[Lonely, Heavy, Mysteriously, Art, Bestow]
We were sitting in the front row of the court. I was ready to go before Anais or Amy. I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that I had from the nightmare that had woken me this morning. So much could go wrong. Judges Juries anything might happen. But I really believed in Eve, so as the only thing to cling to, in an uncertain world, I clung to that belief. It wasn’t blind faith. I’d seen her in action before and I’d seen her completely dominate Jones before.
Then the judge walked out and we all stood up while he sat down. This custom is straight out of the royal courts and should go away. Judges are people just like anyone else and put their robes on one arm at a time. The jury shuffled in next Eve and the assistant district attorney had been here at four to pick the jury, so that the trial could begin by six on the dot.
The ADA began his opening statement that they would prove that the Faith was guilty of prostitution. Eve reserved her right to an opening statement but waived it until the ADA had presented his case. He called Jones to the stand. Asked Jones if Faith had asked him for money in return for sexual favors. Jones said that yes she did. At what time was this? Twelve thirty. The Defense rests your honor. Then it was Eve’s turn for a cross examination.
“Detective Jones, did your supervisor assign you undercover work when you left the station at the end of your shift?”
“Ah, no.”
“So you decide to do undercover work on your own?”
“Yes.”
“So you worked all day and then after your shift ended you decided to do some undercover work why?”
“I’m new to the force and I wanted to show the chief that I’m a hard worker.”
“You're new, I see, was this in fact your first day?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you think it might be dangerous, going undercover, on your very first day or have you previous law enforcement experience?”
“I have previous experience, I served in the Lake Placid Police Department and the County Sheriffs office.”
“For how many years were you at each of these agencies, Detective Jones?”
“Less than a year.”
“How many days?”
“Objection your honor, this is not relevant to the case?”
“I’ll allow it, counselor.”
“Six days.”
“Could you break down how many days at the sheriffs and how many days at Lake Placid PD, please?”
“One day at the sheriff’s office and five days at Lake Placid.”
“How many prostitutes have you arrested before Detective Jones?”
“None.”
“But you studied this in the police academy?”
“Yes we did?”
“Did you do well in the academy?”
“Objection your honor, Ms Whittle is wasting the court’s time.”
“I’ll allow it, counselor.”
“Yes.”
“What place did you finish in, you must have been near the top of your grade because you were made a detective right away. Usually a recent graduate has to work years in uniform before being promoted to Detective. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry I asked two questions at once, what place did you finish in?”
“Thirty Fourth.”
“Impressive, out of how many, Detective Jones?”
“Thirty Four.”
“Are all of the thirty three other members of your class also detectives?”
“Objection, relevance?”
“I’ll allow it.”
“I don’t know.”
“Your honor, I'd like to submit into evidence the records from the police academy.”
“Detective Jones, here’s a list of what your other classmates are doing. Please just look through it. Have any of your classmates been promoted to detective?”
“No”
“Why do you think that is Detective Jones?”
“I don’t know?”
“Why do you think you were?”
“I don’t know?”
“Are you sure, Detective Jones, you are under oath?”
“Objection your honor, asked and answered.”
“I’ll allow it.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you think you were made a detective over the other thirty five classmates who finished in front of you, because your father is the County Executive Jones?”
“Maybe.”
“Detective Jones, did you follow my client into the bar?”
“No, I was already at the bar when she arrived.”
“Did she come right over to you and demand money for sex?”
“No”
“What time was this?”
“It was about nine thirty.”
“So did you approach her, or did she approach you.”
“I approached her.”
“Because you thought she looked like a prostitute?”
“Yes.”
“When you approached her did you ask her if she wanted a drink?”
“Yes.”
“Why not just ask her for sex and arrest her, why ply her with drinks?”
“I didn’t want her to think I was a cop.”
“Right, you were undercover, so after you finished that round of beers, you asked her for sex?”
“No, I bought her another beer.”
“Again I have to ask, why not ask her for sex? Because it looks like you are a guy trying to pick up a girl, not arrest someone.”
“Yes that is the point, I was trying to show that I wasn’t a cop.”
“Yes I can see that, you certainly weren’t acting like one, how many rounds did you buy before you thought that your undercover identity was firmly established.”
“Four.”
“So after the fourth beer, you finally asked for sex.”
“Yes and she stated a dollar amount and I arrested her.”
“I see, and could you tell the jury what that dollar amount was?”
“She slurred her words because she was drunk, I think she said a thou.”
“You think she said?”
“I’m ninety nine percent sure.”
“That’s pretty sure, but there is always that one percent doubt, isn’t there. Then what did you do?”
“I walked her across the street to the police station.”
“Did you not push her face down across a table, while she was cuffed and do a full body search.”
“Yes.”
