Ends and Beginnings : Part VI
All those that were at the courthouse in Boston knew that they would not have to wait long for a verdict to be announced as they made their way back into the public gallery after lunch. The only thing that people could ask was whether it would take the jury in this case longer to reach a verdict than the one in the case of Wes' mother had. They all knew that the jury had been given their lunch first, and had then been sent to deliberate on the case at the appointed time of 1pm. It was a shock to everyone when less than a minute after they had returned to the court for that time, the announcement was made that the jury was about to return. It appeared that the person appointed by the judge as the foreperson had asked for a show of hands the moment that they sat down at the table to deliberate. They had reached a unanimous verdict there and then and needed no more time; it was their opinion that Randall Montgomery Junior was guilty of all the charges laid against him. Even the veterans of many years amongst the court staff were shocked by the speed of the decision, recorded as less than fifteen seconds. They had never seen a jury make a decision so swiftly, as there was usually one dissenting voice. They all agreed though that the increasingly bizarre behaviour of the accused was nothing new by any means.
So it was that at ten minutes after one, everything was in place for the judge to deliver the sentence. All eyes had turned to Randy the moment that he had been lead into the dock. Gone was the smug, cocky young man of earlier; instead he looked around nervously, his hands trembling rapidly, and even the smallest of noises made him jump. "You did a good job on him, Birdy," Michelle whispered. "You took him and broke him by confronting him with his worst nightmare; that you had come to haunt him and make him pay for his crimes."
"Which is the last thing I will be doing, trust me. He is not worth the time or effort, and he will not be in my thoughts after today. This is hopefully the last time that I will ever see him," replied Wes, who then fell silent along with the rest of the court.
The jury foreman was asked to stand up; he did so, and as each of the charges was read out he delivered the same verdict in a voice that resonated loudly through the courtroom - "Guilty!" As each verdict was given, the expression on Randy's face remained unaltered; his face was frozen in a look of terror and fear.
Once all the verdicts had been delivered, the judge thanked the jury, then turned to Randy. "Randall Montgomery Junior, you have been found guilty by this court on all of the charges that have been levelled against you; charges that you vehemently denied even though the weight of evidence against you was overwhelming. You have constantly attempted to deflect the blame on to those around you; your father, your stepmother and your two siblings. Your attempt to pass the blame for all of your misdemeanours to your late half-brother Wes was the most callous of these acts, and was in my opinion, below contempt. It may well be the case that you have an as yet undiagnosed mental health issue which causes you to act in this way, but that is no way excuses the callous way that you behaved towards the poor young woman who had the misfortune to cross your path, nor the cavalier attitude you displayed towards the customers that had placed their faith, trust and hard earned money in the hands of the once widely respected Montgomery business. Now in such a complex case as this, some judges would require time to go away and study the evidence before coming to an appropriate sentence. However, as those that have been following this case and those I have tried prior to this will tell you, I am not that kind of judge. I use the guidelines on sentencing that have been set down by the state, and also prepare in advance once I know what the charges are, for each and every possible verdict. I also concluded early on in this case that it was appropriate that I sentence you separately for each and every one of the young woman whose lives you have destroyed. Your defence lawyer has attempted to try and get me to sentence you on them as one charge, but I declined. I think that most of those in this courtroom, and my fellow judges would agree that my decision is the moral one."
The judge paused to gather up his notes and in the ensuing silence, Gabriel turned to face the others and mouthed the words 'Going down for a long time,' to his fellow ex-Warblers, Finn and Michelle. The others all nodded in agreement, as they all sensed that the judge was about to make an example of him.
"You will, of course, be returning to this court to face further charges in connection to events which have transpired whilst we were all at lunch, about which I can say no more, apart from the fact that they confirm the opinion that I and the rest of the court have probably formed of you. The fact that you continue to act in this way whilst you are on trail is proof, if it was needed, that you are a menace to the society in which we live. On the first charge of arson, to the endangerment of life, I sentence you to ten years; I would also ask that restitution is made to the owner of the restaurant you destroyed from any funds that are remaining after your family is investigated. On the second group of charges, I sentence you to five years for each and every victim that has been brave enough to come forward and see that justice is done; that will amount to a total of forty years. On the third charge, of fraud and financial malpractice, I sentence you to ten years. This means, as the charges will be served consecutively, that you, Mr Montgomery, will be facing a jail term of not less than sixty years at the present time. I would also recommend that you should serve a minimum of forty years before you are even considered for parole. Finally I would ask that you be placed on a program, within whichever jail you end up in, which will seek to address any mental health issues that you have. Now, baring in mind that should you take this opportunity to abuse anyone involved in this case I will impose charges for contempt, do you have anything to say before you are taken away?"
