Chapter 53 Dirty Tricks
A/N: Hey guys! Look at me! I'm updating! And it hasn't been a week! Has it? 1,2,3,4…okay so it's been exactly one week.
Thanks for all the reviews! Always excited to read them! I know I lost a lot of you guys because of my lack of updates, but I'm making a comeback soon! After this story, I'm starting fresh! I feel like Boys in the Attic right now…*shudders*.
And a final note before we begin, I have no experience whatsoever when it comes to court. I've never been to court. All I know is from some books and television, so if it's not accurate I'm sorry!
Hope you guys all enjoy this!
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Kendall pulled Logan in for a quick kiss before releasing him. Logan turned back around and took his seat only to stand up again as the bailiff made everyone stand as the judge entered the room.
Everyone finally took their seats again as Judge Davis banged his mallet. "Will both parties please introduce themselves starting with the plaintiff."
Darrow stood. "Your honor, I am John Darrow and I will be representing my client, Logan Phillip Mitchell." Judge Davis nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the other desk.
"I am Matthew Hawk. I will be defending my client, Wade Fredrickson." Hawk sat back down, his subtle smirk never leaving Logan nor Darrow's peripheral vision.
Judge Davis nodded again before turning to Darrow. "Alright, that's settled. Mr. Darrow, would you please present your client's claim."
Darrow stood up and adjusted the front of his suit before walking around the desk to pace slowly back and forth before the bench and the desks. "Your honor, I mean no disrespect when I say that this is not a claim, but rather, a true cry for justice. My client Logan Mitchell, was brutally beaten, shot, and most disgustingly of all, raped…by that man." He pointed dramatically at Wade.
Darrow wasn't surprised when both Hawk and Wade stayed completely calm. He turned back to the bench. Judge Davis nodded at Darrow. "Thank you, Mr. Darrow. Please take your seat." He turned to Hawk. "Mr. Hawk, how does your client plead to these charges?"
Hawk stood up confidently with his chest puffed out. "Your honor, my client, Wade Fredrickson, pleads not guilty of all charges." Without another word, he sat back down.
Judge David sighed. "Well, since both parties are at a disagreement, we can continue with the trial."
Darrow was pacing back and forth across the room again. "Your honor, I'd like to call Officer Ricardo Garcia to the stand please."
Logan turned to see Mr. Garcia walking up to the stand and taking his seat before pulling out a folder from under his arm. "Mr. Garcia, what is that you have there?"
"This is the police report written for the morning of Logan Phillip Mitchell's assault."
"Would you please read it aloud for the court?" Mr. Garcia nodded.
" October 20th. Garcia was on patrol in the Palm Woods area. Officer Garcia heard loud yelling and a gunshot. Officer Garcia ran to the source of the disturbance to find Logan Phillip Mitchell at Palm Woods Park. A person was fleeing the scene, but Officer Garcia could not pursue them. Logan Phillip Mitchell was on the ground stripped from the waist down with a substance leaking from his anus. That substance was later identified as semen. Officer Garcia quickly radioed for assistance and Logan Phillip Mitchell was transported to St. Mario's Hospital." (1)
Logan put his head down in shame. He didn't know why he felt it. It was just there. He felt embarrassed and ashamed of what he was hearing. He could faintly hear gasps and whispers as Mr. Garcia finished reading the police report.
Mr. Garcia closed the file as he finished reading. Darrow nodded. "I believe this police report speaks enough for my client's side. No further questions."
Judge Davis turned to Hawk. "Mr. Hawk, do you have any questions or comments?" Hawk smiled. "Yes, I do, your honor."
He stood and began pacing with his fingertips touching. "Officer Garcia, your police report tells us that Logan Mitchell was found at Palm Woods Park, correct?"
Mr. Garcia eyed him carefully, but answered truthfully. "That is correct."
"I see, now….where does it say that my client, Wade Fredrickson, was ever at the scene of this alleged assault?"
"Alleged? Are you calling me a liar?" Mr. Garcia was obviously getting angry.
"Please just answer the question, Officer Garcia." Hawk spoke nonchalantly as if Mr. Garcia wasn't giving him a dirty look.
Mr. Garcia answered, though begrudgingly. "Nowhere. It doesn't say that Wade Fredrickson was ever at the scene of the assault."
Hawk could barely contain his excitement. It had been years since he felt so in control. "It doesn't say that Wade Fredrickson was ever at the scene…" Hawk's tone made it obvious he was mocking Officer Garcia, but the policeman had no choice, but to remain calm as Hawk continued, "As I recall, the report said that there was…a person fleeing the scene. A person. Officer Garcia, does that sound very accurate? Wouldn't you call it...vague?" The questions were rhetoric. "No further questions."
