face. He was careful not to pant into the phone.
“They’re holding your hearing today! In an hour and a half. Are you at work?”
“I’m at the office,” Aden said.
“Wearing a suit?”
“I have one here,” Aden said. “But my hearing can’t be today! I won’t get a chance to say good-bye to the kids or Sandy or…”
“You don’t have an option, Aden. This is an emergency hearing. They’re recalling your bail. The DA may have already sent officers to come to get you…”
“Aden?” his secretary’s voice came over the speaker phone. “There are two police officers here to see you.”
“Tell them I’ll be out in a few minutes,” Aden said to his secretary.
“The police are there?” Samantha asked.
“Yes,” Aden said. “I’ll get changed and go with them. You’ll be there?”
“I’ll call Sandy,” Samantha said. “She’s with the kids today?”
“Yes,” Aden said. He felt his heart drop in his chest. He could barely keep the sorrow from his voice.
“Ok, I’ll see you at the court room.”
Aden dropped his head into his hands. Overwhelmed with emotion, he rested for a second then got up to change his clothing. Using his speaker phone, he called Jacob and Sam to let them know what was going on. Sam came in his office as he was tying his tie.
“Today’s the first day of the rest of my life,” Aden said.
“Every day is.” Sam smiled. “You’ll do fine.”
“What about…?”
“We’ll take care of everything here. You’ll catch up fast when you get back.”
“And Sandy?”
“We’ve already contacted Social Services,” Sam said. “They can stay with us. Delphie and I have filed to be additional guardians of the kids. You’re going to have to trust us.”
“Trust?” Aden asked.
“Yes, trust,” Sam said. “You do what you have to do and we’ll take care of the rest. When you’re done, we’ll sort out what needs to be sorted.”
Aden nodded.
“Let’s go,” Sam said.
Aden followed Sam out to the reception area. The police officers handcuffed Aden and led him out to their police cruiser. Like the dream of his future just moments before, Aden watched the Lipson Construction office fade from sight.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday morning – 9:11 A.M.
“Mrs. Scully, have you ever seen any burns like this?” Ann Campbell asked.
The Assistant DA picked up a photo of the back of Jill’s head after she had been burned with acid.
“I saw Jill when she had those burns,” Honey said.
“Any other time?”
“I had those burns when I was about eleven,” Honey said.
“How did you get those burns?”
“My sister put car battery acid in my shampoo,” Honey said.
“Objection! Assumption!”
“How did you know your sister put the acid in your shampoo, Mrs. Scully?” the judge asked.
“She told me,” Honey said. “She said it was retribution for trying to make her look bad. She tried to do it again when we were in high school but after being burned once by family shampoo, I always bought my own. I hid mine in my room. She ended up burning our little sister Briana and Mom. Dad was furious.”
“Your little sister was...?” Ann Campbell asked.
“Six years old. She tried to shampoo her own hair. It was her second time washing her own hair,” Honey said. “She has a scar on her neck and back from it.”
“These scars?” Ann Campbell held up a photo of Briana’s neck, back and a small half moon scar on her forehead. “Please enter into evidence this picture of Briana Lipson.”
“Yes,” Honey said. “I have one too.”
“Would you mind showing us?” Ann Campbell asked.
“No ma’am,” Honey said. “I need some help.”
The bailiff helped Honey take off her silk jacket to expose her neck and shoulder.
“You have to look past the surgery scars, but I have the same scars on my shoulder and neck.”
Honey pointed to her shoulder and neck. When she looked up, she saw that everyone in the courtroom had a kind of stunned expression on their faces. Confused, she looked for MJ. His face was grim but he smiled at her. She looked up at Ann Campbell’s face. The Assistant DA worked to recover her professional demeanor. Honey blushed and pulled on her jacket. The courtroom was uncomfortably quiet. She fiddled with her diamond wedding ring.
“And you don’t remember what provoked this attack?” Ann Campbell asked.
“My sister and I never got along. I couldn’t ever tell what would set her off. I was usually her fall guy. She’d make fun of me at school, soil my clothing, rip up my favorite shirt, and spread rumors about me. It was that way until I moved out.”
“When did you move out?”
“After high school. I worked for Lipson Construction on a road crew in high school. When I could work full time, I got an apartment.”
“What was your relationship with your sister?”
“I never saw her,” Honey said. “She lived with Mom and the girls. I would go home to do laundry or hang out with the girls… um, my younger sisters Bree and Becky… but I never saw her. I didn’t have any contact with her until she started dating Trevor last year.”
“What brought you into contact with your sister again?”
