14. Left On the List.
Richard was finally conscious. He didn't know who had attacked him, he never saw her face. All he could remember was the voice of the woman screaming that she hated him. He had no idea who she could have been. Celia continued to play the part of weeping wife, though there was a new hardness in her eyes that had been there since Mrs Lee testified that Richard had been out with a brunette. Jade didn't know who she was or why they were at Nozu, only that her father had betrayed yet another woman. She wasn't allowed to see him at the hospital, not that she would have agreed to visit anyway. He still wasn't well enough to appear in court, but his testimony didn't mean much since he didn't see his attacker. The only thing his appearance would have affected is the sympathy of the jury. Celia did not appear in court either, citing a need to be with her hospitalized husband, and Detective Finley was called away on an important case. That left only three witnesses on the list.
"Detective Gordon, you have been investigating the assault of Richard West from the beginning. Is that correct?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"How did you meet the defendant, Jade West?"
"My partner and I went to Hollywood Arts to inform Jade of her father's injuries."
"And what were the first words you heard her say?"
"'I swear to God I will brutally murder the next person who interrupts my audition.' We interrupted her audition, apparently. I don't know what would have happened if someone came in after us," Gordon chuckled darkly.
"So the first words you heard Jade West say was a threat of violence?"
"Yes."
"Did you think it was a joke?"
"I thought it was an exaggeration."
"But she still became your chief suspect. Was that due to that threat or her demeanor?"
"It had nothing to do with any of that. We followed the evidence, and the evidence led us to the defendant. She had the motive, means, and opportunity to try to kill her father."
"Thank you, Detective. Nothing further."
Adam let the silence settle before he stood.
"Detective Gordon, how long have you been on the job?"
"Three years."
"And how many of those years were at a desk job?"
"A few months," Gordon shrugged nonchalantly.
"Really? Because," Adam flipped open a folder he was holding, "your record shows ten months in the field, and then just over a year at a desk job at the precinct. Why were you taken out of the field, Detective?"
"Um… To gain experience."
"At a desk," Adam narrowed his eyes and raised his eyebrows skeptically.
"Yes."
"Well, it actually says here that you were put on desk duty because of a violation of a suspect's rights."
"Your Honor," Andrea cut in, "is there a question here?"
The judge looked at Adam pointedly.
"Detective," Adam continued, "could you please explain how you violated the rights of this particular suspect? I have the report if you need to refresh your memory."
"I…." Gordon hesitated. "I allowed my…zeal to get the better of me, which led to…the arrest of a person who had already been cleared as a suspect."
"Why did you arrest this person?"
"I just… I had a hunch he was guilty. But he wasn't."
"I see," Adam closed the folder and observed Gordon. "Detective Gordon, did you have a 'hunch' that Jade West was guilty?"
"Yes," Gordon confessed. "But, it was backed up by hard evidence."
"Right," Adam nodded, a bit facetiously. "Nothing further."
Gordon was the last witness for the prosecution.
Adam stood and addressed the judge.
"Your Honor, the defense calls Mr Erwin Sikowitz to the stand."
A nearly bald man shot up from his seat in the audience. Every single one of the many articles of clothing he wore was of a different color and pattern, which raised the eyebrows of many people in the courtroom. Not Jade, though. What struck Jade was the fact that her favorite teacher was wearing shoes.
"Mr Sikowitz, you are a teacher at Hollywood Arts?" Adam asked as soon as the strange witness was settled in the stand.
"Yes! I teach improv and method acting with a few spontaneous lessons in the science of the majestic coconut!"
"I see," Adam looked amused at this answer, while everyone else in the courtroom (minus Jade) looked a bit concerned. It was certainly not an answer anyone expected. "And you know Jade West."
"Ahhh, yes. Jade. As I told her once, I savor her bitterness like a sweet, rancid cream sauce."
"So you are fond of Jade?"
"For all of the black she wears, Jade is one of the most colorful people I have ever known."
Jade didn't think she'd ever been so complimented in her life. For the first time in a long time, it was hard to contain her smile.
"Have you known Jade to be a violent person?"
"She is…passionate. She fights for what she wants, what she thinks she deserves. And, for as long as I've known her, she's deserved what she's fought for. Except…." Sikowitz stopped for a moment, peering into the distance thoughtfully.