“Does your department not have a rule that females should be searched by female officers whenever possible?”
“Yes, but none were present, and she presented herself as a danger, so I did the search myself.”
“Then did you read Faith, her rights?”
“No, she was impaired. Her rights were read to her in the morning, before she was released.”
“Did you give her access to a phone?”
“No, she didn’t ask for a phone call.”
“Might that not be because you didn’t tell her that she had the right to call, the right to an attorney?”
“Like I said she was impaired, we read her rights in the morning. She was held for her own safety.”
“Okay then what did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, you just stayed in the station even though your shift had ended, what six hours before?”
“No, I went home.”
“So after you saw Faith safely to her cell, you went home.”
“Yes.”
“Could you explain to the jury how prostitution works?”
“A person pays another person for sex.”
“So it’s like the gig economy, for each ‘job’ you get paid a fee.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“If Faith were a prostitute why would she have sat there chatting with you for three hours without getting paid?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many beers did you have in the bar Detective Jones?”
“A few.”
“Can you be more specific please.”
“No, I’m not sure.”
“Didn’t you submit expenses to the department for your undercover work?”
“No, I paid out of my own pocket.”
“Cash?”
“No, credit card.”
“Do you have the receipt?”
“No, I didn’t ask for a copy.”
“No further questions at this time, but I reserved the right to recall the witness.”
Jones got off of the stand and went back to sit behind the assistant district attorney. While Eve, called Faith to the stand.
“Ms Sinclair, could you tell me why you went to the bar, last Friday the twenty seventh.”
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“The man I had been seeing was murdered the week prior and I was feeling very low. So I went to the bar because it was ladies night. I wanted to blow off a little steam.”
“Did you know that Detective Jones was the police officer that botched up the murder investigation into your boyfriend’s murder?”
“No”
“So you weren’t trying to target him for failing to catch the murderer.”
“No, I knew that the police failed to solve the murder, but no one from the police ever contacted me.”
“Okay so you came into the bar, just for a little stress relief. What did you do?”
“I sat at the bar and ordered a beer.”
“Did you make any overt signal to Detective Jones or anyone else for that matter that you wanted company?”
“No.”
“So he came over and bought you a drink?”
“Yes?”
“In your own words please describe what happened.”
“Well after the first beer he invited me back to his house, I said no, then he asked me to the Saranac Hotel, and I declined. Then he asked me to go out and fool around in his car. I told him no I’m not in high school anymore. Finally around midnight, he said to me, how much just to have sex in my car. I told him not for a million dollars.”
One of the jurors tittered.
“You're sure you didn’t say a thou?”
“No, I said not for a million dollars.”
“What do you do for a living Faith?”
“I work at the Lake Placid Diner.”
“What do you do in your spare time?”
“I’m going to college, for premed, I hope to become an EMT for a fire company. I also volunteer at the fire department.”
“How long have you been a volunteer?”
“Six years.”
“Do you gamble, take drugs or are you in any debt?”
“No, I don’t gamble or take drugs and I don’t even have a credit card.”
“So you don’t have any financial stress that could force you into a life of prostitution. Have you ever been arrested before?”
“No”
“No further questions, your honor.”
The Ada stood up and walked over to the jury box.
“Would a thousand dollars come in handy to purchase books for college, Ms Sinclair.”
“Sure.”
“Are you sure you didn’t agree to have sex with Detective Jones for a thousand dollars? You were pretty drunk.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I would never agree to have sex with that man for any amount of money.”
“No further questions.”
“Ms Whittle do have any further witnesses to call.”
“I do your honor, I call Laura Eriksson”
I was totally surprised that Eve was calling me. But I stood up and was sworn in. I felt like doing a rant about the bible being used in a country that supposedly has freedom of religion. But I suppressed that desire. I would however go home later that night and write a long rant into my Obsidian note taking app, about the subject. Shouldn’t we be swearing on something secular like Jefferson’s bible or the flag or a copy of the constitution?
“Laura, how did you first meet Detective Jones?”
“I was in the hospital with a concussion, I was attacked in my store, while an associate was murdered. Jones accused me of faking my injury and murdering my associate.”
“You don’t sound like you have much respect for Detective Jones?”
“I have zero respect for Jones, he couldn’t detect his way out of a paper sack.”
“Objection your honor, opinion of the witness.”
“I’ll withdraw the question you honor.”
The judge instructed the jury to forget my reply. Yeah, good luck with forgetting.
“So at first Detective Jones suspected you did he ever waiver from that opinion.”
“Objection, relevance?”
“I’m coming to that, your honor if you’ll give me just three minutes.”
“Alright but make it quick Ms Whittle.”
“Go ahead and answer, Laura.”
“Yes, he did. He arrested another victim of the killers and put her in jail.”
