Page 5 of Riot
Judge Whitmore raised a hand to silence Caleb.My son murmured a soft, “Sorry, Your Honor,” and lowered his head.
“It’s my understanding, young man, that you want to tell me everything you saw.Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I gasped.“Saw?”My voice wasn’t much more than a whisper.Lana gripped my knee hard, a warning to shut up.I hadn’t realized Caleb had actually witnessed anything other than the end of the incident.He hadn’t said anything to me to indicate he’d been there any longer than a few seconds.
Judge Whitmore’s gaze zeroed in on me.Yeah.She hadn’t missed my reaction.Then she sat back in her seat.“Very well, young man.Why don’t you come up here and sit beside me.”She indicated the seat next to her where witnesses would be called to give their account.
Riot was sitting on the outside of the aisle, so he had to stand in order for Caleb to get out of the row of seats.I’m not sure what I thought Riot would do.Maybe stand there?But he followed Caleb to the chair she’d indicated and kept going until he stood beside my son.Judge Whitmore held up a hand for him to stop, and Riot did.Instead of standing there with his arms crossed over his chest to intimidate, he adopted a relaxed pose with one hand over the other wrist in front of him.He stood perfectly still, not shifting his weight or even moving his head.
“Your Honor, I object to this man being so close to my client’s son.It’s clear he’s here to intimidate the boy.”
Caleb opened his mouth, then closed it tightly.He kept looking at the judge, clearly itching for her to tell him he could talk.
“You seem like you want to say something, Mr.Caleb.”Judge Whitmore leaned forward slightly as she addressed him.“Is the man who followed you to the stand intimidating you?Say the word and I’ll have him escorted out straight to a holding cell.You won’t have to worry about him.”
“No, ma’am.Riot’s got my back.He’s here so I don’t have to be intimidated byhim.”Caleb pointed to Doug and my heart broke a little bit.Not for Doug.The man was a serious ass from the day I met him.But for Caleb.He’d known something was wrong, but the night he came home right after Doug had beaten me, something inside Caleb broke.I saw it happening right before my eyes that night.I thought he’d only seen the aftermath of that beating, but was it possible Caleb had actually witnessed more?
“I’m your father, Caleb,” Doug said, his voice soft and reasonable.“You know I’d never hurt you.Or your mother.”It sounded like he’d added that last almost as an afterthought.
“Isawyou.”Caleb stared at his father calmly.His voice shook slightly but that was the only obvious betrayal of his emotions.At least to everyone else.I could tell by the set of his jaw he was holding himself together by a thread.He was angry.So very angry.Every single ounce of it was directed at his father.“I heard everything you said.And I saw what you did from the beginning untilIstopped you.”Caleb didn’t back down.He continued to stare his father down.Oh, this wasn’t good.Caleb was done.If he had to go home with Doug, Caleb would kill him.Doug narrowed his gaze but said nothing, letting his lawyer take over.I had to wonder if he saw the same things in Caleb I did.Somehow, I doubted it.Doug might now be picking up on the fact Caleb was losing his fear of Doug, but I doubted Doug knew the extent of his son’s anger.
“Your Honor.”Mr.Todd stood, sighing wearily, as if this was all so much a waste of time he didn’t understand why he was being subjected to the proceeding at all.“I’d like to state again, for the record this time, you simply cannot put much stock what the boy might say.He’s a parrot for his mother, who is doing everything she can to grab money.She thinks she can get sole custody so she can demand a hefty divorce settlement.”
Caleb looked as frustrated as I’d ever seen him, like he was warring with getting his say in and being respectful as Lana had warned him.We absolutely could not get on this judge’s bad side.Ms.Thompson had said the only real way to make an enemy of Judge Whitmore was to disrespect her or her courtroom.I knew if anyone could manage to disrespect anything, it would be Douglas Harrington.Not his son.
Judge Whitmore let Mr.Todd go on for a couple minutes before he finally seemed to run out of steam, as well as running out of reasons Caleb and I couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth.
“Are you finished telling me who I can and cannot question in my own court, Mr.Todd?”
“I only want it on record for when we have to go above your jurisdiction on appeal.”Oh, Judge Whitmore didn’t like that at all.It wasn’t unexpected.Mr.Todd always had a plan.He was tough as nails and fucking smart.Not to mention all kinds of intimidating.Just like Doug.Between them, they had nearly everyone who mattered in the city under their thumbs… including a number of judges.
“Before we go any further, I want to make sure I understand something.”She raised her eyebrows and looked askance at Mr.Todd.
“Your Honor?”I’d met Edward Todd on a number of occasions.Always, he and Doug were above everyone else.What Doug wanted, Mr.Todd made happen.Having someone push back and challenge their authority wasn’t something Mr.Todd was used to.He would handle the issue, but it wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.
“If I understand you correctly, the only people I should believe are you and your client?No one else can be trusted to tell me the truth?”
Mr.Todd gave her a confused look before he blanked his expression.“I didn’t say that.”
“No.You said Mrs.Violet is only here because she wants money.Mr.Caleb is only going to say what his mother tells him.Neither of them can be trusted.What about opposing counsel?Can I trust her to tell the truth?”
“I believe you’ve misunderstood what I was trying to say.I was only pointing out Mrs.Violet has ulterior motives and an agenda.You should take what she says accordingly.”
“So, only you and your client can be trusted,” she repeated.
Mr.Todd shook his head.“I don’t understand the question, Your Honor.I’ve explained my reasoning --”
“Your objections are noted, Mr.Todd.Now, if I could be allowed to finish my questions for Mr.Caleb, I’d be grateful.”
Mr.Todd waved his hand once with a flick of his wrist.“Carry on, Your Honor.”I didn’t think Mr.Todd understood the level of annoyance on Judge Whitmore’s face.Likely he’d already come to the decision he was going to have to go a step past this judge.It’s what Mr.Todd did.He analyzed the situation and adapted accordingly.
“Now, Mr.Caleb.”Judge Whitmore turned her full attention to my son.“Will you please state for the record how old you are?”
“I’m twelve, Your Honor.”His voice squeaked, something I knew Caleb hated.He’d hit puberty and not only was he as tall as me, his voice was trying to get deeper.I glanced at his father’s face.The slight smirk wouldn’t be missed by Caleb, but I was proud of my son for not reacting.
“What did you want to tell me, young man?”The judge was kind as she spoke to Caleb, but there was that no-nonsense teacher kind of vibe she had going on.It didn’t seem like he was talking to an officer of the court, but more like a school counselor was having a conversation with him.My heart ached for Caleb.I dreaded what he was about to say.I wanted to spare him this.I never wanted him to get between me and Doug, but I was out of options if I wanted to save my son.