"Y-yes?" Adam looked suddenly nervous.
"Once… Once she was cast as an understudy, and Jade believed that the lead role went to the wrong person. She did her best to make sure that Tori stayed at the hospital on opening night. She was such a gank about it that I ended up playing the role myself!" He chuckled. "Sikowitz as Steamboat Suzie!"
"I… No further questions."
Adam plopped down into his chair on Jade's right.
"He conveniently forgot to mention that little incident when we went over his testimony," Adam whispered to his client, the heel of his hand pressing against his forehead. Jade couldn't bring herself to answer.
Andrea stood at the table for the prosecution.
"The People have no questions for this witness, Your Honor."
Sikowitz loped back to his seat in the gallery, entirely unaware of the damage he may have caused.
"The defense calls Linda West to the stand," Adam announced a moment later. He turned to face the people sitting in the pews behind the counsel tables, his eyes searching. No one stood. Jade twisted around in her seat, craning her neck to see. Her mother had brought her to court today. She'd been sitting in the row behind the defendant's table at every court session since the beginning. Jade stood beside Adam, scanning the people, trying not to let her panic show. She thought she saw someone familiar toward the back, but whoever it was bent forward and out of sight before she could be sure.
"Linda West?" Adam asked again.
"Where is she?" Jade whispered, agitated, more to herself than to Adam. She dropped herself back in her chair. Her mother knew today was her scheduled court date as a witness. She knew.
"Your Honor, I'm afraid it seems that Linda West was unable to attend court today," Adam said, facing the judge.
"Then she is held in contempt of this court, and a warrant will be issued for her arrest."
"What?" Jade said. "No, she just made a mistake! Don't arrest her."
"Miss West, if and when your mother appears in court, or gives a valid reason for not appearing, the charges will be dropped," Justice Banter said sharply.
Jade looked at the table.
"Until then," the judge continued, "you may call your next witness, Counselor."
"The defense rests," Adam stated with a defeated sigh.
"What?!" Jade whispered. "No, no, the defense does not rest!"
"I'm sorry, Jade," her attorney said sadly.
"You're giving up?"
"Counselor," Banter looked to Andrea Chase. "You may present rebuttal witnesses."
"The People rest, Your Honor," the prosecutor replied.
"Then you may present your closing argument."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. In my opening statement, I mentioned that I would show that the defendant is a violent teenager with a history of aggression. I have proven this, through not only psychological assessments from professionals, but incidents of violence recounted firsthand. We have established the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt: 1) that Jade West harbors intense animosity toward her father, 2) that Jade West is psychologically and physically capable of causing bodily harm, and 3) that Jade West had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to assault her father. We the People ask you to reject the defense theories of this case. The law does not care about sad stories or broken homes. Justice is blind, so I am asking you, the servants of justice, to find the defendant guilty as charged. Thank you."
Adam didn't look at Jade when he stood.
"In the case that the prosecution has presented to you, there is insufficient proof to convict. Here in California, there are two things that the prosecution must prove for a valid attempted murder conviction: 1) that the defendant took at least one direct but ineffective step towards killing another person and 2) that the defendant intended to kill that person. The prosecution has not done this in this courtroom. It is the burden of the prosecuting attorney to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. They have not met that burden. Remember that the life of this young woman is in your hands. We would ask you to render the only verdict that is fair: not guilty."
Jade didn't move from her chair as the rest of the people in the courtroom were filing out. I'm going to prison I'm going to prison I'm going to prison I'm going to prison.
Adam shuffled his papers around and shoved them in his briefcase.
"I'm sorry, Jade. It was a mistake to take this case. And, don't worry, I'm not going to require a fee for this."
"Right. Because that's my biggest worry right now," Jade stood, knocking her chair backward, and shoved her arms into her jacket. Her shoes echoed in the empty courtroom as she stalked down the aisle and out of sight. As the door swung shut behind her, a hand grabbed her arm.
JADE'S BEING KIDNAPPED! Ahaha no she's not. Or is she...? Anyway, thanks for reading. I've been pondering over whether or not to do a sequel and here's my problem: I don't know what would happen in a sequel. Based on what you know of this story right now, what big plot line would you like to see if I wrote a sequel? Let me know. Thanks for your reviews!