“That was a friend of yours and you decided that you needed to investigate on your own because you were afraid your friend would be sent to prison for a murder she did not commit.”
“Yes, that is correct. Jones had no evidence, except that she was also a victim of the victims. But I tricked the actual serial killer into confessing in front of the chief of police.”
“So how did you become involved in this case?”
“When Faith was released she came right to my store and told me what had happened and that she needed help. She wants to be a professional firefighter. That dream would be ruined, by a false arrest.”
“So you agreed to help her, what did you do?”
“I went to the bar and spoke with the bartender, to learn the timeline of events. It didn’t make any sense, that a girl who makes money performing sex acts. Wouldn’t have just agreed the first time when Jones invited her to his house. It couldn’t be for the free beer, because a million dollars buys a lot of beer. The bartender then gave me a copy of the receipt, from Jones credit card.”
“Your honor, I’d like to submit this into evidence as defense two.”
She gave the evidence to the judge and the assistant district attorney looked it over. Then she handed it to me.
“Could you please read the number of beers Detective Jones paid for.”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven and four of those were for Faith, so?”
“He drank seven sixteen ounce beers.”
“No further questions at this time, but I reserve the right to recall this witness.”
The Ada got up and approached the stand.
“Ms Eriksson, are you a licensed private investigator?”
“No I am not.”
“Then what gives you the right to investigate a criminal act?”
“Because the police had just tried to screw me over and I wasn’t going to let them ruin an innocent girl’s life. Her boyfriend had just been killed and she was depressed. I was going to try and help her.”
“Weren’t you just trying to get even with Jones for accusing you and your friend of murder?”
“No, I didn’t even know that it was Jones that arrested her. I didn’t find that out until the arraignment. After he got fired from two different police departments in less than a week, I didn’t think another police department would be so stupid to hire him. I was wrong about that, the chief of police in Saranac is even dumber than my cousin.”
That got a laugh from someone in the audience, I think Amy. the judge just hammered his gavel.
“I’d like it noted that Ms. Eriksson is a hostile witness to your honor.”
“Noted.”
“Anything further Ms Whittle?”
“One final witness, your honor, I call Dr Timothy Denton.”
A man approached the witness stand, sat down and was sworn in.
“Dr Denton, could you please state your qualifications for the court.”
“I graduated from Harvard with a degree in chemistry with a focus on Toxicology and psychology. I treat people with chemical additions including alcohol.”
“Seven sixteen ounce beers over the course of three in a half hours, just how drunk would the average man be.”
“You could expect a man of average size to have a blood alcohol content of point one six, about twice the legal limit.”
“How would a person react with that high a BAC?”
“At double the legal limit, it would have a severe impact on their perceptions, memory or judgement.”
“It would be illegal in fact for them to drive, if a person with that high a BAC were rejected by someone they felt owed them something. What might their reaction be?”
“Objection, speculation.”
“Expert witness in the field and a certified treatment provider, your honor.”
“I’ll allow it, please answer the question Doctor.”
“With the lowered inhibitions they might strike out to harm the person that is questioning their self worth.”
“Do you think that the phrase, Not for a million dollars, might trigger that response.”
“Most certainly.”
“No further questions, your honor.”
The ADA didn’t bother to ask the doctor any questions. He probably didn’t want his case to get any worse.
“Anything further Ms Eriksson?”
“Yes, your honor, I have one final question for Detective Jones.”
Jones got back into the witness box and he did not look happy.
“Detective Jones, if Faith had used the phrase, Not for a Million dollars, knowing now just how inebriated you were. Isn’t it possible that you lashed out due to your lack of inhibitions. Did she wound your ego Detective Jones, did you expect to have sex with Ms Sinclair only to be rejected for a fourth time, and this time by such a cutting remark?”
He looked like he’d like to kill Eve, right there in the courtroom. He didn’t move but he did manage to croak out a no.
“No further questions, your honor. The defense rests.”
The judge told both of the attorneys to make brief final summations. The ADA went first.
“Detective Jones was not here on trial, Faith Sinclair is. If you believe the evidence that was presented in this trial by Detective Jones, you must find the defendant guilty. Thank you.”
“Detective Jones presented no evidence in this trial, only his drunken opinion of what happened. He ‘thinks’ the defendant said a thousand. How many beers had he consumed he testified to ‘a few’. At twice the legal limit it is not surprising that he was also having problems with perception and memory. Then he admitted that he got into a car and drove home. Thank god he didn’t kill someone with a BAC that high it would have been a manslaughter charge at least. Jones is not entirely at fault. The system let him down. Thirty fourth out of thirty fourth, nepotism made him a detective his first day. Also the day he was fired. His second chance nepotism again kept him as a detective. Fired in less than a week for jailing another young woman with dreams for her future of a crime she didn’t commit. So a drunken inexperienced cop, whose ego is already bruised by two firings in less than a week. Then he get’s insulted by the girl he’s already spent fifty dollars on when she refuses him sex for the fourth time. What kind of prostitute refuses to have sex? That's like a milkman refusing to deliver milk. If there is doubt in your mind that this grieving volunteer fire fighter is guilty, you must vote not guilty. Thank you for your attention in this matter. The outcome of this trial determines this young woman’s future.”