The court waited in silence for Randy to speak. At first it seemed as if he, unlike his stepmother, had no comment to make - or at least, he had nothing that he could say that complied with the express rules that the judge had laid down. Then, just as if it looked he was going to be sent away to begin his long sentence without uttering a final word, he suddenly looked up into the public gallery, straight at the spot where Michelle was sitting. On seeing where his gaze had landed, Mitch and Gabriel moved in closer, as if to point out to him that she was not alone and vulnerable. He spoke, not in the boastful tone he had used until now, but in a small voice. "I'm sorry. Tell Albert that I am sorry too. He is an innocent in all of this, and he did the right thing; Mom would be so proud of him, and the way he has behaved, and so disappointed in me. Wes, if you are listening somewhere, I'm sorry too. I wish that I could have loved you in the way that I should have. You died way too young, but then, isn't that what they say about the good? I am so sorry that I stopped Bertie being kind to you, and I wish that your parents had treated you better. I deserve all of this; none of you deserved me."
He bowed his head again, and said nothing more as he was lead away to start his time in jail. The judge then cleared the court, and the talk of the crowd as they left the gallery was only on one thing; his words were far too little, far too late. He had ample chance to try and make amends before now, but it was only now that he was trying to court their sympathy and try to make out he was a reasonable human being. There was no sympathy for him though, just curiosity as to what exactly had happened at lunch to change his attitude quite so much, but the majority would have to wait until the following day's newspapers to find out. As for the five people who were in the know, the family and friends of Wes, they did not repeat what they knew as they filed out themselves.
They did so leaving Wes and Finn sitting in the gallery, invisible to those court staff that were now commencing the process of tidying up the room and preparing it for the next major case. Finn sat in silence next to the angel he now thought of as his closest friend for a few minutes, and then broke the silence. "Ok, Wes, let's hear what it is that you are thinking. You've been deep in thought since the moment that he stopped speaking. I might not know you as well as some, but I do know when you are thoughtful by now…"
"I guess that I am just wondering if he really meant a single word of what he said there. You know, is he really sorry for all of it, or was he just saying that as a ploy to try and swing a judge and jury to be sympathetic if he lodges an appeal against his sentence. I know that my mother will definitely be doing all she can to have her sentence cut. The thing is… If he gets parole, he will be in his early seventies by the time he gets out of jail; in his nineties if he does not. Even now, after all that he has said and done towards me and others, there is a part of me that doesn't want him to end up dying in jail. If the Warblers heard me saying that, they would say that was just typical of me; always being kind towards people, even when they are doing their worst towards me. I can't help but think - if his mom had not died, if my mother hadn't entered the lives of the Montgomery family, would his life have ended up this way? Life, it's all about coincidences, circumstances, chance. All of it comes down to those things. We've seen that so many times in our own lives and those of the people around us. I mean, if Hunter had never come to Dalton…"
"Wes, you of all people should know by now that things always end up as they are, no matter what subtle differences there are in the process of getting there," said Finn, taking hold of Wes' hand. "Randy would still have ended up as a womaniser, and he would still have brought the fast bucks from fraudulent business into the family firm. The only difference would be that you would not have been around to see it all. If you weren't around, then how would those boys of yours have managed? How could they have got where they are now without you to steer them in the right direction?"
"I know, you're right Finn, You are a wise person, and getting wiser as the days go by. It's just that the last three weeks have brought so much back, and it has just made me think too much… But, that is it now. All over. I can get back to normal and catch up with everything that I have missed out on. To that end, I think that a visit to see my lovely Thaddie is in order. I miss talking to him… Could you tell the others that I had to go, and that I will catch up with all of them very soon. Can you thank the guys for being here and supporting me and Michelle through all of this, and tell them I am so happy that all of them can see me now…" Finn nodded, then pulled Wes into an impromptu hug. This was swiftly returned, and for a few moments they held each other close. Then the older of the two pulled away, and with a nod, headed off in the direction of L.A. As he went, Finn sighed, and hoped that his friend would find the comfort that he needed in the company of the young man that he loved so very much.