Hawk took his seat, followed by Mr. Garcia who gave Logan an apologetic nod as he made his way to his seat. Logan smiled politely, but looked down immediately. Things weren't going too well. The trial had only started about twenty minutes ago, but Logan was already losing. He didn't know how much more he could take.
He turned to Darrow. "Mr. Darrow…"
"Don't worry, Logan. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, too."
Once again, Darrow was pacing back and forth as he spoke. "Dr. Till, that folder…that is the medical record of my client the night of his assault. Am I correct?"
Dr. Till nodded calmly. "Yes, that is correct."
"Would you please read off your diagnosis."
"Logan Phillip Mitchell. Age 17. Admitted October 20th. Suffered several minor hematomas(bruises) around the neck, chest and upper thighs. Multiple lacerations(cuts) were found on the hands and face. Shot in right leg, just below the pelvis."
"Thank you, Dr. till. Now would you please read us the results of the sexual assault test."
"Logan Phillip Mitchell. Age 17. Tested October 20th. Several minor hematomas(bruises) and lacerations(cuts) show signs of struggle. Bruising of the anus: evidence of sexual assault."
Logan hung his head again as he heard more gasps and muttering, this time they were louder. "Order! Order in this courtroom!" Judge Davis banged his mallet loudly. The sound echoed through Logan's ears, mixing with his already loud thoughts.
Darrow awaited silence before continuing. "Dr. Till, how many years have you been in your profession?"
"Fourteen years, this December."
"So you would say you've had much experience to support your belief that my client was indeed sexually assaulted?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Dr. Till. No further questions, your honor." Judge Davis nodded to Hawk as Darrow took his seat again. Hawk stood and walked over to the stand.
"Dr. Till, that medical record that you brought, wouldn't you say it was missing a crucial piece of evidence?"
Dr. Till frowned. "I- I don't understand the question."
Hawk smirked. "Oh, I believe you do understand the question quite well, Doctor. But I want to get this case over with so I'll ask you this. Was there any DNA found?"
"There was a complication in the matter of what you are questioning. Unfortunately, the semen was not recorded by our nurse…she claims, she couldn't find any."
"She claims? You don't believe her?"
"I do not. That nurse was our worst. Unfortunately, I had to be pulled away for an emergency so she was the only one available to perform the test. Nurse Jones has been fired recently, actually…for slacking and expressing her homophobia to our patients and staff."
"Right, of course. How do we know you are not just making up this assumption that this nurse was homophobic? How do we know that she actually just couldn't find any semen?"
Darrow stood. "Your honor, if Mr. Hawk finished, I have another person to bring up to the stand that can answer his questions."
Hawk nodded when Judge Davis turned to him and Darrow called up the next person to the stand.
The women sat down nervously. She wore a bright red dress that fitted a bit too well for the current situation she was in. After she was sworn into truth, Darrow began his interrogation.
"Ms. Jones, you were the nurse that performed the test on my client over there. Am I correct." Darrow spoke with a soothing calm that made her feel a bit more comfortable to speak to him.
"Y-yeah, I was."
"Right, and you claimed that you couldn't find any semen while performing the test?"
"Yeah."
"Ms. Jones, you do realize the consequences for lying in a court case? You could be charged for aiding in the crime." Darrow pressed the matter a bit more urgently than the last time he spoke.
"Yeah, well I'm not lyin'." Her tone clearly betrayed her innocence.
"Alright, just thought you should keep that in mind. Moving on now. As you may recall, I was in Dr. Till's office when he asked you what happened to the semen. Do you remember what you told him?"
"No."
"Neither do I…" There was some murmuring in the crowd. Logan watched Darrow in confusion as well as defeat. So far they hadn't gotten a single thing on their side. And what was Darrow doing? "…but this tape recorder does." He pulled out a tape recorder. Logan couldn't believe it. Did everyone carry one of those things now?
"I always carry one of these around. Never know when you'll need it, especially when you're a lawyer." He pressed play.
"If you recall, this is Logan Mitchell, the patient you performed the sexual assault test on about a month ago."
"Yeah, I remember. Totally gross. Why?"
"Did you find any semen during the test? My patient here, insists that there was semen. And quite frankly, I believe him, so how do you explain that there was no semen."
"I don't know? I couldn't find any, sheesh. What's so important about some jizz anyway? What, does the fag over here want it for memories?"