The jury has to find her not guilty right, after that defense. But I was still really nervous, after the litany of things that Anais had said about jury trials. At least the judge had seemed to be on Faith’s side. He hadn’t ruled against Eve at all. That sent me off to thinking, what if the jury felt that the judge was favoring Eve, would that be enough to make some or one of the jury vote guilty.
Also if it was not unanimous would the not guilty jury members fight as long and as hard as the guilty would?
“Should we go across the street for a beer, while we wait for the jury?” Amy asked.
“Sure, I could go for a beer, I am so tense and I know she didn’t do it. Let’s go.”
But just as we were exiting the courtroom the jury was heading back in. So we all turned around and filed back to our seats. That was incredibly fast. They must have walked in the back voted and just walked back out here without any discussion at all. They either all thought she was guilty, or they thought that Jones was full of it.
The judge came back out.
“Mr foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?”
“We have your honor. We find the defendant not guilty.”
All the tension drained from my body. I could just imagine how Faith must feel now that her future was secure once again. She hugged Eve, who stiffly hugged her back. Then she came out the gate and hugged Anais, Amy and I, each in turn.
“I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you three. Thank you so much for all you’ve done.”
“Well just be the very best professional fire fighter in the world. We know you will be.”
Then Faith’s roommate Sarah Giedroyc came over and started hugging Faith. I congratulated Eve on her victory.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to call me to the witness stand.”
“Because I wanted your unvarnished thoughts and I didn’t want you appearing rehearsed. Only a foolish lawyer asks a question they don’t know the answer to in advance. But I also knew that what you felt to be true would shine through strongest. Plus I knew what you were going to say but the assistant district attorney, he just didn’t have a chance. It was that receipt that really saved the day for us. I’ll bet anything that the jury didn’t like the idea of a drunken cop making an arrest. The receipt was the one piece of real evidence that we had.”
I looked over to where Jones was sitting and he looked at me with pure hate in his eyes. But not for long, as a uniformed Saranac police officer came into the court and grabbed Jones by the upper arm and led him out of the court. For the first time I saw Annette sitting in the back row, she didn’t look happy with me either.
“What do you say to a beer across the street, I’m buying,” Amy said.
I wanted to do that very much, I wondered if my serial marginalia escort was working tonight and if I headed to the rest room might she not follow and make contact?
So the six of us Eve, Faith, Sarah, Amy, Anais and I walked across the street to the Waterhole Number Eleven. The now familiar five escorts sat at their table in the corner. We took a large round table in the center of the bar. The bartender who had gone out of his way to get me a copy of the receipt was working. So Amy and I went up to the bar and waited while he finished another order.
“You too look happy, I take it the trial went well.”
“Yes and mainly because of you, the only real piece of evidence we had for the trial was the receipt you made a copy of for me. So you saved a girl's future who wants to be a fire fighter. So all of the lives that she saves over the course of her career will be because of what you did. I can't thank you enough.”
“No need for thanks, I knew that guy was trouble the minute he came in here. After tending bar for years you get a feeling for troublemakers and he just had trouble written all over him.”
We ordered two pitchers of beer and Amy and I each carried one back to the table along with six glasses. Amy went back to the bar for a tonic water, she was our designated driver for the evening. I had scored a seat that let me discretely watch the escorts in the corner. Business was as normal. A man would approach and they chatted and one of the girls invariably departed with the man.
A few times I made a show of going into the ladies room. Hoping the note writer would reveal herself to me. But both times I just stood around in the empty restroom for ten minutes. The escorts only got up to leave with the men that had approached them. They all had drinks, but never touched them. Which would explain why they never had to use the facilities.
Feeling happy, but also somewhat drained from the emotion and the tension. We left after polishing off the two pitchers and leaving a nice tip for the bartender. We walked up to Amy’s car. I could see a cop just standing across the street from where Amy’s car was parked. If the cops thought that they would get revenge on us by arresting Amy for driving while intoxicated. They were going to be sorely disappointed. We got in and started driving back to Placid, Anais had shotgun, I was in the backseat. A phone started to ring, it was laying on the back seat.
“Amy, do you want me to answer that?”
“It’s not my phone, Laura.”
“Just answer it, Laura, it’s not my phone either. The easiest way to find out who it belongs to is to just ask who's calling, who they are trying to reach.”
“Hello?”