In L.A., Thad had been studying on and off for several hours, in between glancing at the news feed that was coming from the court in Boston. He had been keeping up with the proceedings from there for most of the last three weeks, almost as avidly as Wes himself. Had it not been for the fact that he had his crucial final exams coming up, he would have been in Boston for the whole duration of the trial, to sit beside Michelle and Wes, but the timing was all wrong and it had not been possible. He had missed the company of Wes over the last weeks, but he knew why he could not be there with him regularly. When the sentence had come up over the feed, it had not shocked him in the slightest. He was personally of the opinion that it was nowhere near long enough, given all that he had done, but he was also aware that Wes would probably see it completely the other way…
He was still pondering that when he felt the draught that was so familiar and that he had missed the last twenty or so days. He knew which of his angelic friends it was, and he stood up and turned to face them, holding his arms wide open. Wes promptly fell right into them, and began to sob his heart out. Thad pulled him in tight, and whispered "It's all over and done now, Wessie. They can't hurt you anymore." Then he just stood and let Wes cry, gently stroking the back of his head. His whole focus now was on the man he loved; his studies could take a back seat for as long as Wes needed him to support him.
The news of the sentence handed down to the final member of the Montgomery family had been anticipated of course by most of Wes' other friends. Trent checked on the news feed the moment that he left the exam room at college, and if people were staring at him as he smiled and punched the air in delight, then so what? David had received an alert on his phone as he stood and waited to speak to his senior tutor during their office hours; the news had made him so pleased that he almost missed his spot. Sebastian was at the Strand book store, working a shift on his day off from his show rehearsals, eager to keep his hand in at the job he secretly loved. When he found out the news, he smiled broadly, and thanked the world that justice was still possible even in this day and age.
As for Nick, who had been probably the most diligent watcher after Thad, he found out the news as he was working hard in the kitchen, dividing his attention between watching the batch of cookies he had in the oven, and packing up everything that they would not need in the course of the next week. After all, they now had only three more days to pack up the rest of their lives if they were to move on Monday, and the added stress of not telling their friends on the other side of the landing that they were going was starting to tell on him a little. He was a little worried about how they would react to the news, particularly how short the notice was. He had a feeling that whilst they would all be pleased that Jeff had benefited from the will, they would be devastated about the fact they would no longer be living next door. If the truth was told, he felt every bit as upset, as he had grown quite fond of all of them. He resolved to talk to his husband later and agree a story that they could tell to the others; a way to let them know they were going, but not say exactly where they were heading until the big reveal. If nothing else, they might be able to get some help with the packing, as he and Jeff seemed to have acquired an inordinate amount of stuff! They could also potentially look after Caleb, who saw every packing box as a fascinating hiding place. He would be prepared to swear on oath that he had spent more time unpacking the cat than he had packing the books from the shelves in the living room earlier…
Those at the Spotlight heard the news from the court when Michelle called up to say that as the case was now over, she would be coming back to the city on the earliest train possible the following day, and would come in more or less the moment she got back to let Elliott and Dani have some time off. She expressed her satisfaction with the verdict that had been handed down to Randy, but she also voiced her concern about Wes. She had seen through the flimsy excuse that Finn had given, and she just hoped that he was with Thad, and not somewhere on his own, handling things alone as he used to do. Santana was at the diner when the news came, supposedly at work, but as it was quiet, she was running down her final checklist for the guests at her wedding in just over a week. Such was the popularity of herself and Brittany that hardly anyone had declined their invitation; she had ignored the comment from Sebastian that people were too scared to do so.
It would be the first time in a while that she had seen many of the people that would be heading to Dalton next Friday; the Schuesters; Sugar and Joe; heck, even Puck and Quinn, both of whom were tied up a lot of the time with work and school respectively, and spent much of their free time together. However, there would be one gap in the assembly that would break Santana's heart quietly. That would be the spot where she had always pictured her Abuela sitting. She had never approved of Santana's lifestyle, and had made that clear in a very public fashion. She had been invited, but she had made her feelings quite clear, with a blunt refusal to attend, firstly to her daughter, and then to Santana herself. She and Brittany had made a quick trip to Ohio to check over a few things at Dalton, and she had felt that she should try. She had not taken Brittany with her; had not even told her where she was going, and given what happened, she was glad of that. Being rejected the first time had been hard; the second time if anything was worse.
When she had returned to her mother's house, she had wanted nothing more than to fall into Brittany's arms and seek comfort, but it appeared that her fiancée was out on an errand of her own. When she had eventually returned, she had told Santana that she had been unsuccessful in her endeavours, but did not specify what those were. The thing was, Brittany was not stupid, and had known exactly where Santana would go. She had followed her there, and after she had seen the woman she loved leave on the verge of tears, she had made an attempt herself. Santana's grandmother had been polite with her, but had still said no. Brittany had decided there and then that she had no choice. When all else failed, she had to go to the big guns to ensure that the love of her life got what she wanted more than anything on her big day…
When Jeff came home that night, he immediately smelt that Nick had been baking, and headed for the kitchen. He had just brought a batch out of the oven, which were now cooling on a rack; he stood aside and let Jeff pounce on them. It was only when the blond had eaten two and was about to take a third that he realised that Nick had made no protest or even attempted to stop him… "Okay, Nicky, what is going on? You need to talk to me about something, don't you? What's happened?"