“Mom wanted me to meet her boyfriend because she thought they’d get married,” Honey said. “I met them for lunch in December of last year.”
Honey had been coached not to talk about Trevor, but her blood boiled remembering how smug her sister was at that lunch. She sat there, all high and mighty, with a married guy. A guy married to her friend, Jill! Honey glanced over at her sister. Her sister curled her lip at Honey.
“When did you see her again?”
“Mom wanted me to help h
er with the wedding,” Honey said. “I was a bride’s maid, went to a couple wedding showers, engagement party, stuff like that.”
“If you and your sister weren’t close, why did you go?”
“My Mom asked me to go,” Honey said. “I’m sure people have a lot to say about my Mom, but she’s always tried really hard for us. She asks me for very little so I always do what she asks.”
“Your Mom asked you to help your sister later too. Isn’t that right?”
“Mom asked me to help her and her husband get back and forth from the airport for their honeymoon,” Honey said. “Mom had a business appointment that morning so I took off work to take them to the airport. I was supposed to pick them up. I was a little late, like ten minutes, and I saw them leave with someone else.”
“Who did they leave with?”
“Michael Scully, Jr.”
“Your husband?”
“He wasn’t my husband then,” Honey said.
“Ok, thank you Mrs. Scully,” Ann Campbell said. “The prosecution would like to reserve the right to recall this witness.”
“You may cross, Mr. Blanchard.”
Honey swallowed hard at the cruel look on her sister’s attorney’s face. She’d been warned that he would ask her about every detail. This part of the case was to make her look stupid. She smiled at him. She’d spent a life time with her sister trying to make her look stupid. He was going to have to work very, very hard to gain any ground with her.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday morning – 10 A.M.
Sandy sat near the front of the courtroom with Nash on one side of her and Noelle on the other. She marveled at how easily the day had started. She made love to Aden. Like most mornings, he had talked to the baby. He was so sure they were having a little girl. He always called her ‘Josie.’ While she’d made coffee, he woke the kids for an early breakfast. The kids went back to bed and Aden left for work.
It was an easy, happy, loving morning.
When Samantha Hargreaves name appeared on the caller ID, Sandy knew what was going on. She didn’t need Samantha to say the words, ‘Aden will have his hearing today.’
She just knew. Aden would go to jail and she would be alone. Alone with his kids. Pregnant and alone. Alone to deal with her father’s crap. Alone. Like metal shutters slamming down on a room in her mind, her emotions shut down.
She woke the kids and told them the news. Sullen and sad, the kids began to get dressed. Sitting in the living room, Sandy had stared off into space. She wasn’t thinking when she’d answered the knock at the door. There was a knock and she answered it. She hadn’t even looked to see who it was. She just opened the door.
Anjelika stood on the other side.
Anjelika chastised Sandy for not asking or looking to see who it was. When she saw Sandy’s blank response, Anjelika smiled.
“Now is the time you need a mother,” Anjelika had said.
Without another word, Anjelika sat Sandy down on the couch. She made her some tea with Delphie’s special honey. She’d turned on some piano jazz for Sandy to listen to. Anjelika then helped the kids get ready. She’d arranged for a car to take them to the courthouse. She’d made sure there was a bodyguard waiting to protect Sandy at the courthouse. She even coordinated with Jacob, Sam and Delphie regarding who would be at the courthouse.
In fact, Sandy was pretty sure she would not be sitting in this courtroom if Anjelika hadn’t arrived at her doorstep. She reached over to hold Noelle’s hand. Nash’s hand was tucked under her arm. She could feel the pulse of nervousness run through the kids. They had no idea what would happen today.
They only knew it would change their lives.
Possibly forever.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
My fairy tale ends
Wednesday morning – 10:15 A.M.
At the doorway to the court room, Aden stopped walking to look around the courtroom. Judge Alberts had closed the courtroom to the press. The only people allowed in the courtroom were family members and people associated with the case. Aden expected to see Sandy and the kids, maybe Sam and Jacob, but the sitting area was filled with men and women wearing various uniforms and suits. His eyes drifted over these strangers until they rested on his family.
Aden flushed. In a breath, he took in the terror on his children’s faces and the blank look in Sandy’s eyes. His impulsive act had placed fear in their hearts and minds. He smiled to reassure them as he walked by. Noelle waved, Nash nodded and Sandy winked. But nothing changed. His children were terrified and the love of his life had shut down.
He followed Samantha Hargreaves to the defense table. He had just sat down when the bailiff called for everyone to rise. They stood and waited while the judge got seated. Sitting down again, Aden felt the heat of the judge’s eyes on him. If the elderly man’s eyes seemed to bore into his soul. Aden couldn’t bear to meet his gaze.