Darrow turned off the recording. He turned to face Ms. Jones. Her eyes were narrowed, her fists clenched, she was getting nervous. "As everyone can tell from this recording, Ms. Jones is indeed homophobic, proven by her choices of words such as 'fag'. Does that answer your question Hawk?"
Hawk frowned, but accepted the challenge. "Fine, so she's homophobic, but that doesn't prove that she found semen."
Darrow ignored him and faced Ms. Jones again. "Ms. Jones, in the recording you said that performing the test was 'totally gross'. Why was it so disgusting?"
"I had to clean out his asshole! What do you think was so gross?" Logan buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe she had said that. How could she really have no sympathy? He felt almost as mortified as the night of the assault. Everyone on Wade's side turned to look at Logan while everyone on his side glared at Ms. Jones.
Judge Davis banged his mallet. "Ms. Jones, watch your mouth! This is a courtroom, not a schoolyard!"
Darrow pounced on the opening. "Clean out? What did you clean out?"
Ms. Jones visibly stiffened. She was sweating now. She kept shifting her eyes. "Ms. Jones, need I remind you of the consequences for lying here? Just make it easier on yourself and tell the truth.
"Fine, dammit! I lost the jizz! I cleaned it out, left it on the counter and when I came back it was gone!"
Darrow frowned. "So you lied and said you couldn't find any instead, resulting in this court case instead of informing us so that we could have it searched for, saving a lot more time and grief. No further questions, your honor."
Ms. Jones took her seat again, sending a glare at Logan as she passed by. Logan, though, didn't care. They finally had something on their side. It didn't mean much considering they still couldn't prove it was Wade, but it was a start. He kept hearing Kendall's voice in his head. 'It'll be okay. You'll win. We'll move on. Happy ending together.'
Hawk smirked to himself as he stood. They were already winning. Now all he had to do was play a little dirty and bring out the big guns to seal the deal. "I'd like to call Logan Mitchell to the stand."
Logan's smile immediately fell as he turned to Darrow. "What? I thought I wouldn't have to go up there!" Darrow glared at Hawk. "I'm afraid you have to, son. There's nothing I can do to get you out of this. Just remember to stay calm. Don't lean back. That'll make you seem like you're trying to get away from something. If you have to move, lean forward. Don't play with your hands. It'll make you look guilty. Just answer as truthfully as you can."
Logan turned to look around and then back to Darrow. He sighed in defeat and walked over to the stand and took a seat.
Hawk smirked. "Mr. Mitchell, why are you so intent on blaming my client? What has he ever done to you?"
Logan looked confused. "he r-raped me. That's what he did. Why else would I say that it was him?"
"And what evidence do you have that can prove that my client was the one that did that to you, if it even happened at all."
"That's crazy! You already heard all of the evidence you needed from Dr. Till and Ms. Jones!"
"Mr. Mitchell, just answer my question. What evidence do you have?"
"I…we…I…I don't know."
"You don't know? So you don't have any evidence that my client was the one that did this to you. For all we know, he didn't attack you. But then why, I ask, are you so fixated on pinning this on him? Why would you want to ruin an innocent man's life?"
"He's not innocent!" Logan's eyes watered now. He couldn't keep his voice steady, it just got louder as the emotions crashed into him, searching for a way out. "I was running. And…and he dragged me to a clearing and threw me on the floor! That's where I got the bruises and scars-"
"No evidence that it was my client. You could have done that to yourself."
"H-he pulled out a gun and shot me!" A few tears were streaming down his face now. His fists were clenched. He tried to unclench them, but he couldn't. He felt so out of control.
"Do you have the bullet?"
"W-what?" Logan asked incredulously?
"Do…you have…the bullet?"
"Dr. Till…he has it. He was the one who removed it."
Hawked turned. "Dr. Till, do you have the bullet?"
Dr. Till tensed. "No, I do not. It was somehow misplaced."
Hawk turned to Logan who was opening and closing his mouth. He tried to take in air, but his breaths were shallow. He couldn't take it. All of this was too overwhelming. He couldn't breathe.
He made to fish out his inhaler from the inside of his jacket when Hawk cried out. "He has a gun!" the bailiff pulled out his gun and aimed it at Logan. "N-NOO!" Logan managed to cried out in anguish.
Kendall, James, Carlos, Mrs. Knight and Katie jumped up from their seats. They were all yelling out protests. The gun was still aimed at Logan and Kendall couldn't hold himself back. He leaped over the short wall and ran over to Logan. "He's having an asthma attack! He needs his inhaler!"
The bailiff still kept his gun pointed at them until he saw Kendall pulling out Logan's inhaler. After taking a few puffs, Logan was breathing normally again. "Th-thanks, Kendall." Kendall kissed his forehead.