"Well, firstly, Randy Montgomery has been sent down for a very, very long time; but that isn't it. I think that we have to tell the guys across the landing that we are moving and as soon as we can. I've spent the whole afternoon thinking about it, and we have no choice. It is going to have a bigger impact on them than everyone else when you think about it, and they deserve to know about it before we tell everyone else on Saturday afternoon. I mean, it is going to be hard enough finding out we are leaving, but telling them on Saturday we are leaving in 36 hours or so? Santana would never forgive us! I was thinking that as they know we've been looking, we could just say that we have found somewhere that was perfect, and that we had to take it straight away or we would lose it. We don't have to tell them exactly where; we could tell a white lie and say Pelham if - actually, it is Santana, so when they ask."
Jeff looked at his husband and knew he was right. Brittany was going to be upset by them going, and Sam for that matter. "I guess we do have to say something to them first. They are going to take it hard, as they have connections of their own to this place, and who knows what kind of people they will have as neighbours after us? I was actually thinking that it is a shame that they own that place; if they had been renting like us, then they could have had the two apartments in that final house. I could still suggest that on Saturday though; that they could let out the apartment here in Bushwick and move across to Manhattan with the rest of us…"
"That's a lovely idea, Jeffie, but I don't think they would ever do that. They are all so attached to that loft, because it was Blaine that created it; it was his dream house for him and Kurt after all, even if they never got a chance to live in it. Still, I guess that there could be no harm in asking; just expect a polite no. Anyway, we are agreed? We tell them we are moving, and when, so that it isn't quite such a major shock, and so I admit that we might be offered a hand with the packing. If nothing else, Brittany could look after Caleb for us and keep him occupied?"
"It's the best thing to do, Nicky. We will do it later, when we know they will all be there. In the meantime, show me what else needs packed…"
In the end, it would be the following morning before they would be able to break the news. Jeff had decided that it would be best if they waited for Mike to be able to come with them to break the news; by the time that he arrived home, it was getting late, and as he pointed out, Rachel would still be out at work. This was not an issue to Nick and Jeff until Mike reminded them of how she would probably react if she was the last one of them to know. So they decided instead that they should just spend the time packing, working together as a team on one room. They worked on the living room first, and once they had removed and boxed up everything that was theirs to take, there was still time to finish off the kitchen.
Afterwards, as they all sat in the living room with a mug of hot chocolate before bed, Caleb curled up on Jeff's lap, they all felt just how different the room was, with all the shelves empty, and no pictures on the walls. True, there was instead a stack of boxes, all carefully labelled; all with a code number which corresponded to a number on Nick's master list, where there was a description of what was inside. The master list was also stored on his laptop, and emailed to both Mike and Jeff. This was to ensure that they could still decipher everything on moving day if the original copy got lost, or worse, ended up being packed away itself.
"That's the worst of it done now, I guess," said Mike with a sigh. "I still have my bedroom closet to pack up, but the good thing is that the chest of drawers is mine, so it can just be secured shut, and moved with everything still inside."
"The big job for us in the bedroom will be dismantling the bed," admitted Nick, "and then we will have to reassemble it in the new house; I don't think we can count on getting the people that built it the last time to do it for us again. I am just so glad that the houses all came more or less furnished; if we were having to start from scratch, that big house would look pretty empty. Speaking of that, given that we are taking the dining table with us, we should maybe consider moving the current one from the dining room down to the kitchen before Monday, so it is easier for the movers. If we are going to be showing everyone around, we could volunteer them to help…"
"Yes, that does sound like a good idea," agreed Mike. "Speaking of that kind of thing, I am going to be getting a new mattress, seeing as my new bed is much bigger, so if we know what sort of time we will be there on Saturday, I could arrange to get it delivered then."
"Or you could just ask them to deliver it here, and then we could get the movers to move it again," said Jeff, as he sat there casually stroking a purring cat.
"You just don't want to have to help carry a mattress upstairs," said Nick, shaking his head but smiling at the same time. "We still have time to sort that kind of stuff out though. Now, I don't know about you guys, but it has been a long day, and I am more than ready for bed. I think we should turn in now, get a good night's rest, and then we can be across the landing in good time tomorrow before any of them leave the loft." As if on cue, Jeff yawned, and Mike nodded in agreement. Within ten minutes, the mugs were washed and dried, Caleb was in his bed, and so were the three young men that thought they owned him…