“I called this emergency hearing. So if you were wondering who called it, I did,” Judge Alberts said. “I wanted to get all the players together and see what we can work out. Mr. Norsen?”
“Yes, your honor.” Aden jumped to his feet.
“Sit down,” the judge said. “We’re going to be here a while. You’re here because the Federal Bureau of Investigation would like to charge you with…”
The judge looked at his bailiff and the man placed a paper in front of him.
“Obstruction of justice, disruption of a federal investigation, interfering with a felon, tampering with evidence… Well, it’s a quite a long list.”
“Your honor, I don’t think…” a man said from the prosecution table.
“That’s the Federal Prosecutor, Mr. Norsen. Why don’t you introduce yourself Mr. Xavier? You’ve had plenty to say about Mr. Norsen in private. You may as well say hello.”
“Sir, it is not necessary…”
“This happens to be my courtroom, Mr. Xavier, and my trial. You don’t get to tell me what’s necessary and what is not. Now sit down or I’ll have you removed.”
The Federal Prosecutor sat down.
Samantha Hargreaves leaned over to whisper in Aden’s ear, “This isn’t normal. Something’s going on.”
“Now, if Ms. Hargreaves has finished?” the judge asked.
“Yes, your honor.”
“I will continue,” the judge said. “See these people in the audience? They’re all here to make sure Mr. Norsen is held responsible for the death of their key witness. Their reasoning goes something like this: if Mr. Norsen hadn’t acted when he did, their witness’s arrest would not have been so public. And, possibly, their active pedophile witness would still be alive and ready to perpetrate his evil upon the children of Denver.”
“Objection, your honor.” Samantha hopped to her feet. “You cannot take one minuscule assault case and make the accused responsible for an international child pornography scheme that has been going on for decades!”
“Sit down, Ms. Hargreaves,” the judge said.
“But…”
“Sit down, Ms. Hargreaves. I’m about an inch away from putting every single lawyer in the City and County of Denver in contempt of court!”
Samantha sat down.
“Sandra, nice to see you,” the judge said.
Aden’s mouth open with shock. He turned in place to look at Sandy. She shrugged at him.
“Uncle Howard,” Sandy said. “How are you?”
“Angry, my dear. Angry,” the judge said. “You must know how heartbroken we are about all of this.”
“Your honor, I hardly see…” the District Attorney said jumping to his feet.
The judge pointed at him and he sat down.
“I bring up the fact that I know the victim in the larger case. She is my brother’s step-daughter and my niece,” Judge Alberts said. “Even though I am the senior justice, and this case falls in my specialty, I had no intention of trying any of these cases. My duty was to oversee the entire debacle while other judges can hear these cases. It’s my understa
nding that death threats have been received by our justices. Is that correct, Lieutenant Robinson?”
“Yes, your honor,” said a uniformed police officer standing in the back row of the audience. “They are in protective custody.”
“We have death threats against judges. A pedophile who the Feds were willing to leave roaming the City and County of Denver looking for victims until they got around to arresting him. And surprise, surprise, the cretin ends up dead. The FBI, CIA, UN and a bunch of other people irked at the cretin’s death. In the middle of it all, we have… what was Ms. Hargreaves’s term? Ah yes, a miniscule assault case.”
Nervous, Aden shifted in his chair.
“Mr. Norsen, no doubt you remember who I am?”
“Yes, sir,” Aden said.
“Do you remember what I said to you the last time we were in a courtroom like this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” the judge said. “Ms. Hargreaves? Your motion to dismiss?”
“Yes, your honor.”
“I’m going to set that matter aside for the moment.”
The judge put his hand over his microphone and said something to his bailiff. The bailiff brought a stack of paper over to Samantha Hargreaves. Samantha looked at the top sheet and then began reading in earnest.
“Mr. Norsen, given my relationship with a relative of the victim in your case, and the victim of the larger case, are you willing to allow me to try this case? That means you would give up any chance to appeal over judicial bias or judicial prejudice.”
“May I have a moment to speak with my attorney?”
“Go ahead,” the judge said. Pointing to the prosecution table, he added. “I need to talk to these guys anyway.”
Aden turned to Samantha. She was digging through the stack of papers.
“What is that?” Aden asked.
“It’s charges!” Samantha’s words came out in a panic induced rush. “And all the documentation about why they should or shouldn’t charge you with… everything. Aden, you’re in real trouble here. I don’t know if even I can defend you. We might want to get someone older, more experienced and…”
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