"ORDER! I NEED ORDER IN THIS COURT! Mr. Knight, take our seat! Bailiff, put your gun down!"… followed by multiple bangs of his mallet.
Kendall gave Logan a quick hug before taking his seat again. Darrow stood up furiously. "Your honor! Hawk is clearly harassing my client!"
Hawk countered it. "I was merely asking questions. He went into a panic attack on his own." Hawk began pacing. "As you see, Mr. Mitchell is clearly emotionally unstable. I merely asked a few harmless questions and he was already in tears and shouting and hyperventilating."
"Objection, your honor!"
Judge Davis frowned. He didn't believe in objections. Everyone got a full chance to speak. "Overruled."
Hawk smirked and continued. "An emotionally unstable child like this…who's to say he didn't just make all of this up? He has no evidence! Only dead ends. A police report that couldn't identify the person fleeing. A medical record that showed signs of injury, but without semen. Who's to say he didn't cause all those injuries to himself? The bruises, the cuts, the bullet…the bruised anus."
Logan couldn't contain himself. He began sobbing hysterically as he tried to speak. "Y-you're sick! H-h-how c-could I h-have don all th-that to m-myself? W-why would I w-want to?"
Hawk instantly answered as soon as Logan finished, his voice booming and accusing. "I don't know, Mr. Mitchell. Maybe it's because you're an emotional wreck! Maybe it's because of all the pressure of being in a famous boy band! Maybe it's because…maybe it's because your father just died."
Logan stared in horror as the tears kept pouring. "My f-father p-passed away l-last week! H-e raped me m-months ago!" Logan pointed a finger at Wade who kept a scary cool.
"Mr. Mitchell, why was this trial postponed? It seems to me like you were just buying more time."
"That has n-nothing to d-do with i-it! My father j-just p-p-passed! I h-had to go his f-f-funeral!"
Hawk changed the subject yet again. "Your father passed away? Are you sure he didn't hang himself?"
Everyone gasped. "OBJECTION, your honor!" Darrow cried out again.
"Overruled!"
"H-how do you know about that?"
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that your father's suicide gives us yet another explanation for your lack of emotional stability." He changed the topic again, quickly. "Where is your mother, Logan? Shouldn't she be here for your trial? Or is she too ashamed that you're gay? That you caused the death of her husband?"
Logan couldn't speak anymore. Hawk had pushed the last button. Logan's heart had exploded with emotion. He sobbed hysterically into his hands.
"No. Further. Questions. Your honor." Hawk took his seat.
Judge Davis looked down sadly at the mess that was Logan. "Will someone please take him back to his seat and quiet him down so we can continue this trial?" Kendall shot up and was there before Darrow could even stand up. He led Logan down the stand and over to his seat where the smaller boy rested his head on his arms and continued to cry.
Kendall stayed where he was, rubbing Logan's back. "Logan, it's going to be okay! Please, stop! It's going to be okay."
Judge Davis looked over at Darrow. "Do you have any other witnesses you would like to call up to the stand or evidence you would like to present?" Darrow looked back and forth between Logan and the judge. "N-no, your honor. I…I don't."
Kendall snapped his vision to Darrow as Logan cried a bit harder and louder. "What? John, there has to be something else!"
Judge Davis banged his mallet. "Alright, if both parties have no new evidence to present, this court will now come give a ruling-"
"WAIT! STOP!"
(1) So if you're wondering why Mr. Garcia is reading about himself in the third person, my cousin older cousin is a pretty high ranked cadet, so he knows a lot about how cops work. He told me that pronouns weren't allowed in police reports.
A/N: So who could this mystery person be? I'll give you a hint. It's someone you know from this story. I think it's kinda obvious, but PM me if you need another hint :). This could be the QOTC! Haven't done that in a while. Okay, fine here it goes…
QOTC: Who could this mystery person be?
Oh and guess whaaaaaat! *in a sing song voice*!OP!" now come give a ruling-"
ight, if both parties have no new evidence to present, this court will now come up with a rul KENDALL REPLIED TO ME ON TWTTER! It was right before the KCA's I said, "HeffronDriveknockin on wood, throwin salt over my shoulder, n eatin lucky charms. then my lil bro kicked me n said u guys dont need it:)" and he said, "haha thanks for all the good vibes! Keep it up :)"
OMG OMG OMG! Anyway, if you guys wanna follow me, my twitter information is on my profile near the bottom. I could tweet the progress of my writing so I don't need to disappoint you all with Author's Notes instead of Chapters!
I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS! I ACTUALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE WRITING THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW! :)
